From the magic circle to the elite US firms in London, a look at the new generation of M&A partners making their mark in the wake of the financial crisis

lazenby-oliverFRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER

Oliver Lazenby Qualified: 2001 Made partner: 2011 Key deals: John Laing Group's £600m initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange; Mexican drinks company FEMSA's auction of its brewing business, which was eventually sold to Heineken in return for a large equity stake Defining moment: "I like doing deals with an international element. The FEMSA deal was New York law governed. You might ask what an English lawyer was doing in the middle of all that. You have to appreciate that people from different parts of the world approach deals in very different ways." Do you think global firms still need rainmakers? "More than ever: there are often one or two key people at our end who act as the interface between the client and the firm."