OUR SERVICES
Our services cover a number of key practice group areas: Commercial Disputes, Construction and Engineering, Corporate Real Estate/Hotels and Leisure, Employment and Pensions, Environment and Planning, Finance and Projects, Financial Institutions and Markets, Reconstruction and Corporate Recovery, IT, Telecoms and Competition, Patents, Private Equity, Real Estate, Technology and Inward Investment, Trade Marks, Copyright and Media and Wealth, Private Client and Tax. Our lawyers from these groups are among the best in their fields and advise household names from just about every industry, as well as numerous wealthy individuals.
Our European network of offices also means that all of our groups are able to advise international clients who are operating in domestic or foreign markets. This expertise is particularly valuable with so many of today's businesses trading across EU borders as a matter of course.
Commercial Disputes
There is a huge variety of work dealt with in the Commercial Disputes group, including shareholder and other corporate disputes, contractual disputes, fraud/asset tracing, professional negligence, insurance and reinsurance disputes, banking and financial services litigation and technology sector disputes. The group acts for high-profile companies, as well as high net-worth individuals, often on matters with an international flavour, and is often instructed on cases that make the press. As a trainee in the group, you will get a great deal of hands-on experience, will be fully involved in the cases and have the opportunity to attend meetings with clients, barristers, witnesses and the other side, draft correspondence and documents, including statements of case and witness statements, and attend court hearings.
Construction and Engineering
The Taylor Wessing Construction and Engineering group provides full service legal advice on construction projects covering all stages from project procurement to dispute resolution. The group also has a diverse client base acting for banks, developers, public and private sector clients, contractors and consultants both in the UK and internationally. Trainees dealing with transactional work will typically be involved in drafting and negotiating contracts and professional appointments under both standard form contracts and PFI structures. Trainees dealing with contentious aspects would be involved in drafting instructions to counsel and experts, reviewing expert reports and in taking witness statements.
Corporate Real Estate Hotels and Commercial (CREATE)
The Create group enables trainees to experience general corporate and commercial transactional work and is perhaps the most international group in the firm with large numbers of cross border transactions. The team has established a strong reputation particularly in the Hotel sector where Taylor Wessing is recognised as one of the top firms in this sector. The Group is also involved in acting for a large number of the firm's multi national clients where the Group will look after corporate and commercial transactions. Our Hotel clients include EHC International, the Ability Group, Malmaison, Kew Green Hotels, Tiara and the Group also act for a number of the leading high net worth Middle Eastern families who own large hotel protfolios particularly in the trophy hotel sector. Our commercial clients include British Airways, Associated British Ports, Omnicom, Highland Spring, as well as a number of Middle Eastern institutions. Almost all the Groups transactions will have some form of multi-jurisdictional element to them and the Group works closely with other teams within the firm, both in London and in our other international offices. Members of the team have recently worked on transactions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and the USA where we have had to handle the project management of some very high profile transactions. The work of the Group is very varied and gives a very good grounding on all aspects of running a business and trainees will be involved in all aspects of corporate and commercial law.
Employment and Pensions
Our respected team handles the full range of employment and pension related issues, including employee benefits and immigration. We act mainly for employers and pension scheme trustees, and occasionally for individual employees. Whether contentious or non-contentious, much of what we do is highly confidential and sensitive.
As a trainee, you could find yourself drafting contracts of employment, advising clients on issues such as whistle blowing, or preparing for employment trial bundles for hearings you're due to attend. Cases you'll be involved in could be anything from discrimination employment tribunal claims through to multi-million pound pensions cases.
Environment and Planning
The Environment and Planning group acts first and foremost as a service group for the firm's core disciplines, Banking, Corporate and Real Estate. The environment and town and country planning regimes are specialist areas of law, driven by an increasingly complex international and european regulatory framework, built upon an expanding UK legislative regime. As a consequence, trainees within the group may on a Monday be dealing with an environmental due diligence for a corporate acquisition or a banking finance project, on Tuesday assisting with an environmental assessment of a major fuel oil terminal, on Wednesday be attending court for a judicial review and on Thursday looking at the environmental warranties and indemnity for a banking finance. Anything can happen on a Friday!
