Linklaters strengthens banking and restructuring team by rehiring Chris Howard as partner

British law firm Linklaters has poached on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Chris Howard by appointing him as a partner for its London office.

Howard specializes in domestic and international leveraged financings and financial restructurings and boasts of investment and commercial banks among his clients.

In relation to financial restructuring, Howard has recently advised a steering committee of banks including RBS, Lloyds TSB Bank plc and BNP Paribas on the restructuring of the facilities made available to Uniq plc.

He is also the author of the bestselling restructuring book 'Restructuring Law and Practice' published by Butterworths.

I am delighted to welcome Chris to the firm. With his track record in leading major transactions for some of the world’s biggest investment and commercial banks, on both the restructuring and new money side, he will be a tremendous asset to the banking practice and to our clients, said Robert Elliott, global head of banking of Linklaters.

Agrees Tony Bugg, global head of restructuring & insolvency, Linklaters. Chris' appointment will help us to take advantage of the anticipated increase in demand for financial restructuring over the next few years, as we continue to advise clients on addressing troubled asset portfolios and restructuring distressed debt, Bugg said.

Interestingly, Howard left Linklaters to join Freshfields' equity practice in 2004 after being frustrated at being denied partnership at Linklaters. The rehire, which comes six years later, has been engineered, according to the lawyer circle, by David Ereira, another ex-Freshfield lawyer who has known Howard since their days together at Denton Wilde Sapte.