Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Willkie Farr & Gallagher is an elite international law firm of approximately 1,200 lawyers located in 15 offices in six countries. Willkie’s London office was established in 1988 and provides English and US legal advice to UK, US and international market-leading public and private companies, investors and financial services institutions. Our London team is fully integrated and works closely with Willkie’s offices in the US and Europe on many complex international matters and transactions. Willkie’s core areas of practice in London are: antitrust and competition, asset management, business reorganization and restructuring, capital markets, competition litigation, investigations and enforcement, corporate insurance, finance, financial services regulatory, international arbitration, litigation, private equity/M&A and tax.

Types of work undertaken
Antitrust and competition: The team in London advises on a broad range of EU and UK competition matters, including challenging merger control/antitrust cases as well as some of the most high-profile litigation cases in the UK.

Asset management: The London asset management team represents sponsors in the formation of, and institutional investors investing in, private equity, hedge, debt, mezzanine, infrastructure, real estate, energy and venture capital funds covering a variety of sectors, and has extensive experience on a broad range of secondary transactions, secondary directs, co-investment deals, management spinouts and managed accounts.

Capital markets/finance: Willkie’s capital markets and finance teams in London represents issuers and other financial institutions in sophisticated capital-raising transactions, including IPOs, Rule 144A offerings, secondary equity offerings, high yield and other debt issuances, rescue financings, PIPEs, private placements, block and other securities trades, leveraged finance, special situations, bank/senior credit financings and mezzanine financings.

Investigations and enforcement: Willkie’s internationally recognised  investigations and enforcement practice is a market leader in both the UK and US. The team represents public companies, financial institutions and their executives in all aspects of investigations and enforcement and has significant experience in high-stakes matters and all types of financial crime.

Corporate insurance: The London insurance team is part of Willkie’s firmwide interdisciplinary practice, which includes corporate, tax, regulatory and litigation capabilities. The team’s insurance industry attorneys have received significant recognition for advising general insurers, life insurers, reinsurers, investment banks, brokers, private equity funds and hedge funds in insurance-related transactions.

Financial services regulatory: The financial services team in London acts for corporates and financial institutions on a wide range of regulatory and compliance matters and UK and EU regulatory developments. The team has significant experience across a wide range of financial products including securities, funds, derivatives and structured products and advises on strategic transactions in connection with M&A, capital markets and restructurings, and governance and conduct matters.

Litigation: Willkie’s London litigation team frequently advises clients from across the broad spectrum of industry, in particular financial institutions and corporates. Acting for both claimants and defendants, the team has extensive experience of a wide range of complex and frequently multi-jurisdictional civil disputes and proceedings, including High Court litigation, international and national arbitrations, mediation and regulatory and statutory proceedings. The team is frequently instructed on high stakes fraud litigation.

Private equity/M&A: Willkie is recognised as having one of the leading private equity transactional practices in Europe and the US. It is one of few international law firms with extensive experience in virtually every type of private equity transaction, from early-stage venture capital financings to complex cross-border, multi-billion dollar leveraged buyouts and going-private transactions.

Restructuring: Willkie’s London restructuring team is part of the firm’s highly regarded international restructuring practice in New York, Houston, Chicago, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan, with experience in all aspects of business and financial restructurings and insolvency matters. It advises companies, creditors and other stakeholders, with a focus on complex cross-border mandates.

Tax: Willkie’s tax team in London advises on corporate and international tax matters, including structures for UK and international business investments, and the tax aspects of public and private M&A, private equity investments, joint ventures/partnerships, fund formation, reorganisations and demergers, insolvency and restructurings, capital markets issues, structured finance, property developments and investments, and employee share plans.

Willkie offices: Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Munich, New York, Palo Alto, Paris, Rome, San Francisco and Washington