Mr John McGrath > Dechert LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Dechert LLP Offices
25 Cannon Street
LONDON
EC4M 5UB
England
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Mr John McGrath
Work Department
Position
Partner
Career
John McGrath, a senior structured finance partner, primarily represents funds and other buy-side parties on a wide range of performing and non-performing financial products often involving enforcement or restructuring of derivatives, securitizations and other structured financings.
Education
- University of Oxford, B.A., Law, 1996
- University of Cambridge, B.A., 1992
Lawyer Rankings
London > Finance > Derivatives and structured products
(Leading partners)Dechert LLP is a prominent adviser to fund managers on derivatives, though it also acts for investment banks, commercial banks, private equity funds and credit funds on transactional matters, brokerage and regulatory matters. Gus Black, co-chair of the firm’s global financial services group and a fund formation specialist, oversees the derivatives group in London, in which John McGrath and Karen Stretch are the standout partners. Stretch, whose work encompasses transactional derivatives and advice on regulatory compliance, ‘has a unique capability to synthesise complex issues into salient solutions‘. McGrath, whose work spans both transactional matters and advice on disputes concerning derivatives, continues to advise Fondazione Enasarco on the closeout of derivatives positions following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Senior associate Richard Chapman, who joined from AB Derivatives Advisors Limited, handles prime brokerage, derivatives, trading documentation and associated regulatory issues.
London > Real estate > Property finance
Dechert LLP‘s practice predominantly concentrates on the lender-side, but extends to acting for these lender clients in their capacity as borrower, or seller, in back-leverage arrangements. Department head Aparna Sehgal leads on loan-on-loans and repurchase facilities, and routinely represents the interests of whole loan and senior lenders, mezzanine debt providers, and both back-leverage counterparties. John McGrath advises banks and buy-side parties on performing and non-performing financial products, often involving enforcement or restructuring of derivatives and securitisations. Richard Pugh is active on commercial mortgage-backed securitisations.
London > Finance > Securitisation
Dechert LLP has a large global finance practice, for which securitisation is a key source of work. Head of structured finance and real estate Aparna Sehgal oversees the London office’s securitisation work, for which John McGrath and Richard Pugh are the standout partners. Noteworthy new additions to the team include Aaron Scott, a structured finance and securitisation specialist who heads up the firm’s CLO offering, where he is assisted by counsel Glenn Weston and associate Rory O’Connor. Consequently, the firm has seen growth in CLO transactions and repo securitisations, though it also continued to advise on a wide variety of structures. McGrath and Weston acted for Palmer Square Europe Capital Management LLC in the establishment of a warehouse financing facility, and the issuance of €503m in CLO notes backed by a portfolio of primarily senior secured loans, senior secured bonds, unsecured senior loans, second lien loans, mezzanine obligations and high yield bonds. They also assisted the same client with a €389m CLO deal that included the ‘uptier priming’ concept, which is a new feature in the CLO market.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners London > Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Derivatives and structured products London > Finance
- Property finance London > Real estate
- Securitisation London > Finance
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Employment > Senior executives
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
Firm Rankings
- Investment fund formation and management > Hedge funds
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Finance > Debt capital markets
- Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Industry focus > Emerging markets
- Employment > Employers
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Real estate > Property finance
- Finance > Securitisation
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Insurance > Insurance and reinsurance litigation
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£500m+)
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+