Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP has ‘a very responsive team, committed to the client and transactions’. The recent merger with US law firm Kramer Levin brings together a buy-side focused US practice with a London sell-side group that has ’very knowledgeable lawyers and is highly reputed in the City’. Lead partner Nick May and counsel Nick Rutter are the standout practitioners, with their work comprising highly structured, complex and multi-jurisdictional transactions for multinational investment banks, blue-chip corporates, fund managers, and insurance companies. The firm has notable expertise in strategic equity derivatives, and its broad exposure to the energy sector brings significant structured finance work from that industry.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Excellent subject domain; very knowledgeable lawyers and highly reputed in the City, which is very helpful in legal negotiations. Very responsive team, committed to the client and transactions. Were able to scale the team to include competent lawyers in other jurisdictions when needed.’

  • ‘Nick May and Nick Rutter are very knowledgeable and responsive. Great verbal, drafting and negotiating skills.’

Key clients

  • Deutsche Bank (Emerging Markets Desk)
  • BevCo
  • Morgan Stanley
  • BP and Sponsors
  • Securitisation Clients (various clients including Santander, ColCap and LendInvest)
  • Deutsche Bank (Financing Desk)
  • Rivage Investment Management
  • Deutsche Bank (Repo Desk)
  • Mercuria
  • Tandem Bank

Work highlights

Advised Deutsche Bank on the restructuring and upsize of its €1,500,000,000 structured financing transaction with a Turkish bank.
Advised BP and sponsors on the complex hedging aspects of the GBP multi-billion NEP/NZT CCUS project financing transaction.
Advised BevCo on the €200mn disposal of a stake in a listed Spanish real estate company.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Nick May

Practice head

Nick May

Other key lawyers

Nick Rutter