Nicholas Berry > Norton Rose Fulbright > London, England > Lawyer Profile

With strong capabilities across transactional, regulatory and advisory, and projects matters, Norton Rose Fulbright advises a number of high-profile players in the insurance market, assisting both major insurers and financial institutions in their insurance sector mandates. Drawing upon the wider firm’s international M&A capabilities, the team is well-placed to assist in complex cross-border M&A; such work is a focus of James Bateson, the global head of both insurance and financial institutions, as is complex restructures. Maria Ross‘s practice also encompasses such mandates as part of her wider specialisation in life insurance, and both Maria and James are equally capable in handling regulatory matters. Matthew Foster and Nicholas Berry both bring a similarly blended approach, with Matthew additionally leading the global warranty and indemnity practice and Nicholas having particular expertise in respect of insurtech. The firm also possesses in depth experience in the Lloyd’s market, with involvement in the development and structuring of third party syndicate arrangements, financing facilities, M&A, and legacy transactions. Bob Haken left the firm in December 2022 to join HFW.

With significant international resources at its disposal, the team at Norton Rose Fulbright – noted for its work in the insurance sector – handles a mix of in-bound investments, acquisitions, and sell-side processes for a range of sponsor clients, particularly in emerging markets. The practice is jointly chaired by Bayo Odubeko, a seasoned PE and VC partner whose recent engagements include fundraising transactions in West Africa, and Sophie O’Connor, who – along with Nicholas Berry – anchors the team’s capabilities in the financial services and insurance sectors. Berry focuses exclusively on insurance transactions, heading up the London office’s InsurTech practice in addition to handling various cross-border deals. Matthew Eccles is noted for his focus on emerging markets.

Engaged by clients including major financial institutions, trade bodies, insurtech startups and payment infrastructure providers, Norton Rose Fulbright advises on matters across the fintech spectrum, including payments systems,  distributed ledger technology, digital assets, decentralised finance and transformative transactions. The practice is jointly led by five partners. Global head of fintech Sean Murphy is well placed to advise on the development and deployment of financial services technology. Co-head of payments Victoria Birch advises clients ranging from governments to start-ups on fundraisings, regulatory compliance strategic investments into fintech companies. Fellow co-head of payments Albert Weatherill advises on a broad range of domestic and cross-border financial services regulatory matters. Hannah Meakin, who heads the fintech regulation department, is an authority on the use of distributed ledger technology in relation to market infrastructure and commodity derivatives. Head of insurtech Nicholas Berry, who completes the leadership team, has an in-depth understanding of the deployment of emerging technology in the insurance space. James Russell and Michael (Mike) Knapper  are further names to note.