Slaughter and May

Leveraging the firm’s blue riband roster of listed corporate clients, Slaughter and May continues to receive a high proportion of its restructuring-related instructions for debtors, where it is able to provide ‘pragmatic solutions that reflect the commercial circumstances’. Much of this recent work has been in relation to conducting liability management exercises, as a number of these clients are facing impending debt maturity dates. ’Creative and thoughtful’ team head Ian Johnson is key to the firm’s success on the company side, and as well as handling more transactional-centred matters also excels at gaining the best results for clients through the effective use of restructuring tools, including for UK-headquartered businesses seeking to access Chapter 11 US protection. Claire Cooke has been key to the firm’s liability management work, as has the ‘technically skilled and very commercial’ Tim Newey, while a growing funds offering includes Edward Couzens, who brings added insight through his secondment at a hedge fund.