England - London • Corporate and commercial

Linklaters LLP

More informationMore information

Trusted by some of the biggest corporates in the market, the ‘fantastic’ lawyers at Linklaters LLP offer ’strength in depth, excellent technical abilities and good teamwork’. Drawing on the expertise of specialist groups including tax, antitrust, employment and technology and working alongside a network of 30 international offices, the wide-ranging practice covers the full gamut of corporate work, advising buyers, sellers and financial advisers on public takeovers, joint ventures, corporate restructurings such as carve out transactions, as well as private M&A and equity capital markets work. Simon Branigan, global head of corporate and co-head of the firm’s bank sector has extensive experience in the mining, retail and consumer, oil and gas and financial services sectors. Aisling Zarraga, who serves as global co- head of Linklaters’ life Sciences and healthcare sector, leads on some of the largest M&A and joint venture transactions in the market, advising global pharmaceutical companies, healthcare services and biotech businesses, as well as companies from other industries, such as mining. Sought out by financial institutions such as PricewaterhouseCoopers is Tracey Lochhead , whose practice spans public and private M&A, joint ventures, loan portfolio sales and corporate restructurings. Ian Hunter  advises domestic and international clients on general corporate governance, M&A transactions and equity offerings, and has a  particular emphasis  on the natural resources and mining sector, as well as  UK Takeover-Code governed transactions and UK Listing Rules reform. James Inglis‘s practice covers public and private M&A, corporate governance advisory work and capital raisings, while global head of the technology group, Derek Tong, also assists clients with joint ventures, strategic investments and restructuring. Other key names to note include firmwide senior partner and chair Aedamar Comiskey, Iain Fenn  and Fionnghuala Griggs. The practice has seen a number of departures including Nick Rumsby (now Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton), Jessamy Gallagher   (now Paul Hastings LLP) and Stuart Bedford (now KPMG Law); however, it remains a strong team.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team offers strength in depth, excellent technical abilities and good teamwork.’

  • ‘Ian Hunter has excellent technical skills and is very responsive.’

  • ‘Fantastic people that are easy to work with and are very commercial. They give clear advice and are very proactive.’

  • 'The team offers specialist expertise in partnership structures and supporting legal documentation. They are the best in the market. The team has outstanding global experience and access to major jurisdictions.'

  • 'Two stand out partners I have worked with include Ian Hunter and Nicola Rabson (employment). They both go above and beyond. They provide ongoing support, demonstrate integrity and strong values and provided invaluable advice consistently in very complex situations.'

  • 'James Inglis is a top quality technical lawyer. He is calm, considered, has the gravitas and inspires the confidence that comes with experience and knowledge. Matt Hearn is also a top quality technical lawyer and super bright and super hard working. He is extremely responsive and is making his mark as a new partner.'

Key clients

  • Tate & Lyle
  • Mondi
  • Hg
  • Carlyle
  • OTPP
  • Unilever
  • National Grid
  • AXA
  • Phoenix
  • Greene King
  • HSBC
  • PWC
  • Sainsburys
  • Vodafone
  • Jardine Matheson
  • Sony
  • Macquarie
  • Diageo
  • Capita
  • Cerberus
  • PSP
  • EY
  • Nestle

Work highlights

  • Advised HSBC Overseas (UK) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, on the sale of HSBC Bank Canada to the Royal Bank of Canada for CA$15.6 bn following a competitive auction process.
  • Assisted Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, a US public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange that specialises in speciality diagnostics, on their £2.25bn acquisition of The Binding Site Group.
  • Advised National Grid plc in respect of its private M&A sale of a 60% stake in its gas transmission and metering business (NGG) to a consortium of long-term infrastructure investors.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Aedamar Comiskey

Hall of fameLinklaters LLP

Aedamar is Linklaters Global Head of Corporate and specialises in public and private M&A and regulatory and corporate governance advisory work. She is the lead relationship partner and boardroom adviser for many of the firm's FTSE clients. Aedamar recently led a number of high-profile M&A deals including advising Unilever on its defence of Kraft Heinz company's US$145bn approach; Visa Europe on its €18.37bn sale to Visa Inc; Amec Foster Wheeler on Wood Group's £2.2bn recommended offer; HSBC on the US$5.2bn sale of its Brazilian bank to Banco Bradesco; and Amlin on Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance's £3.48bn recommended offer.Aedamar is also a non-executive director of FTSE company, Hames Fisher and Sons plc.  

James Inglis

Hall of fameLinklaters LLP

James is a corporate partner based in the London office, and is a specialist in public and private M&A and equity capital markets transactions. He is a relationship partner for a number of clients, including Rio Tinto, Novartis, Jardine Matheson, United Technologies Corporation, Takeda and Kier Group. He also works extensively with investment banks, including Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.

Leading individuals

Simon Branigan

Linklaters LLP

Simon has extensive experience advising corporates, financial institutions and investment trusts on mergers and acquisitions (both public and private), joint ventures and equity capital markets transactions. He has been involved in some of the most complex and high-profile multi-jurisdictional transactions over the last few years.Simon’s experience spans the mining, retail and consumer, and oil and gas sectors. He has extensive experience in the financial services sector, and is co-head of the firm’s bank sector.

Next Generation Partners

Ian Hunter

Linklaters LLP

Ian is a partner in the Linklaters corporate department who focuses on public and private M&A, international capital raisings and joint ventures. He advises a number of the firm's major clients in the mining sector worldwide, and also advises professional services firms and networks on structure and governance. Ian is a relationship partner for a number of the firm's key mining clients, including Glencore, KAZ Minerals, and Endeavour Mining.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Simon Branigan

Other key lawyers

Aedamar Comiskey, Aisling Zarraga, David Martin, Tracey Lochhead, Ian Hunter, James Inglis, Derek Tong, Fionnghuala Griggs, Michael Honan, Charles Turner, Namrata Shah, Matt Hearn, Iain Fenn