The firm has 10 practice areas in London:
-
Mergers & Acquisitions
-
Project Development & Finance
-
European Finance, consisting of:
-
Property
-
International Arbitration & Litigation
-
Antitrust/Competition
-
Tax
-
Financial Institutions Advisory & Investment Funds
-
Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits
-
Intellectual Property
Mergers & Acquisitions
Shearman & Sterling is home to one of the most pre-eminent international M&A practices and acts for many of the world's major investment banks and leading financial, telecommunications, media, technology, pharmaceutical, resources, manufacturing and service companies (invariably opposite the magic circle firms). The practice group provides high end, expert advice in relation to public company takeovers, mergers, negotiated acquisitions and disposals, private equity transactions and joint ventures. Our lawyers play a crucial role in some of the largest and most complex M&A transactions in Europe, the US and Asia.
Project Development & Finance
Our Project Development & Finance practice is one of the leading such practices in the world and acts for a large number of major financial institutions and international corporations. Our lawyers have the skill and capability to execute transactions under English, French, German and US law; substantial experience in developing innovative financing instruments in which lenders, borrowers and sponsors join in complex risk-sharing arrangements; expertise in reviewing and advising on all types of project documentation; and experience across a wide range of industries, including power, oil and gas, energy, telecommunications, mining, utilities, transportation, water and other infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
European Finance
Acquisition & Leveraged Finance
Our European Finance group has a worldwide reputation as a market leader providing high quality expertise to financial institutions and borrowers in core areas of high-end leveraged and acquisition finance, structured finance, capital markets and derivatives transactions. We have been involved in numerous award-winning transactions and specialise in complex and intellectually demanding, high profile, cross-border finance transactions. Our work is international and involves working closely with our overseas offices.
Structured Finance
The work of the Structured Finance group encompasses a broad range of financial products and techniques from traditional securitisation to highly complex derivatives related work. The group frequently handles a very challenging, diverse and innovative workload involving numerous legal, regulatory, tax and accounting issues. The practice offers its associates a broad exposure to the legal concepts and specialities involved in bringing complex financial transactions to market.
Property
Our London Property practice provides a full service property capability with an emphasis on development projects, investment transactions and acting for high-end occupiers. It advises a number of major developers, property companies and funds and has extensive experience regarding the acquisition, disposal, leasing, joint venturing and funding of large property portfolios. The practice is an integral part of our international Property group and also works increasingly closely with our European Finance, corporate, tax and project finance teams in London.
International Arbitration & Litigation
Our International Arbitration & Litigation group is one of the world's leading dispute resolution practices. Our London practice has the expertise to handle a wide variety of international commercial arbitration and transnational litigation matters as well as becoming increasingly involved in anti-corruption and internal investigations work. Due to the breadth of the group's work, our lawyers have extensive experience in arbitrations under the rules of all major international arbitral institutions. The group has also developed particular specialisms in the fields of litigation arising out of international investments, infrastructure and power projects, oil and gas contracts, post-acquisition claims and white-collar crime.
Antitrust/Competition
The firm's Antitrust/Competition group advises UK and international clients on all aspects of European and national antitrust law, including EU, UK and multi-jurisdictional merger control, cartels, restrictive practices and abuse of dominance investigations and complaints, competition litigation, state aid, public procurement and utility regulation. The group also maintains frequent contact with antitrust officials, in particular those in DG Competition in Brussels and the OFT in London.
The London based practice works in very close co-operation with the firm's lawyers in Brussels, Düsseldorf, Paris and the US and, as a result, it is one of the most highly integrated groups within the firm as a whole. This close degree of integration means that our associates frequently move between the firm's global offices.
Tax
Our International Tax group, with lawyers in the UK, France, Germany and the US, plays an integral role in the firm's cross-border practice. The firm's International Tax group in London provides strategic tax planning advice and representation on a wide range of complex transactions. The group has the expertise to advise on mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations, structured finance and securitisation, derivatives, domestic and international banking, project finance, investment funds, and capital markets issues.
Financial Institutions Advisory & Investment Funds
The London-based practice provides UK and European advice at the highest level to all forms of financial institution and infrastructure providers and on the full range of legal and regulatory aspects of their proprietary businesses. We assist them in establishing new services and innovative financial products and in reorganising, acquiring and disposing of businesses as well as on private and public M&A, capital markets, derivatives and other transactions. The practice has also recently received some high profile instructions from a number of exchanges.
Investment Funds
Working closely with the Financial Institutions Advisory team, the firm's Asset Management group establishes new private equity, hedge and property funds, both on- and offshore and advises on the marketing of those funds worldwide. The group also advises asset managers on all aspects of their businesses.
Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits
Our London Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits team is part of the global practice group, which comprises over 40 dedicated lawyers in New York, California, Germany, France and the UK.
In London, the group provides sophisticated advice on the design and implementation of compensation and benefits arrangements in the UK and the US, including appropriate responses to economic conditions, new legal requirements and the heightened scrutiny of service contracts and executive remuneration under corporate governance principles. The team also provides support to the M&A and capital markets teams on a wide range of corporate transactions.
Intellectual Property
Our intellectual property group provides advisory services on all aspects of intellectual property and information technology law and practice, both in relation to stand-alone intellectual property matters and commercial transactions. The team liaises with all our other practice areas in London, providing a comprehensive assessment of IP issues arising from major domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and outsourcings. In addition, the team works alongside the intellectual property specialists in other Shearman & Sterling offices, on global matters involving designs, patents, trademarks, copyright, e-commerce, IT and data protection and licensing issues