Sarah Wiggins > Linklaters LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Linklaters LLP Offices
ONE SILK STREET
LONDON
EC2Y 8HQ
England
- Firm Profile
- Go to...
Sarah Wiggins
Work Department
Corporate.
Position
Sarah is a board room adviser and regularly works on a wide range of corporate transactions often with a cross-border element and high profile crises and investigations.
Sarah is the firm’s global head of clients and sectors, and her experience spans the oil and gas, chemicals, real estate, professional services, insurance and FMCG sectors.
Sarah leads on several key relationships with a number of the firm’s significant clients, including BP, Reckitt Benckiser and PwC. “I am a trusted adviser to company boardrooms, offering clients practical, business-focused advice that is strongly aligned with their commercial requirements and objectives.” For 16 months in 2015/16 Sarah acted as interim general counsel of Reckitt Benckiser. Sarah advised on a number of acquisitions, including RB’s acquisition of Hypermacas’ contraceptive business, the reorganisation of various interests of Manon in China and RB’s $17.9 billion acquisition of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (completed July 2017). Also, Sarah led a legal team of internal and external lawyers in relation to a number of business critical investigations – including the DoJ and FTC investigations and related proceedings (arising from certain matters relating to the RB Pharmaceuticals Business prior to its demerger in December 2014 from Indiviour PLC) and the high profile crisis management issue facing one of RB’s subsidiaries, Oxy RB (“Oxy RB”), in relation to deaths and injuries caused by a humidifier sanitiser which Oxy RB produced and sold in South Korea between 2001-2011. The matter involves substantial civil and criminal litigation in Korea. She has also advised, amongst other things, on (i) the development of a wide-ranging compensation plan designed to satisfy local requirements and United Nations guidance; (ii) engagement with the United Nations Special Rapporteur; (iii) engagement with a committee of the Korean National Assembly (the equivalent of a UK Parliament select committee) and associated engagement with the Korean law making process; and (iv) engagement with the UK-government and regulators. The matter exemplifies her ability to manage complex multi-jurisdictional, cross disciplinary matters affecting a FTSE100 company. The case is politically and publicly significant in Korea.
Sarah was seconded to BP’s head office for eight months in 2012/13, where she worked closely with the general counsel and deputy general counsel on a number of market-related and crisis management issues, including criminal settlement with the DoJ, as well as reinforcing her knowledge of the current key issues to consider for corporate energy transactions.
Sarah was listed as one of 2014’s star lawyers in The Lawyer’s annual Hot 100 list, and was profiled in The Law List by Powerful Media in 2015 and in 2017 was named an Acritas Star Law in a new global database of client nominated Star Lawyers.
Education
Manchester University (1987 BA History).
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Finance > Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Risk advisory > Corporate governance
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Finance > Debt capital markets
- Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Industry focus > Emerging markets
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Employment > Employers
- Real estate > Environment
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – mid-large cap
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: Project finance and development
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Mining and minerals
- Employment > Pensions (non-contentious)
- Employment > Pensions: dispute resolution
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Power (including electricity, nuclear and renewables)
- Transport > Rail
- Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds
- Finance > Securitisation
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Water
Firm Rankings
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Finance > High yield
- Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Oil and gas
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£250m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Real estate > Property finance
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Finance > Trade finance
- Public sector > Administrative and public law
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Dispute resolution > Public international law
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Finance > Transport finance and leasing
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers