Macfarlanes LLP is one of the leading firms for buy-side clients, though it also has a strong prime brokerage practice advising on documentation for UK and APAC transactions. The team led by Will Sykes, who acts in trading, hedging and financing transactions, and Chris Acton, who assists hedge funds, managed account platforms and proprietary trading houses, ‘has unparalleled market knowledge and is hugely commercial and pragmatic’. Richard Fletcher has a broad practice advising financial institutions, corporates, fund managers, investors, servicers and trustees. Supporting the partners is a strong group of senior counsel, among them equity derivatives adviser Alex Coyne, securities finance and prime brokerage expert Rob Daniell, and hedge fund specialist Christine Long.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Macfarlanes provides deep knowledge of the derivatives and repo market. Its unique practice model provides great perspective on market practice and acceptable contract terms. Macfarlanes consistently provides legal advice quickly and the team is always available for a question.’
‘Rob Daniell has an exceptional demeanour. He cannot be agitated or thrown by any question or demand. I have complete trust in his counsel and rely on him to bring agreements to completion. I frequently mention Rob to colleagues as a resource.’
‘For derivatives work, Macfarlanes are market-leading. The team, led by Christopher Acton, has unparalleled market knowledge, particularly when acting for the buy-side. Hugely commercial and pragmatic.’
‘Christopher Acton is supremely commercial. His client base includes the top hedge funds and trading firms, giving him great insights into the kinds of commercial terms that can be negotiated. One of the few lawyers in this space who truly gets what clients actually want out of a negotiation. ’
‘The Macfarlanes team is responsive, know the market very well and are able to add value to buy-side clients like ourselves. The quality of advice is always very good.’
‘Chris Acton is highly commercial, practical and makes sure to tailor advice to the requirements of the particular transaction or situation.’
‘The team is well staffed with able and experienced lawyers, meaning they're always very responsive, and their advice is clear and to the point.’
‘Alex Coyne is particularly impressive. He's hugely professional and meticulous in his approach, whilst at the same time having a very easy-going and likeable manner.’
Key clients
- SAPA Placencia Holding, S.L.
- Polus Capital
- Marshall Wace
- Albacore Capital
- Hayfin Capital Management
- Aspect Capital
- Systematica Investments
- Man Group
- Cross Ocean
- Florin Court Capital
- Pictet Group
- Jane Street Capital
- Winton Capital
- Thélème Partners
- Franklin Templeton
- Legal & General Investment Management Limited
- Principal Global
- Columbia Threadneedle
Work highlights
- Partnered with Spanish law firm Perez-Llorca to advise SAPA Placencia Holding, S.L., a defence and technology company, on the restructuring of an equity collar confirmation entered into with ING Group as part of financing a shareholding of Spanish information technology and defence systems company Indra Sistemas, S.A.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
William Sykes, Christopher Acton