In 1999, Avril Martindale, an intellectual property (IP) partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, was tapped by the Ford Motor Company to negotiate the IP aspects of its $6.45bn (£4m) acquisition of Volvo Cars.
A decade later, Martindale’s IP advice was sought after once more in a deal with Ford, but this time it was China’s privately-held Zhejiang Geely Holding Group that was seeking her expertise. Could Freshfields help the Chinese carmaker acquire Volvo, the Swedish auto company Ford was looking to sell?
