Freshfields

Freshfields provides ‘best-in-class advice’, and clients praise the firm’s ’dedicated team and in-depth expertise’. The firm’s stellar corporate client-base puts it in pole position to advise on equity-related matters such as margin loans, collar financings, and derivatives-based stake-builds, as well as hedging solutions. In addition to blue-chip corporates and banks, the firm is increasingly acting for private capital providers on their usage of derivatives and structured products. Richard Hart leads the derivatives and structured products group. Hart, and standout partner James Duncan, are heavily involved in strategic equity financing transactions, including margin loans, derivatives, and structured share buyback transactions. Hart also works on OTC derivatives, and both cash and synthetic prime brokerage trades for major financial institutions, corporates and sponsors. Structured finance specialist Flora McLean frequently assists on bespoke transactions with regulatory capital or tax angles, including secured lending, stock lending, repos and prime brokerage matters.