CMS builds on disputes growth with leading commercial litigator hire in Manchester

International law firm CMS is pleased to announce the appointment of Geraldine Ryan as a partner in its Litigation & Arbitration practice, based in the firm’s Manchester office. She joins from Hill Dickinson, where she was National Head of the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution team and Head of the Manchester office.

Geraldine has more than 20 years’ experience in high profile, high value and complex litigation, including judicial review and arbitration, and notable successes in the Court of Appeal. She specialises in commercial dispute resolution, breach of contract and professional negligence claims, and is also recognised for her work in defamation and reputation management issues and phone hacking claims. She regularly acts on a variety of matters across several sectors including sports, aviation, property and retail, pharmaceutical and manufacturing.

Ranked in Chambers and as a leading individual in The Legal 500, Geraldine is “a respected figure in the market” and is lauded by clients as “an incredibly hard-working, organised and efficient lawyer who has great experience in the courts.”

Jonathan Warne, Head of Litigation & Arbitration at CMS, comments: “We are delighted that Geraldine has joined us to support the continued growth and development of our Litigation & Arbitration team. She is a highly skilled and established commercial litigator with a proven track record and excellent reputation. Her extensive experience in various sectors and specialist areas complements the team’s capabilities and enables us to enhance our cross-practice offering and to capture new growth opportunities in the North.”

Mark Haywood, CMS partner and Head of North, comments: “CMS is deeply invested in, and committed to, the North – a region with enormous energy, enterprise and potential. Geraldine joining the firm is further demonstration of this commitment, particularly in these challenging times. Given her wealth of experience as a commercial litigator and a business leader, we are excited about the potential client opportunities this brings and how we can drive forward our efforts to deepen our offering in the North.”

Commenting on her appointment, Geraldine says: “CMS has an excellent reputation in Manchester and represents the ideal platform for me to continue building my practice. I look forward to working with the team and to applying my experience to broaden our offering and to expand into growth areas such as reputational risk management and public procurement.”

Geraldine’s appointment builds on the recent promotion of 10 disputes partners in the UK, effective 1 May 2020, as part of the firm’s annual global partner promotions round. Globally, the CMS Disputes Practice has over 300 partners supported by 900 fee-earners with CMS UK having one of the largest groups of contentious lawyers of any City law firm, with disputes lawyers spanning across all the firm’s sectors and UK offices.

CMS is consistently recognised as a top tier disputes resolution firm and is noted by clients to have “a team of first-rate lawyers with real strength in depth; the team is approachable, knowledgeable, efficient, effective and a joy to work with.” The firm won UK Firm of the Year for Dispute Resolution at The Legal 500 Awards 2018 and Corporate/Commercial Litigation Team of the Year at Legal Week Commercial Litigation & Arbitration

Awards 2019. It also had the highest number of cases profiled in The Lawyer Top 20 Cases to Watch 2019.