- Managing Partner: Jonathan Watmough
- Senior Partner: Robert Hogarth
- Number of UK partners: 69
- Number of other UK fee-earners: 208
THE FIRM Clients expect their lawyers to understand the law. What they really need are advisers who bring a clear understanding of their business and who can apply their legal expertise to the commercial context in which they operate. On this measure, you won’t find a better firm than RPC; the leading client satisfaction report for the legal sector recently placed RPC above all other law firms surveyed for quality of commercial advice. Combining this commercial outlook with its reputation for forward thinking and innovation, the firm delivers a high quality business law service to UK and international clients that is second to none.
PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK
Commercial Disputes: The full scope of dispute resolution, whether in the High Court in London, the appeal courts, arbitration or tribunals. Experienced at negotiation and mediation.
Competition: Specialist expertise across the full range of competition and anti-trust matters, including mergers, market and competition investigations, cartels and behavioural advisory work before both EU and UK competition authorities. The team advises both private and public sector clients, offering a sophisticated service to cover all perspectives and has particular expertise in the insurance, retail and media & telecommunications sectors.
Construction, Engineering & Projects: Advises from inception to completion on domestic and international projects, including procurement, risk management, OJEU procedures, development finance, collateral warranties and other securities, live project advice, adjudication, arbitration and litigation.
Corporate Insurance: Specialist commercial and corporate advisory and transactional work for all insurance market participants.
Corporate/M&A: Full range of transactional and advisory work, including M&A, private equity investments, refinancing, restructurings and joint ventures. Corporate finance work covers IPOs on the Official List and AIM or secondary offerings.
Employment, Pensions & Incentives: TUPE advice in relation to M&A and outsourcings, discrimination claims, dismissals, redundancies, compliance matters, policies and procedures, training programmes, High Court Litigation concerning infringement of restrictive covenants and team moves; contentious and noncontentious pensions advice.
Finance: Non-contentious – corporate lending and security, acquisition finance, property/development finance, asset and receivables financing; contentious – acts for institutional investors against large investment banks; particular expertise in capital markets.
Insurance & Reinsurance: Specialist teams focusing on claims involving accountants, brokers, directors and officers, financial institutions, reinsurance, construction and engineering, environmental, health and safety, lawyers’ liability, property, subrogated recoveries, EL/PL, medical negligence and product liability. Advises on policy wording and provides loss adjusting services.
IP, Technology & Outsourcing: Transactional and dispute resolution, including franchising, trade marks, patents, confidential information, design rights and copyright, e-commerce, data protection and competition. Outsourcing ranges from simple service contracts to complex offshore arrangements.
International Trade & Arbitration: Complex multi-jurisdictional litigation, arbitration and dispute resolution. Clients include commodities suppliers, charterers, insurers and energy companies.
Media: Defamation, privacy, contempt, copyright, data protection, reporting restrictions and freedom of information, predominantly for media defendants. Provides pre-publication advice and advice on jurisdictional challenges in media claims. Advises on promotions, acquisitions, e-publishing, publishing agreements and digitisation agreements.
Real Estate: Advises on property investment, development and finance, regeneration projects and landlord and tenant matters for property holding companies and institutional investors, developers or corporate occupiers, including acquisitions, disposals, leases and portfolio management.
Regulatory: Advises on issues businesses face regarding the regulatory and prosecuting authorities. Particular expertise in the insurance sector; acts for one fifth of the agents in the Lloyd’s Market.
Restructuring & Insolvency: Solvent schemes, business transfers, restructuring debt facilities, alternative risk transfers and run-off. Particular expertise in insurance insolvency.
Tax: Contentious and non-contentious; pre-emptive advice on tax risk issues; enquiries, investigations and litigation. Non-contentious advice includes corporate taxation, property tax, employment and benefits and VAT and stamp duty.