Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

‘Mark Mifsud’s experience is second to none; he is commercial, technical and pragmatic. Karen Henderson has become a key point of contact and has run our transactions very well.’ 

‘The team at Fried Frank are very collaborative and work closely with us, helping to manage the different scenarios and providing the legal solutions for some of the unusual structures and ideas that we have. Everyone you work with is knowledgeable and the team works seamlessly.’ 

‘Mark Mifsud is incredibly knowledgeable and a great person to work with. He helps us think through the implications of the many ideas we come up with and will help to find a solution. He is always on hand and will go the extra mile to help meet some tight deadlines.’

‘Karen Henderson is very knowledgeable and a great person to work with, she will deal with the many queries and questions I have! The same goes for Ethan Chionh.’ 

‘FF is one of the most efficient law firms I have worked with. They are focused on providing a value-added service and not focused on inflating their billable hours.’

‘Kate Downey really is exceptional. In terms of knowledge, engagement and leadership of her team, Kate is unrivalled in the London market.’ 

‘Piers Harris is a very strong up-and-coming partner. Piers is dedicated and commercial.’ 

‘Athena Tan is a rising star in Fried’s fund formation practice, has great project management skills and is a determined negotiator.’ 

‘Deep knowledge of the subject matter. Always available and truly committed to delivering first-class service. A pragmatic approach is driven by a sound understanding of the issues and current market practices. The team works seamlessly and is extremely client-oriented, which makes for a very gratifying experience.’ 

‘The highly experienced partners are accessible and responsive and set a standard of excellence which the whole team delivers. Strong and high quality across the board.’

‘Kathryn Cecil is a standout – easy to work with (and against). Incisive in her analysis and technical work, commercial and valuable in her application.’

‘This firm is unique in terms of how it anticipates the needs of its clients and goes above and beyond to find innovative ways to address its clients’ needs. The firm’s lawyers work closely with local counsel to ensure that the client’s needs are addressed in all relevant jurisdictions.’ 

‘The Fried Frank team offers an extremely integrated function with its clients, essentially operating as an extension of their in-house legal function. Fried Frank works for the largest sponsors in the fund finance legal market, including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs. Accordingly, they are regularly working on the largest and most innovative transactions in the fund finance market. ’

‘Kathryn Cecil is an extremely impressive market-leading partner within the Fried Frank fund finance practice. Kathryn has excellent technical knowledge of fund financing transactions – however, she also displays impressive commercial acumen and has a proven track record of getting complex transactions completed with minimum fuss. Kathryn has also shown herself to be extremely responsive.’ 

‘The Fried Frank M&A team is truly exceptional.’

‘What sets them apart is the combination of knowing the market, having deep relationships with UK and international counsel, and their willingness to be flexible in the name of problem-solving and getting the client the best possible outcome.’

‘The Fried Frank team takes the lead and drives a timeline to ensure timely execution, working behind the scenes with all their specialists to deliver the best outcome for their clients. They consistently, teach me and make me, as the client, smarter and arm me with what I need to make good decisions while getting deals done.’

‘Fried Frank consistently brings their best and brightest and staffs matters in the most efficient way. They always seem to be the problem solvers in the room. Also, I have no idea when the Fried Frank partners or associates sleep since they’re always the first ones to jump in to work and move the transaction forward.’

‘Fried Frank has a very strong collaborative approach. They understand the commercial objectives of the client and are very responsive.’

‘Very smart, thorough, hardworking and always on to get the deal done. Deep sectorial knowledge and excellent understanding of the law. Also, I always found them to be very commercial and focused on delivering the right result for their clients.’

‘I especially like Aseet Dalvi – he is incredibly smart and knowledgeable, very dedicated to getting the deal over the line and has fantastic across-the-board experience. I love working with him.’

‘It’s evident that one of their greatest strengths lies in their consistent partner availability and deep understanding of market dynamics.’

‘Nick Thornton’s standout qualities include a remarkable thoughtfulness and a profound understanding of modern tax law, particularly in an international context.’

‘The Fried Frank corporate tax team is second to none. What sets them apart is the combination of knowing not just UK but also international tax and their willingness to be flexible in the name of problem-solving and getting us, their client, the best possible outcome.’

‘They consistently, teach me and make me, as the client, smarter and arm me with what I need to make good decisions.’

‘Fried Frank have a deep understanding of tax law and their team’s expertise and experience has been crucial in navigating the various complex issues we have faced. They always provide clear and insightful guidance.’

‘Nick Thornton is a trusted adviser who has a deep understanding of tax law, which he is able to apply in a commercial manner to a whole host of issues. The advice which he has provided to us is practical, clear and insightful.’

‘Provision of specialist advice, able to balance the technical aspects against the commercials of what is being proposed. Strong collaboration across tax and non-tax teams on issues, which helps to provide even stronger, well-rounded advice.’

