Winston & Strawn LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

Winston & Strawn LLP
Level 33, 100 Bishopsgate
LONDON
EC2N 4AG
England

Email firm Visit website 020 7011 8700 020 7011 8800

Dispute resolution > International arbitration Tier 3

Winston & Strawn LLP’s ‘team is absolutely fantastic‘. The London group is consistently mandated to act in bet-the-company disputes, including in the technology sector. It is also increasingly involved in disputes involving EMEA and Latin American countries. The international arbitration practice is chaired by Michael Stepek

, whose ‘knowledge of arbitration law is encyclopedic’. Matthew Bate‘s experience covers Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Ben Bruton is ‘a stalwart of international arbitration‘, and Daniel Meagher is an international commercial disputes specialist. Other names to note are Juliette Huard-Bourgois, Suzanne Labi, Agustin Spotorno, Freya MacCormack, and Tringa Kunoviku.

Practice head(s):

Michael Stepek

Other key lawyers:

Matthew Bate; Ben Bruton; Daniel Meagher; Juliette Huard-Bourgois; Suzanne Labi; Agustin Spotorno; Freya MacCormack; Tringa Kunoviku

Testimonials

‘The Winston team is absolutely fantastic. They are hard-working, resourceful and responsive.’

‘Very able and diverse team that provides a hugely personalised approach and vast array of specialisations, and they are willing to adhere to strict and pressurised timeframes.’

‘From the partners to the associates, there is a high calibre of lawyers. They are competitive and forward thinking and want to establish long-term ties.’

‘Winston’s arbitration team is first rate. It can handle arbitrations under most substantive laws with ease.’

‘Michael Stepek is uniformly excellent. He is one of those rare lawyers who knows his practice area inside and out. His knowledge of arbitration law is encyclopedic.’

‘Matthew Bate is a standout partner, who is a solid and diligent worker.’

‘Ben Bruton is a stalwart of international arbitration, with a focus on the Middle East. He is excellent and has the complete confidence of his clients.’

‘Ben Bruton is a pleasure to work with – very friendly and extremely engaged in cases. He is on top of all of the issues and is very commercial and pragmatic in his advice. He really cares about each case and is determined to provide the best outcome for his clients.’

Key clients

Food Delivery Holding 12

Suntech Power International

Dominion Minerals Corp

Emerging Capital Partners

Orla Mining

Power Sub Link

Work highlights

Achieved a victory for Food Delivery Holding 12 in a $3bn bet-the-company shareholder dispute to determine ultimate ownership and control of the largest online food delivery platform in the Middle East.
Representing Simidele Adeagbo in a gender discrimination arbitration claim against the International Olympic Committee and the Bobsleigh International Federation.
Representing Suntech Power International (SPI) in a dispute filed under the Energy Charter Treaty to recover damages from the Republic of Italy, arising from Italy’s removal of feed-in-tariffs.

Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m Tier 4

The Winston & Strawn LLP team handles multijurisdictional transactions for a diverse roster of clients, including manufacturing, hospitality, and insurance. Praised for its 'exceptional lawyers with huge cross-border transactional expertise', the group has seen a particular growth in deals in the technology and healthcare sectors. Practice head Nicholas Usher specialises in international M&A, regularly working with US corporations, private equity firms, and venture capital funds on transactions. The practice also benefits from the expertise of Paul Amiss who is noted for his cross-border dealmaking and experience with SPACs. Other key names in the department include Rebecca Jack, Chelsea Thompson, Mohima Khanom, James Boulton, and Emily Simmons.

Practice head(s):

Nicholas Usher

Other key lawyers:

Paul Amiss; Rebecca Jack; Chelsea Thompson; Mohima Khanom; James Boulton; Emily Simmons

Testimonials

‘The practice has exceptional lawyers with huge cross-border transactional expertise on US-UK deals.’

‘They are a hugely commercial and pragmatic corporate team, who can break down complex issues and identify the best solutions and strategies.’

Key clients

Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Chart Industries, Inc.

Sentry Centers Holding

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Woolpert, Inc.

TORIDOLL Holdings

Volery Capital

Multi-Color Corporation

UL, LLC

Roadzen

Safeguard Medical

Work highlights

Represented Motorola Solutions, Inc. in its acquisition of Silent Sentinel.
Represented Chart Industries in its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Howden from KPS Capital Partners.
Represented Woolpert, Inc. in connection with its acquisition of Murphy Geospatial Limited.

