A&O Shearman is widely recognised as one of the deepest, most experienced and most innovative firms in the debt capital markets space, and clients report ‘top-class service and unparalleled technical knowledge and market intelligence’. Tom Grant leads the practice, in which US-qualified partner Sachin Davé ‘can always be trusted to be commercial and deliver the desired outcomes’. The ‘very user-friendly’ Jamie Durham focuses on standalone bond issues, MTN programme establishments, updates and drawdowns, and liability management transactions. Daniel Fletcher is a key adviser to lead managers and issuers on a range of DCM work. Theo Trayhurn has ‘very good commercial sense and works pragmatically to find solutions’, notably in regulatory capital matters for financial institutions. Jonathan Melton‘s work spans investment grade MTN programmes and issuances, as well as emerging market transactions in Africa and CEE. Peter Crossan stands out for his work for corporates, financial institutions and sovereigns, which includes senior and subordinated bonds, ESG-related bonds, sustainability-linked bonds and liability management transactions. He has particular expertise in the Nordic DCM market. Up-and-coming partners Pawel Szaja and Andrew Enga, and senior associate Evangelia Andronikou also play pivotal roles in the practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Top-class service and unparalleled technical knowledge and market intelligence. Deals are staffed appropriately so you know you're always in safe hands. Always a pleasure to work with.'
‘The team we work with, headed by Theo Trayhurn, has a high level understanding of the market, including a helicopter view of what other players in the market are doing as well as current trends. Theo and his team have a very good commercial sense and work pragmatically to find solutions. They work really well together as a team. The lawyers communicate well, are incredibly responsive, and absolute top professionals. They are absolutely top value for the money!’
‘Theo Trayhurn and his team have superb legal skills which they combine with being very pragmatic, solutions-oriented. Theo is an excellent sparring partner and is very good at drafting technical provisions. His team, notably Louise Mitchell and David Brian, are the ones we interact with the most on a daily basis - they are extremely competent and valuable. ’
‘Jamie Durham - very user-friendly and excellent quality of documentation and advice.’
‘Very strong on 144A transactions, in particular due diligence and disclosure work.'
‘Sach Dave is an excellent US securities lawyer, someone who can always be trusted to be commercial and deliver the desired outcomes on our transactions. He is very responsive and is nice to work with.’
‘Excellent technical knowledge.’
Key clients
- Danske Bank
- Nordea
- London Stock Exchange Group plc
- Akbank T.A.Ş.
- Deutsche Bank Securities
- J.P. Morgan Securities
- Sasol Limited
Work highlights
Advised a bank syndicate comprising of BNP Paribas, HSBC and RBC Capital Markets on the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) inaugural issuance of sterling-denominated digital bonds, also marking the first public issuance on HSBC Orion, HSBC’s tokenisation platform.
Advised BNP Paribas London Branch on H&M Group’s inaugural EUR500m green bond with a maturity of 8 years under its Euro Medium Term Note programme.
Advised Akbank T.A.Ş. on three issuances of Tier 2 Notes (the "Notes"), each due 2033, as private placement transactions. The Notes were purchased by International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and United States International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”), respectively. This was the first Tier 2 issue by a Turkish bank since Akbank’s previous Tier 2 issuance in 2021.
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.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Peter Crossan
Jamie Durham
Daniel Fletcher
Tom Grant
Pawel Szaja
Theo Trayhurn
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Evangelia Andronikou
Practice head
Tom Grant
Other key lawyers
Pawel Szaja; Evangelia Andronikou; Peter Crossan; Sachin Davé; Jamie Durham; Daniel Fletcher; Theo Trayhurn; Jonathan Melton; Andrew Enga; Louise Mitchell; David Brian