A&O Shearman

‘At the forefront of the market in terms of technology and terms’, A&O Shearman provides ’very high service quality’ to a lender-focused client base that includes its well-established cadre of commercial/investment banks, as well as a growing roster of credit funds. The firm’s flexibility and aptitude at advising on debt products throughout the capital structure, including bank and bond mandates, is a hallmark of the practice, as is its ability to leverage vast international resources on complex cross-border transactions. The ‘excellent’ Denise Gibson is one of many within a ‘deep, high quality bench’ of lawyers focusing on lender mandates and is noted for her aptitude at handling both sponsor-led matters, as well as corporate-driven acquisition finance mandates. Drawing on a raft of experience in private practice, as well as in secondee roles at banking institutions, Matt Moore is highly attuned to the commercial needs of lender clients, including on structured growth market transactions and other event-driven financings. As well as her conventional acquisition finance strength, Annette Kurdian’s varied practice also includes niche expertise advising on cross-over leveraged/infrastructure deals, in addition to working on distressed mandates. Although the firm is better-known for its lender credentials, this should by no means detract from a strong borrower practice, which, under the guidance of the ‘exceptionally commercial, knowledgeable and experienced’ Robin Harvey continues to handle new money deals for myriad sponsor clients, as well as providing refinancing assistance for portfolio companies in a challenging economic climate. At a more junior level, the ’technically knowledgeable and very responsive’ Neil Sinha has also been pivotal to building up the firm’s private equity brand. Gibson co-heads the leveraged finance team alongside Nicholas Clark, who has been central to the firm’s growth in the private credit space, including work for direct lenders on unitranche financing. Following the merger of A&O and Shearman & Sterling, the practice has been bolstered by the addition of lawyers including the ‘very credible’ Shameer Shah, who ’is able to articulate complex legal jargon in simple English’, particularly in the context of direct lending transactions. Former global banking head Philip Bowden left to join Proskauer Rose LLP in July 2024.