Finance > Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans Tier 4

Led by the very experienced Ian Borman, Winston & Strawn LLP's small but flexible finance team excels in complex and unusual cross-border lending work (including within emerging markets), where it leverages deep knowledge of debt products throughout the capital structure for a fairly balanced mix of borrower and lender clients. Recently promoted to partner, Daniela Cohen is a key member of the team and regularly handles corporate lending and acquisition finance matters often structured by banking syndicates.

Practice head(s):

Ian Borman

Other key lawyers:

Daniela Cohen; Eliana Torrado Franco

Key clients

Bank of Ireland

StepStone Group

First Eagle Alternative Credit

Corrum Capital

Work highlights

Represents the StepStone Group in connection with bespoke legal reviews of its potential European debt investments.
Represented Bank of Ireland in acting as super senior revolving facility lender in connection with a leverage buyout transaction of Solvias AG.
Acted as counsel to First Eagle Alternative Credit, as administrative agent, in its $65m credit facilities for borrower Jarvis Bidco, Inc.

Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £500m) Tier 5

An ‘excellent transatlantic practice with strong ties into continental Europe’, Winston & Strawn LLP handles a growing volume of instructions relating to take-privates, private-to-privates, and carve-outs. The group is jointly led by Paul Amiss and Nicholas Usher, with the former noted as a ‘standout’ partner who expertly handles public M&A, and the latter ‘a perfect deal captain’ for complex, cross-border transactions. Ian Borman's broad remit encompasses debt financing, junior capital transactions, and joint ventures. Other key figures include Mohima Khanom, a crucial supporting presence across a number of domestic and multijurisdictional deals.

Practice head(s):

Paul Amiss; Nicholas Usher

Other key lawyers:

Ian Borman; Mohima Khanom

Testimonials

‘Very able and diverse team that provide a hugely personalised approach and vast array of specialisations. We have worked closely with the commercial and litigation team and from the partners to the associates there is a high calibre of lawyers.’

‘They have a personalised, tailor-made approach and are prompt to respond to any queries. Issues of any nature are always resolved with ease. The standout partner is Paul Amiss.’

‘Excellent transatlantic practice with strong ties to continental Europe.’

‘Nick Usher drives deals forward and is a great guy to work with.’

‘Practical, eyes on the prize, problem solvers.’

‘Nicholas Usher stands out. The perfect deal captain for a multijurisdictional transaction.’

Key clients

Sun Capital Partners

Volery Capital Partners

Argand Partners

Water Street Healthcare Partners

Kainos Capital Limited

Tiger Infrastructure Partners, LP

Capdesia Group Limited

Industrial Opportunity Partners LLC

Adams Street Partners

Hudson Hill Capital LLC

Bregal Investments, Inc.

Abercross Limited

Van Tuyl Companies

Work highlights

Represented Sun Capital Partners in connection with the £250m investment mandate with Santander-owned alternatives manager, Deva Capital.
Represented Capdesia Group and TORIDOLL Holdings on their acquisition of The Fulham Shore PLC, who operate Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant chains.
Represented Abercross Holdings and members of the Saudi Royal Family in connection with their investments in a $1.5bn luxury real estate development project in the Caribbean.

Transport > Aviation Tier 5

Work highlights

Corporate and commercial > EU and competition Tier 6

Steered by ‘stellar strategic thinker’ Peter Crowther, the competition group at Winston & Strawn LLP is frequently engaged by clients hailing from the worlds of technology, life sciences, manufacturing, insurance, and telecoms on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious matters. Crowther, who advises companies in cartel and merger proceedings, is supported by Freya MacCormack.

Practice head(s):

Peter Crowther

Other key lawyers:

Freya MacCormack

Testimonials

‘Peter Crowther is the individual who makes this practice unique.’

‘Peter Crowther understands the clients’ commercial needs. He is a stellar strategic thinker.’

‘I have been regularly working with Peter Crowther and his team. He is a very impressive antitrust lawyer. He is not only very experienced, but also extremely clever, witty, with a great sense of humour. Working with him is a privilege.’

