Stephen Porter > Shoosmiths LLP > Southampton, England > Lawyer Profile

Shoosmiths LLP
RUSSELL HOUSE, 1550 PARKWAY
SOLENT BUSINESS PARK, WHITELEY
WHITELEY
PO15 7AG
England

Work Department

Corporate.

Position

Steve Porter is head of the corporate division at Shoosmiths, responsible for the management and direction of the range of services Shoosmiths provides for the owners, directors, investors, funders and shareholders of companies.

As divisional head, Steve manages more than 130 legal advisers, who between them provide a full range of corporate transaction advisory services, together with specialist teams in banking & finance, venture and growth capital, private equity, corporate restructuring and advisory, company secretarial and tax (including EIS work).

Steve has more than 20 years’ experience advising on corporate transactions, specifically mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital fundraising and reductions, compliance and corporate governance. He is equally at home providing strategic advice to the board of a PLC client or to the management team on a buy out or exit. He is described in the current edition of Chambers UK as “an excellent lawyer who is very pragmatic at doing deals.”

As divisional head, Steve is driving a clear-sighted strategy for Shoosmiths to be the natural choice for any UK organisation seeking the benefit of trusted and continuous strategic legal advice throughout the business lifecycle, whether advising on successive funding rounds, buy-and-build expansion, or the consolidation and re-shaping of larger group structures in line with a rapidly changing global economy.

Career

Steve joined Shoosmiths in 2004, was promoted to partner in 2006 and joined the board as divisional head of corporate in 2018.

Lawyer Rankings

South East > Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Hampshire

Shoosmiths LLP advises clients on matters relating to venture capital, private equity, M&A issues. The ‘reliable, dependable, and well-resourced’ team is led by Stephen Porter in Solent, who has significant experience advising on corporate transactions and joint ventures. Lisa Sigalet and Sean Wright are further standout lawyers; Wright regularly acts for financial sponsors and equity providers, and Sigalet, who is praised for being ‘extremely knowledgeable’, advises on acquisitions, disposals and corporate governance. Laura Austin and Emma Livesey are also noted for their experience assisting with private equity investments. Mark Shepherd retired from the practice in May 2023.