Latham & Watkins (London) LLP

Noted for its ‘excellent industry knowledge’ and ’very attentive’ approach, Latham & Watkins (London) LLP combines a pedigree in high-end cross-border transactions with deep sector fluency across tech, healthcare, and life sciences. Its global reach and bench strength make it a go-to for complex, often regulated, public company work, with major corporates, private equity houses, and financial institutions consistently turning to the team for support on headline-grabbing deals. The practice is jointly steered by Richard Butterwick, an expert on Takeover Code matters, and Samuel Newhouse, a trusted adviser to multinational corporates and financial institutions on high-profile transactions across the UK, US, Africa, and India. Elsewhere in the team, Edward Barnett, praised as being in a ‘class of his own’, frequently acts on high-value deals across sectors the energy, tech, media, and financial services sectors, while Nick Cline’s practice focuses on advising UK and international companies and boards on M&A, joint ventures and other strategic projects. Farah O’Brien is singled out for her work with later-stage growth investors and sponsors.