Employee share schemes

Linklaters LLP

The group at Linklaters LLP is headed up by Alexandra Beidas and has a varied workload; its advisory work includes assisting global companies with the operation of international share plans, as well as handling issues in the financial services sector including bonus cap removals and cross-border pay regulations. On the transactional side, the group has notable experience acting for clients on high-profile mergers, audit separations, and investments, with clients including FTSE companies and regulators. Bradley Richardson stands out for his ‘expert knowledge of the employment and incentive landscape’, while the ’excellent’ Cara Hegarty is noted for her experience advising on the breadth of incentive arrangement and pay reporting issues, alongside her transactional expertise. Nancy Price also attracts praise for her ‘amazing support’.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘The lawyers are approachable and down-to-earth as well as being strong technically and commercially. They are good at working at pace where required. They provide regular progress updates and communicate well.’
‘Both Alexandra Beidas and Cara Hegarty are excellent. Their advice is always commercial and pragmatic and they approach everything calmly. They always go the extra mile.’
‘We have worked with Linklaters for a long time and view them as a trusted partner. Whilst they are clearly legal experts, we really value the pragmatism that they apply to our issues. They are very responsive and deliver to a very high standard in terms of guidance and documentation.’
‘We benefit from the longevity of the working relationship which brings a mutual understanding of how we operate. Cara Hegarty and Nancy Price provide amazing support to us and they are often used as a sounding board alongside the normal, more traditional services that anyone would expect.’
‘A high level of technical skill, coupled with a pragmatic approach to implementation. Able to address complex issues across multiple jurisdictions.’
‘Bradley Richardson provides a fantastic, responsive service, is highly collaborative and cognisant of the broader client business context.’
‘Ben McCarthy is very commercial and able to grasp nuances and complexities and give sound, targeted advice to any queries. Nothing is too much trouble and the team is always able to think laterally and come up with a practical answer to a complex problem.’
‘Bradley Richardson I can’t thank enough for his support and guidance on designing and implementing a very challenging scheme which went against the industry norms. Bradley has expert knowledge of the employment and incentive landscape and we would not have got the scheme approved without his support.'

Key clients

Emirates Telecommunications Group/e
National Grid
Barclays
WPP
Diageo
Wise plc
Vistry Group plc
Brookfield Global Business Advisor Ltd
Three UK Group and CK Hutchison Holdings Limited
Substantial TopCo Limited
Netomnia
iCON Infrastructure
Ernst & Young Global Limited
Brookfield Corporation

Work highlights

Advising Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&) on its $400m proposed investment for a majority stake in Careem Super App from Uber.
Advising Substantial TopCo Limited, a company backed by DigitalBridge, on an innovative and award-winning employee incentive plan.
Advising the client on a $845bn acquisition of Conning Holdings Limited (CHL).

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