In addition, we enjoy a unique and standalone practice ranging from heavy industry, ports and commercial development to highway infrastructure, waste disposal, wind turbines and green data rooms. Trainees within the team, therefore, need to display a diverse set of skills sufficient to cope with all of the demands of a major international city law firm. It is a testing but rewarding experience.
Financial Institutions and Markets
The Financial Institutions and Markets (FIM) group puts its trainees at the centre of equity capital markets offers and public company mergers and acquisition transactions, in addition to the corporate aspects of insurance work. The group also provides financial services, regulatory and compliance advice to international financial institutions. As a trainee in FIM, you will have the opportunity to gain significant expertise in each of these core practice areas within the group. FIM represents a range of issuers, investment banks, sponsors and brokers advising on takeovers, restructurings and securities offerings and is "highly regarded" (Legal 500) for its equity capital markets work.
Finance
The Finance group is a well recognised team of specialists in bank lending and security who act primarily for banks and other financial institutions. The group has a respected client base principally located on our doorstep in the City but which has become increasingly international. Our clients are active lenders across many sectors of the economy including the property and construction, industrial, hotel and leisure, media, life sciences and healthcare sectors. The specialisations of the team include property and development finance, loan portfolio sales, acquisition finance, asset backed lending, securitisation and venture lending. Trainees in the Finance group can expect high quality work coupled with excellent opportunities for responsibility and client contact.
IT, Telecoms and Competition
The IT Telecoms and Competition group acts for a diverse range of technology, media, telecoms and blue chip clients. Examples include Google, Partypoker, British Airways, Esure, Tata, Jersey Telecom, Remploy, and many US based technology companies. We advise on various commercial projects including website development and launch, major outsourcings, software licensing, computer games, gaming law, systems supply, as well as high profile telecoms disputes and competition matters. A trainee's work would involve attending client meetings on projects, assisting with drafting of agreements, and researching points of law (often involving the internet and websites). There is a real diversity of client types, which provides a good range of experience for trainees. Secondment opportunities have included Esure and Google.
Patents
The group is one of the largest and best known patents groups in the UK, and we work closely with our strong patents group based in Germany. We handle contentious and non-contentious work in the London office, and non-contentious work in the Cambridge office.
At any one time we are running a number of patent disputes before the Patents Court of the High Court, often for large pharmaceutical companies or telecoms companies. Non-contentious work includes licensing and collaboration agreements for example for biotechnology companies.
Clients include Visto Corp, Nokia, Oxford BioMedica, Teva, Generics [UK] Ltd.
A trainee's work can involve attending meetings with clients and barristers and drafting documents to commence proceedings. Trainees are very much part of the team and are actively involved in trials and interim hearings and regularly attend court.
Private Client, Tax and Incentives
Taylor Wessing acts for a number of ultra-wealthy individuals and families including a significant number worth in excess of £100 million. The practice group handles all aspects of tax and succession planning advice for private clients, and the banks or trust companies that serve them. The work can range from advising on how to structure an investment in a hedge fund business to the terms of a complex will or trust, or dealing with issues relating to the management of a family's yacht, aeroplane or collection of artwork. The group also provides a residential conveyancing and family law service for clients. The work often has an international element and involves dealing with the firm's overseas offices and international contacts. The Tax and Incentives team are also part of the group and handle all aspects of corporate taxation and incentives advice for major corporates. Often, it can be the tax issues that play a vital part in shaping the course of a commercial transaction.
Trainees in the group are given immediate responsibility and client contact at an early stage, frequently attending meetings with clients or counsel. Trainees will usually work directly with partners and senior associates or as part of a larger team working together across a variety of practice groups to find the optimum outcome for the client. Whether advising private clients or blue-chip corporates, the work is often highly technical and involves keeping up to date with new legal developments in addition to developing important soft skills such as client handling and teamwork.
