Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has appointed Matthew Williams as a partner in the firm's London office, joining WBD's national banking and financial services team led by partner Julian Kinsey.
Matthew joins from City firm Ashurst. He specialises in advising on balance sheet transactions for banks and other financial institutions ranging from secondary debt trading and loan portfolio trades to complex structured transactions and capital relief trades.
Matthew has over a decade of experience in both commercial and legal roles in the City. Matt previously held the position of Director at a UK Bank with lead responsibility for the management, disposal strategy and execution of sales of portfolios of distressed debt.
Julian Kinsey of WBD commented:
"We have a strong and growing financial institutions sector offering which we are continuing to bolster particularly in London, where more generally we continue to see opportunities for growth. We are delighted to welcome Matthew to the partnership and to our London and national banking and financial services practice. He joins us with a wealth of expertise in the sector and his deep specialism in debt trading will play an essential role in strengthening our City and national offering."
Matthew Williams added:
"WBD has strong credentials in the financial institutions sector with an impressive client portfolio that brings great opportunities to work on very exciting projects for a breadth of national and international clients. I look forward to working with Julian's team here in London, nationally and internationally."
Matthew's appointment follows a wider recruitment drive in WBD's London office which also saw insurance partner Tim Barr and immigration partner Andrew Tingley join the firm in the past couple of weeks.
Ranking in the UK's top 20 law firms, WBD was recommended in this year's Legal 500 and Chambers UK, ranking as a top tier law firm across a large number of practice areas, including in banking and finance.
The firm provides legal expertise across a range of sectors including Financial Institutions, Insurance, Public & Government Services, Energy & Natural Resources, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Retail & Consumer, Transport, Logistics & Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences, Technology and Private Wealth.