Profile
Work Department
Position
Senior partner. Described as ‘exceptionally calm under pressure’ and having a ’tough approach to negotiating’, Richard is a corporate finance lawyer with over 25 years' experience. He works with a wide range of clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt transactions and management buy-outs.
Advising on strategy as well as delivering transactions, Richard’s focus is on long-term client relationships. He has particular experience in handling the delicate issues at the heart of succession planning for complex family-owned businesses and is comfortable dealing with large corporate businesses alongside those with limited previous experience of working with professional advisers.
Richard is also part of our International team and works with clients with interests around the world particularly international businesses with interests in the UK and Europe.
Career
Trained McCormicks; qualified 1996; partner Clarion 1999; senior partner Clarion 2015.
Languages
Education
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Blackburn; University of Leeds (BA Hons French and Management Studies; LLB).
Content supplied by Clarion
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘I have worked with many M&A Solicitors, in Leeds and London, over three decades and Sarah Harrison and her Team are easily the best: they work seamlessly together, like a key fitting perfectly into a lock to move the matter forward with great care and skill. It was never apparent that they had numerous similar deals ongoing at the same time, such was their attention to our matter.’
‘Sarah Harrison is the brightest and most diligent M&A solicitor I have worked with in over 20 transactions; and she is the nicest person to have on your side too.'
‘David Cunningham is fantastic because of his pragmatic solution based business and legal knowledge. He is a great resource who I can always rely on and he has a helpful team working with him, who he supervises to ensure quality work. Fiona Marr is a great lawyer whose attention to detail and breadth of knowledge makes her a trusted resource.’
‘I have worked closely with Clarion as our company lawyers and have always found them to be highly professional and exceptionally knowledgeable. What makes this firm unique is the depth of expertise within their team, with each member bringing unique skills and industry-specific knowledge, allowing them to address any legal issues we encounter with confidence and precision.'
‘One standout partner is Richard Moran. Richard is exceptionally knowledgeable, always professional and consistently willing to assist, no matter how complex the issue. His ability to explain intricate legal matters in a straightforward and accessible way is invaluable, and his proactive approach means we always feel well-supported and confident in our legal position.’
‘An extremely dedicated and effective team. Lots of experience means they have great bandwidth and ability to get things done in a timely fashion.’
‘Jonathan Simms - highly commercial and pragmatic lawyer who is excellent at solving issues/challenges that arise on transactions. Makes the whole legal process run smoothly and has such confidence from clients that they take his advice on board and respond accordingly. ’
‘Richard Moran - excellent at distilling technical issues into something that the Directors and shareholders can understand and make an informed decision.'
Key clients
- Airvance Group SAS Winder Power Holdings Limited Frasers Group Plc Harrison Spinks Bed Luvata Oy Com Laude Group Limited Onward Yorkshire Limited Four (Holdings) Limited McLeod + Aitken Group Holdings Limited InterSystems Corporation Expect Distribution Group Limited All Steels Trading Assisi Pet Care Walkers Transport My Pension Expert Redcentric plc R & R C Bond (Holdings) Limited Connective 3 Sniffers Pet Care Egis S.A. Vintage Cash Cow Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies Group Lincolnshire Cooperative Society Nichols plc, aka Vimto