Dean Bennett
ApplebyBuilding out from its strong finance team, Appleby has made notable strides growing its corporate law offering in recent years and is now regularly instructed by its client base of blue-chip underwriters, banks and other financial institutions, on SPACs, CLOs, M&A, corporate finance mandates and restructurings. At the helm of the practice, Simon Raftopoulos is an experienced transactional lawyer, while Dean Bennett is a standout younger partner to note, who has driven much of the growth in this area and receives client praise for his ‘dedication and deep knowledge of transactions’. Jacob MacAdam is a further partner to note, and Benjamin Woolf is a senior name with corporate law expertise. Names to note in the pool of support lawyers include Vance Power and Alexandra Low, who joined from Conyers in September 2023.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Appleby is our go-to Cayman counsel for our international transaction. The unique strength of the firm is definitely its calm way to steer even very difficult transactions by excellently managing a large number of tasks and creatively coming up with solutions that work for the client.’
‘Dean Bennett is a partner at Appleby who stands out for his dedication and deep knowledge of transactions. You can always call him to talk through elements of a transaction and he will go the extra mile, even at night, to make things happen. Absolutely an outstanding young partner.’
‘Dean Bennett - very commercial and knowledgeable and readily made himself available to speak with us/London clients despite the time difference - was a pleasure to deal with.’
‘I work with Dean Bennett and his colleagues. The team always stands out among their peers as being very commercial and knowledgeable. The advice are always very clear and practical. The team always meets our deadlines.’
‘I work mainly with Dean Bennett who is an outstanding lawyer and assisted us with many matters in the last 6-7 years. Dean is very practical and commercial in his approach. He is always able to accommodate our deadlines and the quality of deliverables is always excellent.’
‘Appleby attorneys were quick to understand our legal needs, to staff a highly qualified team and to execute on an abbreviated timeline without excessive assistance.’
‘Our particular thanks goes out to Alexandra Low who performed exceptionally well.’
‘Dean Bennett – brilliant M&A and general corporate lawyer. Extremely thorough. Really goes above and beyond to find solutions for client.’
Key clients
- Pegasus Digital Mobility Acquisition Corp.
- Black Spade Acquisition Co
- Gabon Oil Company
- MTN Group
- LumiraDX
- Vikasati Partners
- MaxLinear Inc.
- RF Acquisition Corp II
- Höegh LNG Ltd (Höegh LNG)
- Leading international health care provider
- Tether
- Karate Combat
Work highlights
- Acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Black Spade Acquisition Co on its de-SPAC business combination with VinFast Auto Pte.
- Acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Pegasus Digital Mobility Acquisition Corp on its $385m M&A business combination with SCHMID Group.
- Acting for Gabon Oil Company on its announced $1.3bn acquisition of Assala Energy.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Simon Raftopoulos