Mr Shawn Atkinson > Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP Offices

107 CHEAPSIDE
LONDON
EC2V 6DN
England
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Mr Shawn Atkinson

Work Department
M&A and Private Equity
Technology Companies Group
Position
Partner
Career
As Europe’s premier tech business advisors, Shawn and his team have overseen several hundred venture financings, private equity buyouts and M&A transactions over the course of the last decade. Leading venture capital and growth funds, private equity, and high-growth tech companies rely upon his unsurpassed industry knowledge as much as his relentless commitment to their business.
In addition to sheer volume of deals, Shawn’s incomparable market insight stems from his leadership roles at Orrick, the only global firm focused on technology, and his experience working throughout the UK & Europe, North America and Asia. Shawn leads Orrick’s London Corporate practice, its Global Emerging Markets practice and co-leads the Global Fintech team and the Global Technology Companies Practice Group. These complement his practice serving public and private companies in UK multi-jurisdictional and complex corporate transactions, including countless acquisitions and disposals, cross-border mergers, bankruptcy infused asset sales, recapitalisations and reorganisations. He is also a recognised leader in late stage venture transactions and in early stage private equity transactions in Europe and the emerging markets.
Shawn also advises early stage businesses across a number of sectors – including insurtech, Fintech, Crypto, SaaS, EdTech, HRTech, Marketplace and EnergyTech. He assists them from incorporation through to M&A exit, initial public offerings and other growth opportunities. His participation in the private equity and venture capital sector spans his entire career – with time spent in private practice, in-house and advising investors as well as investor-backed businesses-and affords him a deep knowledge and understanding of the industry and client needs and expectations.
Among the leading investment funds he has represented are ABN Amro Ventures, Acton Capital Partners, ABRY Partners, Accel Partners, Apax Partners, Bain Capital, Balderton Capital, Battery Ventures, Beringea, Bessemer Venture Partners, Black Pearls VC, Black Sheep Ventures, BMWi Ventures, Coatue Management, Columbia Capital, CommerzVentures, Evolvence, FTV Capital, Golden Gate Capital, Stepstone Group, Headway Capital Partners, Innova Capital, Kinnevik, KPS Capital Partners, Marlin Equity Partners, Mangrove Capital Partners, M/C Partners, One Peak, Oxx, Pearson Ventures, Piper Private Equity, Piton Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Sprints Capital, Summit Partners, Updata Partners, VNV Global and VEF.
Languages
English
Education
Nottingham Law School, Legal Practice Course
Nottingham Law School, PGDL
University of Oxford, Diploma, Archaeology
McMaster University, B.A., Anthropology and Archaeology
Leisure
Punk rock
Lawyer Rankings
London > Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
(Leading partners)With expertise in multijurisdictional transactions, particularly in the technology sector, the M&A practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP has amassed an extensive client roster including leading investment banks and multinationals. The group’s offering encompasses mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and equity and debt financings. The team is headed up by global technology co-chair Shawn Atkinson, who has considerable experience leading on international transactions. He frequently acts for investors and technology companies. Katie Cotton specialises in cross-border transactions, representing clients from the technology, media, and artificial intelligence industries on mergers and acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, and carve-outs. Other key names in the group include Katrina Walsingham, Shaun Malone, and Charles Sheldon.
London > Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
(Leading partners)Boasting considerable experience in the tech, energy, and finance sectors, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP is well versed in early and later stage financing rounds, working with international conglomerates and start-ups alike. The team is engaged across US, European, and Asian markets, regularly calling upon its group of London-based, US-qualified lawyers to guide clients through complex fundraisings, investment transactions, and follow-on funding rounds. Chris Grew heads up the practice, regularly working with venture capital firms and investment banks. The ‘very bright’ Ylan Steiner specialises in growth capital investing and secondary disposals, while the ‘great’ Shawn Atkinson is highly regarded for his tech expertise. Jamie Moore is knowledgeable in fintech and AI investments, while Peter Sugden primarily focuses on structuring matters. Stephen Tallon and Christopher Perry are also recommended.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners London > Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Leading partners London > Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- Venture capital London > Corporate and commercial
- M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m London > Corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Renewables
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
Firm Rankings
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Power (including electricity and nuclear)
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech: regulatory
- Finance > Securitisation
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Employment > Employers