He will succeed Stephen Wilkinson, who will return to full-time practice after four years in the role. Mike will work together with fellow Corporate Managing Partner Carolyn Pugsley.
Mike, a corporate lawyer specialising in M&A and ECM transactions, joined Herbert Smith Freehills as a trainee and has been a partner since 2013.
Lauded as “outstanding, one of the best in his field…a “go to” corporate resource on critical matters”, Mike has been listed as a leading lawyer in major legal directories.
He currently leads the UK Equity Capital Markets team, specialising in advising listed companies and investment banks on corporate finance transactions across a range of sectors, including financial services, industrials, energy and natural resources, telecommunications and real estate.
He also frequently advises on public takeovers and private M&A transactions and regularly assists listed companies with corporate governance issues.
His recent headline mandates include EasyJet’s £1.2 billion rights issue, the largest UK rights issue in the last two years; and Tryg’s $4 billion rights issue to fund the break-up bid for RSA. Mike has also advised The Weir Group on a series of significant strategic transactions including its US$1.3 billion acquisition of ESCO.
Ian Cox, Executive Partner, Practices at Herbert Smith Freehills, says: “Mike has shown strong leadership credentials in driving forward a number of people initiatives within the firm and heading up our ECM team in London. He will work together with fellow Joint Managing Partner Carolyn Pugsley, and EMEA and Asia practice heads Alberto Frasquet and Graeme Preston. This strong leadership team will continue to build on the successes of our market-leading global Corporate practice and drive forward the firm’s Ambition 2025 strategy. I would also like to thank Stephen for his valuable contribution to the leadership of the firm.”
Mike comments:”I am excited to take on this important role and look forward to working with Carolyn and my colleagues around the world to drive forward the business and capitalise on the momentum we have built.”
