Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Texas-based Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (“Akin”) has been going from strength to strength in London since it first set up shop in the City 30 years ago. Akin has made a name in London for its restructuring and insolvency, hedge funds, and energy practices and is actively expanding its new “global capital solutions” team here. In 2023, the London office achieved a 25% revenue increase, reaching $175 million, further demonstrating London’s role as a key pillar in Akin’s global network, being the third-largest office overall by revenue. In London, Akin is ranked Band 1 by both Chambers and Legal 500 for restructuring and insolvency. Growing out of the 22-partner team from the restructuring boutique Bingham McCutchen, Akin’s London financial restructuring team has developed significant expertise advising creditors i.e. specialist investment funds, debt investors, insurance companies, pension funds, and hedge funds in distressed situations. In 2024, the team advised a group of bondholders in the €6 billion restructuring of Adler Group SA, a German real estate company. The team achieved a successful appeal against a restructuring plan which had been proposed by the company and sanctioned by the High Court, marking the first-ever successful appeal of a restructuring plan. It was also the first time the Court of Appeal examined the scope of the “cross-class cram-down” power, a recently introduced provision under the Companies Act regime allowing courts to impose restructuring plans on dissenting creditors or shareholders. Building on its core financial restructuring expertise and stellar portfolio of private credit managers, hedge funds, and other institutional investor clients, Akin’s London office has significantly expanded its private equity offerings. Recent high-value deals include advising LetterOne on the $11.2 billion transfer of its portfolio gas production and exploration business to Harbour Energy plc, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer. In 2024, Akin launched its Global Capital Solutions initiative, bringing together transactional lawyers across debt and equity financings to initiate ideas about innovative capital solutions. At first glance, this initiative serves Akin’s existing client base well, especially creditors in special situations who need to restructure their debt creatively, such as by converting into equity. In the long run, the Global Capital Solutions team targets mega multi-asset manager clients who will be able to rely on the firm whenever they make an investment, regardless of the underlying assets or structures. In London, within its first six months, the Global Capital Solutions team made significant hires, including three partners from Cooley and another from Orrick. These additions expanded Akin London’s M&A capabilities to high-growth companies and technology transactions, whereas Akin’s focus had long been on deals involving mature companies without a specific sector focus. Trainees can therefore expect to diversify their M&A experience working with the new partners, while also developing more flexible thinking about corporate financing structures as the Global Capital Solutions team expands in London. With its strong reputation for supporting hedge fund and credit fund managers in deploying capital, Akin has seamlessly expanded into investment management and fund structuring in London. The office’s sizable investment management team, consisting of ten partners, has earned recognition as a Band 2 leader in hedge fund formation and Band 3 in private fund formation overall by Legal 500 2025. As an example of the types of work on offer, the team recently advised one of the longest-established hedge managers in Europe on the formation of an Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (ICAV) fund which employed a long/short equity strategy.