England - London • Corporate and commercial
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP ‘demonstrates a very strong knowledge of commercial contracts in the IT service and central government spheres’, and is well regarded for its deep bench of collaborative practitioners. Recent work highlights include drafting new partnership agreements for Uber, structuring e-commerce template agreements and models for major British multinationals, and acting as an extension of the in-house legal teams for clients such as FTI Consulting and PZ Cussons. Tech and digital expert Nick Pantlin heads the team, with strong proficiencies in outsourcing and logistic arrangements, in addition to possessing a strong regulatory offering. Co-head Stephen Rayfield has been active in the transport sector, working closely with his infrastructure colleagues on PFI Project agreements and long term services subcontractor appointments, while third co-head Hayley Brady has an impressive international practice which has seen her advise clients in the Middle East and Asia, most notably on large global template agreements. Senior associate James Balfour is also noted, especially for mandates linked to ESG endeavours.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘A cross-practice team of appropriate partners and associates is formed according to the need for each brief, and they work extremely well together, all contributing to open dialogue with us the client as together we define the problem and explore potential solutions.'
‘Genuine interest in our unique issues and commitment to finding practical solutions, via a collaborative approach.'
‘The HSF Team demonstrates a very strong knowledge of commercial contracts in the IT service and central government spheres. Whilst demonstrating their knowledge, they also listen to the client and work collaboratively to achieve the client's aim. Working with HSF felt like one team.’
‘Our HSF colleagues leave their egos at home and truly focused on working collaboratively with the client staff to achieve the client's aims. Their approach is about achieving the desired outcome.’
'They are diligent and really try to go over and above.'
Key clients
- IBM
- Uber
- Ministry of Defence
- Diageo
- Pod Point
- Sainsbury's
- Lyst
- BAT
- Transport for London
- Sky
- DeBeers
- bp / bp pulse
- The Ardonagh Group Limited
- ClearBank
- Huozhi
- TSB
- Telefonica
- UBS
- British American Tobacco
- bp Pulse
- Shaw Communications
Work highlights
- Advised Uber with drafting and negotiating a new partnership agreement between Uber and Hopper to allow Uber to retail domestic and international flights through an Uber-branded white-labelled travel portal within the Uber app.
- Advised FTI Consulting with a technology augment managed legal service, supporting the in-house legal team of a global consultancy with operations spanning the UK, EMEA and APAC regions.
- Assisted bp pulse with a full service, multi-disciplinary BAU support service, acting as an extension of the client's legal team.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Nick Pantlin, Stephen Rayfield, Hayley Brady