In a marked expansion of Pillsbury’s global Finance practice and London office, the firm announced today the addition of highly respected finance law practitioners Chris Harrison and Trevor Wood as partners. Wood starts today and comes to the firm from Mayer Brown. Harrison, the former Co-Managing Partner and Head of Morgan Lewis’s Business and Finance practice in London, will join later this month.
“Chris and Trevor’s respective reputations for innovative thinking and exceptional client service precede them,” said Firm Chairman David Dekker. “Both are outstanding lawyers, who will help us advance the firm’s strategy in a number of ways, growing our London office, expanding our UK-based finance capabilities and adding greater depth to our global finance team. We are extremely excited to have them join us.”
Wood represents banks, funds and other financial institutions, mezzanine providers, agents and trustees, and sponsors and borrowers in secured and unsecured financings. His principal focus is on international trade, export and commodity finance, receivable transactions, non-performing loan sale and purchase, real estate finance, leverage and acquisition finance and general corporate finance. Over the years Wood has also advised on numerous restructurings both in the UK and internationally. He counts CarVal Investors, Deutsche Bank, European Bank of Restructuring and Development, HSBC and Zenith Bank as some of his major clients.
Harrison has more than two decades of experience representing financial institutions, underwriters, investment fund sponsors, corporate and government entities on cross-border leveraged finance and debt capital markets transactions. He regularly works on the most complex leveraged finance and debt capital markets deals around the world across a broad array of industries. He also advises on transactions involving enterprises in the energy, transportation, real estate, telecommunications, media and financial services sectors. His key clients include Stifel Nicolaus Europe, Javelin Global Commodities Ltd., Equities First Holdings LLC, Pimco Europe Ltd, Silverfin Development Company Ltd, White Wolf Properties Ltd, Investec Bank PLC, JSB Energy Partners Ltd and EVRAZ East Metals AG, among others.
“These hires will provide a major boost to our already strong global finance practice,” said Finance Practice Section Leader Mark Lessard. “London is unquestionably one of the most critical financial centers in the world. Trevor and Chris’s recruitment significantly improves our client offering there and better positions the practice for significant and rapid growth.”
In addition to being an important expansion of the firm’s global Finance practice, the additions of Harrison and Wood represent a major step in Pillsbury’s ongoing efforts to broaden its London offering. With the two highly-regarded practitioners in place, the firm will have more than 25 London-based lawyers—including 10 partners—and is in a much stronger position to service the finance and corporate needs of its UK clients.
“Not only are Chris and Trevor excellent lawyers in their own right, they instantly establish a strong foundation from which the UK-based finance and corporate practices can grow,” said London Office Managing Partner Debra Erni. “Their additions represent a big step forward for Pillsbury in London, and we could not be happier to have them here.”
Recognized among the leading financial services practices in the U.S., Pillsbury’s finance team counsels 200+ financial institutions—including many of the world’s largest banks—as well as other financial institutions, insurance companies, investment funds and public and private corporate borrowers. Combining in-depth industry and regulatory knowledge with wide-ranging experience, our lawyers are ideally suited to help clients manage risk, navigate business, legal and regulatory challenges, leverage opportunities and get deals done.
Source: www.pillsburylaw.com
