Working with several leading companies and investors and widely lauded for its experience in cross-border technology M&A transactions across the UK, Europe and the US, the highly praised team of lawyers at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (UK) LLP is ‘incredibly knowledgeable, diligent and personable’ and always willing to ’go the extra mile.’ The ‘outstanding’ Shawn Atkinson leads the team. Noted as ’second to none’ and for her ‘attitude, demeanour and pragmatism,’ Katie Cotton - a specialist in the technology, energy and infrastructure sectors - regularly assists corporates and investors on an array of transactions. The ’excellent’ James Connor regularly handles public company takeovers and private M&A, while Daniel Wayte has a breadth of experience in private equity transactions as well as M&A, joint ventures and corporate governance work. Other key lawyers include Katrina Walsingham and Charles Sheldon.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Orrick has handled multiple deals for us. What clearly differentiates this team from others is the collaboration within the firm and across different countries, the people, who are clearly competent, good with reacting to issues and time management, and their ability to apply international standards.'
'The team are precise, competent and have the ability to understand the negotiation context and proceed with good negotiation techniques to achieve good results.'
‘A combination of deep market knowledge and experience, phenomenal client service and support and a willingness to always go the extra mile when required. I have worked with Katie Cotton for the last 11 years, sometimes through challenging times and I cannot fault her attitude, demeanour and pragmatism. She is one of the few people in this world that whom I trust completely.’
‘The Orrick team is very reputable and experienced in their field. They give prompt replies. Orrick's team always acts fast and provides to-the-point detailed advice. Their UK/US footprint helps us with our international queries.’
‘An incredibly knowledgeable, diligent and personable team that are straight talking and great to have in your corner. Shawn Atkinson is simply outstanding. Katie Cotton is also good.’
'Excellent and collaborative team with particular strength in technology sector transactions. They are very good at providing a seamless service on cross border transactions and take care to understand their client's business needs and objectives. We have worked with James Connor. He is highly impressive with intellectual flair, excellent communication and dedication in taking transactions through to closing.'
'Orrick provides a unique service compared to other law firms with detailed and fast replies when we require the assistance. They are both excellent at sell and buy side on M&A work. James Connor and Emma Cameron were both excellent on leading M&A projects and they are capable to lead a couple of projects at same time.'
'This is a team of very strong negotiators with excellent client management. Katie Cotton, Kirsty Hart and Shaun Malone are second to none. They are absolutely great.'

Key clients

ABN AMRO Ventures (client since 2015)
Aptean, Inc. (global client since 2015)
Busuu Online SL (client since 2021)
Cuckoo Internet Ltd (client since 2021)
Finimize (client since 2021)
Gates Industrial Corporation plc (client since 2018)
Goldman Sachs
Greycroft Partners LLC (client since 2011)
Hadi Games (client since 2022)
Information Grid Ltd. (client since 2022)
Invisio AB (client since 2020)
Keyless Technologies Ltd
Kinnevik (client since 2018)
Kognitiv Corporation (client since 2021)
Lilium GmbH (client since 2019)
Magic Games (client since 2022)
Motork plc (client since 2022)
Pancreta Bank S.A. (client since 2022)
Phrasee Limited (client since 2021)
Property Partner (client since 2017)
Re:infer (client since 2015)
VEF (GREY: VKEMF) (client since 2015)
Vero Labs (client since 2022)
VNV Global (client since 2015)

Work highlights

Advised Re:Infer, a United Kingdom based communications intelligence platform, in its acquisition by UiPath, a New York based company that provides an end-to-end automation platform that offers a range of robotic process automation solutions.
Advised Phrasee Limited, a London based developer of a natural language generation system designed to generate optimised marketing copy, in its acquisition by Capital D Management LLP, a private equity firm based in London.
Advised Vitruvian, a UK private equity fund on its acquisition via a traditional private equity buyout structure of Twinkl Limited and related companies from their founders Jon and Susie Seaton.