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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Anna Isaac

New year, new deal: the buyout boom poised to take over City lawyers’ lives

Young man with backpack walking on Tower Bridge against cityscape with skyscrapes at colorful sunrise. London
A new dawn: 2025 is predicted to be busy in the City, with a sustained period of M&A on the horizon. Photograph: Jaromir Chalabala/Alamy

Whether they’re on skis or a sunlounger, there is no beach, mountain or fireside that can spare lawyers from the urgent calls of zealous, dealmaking executives and private equity bosses. After a breathless 2024, the City’s army of corporate lawyers are set for another year of masking their poolside backgrounds on video calls, braced for an even busier 2025.

“Sadly, we were incredibly busy in July and August. We were both on holiday and working up to 14 hours a day,” says Patrick Sarch, partner at law firm White & Case and head of its public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. He and Sonica Tolani, another partner at the same firm, specialise in advising activist investors.

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