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Overview

Melanie Wadsworth counsels clients through a wide range of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, public company transactions, and day-to-day compliance with English company law. Much of Melanie's work involves an international element and she has been recognized by Chambers UK for her appreciation of the cross-border nuances and excellent negotiating style. Melanie is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Melanie advises on acquisitions, disposals, management buyouts and all other types of corporate transactions for clients ranging from Chinese state-owned enterprises to owner-managed businesses.

Public Company Transactions

Melanie has advised on the majority of public company transactions handled by Faegre Drinker's London office in the past 15 years. In addition to helping clients address day-to-day compliance and governance issues, she has advised on listings, takeovers, fundraisings, and corporate restructurings of public companies listed or incorporated in the U.K. Melanie also advises companies on their admission to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Corporate Governance and Sustainability

Melanie is a member of the firm's global sustainability practice and regularly advises companies on governance matters, including strategic reporting and the challenges of complying with the multiple national frameworks that apply to global organisations. She trains clients on risk assessment and policy development, working closely with Boards and other stakeholders to determine how best to manage risk while maximising the opportunities that good corporate governance can offer.  Melanie advises clients on how to limit their exposure to liability for the acts of third parties, including in the context of cross-border transactions.  She was a participant in the UK government's consultation on the Bribery Act 2010 and regularly counsels companies on anticorruption matters and on compliance with the UK Modern Slavery Act. 

Credentials

Court Admissions

Solicitor of the Courts of England & Wales [Solicitors Regulation Authority]

Education

College of Law, Chester

Aston University, Birmingham

Insights & Events

Other Perspectives
  • Directors' Dealings and Corporate Governance
    Chapter author in A Practitioner's Guide to AIM Rules, Seventh Edition, Sweet & Maxwell, 2014

Leadership & Community

Professional Associations

  • Law Society of England and Wales
  • Women Lawyers' Association of the City of London
  • Quoted Companies Alliance — Member of the QCA Corporate Governance Expert Group which works with boards, investors and regulators to promote high-quality corporate governance by U.K. quoted companies.

Honors

  • Recipient of the Freedom of the City of London 
  • Chambers UK — Ranked as a leading lawyer for capital markets work with AIM companies, 2015 
  • Chambers UK – Ranked among top lawyers in Capital Markets: AIM and praised by the sources for being "considered, efficient and incisive" and "well-known in the market", 2014
  • Legal 500 UK – Ranked as a leading lawyer for flotations, 2013
  • Chambers UK —  Clients described Melanie as "excellent, very approachable, knowledgeable, pragmatic, commercially aware and efficient," 2013
  • Legal 500 UK  — Praised by the sources as "excellent" in the field of Flotations: Small and Mid-Cap with clients describing her as "experienced, unflappable, calm and hardworking," 2012
  • Chambers UK — Ranked among top lawyers in Capital Markets: AIM and praised by the sources for her "excellent negotiating style that is both disarming and effective," 2012
  • Legal 500 UK — Leading lawyer in Flotations: Small and Mid-Cap and described as "exceptional" in this field, 2011
Awards Methodology
No aspect of these recognitions has been approved by the highest court of any state.