The team at A&O Shearman is ‘very commercially astute and responsive’, acting routinely for top-quality clients and blue-chip corporates. For one client, the team has ’unsurpassed strength in depth‘, with the varying expertise of the department allowing it to act across all sectors. Calum Burnett leads ’one of the top-tier litigation teams in London’, specialising in investigations and contentious regulatory work, alongside Arnondo Chakrabarti who has expertise in banking and finance. Susanna Charlwood has a practice covering shareholder and joint venture disputes, with specific expertise in navigating cyber incident responses, as well as civil fraud litigation. Noted practitioners within the team include ‘outstanding, client-focused litigators’ Jonathan Hitchin, counsel Sarah Garvey, and senior associate Sophie Pringle.  

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Very commercially astute and responsive. In front of issues and always available.’

  • ‘Jonathan Hitchen, Sarah Garvey, Sophie Pringle are all outstanding, client-focused litigators.’

  • ‘Helen Biggin and Hugo Flaux provide insightful, practical and highly responsive advice.’

  • ‘My experience of A&O is that they have unsurpassed strength in depth - I have never worked with anyone at the firm who was not (at a minimum) extremely able. And this is a firm which even in the modern sharp-elbowed world, maintains a culture of being pleasant and civilised.

  • ‘Jonathan Hitchin is a class act - never seems to break sweat but is always at least one step ahead of the enemy. Alice Englehart and Susanna Charlwood seem to be able to manage difficult litigation and clients without fuss.

  • ‘Continues to be one of the top-tier London litigation teams.’

  • ‘There were two litigation partners involved, Maeve Hanna and Sarah Garvey. They were both extremely responsive and were able to provide very helpful guidance on short notice on challenging questions.’

  • ‘Jonathan Hitchin was a calm and reassuring presence throughout. Sophie Pringle was extremely responsive and provided great technical input. They struck a great balance in keeping me informed without overwhelming me with technical detail or minor issues.’

Key clients

  • TP ICAP
  • The Rangers Football Club Limited
  • Etihad Airways PJSC
  • Aercap
  • Greensill Capital (UK) Limited
  • Zopa Group
  • McCarthy & Stone PLC
  • ARISE B.V.
  •  

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 associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Calum Burnett, Arnondo Chakrabarti

Other key lawyers

Jonathan Hitchin, Alice Englehart, Maeve Hanna, Susanna Charlwood, Sophie Pringle, Helen Biggin, Hugo Flaux, Sarah Garvey