Post-M&A and shareholder disputes are particular strengths for the litigation team at Macfarlanes LLP, as well as investment disputes and contentious insolvency matters. With a strong footing in the US, the team is experienced in transatlantic and international litigation. Practice head Matt McCahearty draws high praise from clients, who regard him as ‘a fantastic head of litigation’. Iain Mackie is recommended for both corporate and financial services proceedings. Lois Horne boasts ’incredible knowledge’ of corporate and commercial disputes; her diverse roster of clients ranges from investment banks and private equity houses to investors and insolvency practitioners. Christopher Charlton has an active international disputes practice, handling multijurisdictional proceedings. Also highly praised by clients, Fred Snowball specialises in disputes related to contracts and data privacy.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Lois Horne has been the lead partner on this case, and she has been simply spectacular. She has stayed on top of the details and kept the whole team on task while not blowing through the budgets.’
‘Chris Charlton: experienced litigator with excellent technical knowledge. Fred Snowball: an excellent senior associate; on top of all the detail; great technical knowledge.’
‘Lois Horne is outstanding. She is partner who knows her way around heavy commercial disputes and steers the client in the right direction from the off. Lois is also incredibly hard working and is across the details of her cases, even when leading large teams. Although relatively junior, Harry Palmer is an associate to watch. He shows maturity beyond his years and has an incredible work ethic.’
‘Elizabeth Preston-Whyte is a brilliant senior associate and must surely be a partner soon. Maria Myrianthopoulou is also an extremely competent associate.’
‘Matt McCahearty is a fantastic head of litigation: very bright but with a very shrewd tactical sense as well. He is great on strategy and ensures the teams on his cases understand the wider commercial imperatives of his clients. He is one of the very best. Fred Snowball is excellent: extremely quick on the uptake and all over the detail of his cases, and utterly tenacious in fighting his clients' corners Lois Horne is a superb litigator: very, very clever; completely on top of her brief; and a very good leader too.’
‘Lois Horne is an inspirational leader. She has a profound knowledge of how to present a case in a manner designed to appeal to the Court. Chris Charlton is strikingly good. He knows how to cut through masses of information and present matters in a highly effective manner.’
‘We have worked in particular with partners Fred Snowball and Christopher Charlton, as well as Joe Gaffney. They are exceptionally proactive and commercially minded and possess excellent communication skills. They are able to present complex issues in a practical, accessible format and have helped the internal legal team manage other internal stakeholders. Their accessibility is excellent, and they are far more willing to pick up the phone and chat through any issues than some other firms. They are also very personable and have a good sense of humour - a pleasure to work with.’
‘Lois Horne is outstanding. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the law but also very tactically astute. She is great with clients and knows how to deal with aggressive opponents. I could not recommend her more highly. Paul Keddie is excellent. He really knows his stuff when it comes to restructuring and insolvency in particular. He is very good at working out what really matters in a case. Jatinder Bains is also great. He's very solutions focussed. Tim Bromley-White stands out. Harry Palmer is also wise beyond his years.’
Key clients
- Thirteen Bitcoin Developers
- PGA European Tour
- OWH SE i.L.
- NatWest (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland)
- Abzena
- Business Growth Fund
- CFE Finance Group
- Sucden Financial Limited
- Eternity Sky Investments Limited
- Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG
- Raven Ventures International Limited
Work highlights
- Acted for a number of individual Bitcoin Developers who have been sued by Dr Craig Wright, an individual claiming to have created Bitcoin, for the alleged breach of his intellectual property in the Bitcoin White Paper (the “BTC Core Claim”).
- Acted for PGA European Tour on the defence of appeals by 16 elite professional golfers (including Patrick Reed and Ian Poulter) against the Tour’s decisions to impose fines and two-tournament suspensions on them for playing in the breakaway LIV Golf tournaments without releases.
- Advised OWH in the “Tuna Bonds” litigation which originally comprised twelve claims (of which OWH is a party to 2) brought by or against the Republic of Mozambique with a combined value of over $4bn.
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.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Lois Horne
Macfarlanes LLP
Matt McCahearty
Macfarlanes LLPNext Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Christopher Charlton
Macfarlanes LLPFred Snowball
Macfarlanes LLPPractice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Matt McCahearty