Slaughter and May - Who's Who Legal 70

What is the Who's Who Legal 70?

Slaughter and May in Who's Who Legal

	Insolvency & Restructuring
	2

	Real Estate
	1

	Project Finance
	1

	Oil & Gas
	1

	Private funds
	1

	Corporate Tax
	4

	Corporate Governance
	8

	Environment
	1

	Capital Markets
	5

	Commercial Litigation
	5

	Capital Markets
	5

	Commercial Litigation
	5

	Banking
	4

	Insurance & Reinsurance
	2

	Aviation
	1

	Competition
	5

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	10

Ten lawyers from the London office are rated particularly highly in corporate governance, of which the following five enjoy a dual listing in the M&A chapter. Senior partner Christopher Saul specialises in general corporate work and has been involved in some major M&A matters, including Akzo’s acquisition of ICI and Talisman Energy’s acquisition of Paladin Resources. Another “big player” on the corporate governance and M&A front is Nigel Boardman, “an expert in all aspects of corporate law”. He is joined by Stephen Cooke who was named as a “dependable and charismatic adviser” for both corporate governance matters and major acquisition deals, such as BHP Billiton’s bid for Rio Tinto. The “outstanding” William Underhill has worked for a number of large corporate clients and is the current chairman of the City of London Law Society company law committee. Head of the corporate practice Frances Murphy is a “first-rate” lawyer, with broad experience in advising on corporate finance for corporate entities and individuals.

Andrew Jolly undertakes a broad range of corporate finance work, and is described as “excellent in all corporate governance areas”, and Andy Ryde is “highly rated”. Simon Robinson is a “worthy inclusion” in the research. In Hong Kong the “extremely clever” Richard Thornhill is the senior partner of the firm’s Hong Kong office and is joined by the “strategic” Benita Yu, who is also lauded for her capital markets experience and features in that chapter.

Additionally listed in the M&A chapter in London are Glen James, Jeff Twentyman and Charles Randell. James’s practice covers all work in the fields of company and corporate finance, including mergers and acquisitions, issues and flotations and corporate restructuring particularly in the insurance industry, which earns him a listing in that chapter. Twentyman is head of the private equity group and undertakes a broad range of corporate and commercial work for both corporate and private equity clients within the M&A context. Randell covers M&A, particularly in the energy field and has advised the UK government on the privatisation of energy companies. Neil Hyman is “absolutely recommended” in Hong Kong for his wide experience in Hong Kong, UK and international public and private mergers and acquisitions.

The firm excels in the competition chapter. “Top” Claire Jeffs has been involved in a large number of high profile merger cases before the UK and EU competition authorities, as well as coordinating merger approvals worldwide from Brussels, where she is joined by John Boyce whose “technical know-how is excellent and client service is very good”. The team in London is well represented in the research. Philippe Chappatte “does a good job” running and developing the firm’s global competition practice, and received a large number of international nominations as a testament to that. William Sibree is a competition litigator and has acted for Unilever, Cadbury Schweppes and British Airways: “he is my preferred counsel,” according to a source. Bertrand Louveaux is “proactive, very sharp and cuts to the chase”. He practises in merger control, competition litigation and investigations, as does Michael Rowe the head of the firm’s competition litigation group.

Slaughter and May’s corporate tax practice is regarded as one of the cornerstones of the firm, and includes the world’s leading tax lawyer: Steve Edge. This year marks his fourth consecutive win as tax lawyer of the year. He has developed a “famous”, international tax practice advising on tax structures and the implications of corporate ventures. Four lawyers, deemed to be among the most “experienced and knowledgeable” tax lawyers in the city, are also listed in this edition.

On the capital markets side, in addition to Yu in Hong Kong, London garners the “brilliant” head of the debt capital markets practice, Marc Hutchinson. Nilufer von Bismarck has an “established” practice in equity and debt capital markets transactions, and Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya is recognised for his extensive experience in capital markets and derivatives acting for financial institutions.

Our research identifies lawyers in 10 other practice areas, which demonstrates Slaughter and May’s ability to provide first-class service in a range of areas.