‘Winston’s competition practice has been an integral part of our legal resource ecosystem in the EU and UK for a number of years now. They are practical, responsive, business focused, and take the time to learn your business.’

‘Peter Crowther has been an excellent partner to our company and has been involved in a number of high-profile, extremely high-stakes litigation and related matters for us. He is passionate about defending our positions and always thinking creatively how to solve our problems.’

‘Winston are a highly effective team led by the redoubtable Peter Crowther.’

‘Peter is a highly committed and experienced generalist competition lawyer.’

Key clients

Motorola Solutions Inc.

Chart Industries

Rapidus Corporation

Beam Suntory

Hitachi Metals Ltd.

Woolpert, Inc.

Sentry Centers Holding (dba Convene)

Work highlights

Representing Motorola Solutions, Inc. in connection with the CMA’s market investigation of the Airwave network and subsequent appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Represented Chart Industries, Inc. in connection with the merger control aspects of its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of UK-based fan manufacturer, Howden.
Representing Government-backed Japanese chipmaker, Rapidus Corporation, in connection with EU export control and related issues.

Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium Tier 6

Focusing on the aviation and aerospace industries, Winston & Strawn LLP - which boasts an impressive roster of US clients - is regularly engaged in multijurisdictional disputes across Europe and the Middle East. ‘Particularly knowledgeable’ and ‘very experienced’ practice head Ben Bruton is an expert in disputes relating to the Middle East. Daniel Meagher has an active cross-border practice that spans various sectors, encompassing aviation, energy, healthcare and technology. Other key names to note include Michael Stepek

, Suzanne Labi and Freya MacCormack.

Practice head(s):

Ben Bruton

Other key lawyers:

Suzanne Labi; Freya MacCormack; Juliette Huard-Bourgois; Agustin Spotorno; Daniel Meagher

Testimonials

‘Commercial and practical advice which is actionable by the business. Willing to devote the time and energy to get to understand the businesses and provide true recommendations. Utilises trainees extremely effectively, in secondment scenarios to best achieve a proximate relationship with clients.’

‘Ben Bruton is highly professional and responsive. Great relationship builder.’

‘The team is incredibly responsive to developments. They also continue to be incredibly forward thinking, sometimes spotting issues we have not yet identified as the client, and knowing in advance what a likely, reasonable solution to such issue would be. That level of expertise is invaluable.’

‘Ben Bruton continues to be the lead of this team, and our primary, go-to partner. Ben is incredibly responsive, and no ask seems to be beyond his team’s capability. He is particularly knowledgeable about multiple jurisdictions and continues to give sound advice.’

‘Dan Meagher is a quietly spoken, but highly intelligent and forceful lawyer, who thinks before he speaks and inspires confidence.’

‘Ben Bruton is a very experienced partner who leads a motivated team. Ben is very good at putting in place systems so that everyone within the team knows their role and is able to make valuable contributions and is particularly keen to ensure that more junior members are given opportunities to run discrete parts of the case and have ownership of specific task.’

‘Dan Meagher is a thoughtful, experienced partner with a keen eye for strategic considerations.’

‘Deep knowledge and practical approach. The team work hard to understand the business drivers of their clients and provide practical advice and solutions that address these drivers.’

Work highlights

TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport Tier 6

Exhibiting a ‘deep understanding of the sports landscape’, Winston & Strawn LLP has a strong track record in advising on equal rights issues, doping claims and landmark antitrust challenges to major sporting organisations. Practice head Peter Crowther shows ‘above-and-beyond commitment’ when assisting on complaints and investigations relating to athlete welfare and funding issues, while Daniela Cohen regularly represents sponsors and borrowers in the sports space.

Practice head(s):

Peter Crowther

Other key lawyers:

Daniela Cohen; Katrina Hughes

Testimonials

‘Winston & Strawn provide sport resolution/mediation advice, facilities and administrative support for us. This is provided pro bono for which we are very grateful. At all times, everyone we deal with at W&S are responsive, professional and friendly.’

‘Deep understanding of the sports landscape beyond purely legal considerations. International perspective allows W&S to bring innovative thinking to our work in the UK.’

‘Peter Crowther – above-and-beyond commitment to pro bono work and rights of athletes. Katrina Hughes – highly relevant sports background aids insight and fluidity of relationship.’

