England - London • Corporate and commercial

Withers LLP

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Withers LLP‘s growing London team draws praise from a range of clients for its ’expertise’ and ‘knowledge’ across the pharmaceutical and life sciences, technology, hospitality, sport and luxury brands sectors. The practice is spearheaded by Paul McGrath, who has a particular focus on closely-held businesses and their owners, including entrepreneurs and families. Sarah Melaney is a tech specialist who has extensive experience advising high-growth companies and investors on investment rounds, scale-ups, exits and general corporate governance. The team has been strengthened by the arrival of Phil Robinson, who joined from Ignition Law Services Limited in September 2022.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Strong expertise, knowledge, availability of practice areas.’

  • ‘Availability, flexibility, knowledge, personalities.’

  • 'I cannot speak highly enough of Sharon Whitehouse's exceptional performance during our M&A/corporate restructuring. Her expertise, professionalism, and dedication were invaluable, resulting in a smooth and successful restructuring process. I highly recommend her services.'

Key clients

  • Galileo Global Education UK Limited
  • Soho House
  • Christopher Kane
  • EastHORN

Work highlights

  • Advising the sellers on the sale of the EastHORN group to Novotech.

Lawyers

Next Generation Partners

Sarah Melaney

Sarah Melaney

Withers LLP

Sarah is a partner in the Withers tech corporate team. She has over a decade of experience advising high growth companies and investors on investment rounds, scale-up, exits (trade sales and IPOs) and general corporate governance. As a trusted adviser, Sarah often assumes the role of general counsel for her clients providing effective advice on all commercial matters. Sarah has been ranked as a next generation partner by Legal 500. Sarah commenced her career as an equity capital markets lawyer listing companies on the AIM market and the main market of the London Stock Exchange which means that she is able to grow with companies through all stages of their life cycle. She is considered to be a leading individual in impact investment having acted for one of Europe's first and largest impact investors throughout her career. Sarah leads our initiative on diverse entrepreneurs and is also an advisory board member of FutureWorldVC, a 180 strong community of ethical impact investors. Keen to help change the current climate crisis, Sarah is also a scout for FiveThirteen, a non-profit organisation supporting gender diversity and climate action.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Paul McGrath

Other key lawyers

Graham Webster, Sharon Whitehouse, Tim Taylor, Philip Watkins, Mark Lynch, Victoria Rodley, Phil Robinson, Sarrah Melaney, Edmund Goodin, James Hamilton, Anges Macduff, Sheeraz Salar