Will Lawes

Will Lawes joined Lazard as a Managing Director at the beginning of 2017 after 30 years at Freshfields. Will has experience advising boards on public and private M&A, both recommended and hostile, demergers and other complex reorganisations, capital markets, corporate governance and crisis management (including restructuring and shareholder activism). His work has been in large part cross-border and covered many sectors. He ran Freshfields’ global financial institutions sector group for six years from 2004 to 2010, steering it through all the challenges of helping clients in the financial crisis.

He was elected as Freshfield’s global Senior Partner (executive chairman) from the beginning of 2011, a role he held for five years. As Senior Partner, Will was responsible for the firm wide strategy and business plan, new investment, governance, leadership appointments, risk and reputation management, as well as staff engagement, diversity and inclusion and community and social responsibility.