Key clients

Simidele Adeagbo

British Elite Athlete’s Association (BEAA)

Work highlights

Representing Nigerian Winter Olympic athlete Simidele Adeagbo in her landmark gender discrimination claim against the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and the International Olympic Committee.
Providing ongoing legal advice to the British Elite Athletes Association (BEAA) in relation to various issues affecting elite-level athletes including high-profile duty of care in sport issues, selection issues, doping allegations and communications with NGBs and UK Sport.
Represented a group of institutional investors in connection with the issuance of senior secured notes secured by media rights, sponsorship assets and intellectual property rights owned by ASR Media and Sponsorship S.p.A. – an affiliate of AS Roma.

Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency

Firms to watch

Paul Fleming‘s arrival in January 2023 from Addleshaw Goddard has raised Winston & Strawn LLP‘s profile in the market, particularly in light of his cross-border restructuring skills. He now heads a lean team that is starting to work effectively with other international offices at the firm, as well as complementary practice groups such as finance, corporate and litigation.

United States > Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices Tier 2

Leveraging ‘a strong overarching litigation brand’ – which includes a number of well-regarded trial lawyers based in the Midwest and on both coasts – as well as a deep knowledge of the underlying science/medicine, Winston & Strawn LLP ‘excels at handling large cases and MDLs’ involving product liability and consumer fraud allegations against pharmaceutical/medical devices companies. As well as regularly acting as lead trial counsel on high-profile matters, the team is also adept at leading the overarching litigation strategy, often acting as national counsel helping to work up the case, dealing with expert witnesses and providing expertise at a motions stage. Christopher Essig is noted for his ‘very collegiate’ approach, ensuring that he is a popular choice on large-scale MDLs often involving multiple defendants. Alongside ‘outstanding’ trial lawyer Scott Ahmad, Essig is lead national counsel for Hikma Pharmaceuticals in all of its opioid-related litigation. San Francisco-based team head Sandra Edwards is also a very accomplished trial lawyer whose oeuvre of work has included a number of high-profile MDL successes for pharmaceutical companies over the years.

Hall of Fame

Dan Webb

- Winston & Strawn LLP

Practice head(s):

Sandra Edwards

Other key lawyers:

George Lombardi; Christopher Essig; Scott Ahmad; Bryce Cooper; Sharon Desh; Rand Brothers; Reid Smith; Francie Berger; Sarah Harmon

Testimonials

‘The firm has a strong overarching litigation brand and excels at handling large cases and MDLs.’

‘Christopher Essig is very collegiate and great to work with.’

‘The outstanding Scott Ahmad provides accurate and commercial guidance.’

Key clients

Hikma Pharmaceuticals

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical

Abbott Laboratories

Monsanto Company

Albertsons Companies

Noramco, Inc.

Work highlights

Representing Abbott in state and federal proceedings involving numerous product liability lawsuits, alleging that cow-milk-based preterm-infant formula products cause a naturally occurring gastrointestinal disorder in premature infants.
Representing Hikma in the national opiate litigation, which includes a sprawling multidistrict proceeding consolidated in Ohio federal court and various state-court actions, including Texas, Utah, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
Achieved victory for client Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. when the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed the entire case, including a plaintiff’s failure-to-warn, design-defect, manufacturing-defect, and consumer-protection claims with prejudice at the pleadings stage.

United States > Finance > Commercial lending

With a strong background in both debt and fund finance, Winston & Strawn LLP counts credit funds, institutional investors and equity sponsors among its lender clients. The team advises on senior, subordinated, secured and unsecured loans, as well as syndicated credit facilities, including cross-border and multicurrency transactions. The firm also boasts a dedicated CLO practice. David Baroni, based in Chicago, co-heads the leveraged finance practice and specializes in asset-based and cash-flow secured lending transactions. Also in Chicago, Nolan Bolduc advises a diverse clientele of financial institutions, asset managers, private equity sponsors and corporate issuers. Kader Crawford, based in Charlotte, is adept at handling bi-lateral acquisition financings to broadly syndicated credit facilities. Christina Wheaton in Chicago and Shreyansi Agarwal in New York are key members of the team.

Practice head(s):

Mats Carlston; Michael Mullins

Other key lawyers:

Patrick Hardiman; David Baroni; Nolan Bolduc; Kader Crawford; Brian Jansen; Jason Bennett; Christina Wheaton; Shreyansi Agarwal

Key clients

Koppers Inc.

