Joel Donovan KC

John McElroy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of International Arbitration. John, who practices law in London, United Kingdom, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

James Fisher is a partner in the Finance Group in Alston & Bird’s London office, focusing on debt capital markets, structured finance, securitisation, and derivatives transactions, with a particular specialty in advising corporate trust, agency, and issuer clients across a broad spectrum of cross-border and domestic financings.

Neil Robson decodes complex UK and EU regulations to provide practical regulatory and compliance advice to financial services firms. He represents a range of financial market participants — hedge and private equity fund managers, investment advisors, broker-dealers and proprietary traders — that are based or doing business in the UK or the EU. Neil's extensive working knowledge of this complicated sector allows his clients to both meet their business objectives and satisfy regulat...

John Houghton, Chair of the London Restructuring & Bankruptcy Practice, advises creditors, sponsors, insolvent companies, directors and insolvency practitioners on virtually all areas of international restructurings, insolvency, and corporate rescues. He has a substantial experience of restructuring via schemes of arrangement and the new restructuring process. According to the Chambers UK 2020 Guide, John “is highly competent and skilled, and is able to guide a management team and d...

Steven Davis is a partner in the Corporate Department, co-head of our global Private Equity and M&A Group and co-head of the London office.Steven’s practice focuses on buyouts, buy-ins, and strategic mergers & acquisitions. He has considerable industry knowledge in the consumer, retail, financial, business services, sports and healthcare sectors, and has advised a broad range of clients, including private equity sponsors, management teams, financial institutions and public and p...

Steven Farmer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Privacy and Data Protection Law. Steven, who practices law in London, United Kingdom, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Steven is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Aymen Mahmoud is the co-head of the London Finance, Restructuring and Special Situations Group. He focuses his practice on complex debt financing transactions for private equity funds and their portfolio companies, hedge funds, corporate borrowers and issuers and other financial institutions including banks, direct lenders, family offices and other alternative sophisticated capital. His experience includes acting in respect of direct lending, leveraged buyouts, domestic and cross-border syndi...

Justin Watts is an experienced patent litigator who has an established and well-regarded intellectual property practice. Clients rely on his industry knowledge and years of experience to handle their complex, multinational disputes. Dr. Watts represents a variety of clients, with an emphasis on those in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, biotechnology, communications, and hardware and software industries, in disputes involving standards, competition law and patents. Dr. Watts' experience en...

Clients value the support, guidance, and leadership that Phillip Taylor brings to a situation and his technical and commercial approach to delivering innovative solutions to the most complex issues involving international restructuring, special situations, and insolvency. He represents companies, creditors, and investors in all parts of the capital structure, as well as corporate trustees, agents, directors, and insolvency practitioners. Phillip routinely handles both contentious and non-cont...

Bill Schnoor is a partner in and former co-chair of the firm’s Technology and Life Sciences groups. He works in all areas of corporate, securities and partnership laws, with a primary focus on advising high-growth technology and life sciences companies. He joined Goodwin in 2005, after a 21-year career with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP, and quickly became co-chair of Goodwin’s technology and life sciences practices. Under his leadership the Technology and Life Sciences grou...