Private Equity
The Private Equity group is one of the central and core disciplines of the firm, providing opportunities for trainees to be involved in substantial transactions. The team has established a strong reputation, recently having been nominated for various high-profile awards, including Legal Adviser of the Year and Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions Team of the Year. Acting for various different management teams and private equity houses and with clients such as Electra Partners, Rutland Partners, JMH and Ion Equity Partners, trainees would are given real responsibility for varied transactional work. Often dealing with multi-jurisdictional matters, the group works closely with other teams within the firm, both at home and abroad. The Private Equity group is one of the most internationally focused practice groups in the Firm, with a growing proportion of its fees being derived from overseas clients including Promethean, JMH and Addax Bank. Members of the team have recently worked on transactions in China, Dubai, Bahrain, India, the USA and across Europe.
Projects
The Projects group acts for sponsors, consortia, contractors, funders, and operators on a variety of domestic and international projects in the energy, healthcare, infrastructure, waste, water and education sectors.
Our group includes lawyers with corporate, commercial and finance backgrounds and our close-knit team has broad transaction experience embracing project development, finance, M&A, consortium arrangements, tendering and procurement outsourcing.
Some of our clients include Api Energia, ABB, Health Properties Limited, Varian and Medical Systems.
The trainees that sit with us are given a high degree of responsibility and are involved with a broad range of work. Whilst working with us they experience large transactions, develop their project management and legal skills and have the opportunity to interact with several practice groups within the firm, as we will typically draw on several different areas to assist with any transaction.
Real Estate
The Real Estate group is one of the firm's core practice areas and plays a key part in the strategic direction of the firm. The group handles the full range of property transactions, comprising investment work, development projects, property finance, landlord and tenant work, advice to owners/occupiers, real estate disputes and the property aspects of corporate transactions. Our clients range from private investors and developers through to major institutions and property companies, multi-national companies, public authorities and major banks. We work closely with other teams within the firm, notably environment and planning, construction, corporate and tax, and with our colleagues overseas. The group is recognised as having "outstanding lawyers who produce top quality work". Our trainees are a vital part of our team, being given the opportunity to play a part in major transactions and also to run their own files and deal directly with clients and other solicitors on a daily basis. The Group is dynamic but friendly, and the work is challenging but rewarding, a far cry from the dry property law you will remember from college.
Reconstruction and Corporate Recovery
The Reconstruction and Corporate Recovery group advises UK and international corporations, directors, leading UK and european banks, asset based lenders and insolvency practitioners on some of the most complex and high-profile restructurings and insolvencies in europe. We work on both contentious and non-contentious matters which means that trainees in our group are exposed to a variety of work and have the opportunity to develop a variety of skills. They might find themselves researching difficult points of law, drafting court applications and attending court hearings one day and assisting with negotiating the sale of a business the next! All in all, a rewarding and challenging seat.
Trade Marks, Copyright and Media
This practice group comprises leading lawyers specialising in advertising, broadcasting, defamation and privacy issues, design, film, publishing (print, online and music), sports law and trade mark law. The group handles both contentious and non-contentious matters.
Our diverse client base includes advertising agencies (such as Omnicom Group), broadcasters, publishers (such as Associated Newspapers Limited), high net worth individuals, rights owners, fashion houses (such as Zara and Burberry) and various copyright collecting societies. We also act for investors in their investments into and disposals of media related and intellectual property related businesses.
Our trainees are an integral part of the group and support it in a wide variety of ways. For example, they handle the day to day running of some of the smaller files under supervision. Trainees are involved in preparing initial drafts of rights related documents, letters and witness statements. Where the group is preparing for a trial or an interim court hearing, trainees are actively involved and regularly attend court.
Technology/Inward Investment
Our group is made up of specialists in corporate law who focus on two principal areas. The first is advising non - UK based organisations wishing to develop their business in Europe, for example by acquiring European companies. Clients are commonly engaged in IP-rich business sectors, are often from North America or Asia and include some of the best known global companies. The second focus area is advising institutional venture capital investors in IP-rich businesses, and companies looking to attract such investment. Here the clients include many of the leading venture capital providers in Europe and companies developing some of the most exciting technology and life science innovations. Trainees will work with teams who enjoy top ranking in the legal directories and will develop their skills in transactions involving all aspects of corporate law in a multi-jurisdictional context.