Best brains in ...

M&A and joint ventures - I have been doing M&A for major corporates for more than 20 years, working in most sectors. Recently I have acted on deals in the food, energy and financial services sectors.

Most challenging job you've ever done?

Leading a team of 20 lawyers to advise Premier Foods on the £182 million sale of its Canning Division to Princes Foods. The transaction involved a "carve out" of the business by way of an asset sale, antitrust clearance, a Class 1 shareholder approval and multiple ancillary brand licenses, logistics agreements and transitional service arrangements.

What about outside the UK?

Working with ten of our European best friend firms in relation to the reorganisation of the European operations of one our major US clients.

I also led a cross-border team with banking & finance partner Paula Laird advising KBC group on the £200 million sale of its asset-based lending division, KBC Business Capital, to NYSE-listed PNC Financial Services Group.

What other transactions have you been involved in?

Other highlights include:

• Advising AMEC in relation to its consortium agreements with URS Washington Group and AREVA-NC to bid to undertake the decommissioning of Sellafield which involved a contract valued at £1.2 billion a year for up to 17 years.
• Acting for Origin Enterprises in its £33 million acquisition of CleanCrop UK.
• Acting for the Aston Martin management team in relation to the sale of Aston Martin by Ford to Kuwaiti investors.

Give an example of your great client service?

Thinking - and having the privilege of being given the opportunity to think - about the commercial challenges that face clients and what the best answer might be...in the shower, in the car, on the train or on the plane. Getting paid for it can be a bonus at times.

Best example of a creative legal solution?

I acted for a client buying from a seller who had to complete the deal by midnight on 31 March. Despite the fact that issues remained outstanding, I designed a structure that enabled the seller to meet its deadline for accounting purposes without exposing our clients to risk. The seller was grateful and we earned its goodwill for the rest of the negotiation. We now also act for the seller.

When have you ever given a client a real competitive edge?

It is important to work hard to understand the commercial drivers and determine what matters and what doesn't in each assignment. I also work hard to understand the position of the other side in a deal and look for win-wins.

How do you get under the skin of a client business?

Spending time understanding the sector and persuading clients to invest time in keeping our team up-to-date on the challenges they face, their plans and strategy. This is invaluable in providing context to what we do.

What's your single greatest contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?

I have been involved with NSPCC for nearly 20 years, working with teams to raise more than £1 million. Getting involved in the NSPCC and working with its people is a great experience and very humbling. I also support Help for Heroes and am doing a 350 mile charity bike ride in June this year: http://www.bmycharity.com/rhaywoodbbbr

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

It didn't exactly make me proud but when one of the legal directories said I was "solid as a rock'" I got a lot of stick about it.