Transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has appointed Jonny Williams as a partner and head of the firm’s national financial services team. Jonny is a well-known figure in the financial services and wider business community in Edinburgh and will support the continuing growth of WBD’s office in the city and across Scotland.

Jonny, who will be based across both WBD’s Edinburgh and London offices, joins from Lloyds Banking Group where since 2012, he has held several Leadership roles, and latterly was Head of Legal, Business and Specialist Banking. Leading a team of 21, Jonny also advised on a wide range of product and lending issues including regulatory matters and regularly acted as deputy to the General Counsel for Retail.

He has a strong track record of advising on a broad range of issues in a Commercial and Retail Banking context, including complex restructurings as well as regulatory matters, having gained significant experience on FCA and FOS matters in his role at Lloyds. Jonny has also led on key strategic projects and managed portfolios of complex and reputationally significant cases in the UK and abroad.

Jonathan Blair, UK Managing Partner at WBD, commented: “We look forward to welcoming Jonny to the firm and the Partnership and are delighted to have somebody of his calibre leading our financial services team. Jonny’s track record, his connections within the in-house legal community as well as his intimate knowledge of how banks and other financial institutions think and operate will strengthen our national offering and provide great added value to our clients.”

“We have a strong financial institutions sector proposition which we are continuing to bolster particularly in Edinburgh, where more generally we continue to see opportunities for growth. Having Jonny on board reinforces our growth ambitions in the city and in the wider Scottish marketplace and recognises the importance of Edinburgh as a capital city and international hub for financial services.”

Jonny Williams added: “WBD has strong credentials in the financial institutions sector with an impressive client portfolio. The firm is well positioned in this changing legal marketplace for success in the future and I am delighted to join WBD to lead and shape the further growth of the financial services team particularly in Edinburgh and Scotland.”

WBD’s Edinburgh office launched in February last year and followed on from the success of the firm’s Aberdeen office which opened over a decade ago in 2007. The office, which is located in the heart of the city on Princes Street, is committed to supporting its clients’ growth in the region and leveraging the firm’s unique network throughout the UK, EU and US to generate insight, opportunity and value to businesses across Scotland. The firm’s Edinburgh offering focuses on delivering legal services to clients in the firm’s key sectors, in particular financial institutions, energy and real estate.
Ranking in the UK’s top 20 law firms, WBD was recommended in this year’s Legal 500 and Chambers UK, ranking as a top tier law firm across a large number of practice areas, including in financial services.