Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP has a strong focus on high-end, high-complexity mandates, covering the gamut of tax matters for asset management firms, private equity groups, and public and private corporations. Nick Thornton leads the team, and is highly experienced in international tax issues, advising on fund structuring, M&A, and corporate restructurings, among other issues. The group has seen significant growth, with the additions of Oliver Currall, who joined from Sidley Austin LLP in 2025, and Alexander Goldsmith from Linklaters LLP, who moved in 2024, bringing aptitude in funds transactions. Thomas Bramall contributes strength in real estate tax matters.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The Fried Frank tax team combines strong technical capabilities with a pragmatic, business-focused approach. What sets them apart is their strong partner involvement in all files, their collaborative mindset and efficiency. They work seamlessly across jurisdictions, making them particularly effective in international projects.’
‘Nick Thornton stands out for his deep expertise in tax and his ability to translate complex issues into clear, practical guidance. He is highly regarded in the market and brings both technical excellence and commercial insight to every matter.’
‘Fried Frank tax expertise is second to none. The partners and associates are knowledgeable and able to explain extraordinarily complicated concepts in a way that makes us better decision makers. They always steer us in the right direction. Every deal has sticky tax points and this team know how to navigate them to our benefit.’
‘Richard Pilgrim and Alexander Goldsmith are our tax treasurers. They make tax issues easy to understand and resolve.’
‘Fried Frank know our business inside out. They have the full picture of how we work as an organisation, which makes our lives a lot easier. Their quality of advice is excellent and work seamlessly with internal teams.’
'Their UK tax team proactively engages with their corporate teams to ensure tax considerations are integrated into all key decisions and their knowledge of what they are seeing in the market and the direction that the market is going is second to none and gives us invaluable insights that we can share with our deal teams.'
Key clients
- Emerald Holding Inc.
- Equistone
- IK Partners
- MidEuropa
- Pantheon Ventures
- T-Mobile USA
- TowerBrook Capital Partners (UK) LLP
- AEA Investors
- Bain Capital
- BlackRock
- BofA Securities
- Deutsche Bank
Work highlights
Advised BlackRock on its USD 12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (having USD 106bn AUM), creating the world’s largest infrastructure manager with over USD 170bn AUM.
Advised US-based Excelitas, an AEA portfolio company, on the tax aspects of the sale by Excelitas of its Qioptiq business, including operations in the US and the UK. Fried Frank’s London tax team worked hand-in-hand with our U.S. tax and UK and U.S. corporate colleagues.
Advised London- and New York-headquartered investment manager TowerBrook on the acquisition by funds managed by TowerBrook of the IDAK Food Group, a Swiss and Italian frozen foods business.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Practice head
Nicholas Thornton
Other key lawyers
Richard Pilgrim; Oliver Currall; Alexander Goldsmith; Thomas Bramall; Neema Sofaer