Claire Wills

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has appointed partner Andrew Austin as London head of dispute resolution, effective 1 May. Andrew will succeed Mark Sansom who has recently been appointed as London Managing Partner. Austin will lead the London disputes practice alongside his client work. Austin advises on commercial disputes, consumer law issues, and product liability litigation within the tech, life sciences, FMCG and retail sectors. He has acted on some of the most complex, multi-jurisdictional mass claims of the last decade. Austin is also a prominent contributor to diversity and inclusion initiatives at the firm, including Freshfields’ global LGBTQ+ network group Halo. Commenting on the appointment, Global Head of Disputes, Sarah Parkes, said: “I am delighted to announce that Andrew will assume leadership of our disputes team in London. Andrew is a natural successor to drive forward the success of our market leading practice as a longstanding litigator advising on complex, cross-border mass claims.” Austin added: “I am excited to have been appointed as London disputes head and would like to thank Mark Sansom for his excellent leadership in the role. From commercial disputes to class actions, arbitration to patent litigation, white collar defence to shareholder litigation, ESG to restructuring, we have an incredible disputes practice here in London, serving an amazing set of clients. I look forward to working with colleagues across London, Manchester and beyond to continue its strategic growth.” The change in London leadership for disputes follows Freshfields’ appointment of fellow litigator, Mark Sansom, as London Managing Partner, succeeding Claire Wills who has completed her term in the role and will return to client advisory work.

May 3

1 min

Freshfields guided JD Sports Fashion plc to the closing of its all-cash acquisition of NASDAQ-listed Hibbett, Inc. The transaction was announced on April 23, 2024, and closed on July 25, 2024, following the receipt of regulatory and Hibbett stockholder approvals. More information is available here. The Freshfields team is led out of New York by M&A partners Paul Tiger and Tomas Rua and associates Victor Ma, Casey Hagen and Connor Lang and included London M&A partners Claire Wills and Andrew Hutchings, senior associate Ellie Dunne and associate Amadita Garcia on UK corporate matters. Additional team members, all based in the U.S., included partner Lori Goodman, senior associate Andrew Herman and associate Sonia Bennett on executive compensation and employee benefits matters; partner Meghan Rissmiller, senior advisor Christine Wilson, counsel Laura Onken, senior associate Vadim Egoul and associate L.B. McCaskey on antitrust matters; counsel Jeremiah Nelson on real estate matters; partner Kyle Lakin on finance matters; partner Mena Kaplan on intellectual property matters; partners Christine Lyon and Brock Dahl and associate Christine Chong on data privacy and cybersecurity matters; partner Claude Stansbury and associate Hannah Golden on tax matters; and partner Stephanie Brown Cripps and associate Keian Razipour on compliance matters.

Jul 25

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised Tesco on the proposed sale of its banking operations across credit cards, loans and savings, and the entry into a long-term strategic partnership with Barclays. Tesco expects to receive £600m in proceeds from the sale. The sale allows Tesco to remove significant capital-intensive assets and liabilities from its balance sheet and focus on its profitable, capital-light businesses, such as insurance, ATMs, travel money and card cards, which are complementary to its core retail offering. Under the partnership, Barclays will offer Tesco branded products and services and will provide Tesco with annual income for the use of its brand, growing the customer base through Tesco channels and as a result of Barclays’ participation in the Tesco Clubcard programme. The exclusive partnership will combine Tesco’s market-leading brand, physical & digital reach and relentless customer focus with Barclays’ deep financial services capabilities and expertise in commercial partnerships. The Tesco legal team was led by Group General Counsel Adrian Morris, Group Corporate Legal Director Andrew Magro, Head of Legal Lauren Cox, Senior Legal Counsel Charlotte Hart, Tesco Bank Legal Director and Company Secretary Fiona Burden and Tesco Bank Head of Legal John Murray. The Freshfields team was led by partners Claire Wills and Andy Robinson and senior associates Michael Black and Lucy Cliff. Partner Richard Lister and senior associate Tom Hingley led on advice on the long-term strategic partnership. Partners James Smethurst, Rikki Haria, Alice Greenwell, Andrew Murphy and Pete Allen advised on financial regulatory, anti-trust, employment, pensions and finance matters respectively.

Feb 9

1 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has appointed Mark Sansom as its new London managing partner, effective 1 May 2023. Sansom will succeed Claire Wills who has completed her term. As London managing partner, Sansom will play a key role in overseeing the firm’s strategic priorities and business in London, as well as continuing his client work. Sansom has served in several leadership roles at Freshfields, including as head of the London disputes practice and joint leadership of the firm’s global antitrust litigation group. He is recognised as a top-tier competition litigator, having acted on the defence of many of the leading antitrust damages cases and class actions in the UK and beyond. Claire Wills is a longstanding partner at Freshfields, and has built a successful cross-border practice, covering mergers and acquisitions, complex restructurings, joint ventures and governance projects for some of the firm’s most important clients. During her four-year term as London managing partner, Claire has guided the firm through significant milestones, including its response to the COVID pandemic and a move to an award-winning office. The London business has seen substantial revenue growth and evolved many aspects of its people proposition. This has included adapting the firm’s approach to agile working, parental leave, family-forming benefits, menopause and pregnancy loss support which will endure beyond her tenure. Senior partner Georgia Dawson commented: “I am delighted to share news of Mark’s appointment to London managing partner. Mark is a longstanding trusted adviser at the firm and is committed to driving forward our strategic vision, alongside continuing his leading client practice. I would also like to thank Claire for her outstanding leadership of our London business over the last four years.” Mark Sansom added: “It’s an honour to be asked to undertake this role.  Our London business is one of the firm’s key engines for growth and for delivery of global client relationships and successes. I look forward to working with our talented London colleagues and overseeing the development of the next generation of diverse talent at Freshfields.” Claire Wills said: “It’s been a huge privilege to serve as the London managing partner. We’ve achieved strong growth and made great progress in creating an even more inclusive culture. I know Mark will be a fantastic successor to steer our market-leading practice, and I’m really looking forward to returning to full-time client practice with all the benefits of an amazing experience.”

Apr 26

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising Hargreaves Lansdown plc (‘Hargreaves Lansdown’) on the recommended final cash acquisition by a consortium comprised of CVC Private Equity Funds, Nordic Capital XI Delta, SCSp (acting through its general partner, Nordic Capital XI Delta GP SARL) and Platinum Ivy B 2018 RSC Limited of the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of Hargreaves Lansdown. Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK’s largest savings and investment platform for retail investors, with almost 1.9 million clients and £155.3 billion savings and investments, having been founded over 40 years ago. The acquisition values Hargreaves Lansdown at approximately £5.4 billion on a fully diluted basis and is expected to become effective in the first quarter of 2025, subject to conditions including the receipt of shareholder approval and certain regulatory approvals. The Freshfields team advising on the deal is being led by partners Claire Wills and Stephen Hewes, alongside counsel Meredith Bayley and associate Nikki Willson, and also includes partners Alice Greenwell, Martin McElwee, James Smethurst, May Smith, counsel Sam Withnall and associates Christopher Chan, Martin Dickson, Lily Hilton, Elizabeth Lien, Charles Smye, Brandon Thompson and Rhianna Thornton-Reid.

Aug 9

1 min