John Allen
Partner
I’m a Partner and a corporate lawyer, with a principal focus on mergers and acquisitions work. That can involve a client executing on its growth strategy by buying or investing into another business, or a client looking to realise full value when they sell their business. I also advise on board governance, directors’ duties and company constitutional matters.
I firmly believe that the best results for clients are achieved when the lawyers take a collaborative approach to the transaction. It’s important to stand up strongly for a client’s interests, but in my view that’s rarely achieved by being the stereotypical “table-thumping” lawyer.
I think it’s much more important to recognise the commercial drivers of all the parties to the deal and to listen to constructive suggestions (whoever they come from). Everyone should be working together to get the deal done, and in my experience the best deals don’t feel like an adversarial process.
I’ve got more than 25 years’ experience in corporate transactions and I’ve been a Partner at White & Black since 2007. I’ve acted for some fantastic clients over that time, many of them household names across a broad range of sectors and from around the world. I’m ranked as a “Leading Individual” in the Legal 500 and a “Band 1 Ranked Individual” in Chambers & Partners.
