Dealmaker: Sullivan's Ben Perry on James Bond deals, sign-holding in Trafalgar Square and very late client gifts
Sullivan & Cromwell City corporate partner recounts memorable moments from his career
May 12, 2017 at 05:53 AM
3 minute read
Sullivan & Cromwell City corporate partner Ben Perry recently advised on a $4bn deal that saw London-listed property company Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate merge with its US parent company.
He made partner at Sullivan in 2008 after training at Clifford Chance, and has also overseen the development of a trainee solicitor programme in the US firm's London office.
Why did you become a lawyer? As a result of reading the Rumpole novels by John Mortimer.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career? My wife, who I met while she and I were both associates at Sullivan.
What's your proudest professional moment? Being elected as partner of Sullivan. You expect a phonecall, but you don't know whether it's good or bad news.
…and worst day on the job? As a junior associate at my previous firm, having to stand at the corner of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall with a homemade sign, directing people to a company's annual general meeting, as the address on the notice was wrong.
What's your strongest characteristic… and worst trait? I'm hardworking and dedicated. I can also, at times, be impatient and demanding of others, but I'm working on it.
What advice would you give to young deal lawyers starting out? Try and understand the different legal and commercial objectives of the other parties, not just your own client – it will help your client achieve its objectives.
What most annoys you about the legal profession? Lawyers who think it's all about them.
Most memorable deal you ever have worked on and why? When I first arrived as an associate at Sullivan, I worked on a deal to finance the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. It is still the longest-running deal I've ever worked on. It lasted three and a half years. It was also the only deal that I've worked on that a) required three presidents' signatures and b) featured in a James Bond film – The World Is Not Enough.
What is the daftest bit of corporate jargon you've heard (and did you smirk)? I was invited to a meeting at someone else's office. The host didn't book a meeting room so invited us to "brainstorm in the innovation area". It did amuse me, but I was too young and deferential to make it obvious.
Do you see yourself having a career outside law? No, unless Andrew Strauss's job as director of England cricket becomes vacant.
What's your favourite item of clothing? A tie with cricketers on it.
Favourite boxset? US comedy Veep.
Toughest ethical moral dilemma the job has ever presented you with? Watching an England vs Germany football match with my Frankfurt colleagues. Germany won, of course.
What is the strangest request you have ever received from a client? Not a request as such, but I did receive a wedding present from a client nine years after I got married. A box appeared at the office one day with a note apologising for the delay.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllHow to Build an Arbitration Practice: An Interview with 37-Year HSF Veteran Paula Hodges
Scratching the Entrepreneurial Itch: Linklaters' AI Head On Becoming a Partner and GenAI Hallucinations
'Relationships are Everything': Clifford Chance's Melissa Fogarty Talks Getting on Big Deals and Rising to the Top
7 minute readThe 'Returnity' Crisis: Is the Legal Profession Failing Women Lawyers Returning From Maternity Leave?
8 minute readTrending Stories
- 1New York-Based Skadden Team Joins White & Case Group in Mexico City for Citigroup Demerger
- 2No Two Wildfires Alike: Lawyers Take Different Legal Strategies in California
- 3Poop-Themed Dog Toy OK as Parody, but Still Tarnished Jack Daniel’s Brand, Court Says
- 4Meet the New President of NY's Association of Trial Court Jurists
- 5Lawyers' Phones Are Ringing: What Should Employers Do If ICE Raids Their Business?
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250