Marriott Harrison

Number of partners: 25
Associates: 32
Other fee-earners: 11

Firm Overview:
Marriott Harrison is a specialist law firm, partnering with leaders, entrepreneurs and investors to make smart, informed decisions. Beyond legal advisors the firm is an enabler of change, helping build, scale and evolve the businesses of the future. Clients approach Marriott Harrison at times of transformation with complex challenges related to growing, scaling, financing, refinancing, buying and selling innovative assets and impactful companies.

The firm is trusted by the businesses and the world’s leading growth capital investors backing and scaling the ideas of the future. Marriott Harrison advises entrepreneurs, SMEs, national and international companies, private equity and venture capital houses, growth capital funds, banks and other financial institutions, management teams, and high net worth individuals.

Main Areas of Practice:
The Marriott Harrison team delivers advice across the full complement of domestic and cross-border corporate and commercial advisory, financing and structuring transactions for public and private companies and their investors:

Venture Capital
The market leading Venture Capital team is best known for its role as investor counsel to many of the world’s most recognised VC funds and is also a go-to firm for founders seeking pragmatic and responsive strategic advice, and for US and European law firms seeking local advice for their clients.The firm is a member of British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and sits on the drafting committee, which is responsible for producing Series A model documents.

Operating at the epicentre of Europe’s VC and tech market, the firm plays an active role within this community, as well as regularly advising on cross border transactions worldwide. The team benefits from its strong international relationships, with international work involving investors and companies, particularly from some of the most prolific law firms in VC in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Key Contact: David Strong, Head of Venture Capital, +44 (0) 20 7209 2024.

Mergers and Acquisitions
The firm's M&A team is best known for its role as advisor to progressive private companies, founders, entrepreneurs and leading private equity investors who are building, scaling, evolving and exiting UK, regional and international business through strategic acquisitions and disposals. The team is uniquely positioned for UK connected cross-border M&A transactions aimed at venture capital backed businesses through its extensive knowledge, experience and work in both venture capital and M&A.

Key Contacts: Jonathan Leigh-Hunt, Head of Corporate +44 (0) 20 7209 2029, and Ian Morris, Partner, +44 (0) 20 7145 0224

Commercial, Data & IP:
The Marriott Harrison commercial, data and IP team delivers advice to national and international clients on often complex, commercial agreements covering a wide range of arrangements from collaboration, distribution, agency and franchising to outsourcing and managed services, software development, licensing, manufacturing and warehousing.

It advises clients across sectors on how to protect, manage, exploit and enforce their IP rights from a legal, strategic and business perspective. It provides specialist advice to start-up, scale-up and mature technology businesses on protecting their products, and to businesses using technology solutions on ensuring they are legally prepared for any eventuality. This is complemented by the provision of a full range of data protection support from carrying out data protection audits to advising on compliance strategies and complex international transfer arrangements.

Key Contact: Chris Mooney, Head of Commercial +44 (0) 20 7209 2030

Real Estate:
The Marriott Harrison real estate team provides high quality partner-led services and covers all areas of commercial real estate work.Alongside buying, selling, lending, developing and leasing, the team advises on construction and planning as well as property disputes. Many of the firm’s clients are headquartered internationally. The team works closely with the firm’s restructuring team on a wide range of distressed property matters and where clients’ tenants are experiencing financial difficulties.

Key Contact: Mark Lavers, Head of Real Estate +44 (0) 20 7209 2013

Restructuring, Banking & Finance:
Marriott Harrison's integrated restructuring, banking and finance team advises insolvency and turnaround practitioners, banks and other lenders, boards of directors and debtors across the entire corporate landscape on all aspects of business restructuring and formal insolvency. Being able to embrace the full range of restructuring, banking and finance skillsets within the team, Marriott Harrison is able to offer a full, one-stop service for clients’ debt related requirements.

Key Contact: Brett Israel, Head of Banking and Finance +44 (0) 20 7209 2007

Employment:
The Marriott Harrison employment team advises corporate clients on all and any employment issues they face, helping them achieve their commercial objectives while mitigating risk. The team advises employers in all sectors, and has particular experience of working with banks, venture capital providers and other financial services organisations as well as clients in the media sector.

The team regularly provides employment advice as part of transactions working with their corporate colleagues advising senior individuals on their own employment situations, providing strategic advice on resolving any issues with their employer, such as negotiating appropriate exit terms by way of a settlement agreement or advising on covenants and other obligations.

Key Contact: Bob Mecrate-Butcher, Head of Employment +44 (0) 20 7209 2017

Dispute Resolution:
The disputes team helps clients to resolve commercial disputes through the commercial resolution of disputes wherever possible. Where court or arbitration proceedings are the best method for achieving clients’ objectives, or where they are unavoidable, the firm has extensive experience representing clients at all levels of the court system in England and Wales, as well as in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations.

The team deals with complex and high value disputes, frequently with an international/offshore element, and works closely with a network of overseas firms where cases include multi-jurisdictional and cross-border issues and is ranked by the Legal 500 as one of the leading practices in London for commercial disputes.

Key Contact: Tamar Halevy, Head of Dispute Resolution +44 (0) 20 7209 2048