Welcome to Watson Brady. We are a boutique firm offering bespoke legal services to private and institutional clients. Our focus is on developing valuable and open relationships with clients; adding value to their business is central to our firm’s proposition.
The key expertise we offer in funds, corporate and operational matters has seen us recognised by Legal 500 for 10 consecutive years from 2010 to 2019 for our work in the hedge funds area and by Best Lawyers for our work in the private equity field for the period 2010 to 2023.
Watson Brady advises private and institutional clients on corporate and commercial matters. We have a special focus on private investments, where our clients include fund managers, family offices, sovereign and institutional investors and proprietary traders. Clients are based in the UK, the US, Europe and various parts of the Middle East. They include law firms looking to import funds expertise for specific projects.
Our work includes set piece projects – such as joint ventures, mergers and start-up business arrangements – and day-to-day work around constitutional issues, commercial relationships, contract review and negotiation and corporate governance.
We are a specialist, tight-knit team, which offers maximum flexibility and is augmented by lawyers from other specialist law firms, all of whom are highly rated in their fields of expertise. We cherry pick the best and use our relationships to secure competitive terms in return for excellent and collaborative service.
We have the right breadth and depth of market experience to understand what drives a client’s requirements and to provide practical advice . We have experienced first-hand the challenges that growing businesses face. As such, our interests and experience are aligned with those of our clients.
Every instruction we take on starts with a briefing to identify our client’s real needs and how we might help in achieving them. From then on we are practical, economical, timely and straightforward.
Mark Brady has been
Mark has featured in Legal 500 as a recommended hedge fund lawyer and in Best Lawyers as a leading private equity lawyer.
Mark Brady is quick but meticulous, has come across most problems before and knows the way to get the best commercial outcome. – Legal 500
Excellent service with quick response times. - Legal 500
Mark Brady impresses with depth of industry knowledge and experience - his input speeds up projects. - Legal 500
t: +44 207 099 5937e: markbrady@watsonbrady.com
Mark Brady
While we often act on discreet transactional and advisory projects, the mainstay of our work is characterised by ongoing and collaborative relationships with our clients which sees us handling an array of day-to-day issues. This allows us to gain an understanding of our client's business, ambitions and challenges, which in turn allows us to focus intensely on finding tailored solutions in an efficient way.
We generally take the role of lead lawyers in setting up and restructuring funds....
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We generally take the role of lead lawyers in setting up and restructuring funds. This will usually entail scoping the project, preparing or amending the offering memorandum and related constitutional documents and material contracts, liaising with other professionals and overseeing closings.
We will meet with a client at the outset to scope a project and agree on an allocation of responsibilities, desired timetable, chronology of events and fees involved. At this stage, we will normally touch on issues of marketing, regulatory questions, fund domicile, liquidity terms, fees and tax advice required.
Fund managers and others have the same broad legal considerations as most other b...
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Fund managers and others have the same broad legal considerations as most other businesses. They also have specific industry issues and we advise on a range of these considerations and issues, such as:
The issue of law and regulation in the funds area did not stop with the implementation of AIMFD, Dodd-Frank a...
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The issue of law and regulation in the funds area did not stop with the implementation of AIMFD, Dodd-Frank and EMIR. We are continuously seeing more regulation being implemented, including MIFIR, CRD IV and MIFID II, as well as a more assertive approach from the financial services regulators. We can advise on these matters as well as advise on FCA compliance, approved persons and authorisation.
The funds industry has its fair share of corporate and partnership issues to deal...
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The funds industry has its fair share of corporate and partnership issues to deal with. Our corporate/partnership deals experience and our funds specialisation leave us well positioned to meet that demand.
Our work includes advising on set-piece projects – such as fundraisings, joint ventures, mergers, and start-up business arrangements – and day-to-day work around shareholders’ agreements, LLP Agreements, articles of association, partnership matters, contract review and negotiation and corporate governance.
“I would say that Watson Brady is first class when it comes to hedge fund and private equity work – both establishment work and ongoing regulatory and advisory support. However, I do not restrict that to the fund work itself, since I think one of the ways that Watson Brady adds value is in the advice to the manager about the structuring and arrangements for the manager. Most larger law firms are not proficient at this work since they often struggle with the emotional intelligence required to find outcomes that work for the personalities involved in running these businesses. So this would be a USP of Watson Brady.
Mark is excellent in this field and it is partly because he has got great experience, but it’s also because he is a hands-on partner and is able to help find good outcomes. That personal touch and EQ beyond lawyering is missing at many larger firms.
I would highly recommend Watson Brady for anyone running an investment management business. My experience is that we always receive very practical advice and support, often with suggestions for solutions that we hadn’t considered, and the firm is good value for money.”
COO, hedge fund management business
COO
“As an entrepreneur and financier, I have been using Watson Brady’s services since the beginning of this year. The Watson Brady team have been extremely helpful in setting up all the needed legal and regulatory framework for my ventures to take off. They are very professional, with an impeccable attitude and client focus, efficient, and timely responsive. The impression they give is that they consider clients as partners, rather than just clients. The right legal partner to have.”
Fabio Agosta
CEO, Trinity Investment Partners Limited
“Watson Brady represented us in the sale of our business, 2CG Senhouse Investments to Waverton Investment Management. The transaction spanned a number of jurisdictions and was not straightforward. As a team they were accessible, proactive and always commercial in their dealings. I cannot recommend the firm highly enough.”
Charles Scott Plummer
Head of Funds,Waverton Investment Management Ltd
“Having used Watson Brady for assistance in the negotiation of ISDA Documentation, EMIR Agreements and Custody Documentation, I have no hesitation in recommending them. Their pragmatic and straight forward approach is refreshing.
The knowledge within the team of the rapidly changing legal and regulatory landscape, as it applies to the corporate treasury and banking environment, is invaluable. They are our first port of call when it comes to ensuring we are complying with the current regulations.”
Treasurer of a large development finance group
Treasurer
