The veteran corporate lawyer spent several years as a partner in a London firm
Russell McVeagh has appointed Catherine Shirley-Brown as its newest partner.
Shirley-Brown joins the national corporate team with decades of experience in the field. She specialises in public and private M&A, joint venture and shareholder arrangements and general corporate and commercial law. She is also an expert in cross-border transactions.
Earlier in her career, Shirley-Brown was a partner in a local law firm before moving to London, where she logged a six-year term as partner at international firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. She returned to New Zealand in 2018.
She has provided advice on matters in several industries, including real estate, infrastructure, retail, energy, IT and finance. Her clients include public and private corporates, asset managers and central and local government entities, both locally and abroad.
Shirley-Brown’s recent achievements include advising on a deal involving an English infrastructure fund to refinance a portfolio of affordable housing assets and the subsequent sale of the portfolio to a pension fund; advising an Israeli conglomerate on the disposal of its motorway service area portfolio; advising a major UK retailer on the disposal of its opticians business; and advising a US pharmaceutical company on its acquisition of an LSE-listed neuroscience company through scheme of arrangement.
She received recognition by The Legal 500 for her work in upper-mid market deals in England, and has been named a Next Generation Partner in New Zealand.
Shirley-Brown’s addition is a move to grow Russell McVeagh’s corporate team and its Wellington office, something the firm said is a priority for 2020.
“We are delighted to be able to strengthen our Wellington office and corporate team with such a hugely experienced alumna. Cath's leadership and the expertise she brings in acting for clients on M&A, private equity, and general corporate and commercial transactions will be invaluable,” said Malcolm Crotty, the firm’s board chair.
In February, Russell McVeagh added Kirsten Massey, a litigator who also did a stint in London, to its partnership. The firm also promoted Caleb Hensman to partner in March.
