Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance expands US M&A offering with appointment of James Grayer as counsel in New York

New York: Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has today announced the appointment of M&A and insurance attorney James Grayer to its US Corporate practice as counsel.

With more than 20 years of experience in private practice, Grayer was most recently a senior executive at managing general underwriter, Concord Specialty Risk, where he underwrote Representation & Warranty Insurance (RWI) and advised on policy matters.

Grayer brings with him significant transactional and insurance product knowledge to the firm's M&A and insurance offering. In private practice, Grayer acted as counsel to C-suite executives and boards of directors in transactional, contract, compliance, governance and disclosure matters. He advised both domestic and international privately-held corporations and private equity firms, and publicly traded companies across a wide variety of industries, including a focus on branded consumer goods, and biotech / life sciences.

Partner Joe Cosentino, head of the firm's US RWI practice, offers "We're witnessing a rapid increase in the demand for RWI expertise on M&A transactions. James' arrival reflects a significant enhancement to our offering in this space. Our team is excited for his arrival.  We look forward to embedding him into our wider M&A team and introducing him to our valued clients."

Grayer, who will be based in New York, comments, “Joining Clifford Chance allows me to leverage my legal and insurance expertise in a collaborative and client centric environment. I look forward to combining my knowledge with this exceptional platform to benefit and expand the firm’s client base."

Clifford Chance's insurance M&A practice has advised on a number of the industry's landmark transactions in recent times. These include advising Watford Holdings Ltd. on its pending approximately US$700 million acquisition by Bermuda-based insurance, reinsurance and mortgage insurance company Arch Capital Group Ltd., Sedgwick on the sale of its group health peer review and independent medical examination assets to ExamWorks, LLC, and Premia on its acquisition of Navigators Holdings (Europe) NV from U.S.-based insurance and investment company, The Hartford.