The latest edition of Legal 500 confirms Nottingham as a leading provincial centre for advice across the board and singles out individuals to place in its “Hall of Fame”.
Nigel Blackwell and Gavin Cummins of Browne Jacobson, John Heaphy and Karl Jansen of Feeeths and Mark Rutherford of Gateley make it into the 2020 edition’s Hall of Fame, while Jon Cox-Brown of Eversheds Sutherland and Crispin Bridges-Webb are described as “leading individuals”.
Gareth Cook of Shoosmiths is called a “rising star” by the Who’s Who of the legal world.
In its overview, it says law firms remain busy across fields including corporate, commercial property and employment. In Nottingham, it says Browne Jacobson and Eversheds Sutherland are among the standout out firms alongside Freeths, Shakespeare, Gateley and Nelsons.
Browne Jacobson is widely recognised as a market-leading powerhouse for corporate and commercial work, a reputation reflected by its outstanding track record of advising on high-profile matters, Legal 500 says, adding that a diverse client roster includes private equity houses and management teams, international corporates, listed companies and local businesses.
Key clients include NorthEdge Capital, Apiary Capital Partners, Addo Food, The Salvation Army, The National Trust and GKN Aerospace.
Evershed Sutherland’s Nottingham corporate team has a standout reputation for corporate mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions of the utmost complexity and significance for clients, reports Legal 500.
It is particularly strong in matters with a nexus to sectors such as education, energy and natural resources, real estate M&A, TMT and diversified industrials.
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With recommendations for financial services and fintech-related deals plus experience in technology sector transactions, the group is a strong performer in capital markets matters, including IPOs and public takeovers.
Multi-jurisdictional mandates form the bulk of the firms work, and the firm's ability to leverage its international network is a significant value-add. Eversheds acts for Experian, Capital One, Lloyds Development Capital, Capita and Sygnature Discovery in BioCity.
Freeths has a strong client list with names such as Tarmac, Aldi Stores, Motorpoint Group, Travis Perkins and Estee Lauder. Freeths, whose Nottingham team is part of a large national practice, demonstrates particularly strong capabilities in the healthcare sector, and is notably active in its work for care operators and funders.
The firm acts for a number of household names and Legal 500, says Karl Jansen, has a particular focus on 海角视频 mid-market transactions, such as corporate acquisitions and disposals, MBOs/MBIs and private equity investments. John Heaphy has an excellent record of advising owner-managed companies on deals.
Equally strong in transactional and commercial contracts matters, Geldards has a sizeable following of domestic and international clients.
The firm covers the full spectrum of corporate transactions, and her previous experience of working as a senior in-house counsel at 3i makes her well-placed to advise on private equity deals.
Another practitioner with significant corporate finance experience is Peter Seary, who has acted for clients in sectors such as food and drink, pharmacy and manufacturing.
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Paul Feenan and Jenny Chatten are also recommended. Michelle Craven-Faulkner, who heads up the firm's commercial group, has formerly served as senior in-house counsel at Alstom Transport, and has overseen the growth of the firm's work in the rail sector.
Shoosmiths work includes M&A, joint ventures, corporate restructurings and corporate governance advice. In addition to handling domestic deals, cross-border transactions are a cornerstone of the practice, with the firm advising clients on inbound investments into the 海角视频, as well as outbound matters.
The firm's membership of the World Services Group and strong connections with law firms worldwide enable it to attract a high volume of cross-border work. In 2018, the team advised clients or handled transactions connected with markets such as Denmark, the US, South Korea, Germany and Norway.
Legal 500 reports the firm acts for a broad base of clients, including 海角视频 and overseas-based private equity and venture capital investors, and public and private companies.
Gateley’s team in Nottingham is part of a larger group in the Midlands, which is among the most active in the region on the deal front. Its reach also extends to national and, increasingly, international transactions, covering 'a broad spectrum of sectors’.
Mark Rutherford who leads the Nottingham team has strong relationships with a wide range of clients, including SMEs, banks and intermediaries, management teams and private equity houses. Clients include Retail Assist.
Nelsons had an uptick in transactional work in 2018, with the firm acting for clients such as SMEs, listed companies and multinational organisations. Legal 500 reports the Nottingham team head Duncan Taylor and recently promoted partner Alice Rees have expertise in acquisitions and disposals, shareholders’ agreements and secured lending transactions.
In the commercial sphere, the firm advised on supply and distribution agreements, collaboration agreements and IP licensing, e-commerce documents and franchising.
Shakespeare Martineau typically advises on transactions valued at up to £20 million, but has an equally strong record on much larger deals. With Duncan James and Ed Wright leading on the corporate and commercial sides of the practice respectively, the firm undertakes mandates for clients in a wide range of sectors, including energy, logistics, life sciences, banking, engineering and manufacturing, and IT services.
Roger Harcourt heads up the healthcare sector team. Legal 500 says a notable strength of Mr Wright's practice is that his core commercial contracts expertise is complemented by his knowledge about related areas, such as competition, intellectual property, IT and public procurement.
In addition to handling domestic corporate and commercial matters, the firm's overall offering is rounded out by its membership of the global Multilaw network, which enables it to attract cross-border work.
At Actons, the main contacts are directors Simon Dakin and Peter Flowerday. The firm advises owner-managed businesses and SMEs, for which it undertakes a mix of corporate and commercial work. It also has an active finance practice, and is instructed by banks and other funding providers on transactions.
Austin Moore & Partners handles a significant number of large and complex transactions in the Nottingham marketplace, thanks to the reputation of its founding partner, Austin Moore, a specialist in corporate transactions for more than 30 years.
Associate Laura de Banke works with him on the most significant deals and takes charge of day-to-day transactions, restructuring work and corporate governance matters.
Louise Firth has been a catalyst for the growth of the firm's commercial practice advising on commercial law and intellectual property issues, including technology and energy.
Fraser Brown’s longstanding presence in Nottingham has enabled it to develop lasting relationships with a broad cross-section of key clients from throughout the East Midlands many of which operate nationally, including SMEs, entrepreneurs, owner-managed businesses, directors and shareholders.
In Nottingham, head of corporate law Gavin White, Tom Gray and Peter Abel provide assistance with corporate acquisitions and disposals, private equity transactions, joint ventures and shareholders' agreements, among other matters.
Legal 500 says the firm has a particularly standout reputation for franchising work and acts for a number of multi-unit and multi-brand franchise clients. The firm was the first in the region to achieve affiliate status with the British Franchise Association. Fiona Boswell heads up the specialist advisory franchise team.