DLA Piper is active on behalf of clients at the regional, national, and international levels, with particular aptitude in corporate rescue and turnaround. ‘Star of the team’ James Davison leads the group, and has key expertise in complex restructurings. Davison is supported by Ruth Ranton, who has experience in international mandates, and Susannah Dingley, who leads the team’s personal insolvency offering. Victoria Procter joined the department from Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP in September 2023, and brings extensive knowledge of financial and corporate restructuring.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Really nice team who work well across offices and overseas.’
‘James Davison continues to be the star of the team. He's technically fantastic, with a great, calm manner about him. Best in the business, in my view.’
‘They deal with bigger ticket assignments, having a large base of large corporate clients - this sets them aside from local competitors in the region.’
- 'Good experience in complex technical areas.’
‘DLA has a wide breadth of services. This means that, once instructed, they are able to bring in specialists from different disciplines in order to most effectively solve a given problem. From an insolvency perspective, they are also technologically advanced, which allows them to react quickly to time pressured situations.’
‘James Davison is a knowledgeable and approachable solicitor. He has a wide range of experience across different sectors but also recognises when to bring in other specialists, and those that he does bring in are exceptionally capable in their given specialism.’
‘DLA Piper's Yorkshire team enjoys a very strong reputation in the regional, national and international marketplace for restructuring. Well regarded by the variety of stakeholders (lenders, investors, advisers, companies), the practice provides confidence and has developed a profile for innovation, particularly in relation to company side solutions.’
‘James Davison has an exceptional relationships with London-based PE funds which he has leveraged to provide opportunities into the Leeds market.’
Key clients
- Fitness First Group
- FTI Consulting
- Interpath
- Teneo Financial Advisory
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- HSBC Bank PLC
- Buchler Phillips
- Kroll
- Clydesdale Bank PLC
- Alvarez & Marsal
Work highlights
- Acted on a sanctioned restructuring plan, acting for the plan company. This is the first and only plan on which HMRC has voted in favour.
- Advising Safestyle Group and subsequently Interpath in relation to the former's insolvency in 2023. This included the successful transition of the group’s order book to Anglian Windows.
- Advised CargologicAir Limited and subsequently Buchler Phillips on the former's insolvency, which involves sanctions considerations, and the release of frozen assets.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
James Davison
Other key lawyers
Victoria Procter; Ruth Ranton; Susannah Dingley