Michael Black > Norton Rose Fulbright > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Drawing upon ‘deep industry knowledge’, Norton Rose Fulbright provides ‘very commercial’ advice to funders, corporates and sponsors across a wide-range of ABL techniques, including in the context of bilateral and syndicated facilities. Under the guidance of the ‘excellent’ Michael Black, the team has forged a very successful practice handling domestic as well as big-ticket cross-border mandates. Much of the international work is for core lender client, Bank of America, which is appreciative of the firm’s ability to provide complex structured advice which incorporates ABL facilities alongside other debt in the capital structure. Alex Dunn has ‘extensive ABL knowledge on both UK and cross-border transactions’, and is a key member of the team, as is counsel Helen Masri, who is noted for her ‘exceptional technical ABL knowledge’ and ability to provide ‘thoughtful and creative solutions’. 

At Norton Rose Fulbright, the ‘responsive and knowledgeable’ finance team handles a considerable volume of acquisition finance work for its creditor-focused client base. Michael Black , who co-heads the team alongside energy and infrastructure finance expert Madhavi Gosavi , has broad knowledge across myriad finance products, including a market-leading ABL offering, which he regularly deploys as a key part of the finance package to facilitate large-scale cross-border acquisition finance deals. The firm’s emerging markets prowess also regularly elicits acquisition and event-driven finance mandates for commercial and development banks.

The ‘practical and innovative’ team at Norton Rose Fulbright has gained a particularly strong reputation advising lenders and corporates on syndicated emerging markets deals, where it is able to provide a value-add service through the effective use of legal tech and partnering with lawyers across the firm’s vast international network. Neha Khosla  leads on much of this work from London and has built up a strong reputation for her collaborative approach and strength at advising on multi-source financings. As well as his role as global IBOR transition head, Davide Barzilai has ‘wide experience in different areas of bank lending’, including ECA-supported mandates, ABL and Islamic finance, ensuring that he is a popular choice on complex international syndicated mandates. ABL expert Michael Black  heads up the general London banking team, while Madhavi Gosavi  is head of banking and finance for the EMEA region.