A seven-strong capital markets team including four partners has exited Memery Crystal to join Haynes Boone as the London boutique continues to splinter against the background of its parent company, RBG Holdings, preparing to enter administration.
The group joining the top 100 US firm is led by partner Nick Davis, who has been appointed co-head of Haynes Boone’s London office, and includes partners Edward Baker, Robert Bines-Black and Nick Heap and three associates.
The move follows the announcement by RGB on 31 January of its intention to appoint administrators. That came on the same day that 40 lawyers, trainees and support staff decamped from RGB-owned Rosenblatt Solicitors to join the newly established vehicle Rosenblatt Law Ltd, which was set up by Rosenblatt’s founder, prominent London disputes lawyer Ian Rosenblatt.
Haynes Boone managing partner Taylor Wilson said the firm was committed to growing its London office and developing its global capital markets and corporate practices.
“The addition of Nick and his team aligns with our strategic growth in the world’s leading legal markets and enhances our ability to serve clients in a globalised marketplace,” he added.
The incoming team brings a track record in IPOs, equity capital markets transactions and private and public M&A, with experience spanning sectors including oil and gas, mining, renewables and technology.
For his part, Davis has spent the past 24 years at Memery Crystal. His practice includes advising on public company listings on both the Main Market and AIM and he has extensive experience acting for issuers, NOMAD/brokers and sponsors, Haynes Boone said. He is also the only lawyer who sits on the AIM advisory group.
Meantime, Baker primarily advises on private and public M&A matters. He was seconded to the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, and he previously led the Memery Crystal public M&A team.
Bines-Black brings extensive experience in equity capital markets and both public and private M&A. Alongside advising UK clients, he has acted on cross-border listings in London for US, Canadian and Australian companies, with a particular sector focus on natural resources, renewables, healthcare and tech.
Finally, Heap focuses on equity capital markets transactions, and has particular knowledge for clients operating in the natural resources sector, including oil and gas and mining, as well as in life sciences, healthcare and technology.
Following the Memery Crystal team’s arrival, Haynes Boone’s London office will have 55 lawyers – the Dallas-based firm’s fourth largest by headcount.
The firm first expanded into London in 2016 through a merger with boutique Curtis Davis Garrard, which served the shipbuilding and oil and gas industries. Since then the firm has added capabilities in London across areas including arbitration, finance, energy and shipping as well as M&A and capital markets.
The Haynes Boone hires come hot on the heels of a 25-strong group leaving Memery Crystal to join Fladgate earlier this week. Meantime a real estate team comprising five directors left Memery Crystal to join London firm Lawrence Stephens last month, while Keystone Law is set to absorb the firm’s commercial, IP and technology team, led by Carl Rohsler.
The impending demise of RBG has come against the background of a falling share price, financial instability and strategic missteps that prompted it to offload its litigation funding arm LionFish in 2023.
The group originally hit the headlines in 2018 when it became the vehicle for the listing of Rosenblatt Solicitors – one of the first law firms to float. RBG went on to buy Memery Crystal in 2021 for £30m, although both London boutiques maintained their trading names.
Memery Crystal did not respond to a request for comment on the moves. The exits will leave the firm with around 16 partners, according to its website.
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