Ross McNaughton joins Taylor Wessing as a new partner hire

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ross McNaughton as partner in our corporate technology team, based in Cambridge. Ross joins the firm on 1 July.

Ross joins the firm from Penningtons Manches Cooper and previously spent five years at Paul Hastings.

Ross has extensive experience in the US having spent the last decade focusing on transatlantic work and having been based in San Francisco for most of 2018 – 2019. As such, Ross has a strong network across corporates, venture capital firms and the advisory community within the US, particularly within Silicon Valley. He is a leading figure in the life sciences and technology, media and communications sectors.

Ross specialises in helping high growth companies as they undertake corporate events, including VC investments, spin-outs, public listings and M&A where his experience covers the full range of deals on both the buy side and sell side. He has particular experience with transactions involving an international or US component.

Executive Board member and Partner, James Goold, said:

We're very excited to welcome Ross to the team as we continue to strengthen further our market leading practices in tech and life sciences. Providing life cycle advisory services to companies, helping them evolve through the ecosystems of those sectors, is a central feature of our corporate offering. Ross' expertise and experience brings strong synergies with our approach, and his reputation both in the UK and the US will help us to drive new opportunities.”

Welcoming Ross to the firm, Managing Partner, Shane Gleghorn, said:

This hire strengthens our practice acting for cutting-edge businesses in the technology and life sciences space. Ross has a strong track-record of transactions in those sectors, and he is a known-quantity because he was running a Silicon Valley office at the same time as we were growing our office there.

He joins us at a time when our corporate technology team has been very busy and brings with him a wealth of contacts and clients. Ross has extensive experience with a number of companies operating in the various verticals of life science, and he will bring all of that experience to bear in the Cambridge region and across the all of the countries were we are providing legal services.”

Ross McNaughton added:

I am incredibly excited to be joining Taylor Wessing; and the firm’s reputation in tech and life sciences across Cambridge, London, the US and elsewhere is second to none. I Iook forward to working with them to help shape the future of such a well-respected practice.”

Ross' hire follows news of Alison Dennis joining the firm as the International Co-Head of our Life Sciences and Healthcare team and Adrian Toutoungi, who has also now officially joined the firm's Cambridge office as a patents partner. Most recently, the firm also confirmed the appointment of Matthew Swainston to its real estate team from Forsters, Murray North in the Private Client team from BCLP and Helen Farr in the Employment team from Fox Williams.

Services and Groups Corporate/M&A & capital markets