Hammad Akhtar appointed as head of Transactional Services group

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has appointed Hammad Akhtar as Head of its Transactional Services group with effect from 1 August.

Hammad, a renowned corporate lawyer specialising in M&A, reorganisations and domestic and cross-border portfolio transfer transactions, joined the firm as Head of Corporate for Financial Services in 2017. He has since been instructed on a series of significant transactions including advising Royal London on its Brexit strategy, which involved a £1bn transfer of legacy Irish, German and other business from the mutual to a newly-formed Irish subsidiary.

Hammad has also co-chaired Pinsent Masons’ Faith, Race, Ethnicity and Equality network (FREE) since its inception in 2018 and leads the firms’ Sun programme, aimed at creating a better balance of race and ethnicity within our workforce.

He takes over from Andrew Masraf, who concludes his second three-year term. Andrew will return to fee-earning and continue as Sponsor of the Spark Board, the firm’s unique initiative to bring perspectives from all levels across the firm into strategic decision-making.

John Cleland, Managing Partner at Pinsent Masons, says:

Hammad is a natural leader and very well-respected member of the partnership and I am sure that Transactional Services team will be in good hands under his stewardship. I look forward to working closely with him as he continues to build on the group’s success. Andrew has made a tremendous contribution to the firm and the group’s development in his time at the helm and will now transition back into practice, providing an opportunity for other talented people to get involved in the management and leadership of our business. Our huge thanks go to Andrew for all he has done while in post.”

Hammad Akhtar, adds:

Transactional Services team comprises over 400 lawyers, spans 26 locations and advises a broad range of clients in several sectors. We are known for the quality of service and advice, and for doing things differently. We are known for our innovation and for taking leadership in the legal sector. I very much look forward to helping to build on our successes in my new role.”

Pinsent Masons’ Transactional Services group is comprised of the Commercial, Competition, EU & Trade, Corporate, Corporate Tax and Employment and Reward practices.