Firm Profile > Goodwin > London, England

‘Goodwin’s real estate funds team is exceptional and marries a high level of technical knowledge with a refreshingly commercial approach. The team possesses an abundance of talent and experience, and always responds rapidly to transaction developments and client requests.‘

‘Samantha Lake Coghlan (Partner) – Sam is clearly one of the pre-eminent lawyers in the real estate funds space. She has an unparalleled understanding of the practice area and is always cognisant of her client’s commercial needs. Sam is personable, pragmatic and consistently goes the extra mile to ensure a positive outcome for her client. Ravi Chopra (Partner) – Ravi is a highly accomplished funds lawyer and is well versed in advising on real estate fund structures. He has an outstanding technical skill-set and applies a solutions-orientated approach. Niall Dick (Associate) – Niall is very diligent, easy to work with and highly reliable in managing transaction workstreams.‘

‘Very responsive and extremely clear advice. My clients have found Goodwin excellent, particularly for start-ups where practical advice is at a premium.‘

‘Samantha Lake Coghlan is outstanding. Leading individual in her field.‘

‘Very deep understanding of client requirements, very frequent communication – these guys are a lot of fun to work with.’

‘Excellent knowledge of the industry and highly commercial.’

James Spence and Martin Smith provide a consistently outstanding service.’

‘Very commercial and prompt to take action as necessary.’

‘Goodwin’s VC practice is unique because of the extensive experience they have from early stage start-ups through to later stage VC work – this helps them to be able to advise companies throughout their life cycle with a great deal of experience of market practice/commercial terms as well as the legal considerations. I found the knowledge of the team as to what large acquirers of VC practices (both US and UK) expect/want in M&A to be absolutely key and incredibly helpful.’

‘David Mardle is a brilliant team leader and has a wealth of knowledge and experience.’

‘An impressive roster of lawyers recruited from impressive peer firms in a short space of time. The team at Goodwin has certainly made an impact on the London and UK venture capital scene, replicating the success of its US colleagues. An excellent reputation in the field of life sciences, with a Cambridge offering which fits in well to the wider firm-wide ambitions. With the recent recruits, they provide a full-service offering for technology companies in the corporate field, which will undoubtedly grow over the years in light of the quality of the lawyers recruited.’

‘Ali Ramadan is a “go-to” lawyer for all matters venture capital-related, but also a particularly trusted adviser for general corporate and M&A work as well. He is one of those lawyers who simply “gets it” and is able to seamlessly combine legal/technical and commercial/practical advice all in one. Very responsive and hardworking, he is a stand out junior partner and is highly recommended, both on the investor side and on the company side.’

‘Great client loyalty and a lot of trust in them handling the bulk of work. They have an excellent knowledge of the industry and are highly commercial.’

‘James Spence and Martin Smith provide a consistently outstanding service.’

‘They know the sector and the agreements of their operator clients extremely well.’

‘The individual partners and team members across all departments seem to be at the top of their game and work together seamlessly. The client experience is excellent. Solid technical lawyers with broad experience – able to react fast and effectively to a broad range of life sciences transactions.’

‘One of the UK’s leading teams, if not the pre-eminent team, for life science and healthcare investments – their sector experience and knowledge from spin-out to late-stage VC and beyond is excellent.’

‘David Mardle is excellent – his knowledge and experience means he’s someone you want on your side.’

‘The guidance provided by the team was pragmatic, commercial but aimed at getting the deal done in a sensible manner and not scoring points with the other side for the sake of it. They are easy to get on with and you can talk to them as real humans unlike some other law firms.’

‘I worked mainly with Tim Worden. He was all the things I mentioned above, pragmatic, commercial and helped us get a deal done which we wanted to do. He got into the weeds when necessary as well as providing the high level strategic legal advice we were looking for.’

The team is exceptionally commercial and helpful. They go above and beyond in terms of learning about the firm, the individuals, the culture, as well as the fund. They are very much regarded as an extension of our firm.

Ajay Pathak is a standout star. He has taken the time to learn everything about our firm as well as the deals we invest in so that he can advise holistically. His commerciality is second to none.

Highly professional, highly intelligent, global expertise and client alignment. Deep expertise in fund formation and management and ability to address as well as structure solutions to the dynamic requirements facing our fund.

Great skillset and experience across the board. There is a strong team spirit and openness which makes the dialogue very pleasant. They have a can do attitude and are always creative to find clever solutions on many legal and commercial matters. Truly the best team I’ve worked with.

Michael Halford is an outstanding partner – very reliable and creative, and able to mobilise the team to deliver on time .

Deep knowledge of the UK private funds legal market built on the foundations of legacy SJ Berwin training and expertise. The team have extensive exposure to UK private equity funds and are well placed to advise clients on market and best practice, with excellent engagement from partners and senior associates.

Ed Hall and Ravi Chopra are both excellent lawyers who successfully combine the precision and logic expected of a good lawyer, with the sound commercial advice required to be an invaluable partner and adviser.

The level of expertise in the team is impressive. Michael Halford and Ed Hall are unrivalled in problem solving skills and market experience. Ed Hall has an encyclopedic knowledge base and a talent for finding innovative solutions to complex and multi-layered issues.

‘Responsive, thorough and easy to understand‘

‘The relationship aspect is very strong and I feel I can relate to them much more on a personal level. Laura Charkin, in particular‘

The team at Goodwin was very informed and responsive.

I have always found the individuals very personable and enjoyable to work with.

The responsive and commercial Simon Thomas has good judgement and an empathetic style.

 Simon Thomas is innovative and technically sound.

 Oonagh Steel is hardworking, responsive and commercial.

‘We have only worked with Tim Worden in real detail. Tim has been a true adviser to our business on recent matters. He rolled his sleeves up in a manner which helped us get real comfort about an important in-licensing deal providing us pragmatic, timely and valuable advice. He is really easy to work with, was well regarded by the organisation outside of legal and was great to have on our side of the table in a complex negotiation given his knowledgeable and balanced negotiation style.‘

‘The Goodwin Cambridge team is excellent – responsive, pragmatic and commercial. They are one of the “go-to” teams in Cambridge for spin-outs and start-ups and their knowledge is commensurate with that. They take a practical approach to early stage deals but, due to their experience and the weight of the rest of the Goodwin practice, are adept at supporting spin-outs from seed stage all the way through to Series C and beyond.‘

‘Elizabeth Rhodes is an excellent lawyer with a practical and commercial approach at all times. I have always been very impressed with Elizabeth whether she has been acting for us or against us. A real talent.‘

‘David Mardle is a fantastic partner with invaluable knowledge and expertise. His knowledge of VC/investors in the market, especially in relation to US buyers and what they are expecting, is excellent. He is responsive and across all the details.‘

‘The team was focused on the transaction – pragmatic and always with no delays.‘

‘David Mardle and Liz Rhodes are both outstanding.‘

‘Completely responsive to our business needs. We work as a team – not all firms do this.‘

‘They are pragmatic and have an excellent understanding of the issues.‘

‘Malcolm Bates and Talitha Shkopiak are both excellent.‘