CMS has a structured finance practice that ‘consistently delivers timely, practical and well thought through legal and regulatory support’. The firm is active in retail structured products on behalf of leading global investment banks, and advises many institutions on proprietary indices and associated product documentation for OTC and securitised derivatives. Credit derivatives are another strong suit, whether standalone credit-linked notes or credit-linked programmes. The firm also assists sell-side and buy-side clients with regulatory matters. Will Dibble is ‘the authority on indices and structured products matters’ and the standout partner in the practice led by Chris Clark. Retail structured products partner Michael Cavers also plays a key role in the team. Jason Harding left the firm in 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Will Dibble's team is head and shoulder above competition when it comes to quality or advice and depth of market knowledge. They consistently deliver timely, practical and well thought through legal and regulatory support.'
- 'Strongly supported by the talented George Gledhill, who is always impressive for his legal skills. I particularly appreciate CMS's efforts in providing all round support, and they make a point of leveraging internal knowledge whenever a matter requires a different expertise.'
- 'Will Dibble is the authority on indices and structured products matters. He combines a fine legal mind with a rare passion for formulas, which is hard to find amongst the traditionally non-mathematically inclined law-firm ranks. Truly well versed in the language of financial engineers.'
Key clients
- J.P. Morgan
- Goldman Sachs International
- Deutsche Bank
- Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc
- Citigroup
- HSBC
- BNP Paribas
- Pension Insurance Corporation
- Church Commissioners for England
- National Gas Transmission
- Northumbrian Water
- Universities Superannuation Scheme
- Barclays Bank UK Retirement Fund
- Statnett
- Wellcome Trust
- National Grid
- Railpen
- FNZ Q-Hub
Work highlights
- Advising Citigroup Global Markets Limited on the establishment of proprietary indices on multiple reference assets (commodities, gold, futures contracts, equities etc) and related plain English descriptions.
- Advising Goldman Sachs International in relation to Benchmark Regulation implementation, third party allocator agreements and drafting new index methodologies in relation to multiple asset classes, including rates and equity along with innovative offerings in the actively managed product space.
- Advising HSBC on all matters relating to its quantitative investment strategy business including drafting policy documentation, advising on regulatory matters (relating to the EU and UK Benchmark Regulation along with IOSCO Principles).
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.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Chris Clark