‘The team know our business on a very detailed level, and know our internal procedures and policies in terms of who needs to sign off on a particular point. Nick Thornton is very much a trusted adviser for us and his opinion on a topic is very well respected.’

‘They have an in-depth understanding of shareholders and funding agreements in a private equity situation.’

‘It is a very strong team that combines deep technical knowledge, strong negotiation skills and a commercial mindset to get deals done.’

‘The team is truly exceptional. What sets them apart is the combination of knowing the market, having deep relationships with UK lenders and their counsel and their willingness to be flexible in the name of problem solving and getting us, their client, the best possible outcome.’

‘Chris Barron is just absolutely first rate. His understanding of the market and ability to navigate through challenging transactions is phenomenal.’

‘Chris Barron is exceptionally commercial and solutions-oriented and can be relied upon to find a way through even the most challenging situations.’

‘Katie Sinclair – great knowledge and experience and available to work with the organisation even at short notice.’

‘Devon Brewster is highly accomplished with a strong technical toolkit and is always available to provide value-added input in deal situations.’

‘Strong technical capability combined with deep understanding of our business.’

‘Committed to delivering advice steering towards the solutions needed as efficiently as possible.’

‘Their strong commercial expertise complements their first-rate legal knowledge, providing valuable advice on a range of transactions and other matters.’

‘They are highly responsive, lead us through difficult situations with high competence and seniority, pragmatic and solution driven approach, very personal and highly professional at the same time.’

‘The Fried Frank antitrust team provided us with excellent support on a complex transaction. We had filings in Germany and Austria, as well as UK FDI.’

‘Toby Caspary and Valeri Bozikov are knowledgeable, accessible, and provide timely guidance in supporting business objectives. ’

‘Fried Frank has impressed us as a telecoms and media industry player. Their strong commercial expertise complements their first-rate legal knowledge, providing valuable advice on a range of transactions and other matters. The team works extremely efficiently, expertly managing matters quickly.’

‘Toby Caspary is a highly strategic lawyer with a deep understanding of the telecoms and media industry. His ability to translate competition policy into practical solutions has been invaluable.’

‘The team is unique for their commercial approach and well-rounded team full of knowledgeable partners, special counsel and associates. The training that is provided to associates must be outstanding because they all have that special mix of providing top legal advice while remaining pragmatic and commercial.’

‘Quick response times and impressive breadth of knowledge.’

‘Gregg Beechey stands out for his knowledge and practical advice.’

‘Stellar team under the competent leadership of Gregg Beechey and Zac Mellor-Clark. The team is comprised of subject matter experts who have adopted a pragmatic and results-driven mindset.’

‘Zac Mellor-Clark is a newly appointed partner who has been instrumental on some of our recent fundraises and managed account offerings. He is very solutions-oriented and will help identify both opportunities and risks.’

‘Nishkaam Paul is a very strong lawyer. He is knowledgeable and always available to assist and advise in a crisp yet thorough manner. Highly recommend.’

‘Friendly, approachable and a knowledgeable team.’

‘Great breadth of experience and provide an excellent client service.’

‘The team is outstanding in terms of expertise, strategy and availability.’

‘Neil Caddy is a top-tier lawyer for the toughest deals, is extremely strategic and has great judgement on complex matters.’

‘Neil Caddy’s a terrific lawyer and I’m always impressed by the way he balances legal knowhow with commercial pragmatism to reach optimal solutions for his clients.’

‘The team provides excellent legal advice which is commercial in its delivery.’

‘Ashley Katz is a very experienced, dedicated and knowledgeable insolvency and restructuring lawyer.’

‘Ashley Katz excels in providing innovative solutions and outside-the-box thinking on complex problems.’

‘Mandip Englund is an impressive restructuring lawyer who delivers exceptional levels of client service. She is also very well connected in the market with both fund clients and insolvency practitioners.’

‘James Barratt is an exceptional lawyer – a real leader in his field. James thinks very strategically and is driven to achieve the best outcomes for his clients. He is dedicated and exceptionally committed. Technically excellent, reliable and responsive.’

‘The team is very experienced and able to strategically manage very large cases. The team were very good at managing the overall issues as well as being heavily into the details of the case. Despite it being a large case, the team was kept to a reasonable size and with a lot of continuity over a multi-year engagement.’

‘James Kitching is able to think very strategically about a case and the way it needed to be presented to ensure the arguments were persuasive. James Barratt, partner. Quickly got into the details of the case and constructed sophisticated arguments for trial.’

‘James Kitching was the main partner I worked with. He is a shrewd operator who is able to think strategically, rapidly grasping the long-term implications of seemingly trivial decisions.’

‘Their practice is very efficient and they respond quickly.’

‘James Barratt leads a team of professional and highly skilled lawyers. He provides outstanding assistance and has a commercially oriented approach. He is down to earth, approachable, very polite and hardworking.’

‘Depth of knowledge and practical approach. The team work hard to understand the business divers of their clients and provide practical advice and solutions that address these drivers.’

‘James Barratt.’