THE FIRM

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm with more than 950+ lawyers in 15 offices across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Winston’s London office focuses on corporate (including cross-border M&A, private equity, venture capital, and tax), finance (including acquisition, leveraged, restructuring & insolvency), dispute resolution (including litigation, international arbitration, and contentious regulatory), antitrust/competition and sports matters.

PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK

Corporate:

Winston’s corporate practice provides a wide range of services to public and private companies, private equity and investment funds, funding sources, investors, emerging companies and family offices on a broad range of high-profile transactions and matters. These include cross-border mergers, acquisition and disposition, strategic alliances and joint ventures, initial public offerings, SPACs, and distressed acquisitions. Winston’s award-winning team handles transactions of all sizes and degrees of complexity and represent both large and middle-market clients.

Finance:

Winston’s lawyers in the financial services practice assist borrowers, lenders, and sponsors in acquisition and leveraged finance, asset-backed lending, restructuring matters, bank regulatory and compliance, investment management, private funds, broker-dealer, and futures/exchange matters. The finance team provides a wide range of legal services to public and private companies, leading financial institutions, investment funds, alternative funding sources, investors, and emerging companies.

Litigation:

Winston is a dispute resolution powerhouse, routinely handling some of the most critical disputes faced by companies, governments, and individuals. The London litigation team focuses on complex commercial litigation, contentious regulatory and investigations, arbitration, and mediation in a variety of practice areas. These include fraud and white collar crime, commercial, securities, trade and insolvency matters, as well as regulatory investigations and disciplinary proceedings. Winston’s lawyers have been involved in some of the most innovative litigation before the English Courts across the commercial spectrum. Cases have ranged from injunctions to protect confidential information, to innovative litigation to protect brands, complex tax litigation, real estate litigation, and accounting disputes.

International Arbitration:

Winston’s London office routinely handles critical international disputes that are often on the cutting edge of new developments. Winston has a wealth of experience acting for a diverse mix of European, North and South American, Middle Eastern, and Asian sovereign states and investors across a range of industries. Winston’s lawyers represent a broad range of individuals, governments, and companies, advising them on some of the largest and most complex ‘bet the company’ multi-jurisdictional disputes in the world. The firm also excels in mid-sized, commercial arbitration and a variety of mediation proceedings, in addition to court actions enforcing or challenging arbitral awards.

Antitrust/Competition:

Winston’s experienced antitrust/competition team has a distinguished reputation for successfully advising high-profile clients on the full range of competition, cartel defence, trade and sanctions, data privacy, trade secrets and regulatory matters. The team regularly assists companies, industry associations, and governments in navigating applicable laws and regulations to achieve their strategic business goals — often via the development of creative strategies. Winston represents clients on a variety of high-stakes competition matters before the European Commission, EU Member State authorities, and the European community courts. A significant part of the team’s practice involves advising on a wide range of sports matters including complaints and investigations relating to athlete welfare, performance development, funding, selection, classification, doping and athlete agreements.

Department	Name	Email	Telephone
Managing Partner (London )/M&A	Nicholas Usher	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8734
Corporate	Paul Amiss	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8778
Litigation	Matthew Bate	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8797
Finance	Ian Borman	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8770
International Arbitration	Ben Bruton	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8932
Managing Partner, International Affairs	Peter Crowther	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8750
Tax	Ed Denny	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8728
Restructuring	Paul Fleming	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8807
International Arbitration	Michael Stepek	[email protected]	+44 20 7011 8754

International Arbitration Practice

London, England

View team profile

Fund Finance Practice

United States, United States

View team profile

Name	Position	Profile
Paul Amiss	Partner	View Profile
Matthew Bate	Partner	View Profile
Ian Borman	Partner	View Profile
Ben Bruton	Partner	View Profile
Daniela Cohen	Partner	View Profile
Peter Crowther	Managing Partner, International Affairs	View Profile
Ed Denny	Partner	View Profile
Paul Fleming	Partner	View Profile
Daniel Meagher	Partner	View Profile
Michael Stepek	Chair, International Arbitration Practice	View Profile
Nicholas Usher	Managing Partner – London Office	View Profile