Pinsent Masons adds restructuring specialist to financial services team

Claire, who joins as a Partner from Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson, is a well-known figure in the restructuring market. She has advised on a number of high-profile matters including the collapse of Globespan - once Scotland's largest airline - and the administration of Patrick Hegarty's £500m investment business WG Mitchell. Her practice is ranked in Band 1 by leading independent legal directory Chambers and Partners.

Claire's appointment will help cement Pinsent Masons' reputation as offering a genuinely pan-UK restructuring practice at a time when multi-site assignments are becoming increasingly common. Pinsent Masons will be the only law firm with restructuring specialists based in each of England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

She joins a practice which has expanded significantly over the past 12 months. In 2012 Pinsent Masons brought in a 3-partner team comprising Nicholas Pike, Steve Cottee and Tom Withyman from LG, while in January the firm appointed specialist banking litigator Michael Isaacs from Addleshaw Goddard. Outside of the UK, the firm recently appointed restructuring specialists Pierre Forget in Paris and Dr. Bernd-Uwe Stucken in Shanghai.Pinsent Masons recently advised on the administration of law firm Cobbetts, the restructuring of motorcycle clothing brand Heine Gericke and the high-profile restructuring of £1.1bn turnover Vion Food which safeguarded 4,000 jobs. The firm was also named Turnaround Legal Adviser of the Year at the IFT European Turnaround Awards in November 2012.

David Ryan, Managing Partner of Pinsent Masons, says:

"Claire has a reputation as an outstanding practitioner and her appointment further demonstrates our commitment to investing in the development of a full-service restructuring team serving the financial services sector."

Stephen Miles, Head of Financial Institutions at Pinsent Masons, says:

"Several businesses and funders are now entering a critical phase in the economic cycle and we expect to see further corporate restructuring work arising as a result. Claire is a well-known heavy-hitter in this market and has strong relationships with a number of major financial institutions and intermediaries."