Dorsey & Whitney > London, England > Firm Profile

Dorsey & Whitney
199 BISHOPSGATE
LONDON
EC2M 2UT
England

Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m Tier 3

Praised by clients for its ‘pragmatic, commercial approach’, the corporate team at Dorsey & Whitney is well positioned to advise clients across the technology, healthcare and financial services sectors. In recent years, the practice has developed a specialism advising sports media companies on M&A activity. The practice is steered by Kate Francis, who focuses on M&A – both domestic and cross-border – and capital market transactions. Fabrizio Carpanini, described as a ‘master of detail’, covers the entire spectrum of transactional work, including corporate finance and international joint ventures. The team has been bolstered by the arrival of Jamie Crawford from Gateley Legal in March 2023.

Practice head(s):

Kate Francis

Other key lawyers:

Mark Taylor; Fabrizio Carpanini; Carsten Greve; Stewart Worthy; Alan Farkas; Paul Thompson; Luk Trewhela; Harsha Goel

Testimonials

‘Extremely switched-on team with a strong, pragmatic, commercial approach to getting deals across the line.’

‘Fabrizio Carpanini is very attentive and a master of detail. Kept abreast of the intricate details throughout the deal process and wherever he happened to be in the world!’

‘Harsha Goel is a very smart young lawyer. His methodical working methods were much needed and valued throughout the twists and turns of the deal.’

‘Very personable and explain everything in detail.’

‘Friendly and considerate with a unique ability to feel what clients feel.’

‘It is very rare to find a team that are so committed to you as a client.’

‘Great people and an honest pleasure to deal with.’

‘They made my transaction easy to deal with by being available with quick responses.’

Key clients

Datatec Plc

Nova Capital Management Limited

Larasian Limited

Orkla ASA

DecoPac Inc

Logicalis UK Limited

SeeQuestor Ltd

Rowanwood Professional Services Limited

PIB Group Limited

Davies Group Limited

IO Integration Inc

Work highlights

Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap Tier 4

A ‘partner-led practice with quick response times’, Dorsey & Whitney‘s mid-market ECM team advises AIM-listed clients on a full suite of equity transactions, displaying especially strong credentials in the technology, healthcare, publishing, gaming, services and financial services sectors. Team leader Kate Francis is praised as ‘an exceptionally strong lawyer' with 'a good ability to identify wider issues and provide commercial solutions’.

Practice head(s):

Kate Francis

Testimonials

‘Partner-led practice with quick response times. The added value for us is their ability to bring in experts from other fields across the legal spectrum including the US office.’

‘Kate Francis is an exceptionally strong lawyer – a technical expert in her field with a good understanding and ability to identify wider issues and provide commercial solutions. She has an approachable manner, is available when needed and very much feels like part of the team when acting for you.’

Key clients

Liberum Capital Limited

Investec Bank plc

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited

finnCap Limited

Peel Hunt LLP

Canaccord Genuity Limited

Numis Securities Limited

WH Ireland Limited

Watchstone Group plc

The Quarto Group Inc.

Inland Homes plc

Corero Network Security plc

Kinovo PLC

Inland ZDP plc

Work highlights

Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market Tier 4

The London trial team at Dorsey & Whitney is led by ‘superb lawyer and creative litigatorAymen Khoury, who is ‘very highly respected for his Middle East focused practice‘ and the ‘excellentMatthew Blower, a former criminal barrister who has been at the firm since 2006. The practice, which is described as offering a ‘unique combination of big US firm thrust with a more traditional finesse and effectiveness‘, also includes recently promoted partner Joseph Lewin, and regularly handles post-M&A disputes, shareholder disputes and civil fraud cases.

Practice head(s):

Matthew Blower; Aymen Khoury

Other key lawyers:

Joseph Lewin; Shamilee Arora

Testimonials

‘Matt Blower is excellent and Joseph Lewin is a rising star.’

‘Aymen Khoury is an outstanding litigator who cares passionately for his clients’ interests and never lets go of a strong point. He combines a clear view of his client’s commercial objective with a laser-like focus on the detail of the argument.’

‘Aymen Khoury is a relentless litigator who achieves excellent results for his clients. Knowledgeable, affable and tenacious. A pleasure to deal with.’

‘I’ve worked with Aymen Khoury and Shamilee Arora. Both are excellent. Aymen stands out for his great communication skills and ability to get to the heart of a problem quickly. He provides great client service, he’s a smart lawyer, and he knows how to use law to solve commercial problems. He’s also a delight to work with. Highly recommend.’

‘Aymen Khoury is an outstanding commercial litigator.  His strategic instincts are always spot on.  His attention to detail and commercial approach to litigation commands client confidence. He is very highly respected for his Middle East focused practice.’

‘Matthew Blower was highly responsive throughout and provided clear and practical strategic advice. I give him my highest recommendation and will recommend him to anyone who asks!’

‘Joseph Lewin – hard working and excellent attention to detail and also an enormous capacity to work very long hours and get things done that have to be done.’

‘It is actually hard to describe how excellent Matthew Blower and his team are. They are always available, giving practical and level-headed advice, and they always have their eyes on the end game, i.e. winning the trial. They were on top of things and remained calm under pressure, and there was a lot of pressure. They were also lots of fun to work with. During such an intense period it is important to work with someone that has a sense of humour and enjoys what he is doing.’

Key clients

Watchstone Group PLC

DnaNudge Limited

Otello Corporation ASA

Warner Chappell Music Italiana S.r.l

Rayan Asset Management Limited

Work highlights

  • Acting for Watchstone Group in its high profile litigation against PwC, arising out of the £637m purchase by Slater & Gordon of the professional services division of Quindell (as Watchstone was then known) in 2015.
  • Acting for the defendant, DnaNudge, in its dispute with the UK Department of Health & Social Care regarding a contract for the provision to the government of COVID-19 testing kits worth approximately £160m, and a related dispute with Ventura Capital GP Limited, which alleges fraudulent misrepresentation in relation to the subscription of shares for approximately £40m.
  • Acting for the Claimant, Otello Corporation ASA, a Norwegian company, in a shareholder dispute with a US based joint venture partner in London, New York and Norway.

Dorsey & Whitney (Dorsey) is an international law firm with over 570 lawyers in 21 offices in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. Dorsey has been in London for over 30 years, and the London office is a stand-alone full-service City practice and the hub of the firm’s European practice.

Dorsey’s lawyers and staff work to provide clients a competitive advantage with superb legal skills, practical wisdom and a deep understanding of their business and industry. Dorsey serves a wide variety of industries, with a particular focus on banking and financial institutions; development and infrastructure; energy and natural resources; food, beverage and agribusiness; healthcare; and technology. Teams serving these industries cross geographies and practice areas, keeping them at the cutting edge of industry needs and trends and sharing collective experience and expertise.

The London office advises European and international clients in the following practice areas:

  • Anti-corruption
  • Banking and finance
  • Capital markets
  • Commercial litigation
  • Corporate and M&A
  • Data privacy
  • Economic sanctions
  • Emerging companies and venture capital
  • Fraud and regulatory investigations
  • International arbitration
  • Intellectual property
  • Employment
  • Private equity
  • Real estate
  • Tax
  • Technology and licensing
Department Name Email Telephone
Firm Managing Partner William Stoeri
London Office Co-Head and Head of London Transactions Kate Francis
London Office Co-Head Fabrizio Carpanini