Fiona Adams is the managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s London office and the Co-Chair of its Global Corporate Practice. She represents corporate clients, focusing her practice on mergers and acquisitions, and other transactional matters. Her work spans a range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, financial institutions, media, and retail. Adams has broad experience working on large, complex cross-border transactions.

Adams continues to be highly recommended by both of the leading independent guides to the legal industry. According to Chambers & Partners 2019, Fiona Adams “deploys a ‘user friendly, commercial and down-to-earth’ demeanor.” The Legal 500 2020 edition advises “Fiona Adams is an outstanding M&A lawyer with great customer service.”

It is well understood that to see true change in terms of tackling gender diversity issues, there is a need to have more women participating at the highest levels. Adams, co-founder of the Greenberg Traurig London office, embodies that principle.

As a corporate lawyer, a traditionally male-dominated environment, Adams has always been aware of the type of issues that women may face when pursuing a career in law. When Adams co-founded the Greenberg Traurig London office in 2009, she was clear that the office should take full advantage of its “start-up” identity to do things differently, including challenging the status quo of traditional law firm models.

This included recognizing that a workplace that embraces diversity and is inclusive creates a productive and positive environment for its employees. It strengthens the firm’s culture, contributes to the firm’s financial health, and better serves firm clients. Greenberg Traurig is a uniquely empowering and diverse firm where individuals are respected and have the opportunity to contribute, develop leadership skills, and grow their business. Adams and many others in the London office are actively involved in Greenberg Traurig’s firmwide Women’s Initiative, which reflects these principles and supports the inclusion and advancement of women in the legal profession through unique programming and resources designed to benefit the firm’s attorneys, clients, and future lawyers.

In 2019, Greenberg Traurig was recognized as having the highest percentage of female partners (shareholders) of any U.S. firm active in the U.K., and the only firm with a partnership proportion of more than 40 percent.

In her capacity as managing shareholder, Adams ensures that the London office is fully involved in Greenberg Traurig’s broader gender, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. She is leading a mental well-being and mindfulness initiative within the office. This has been a priority area for development in 2019 and ranges from soft-end initiatives such as introducing yoga classes within the office, to arranging for various lawyers and business staff (Adams included) to be trained as mental health first aiders.

As a woman in a leadership role with a high profile, she understands her potential to act as a role model. Despite a busy workload comprising management and fee earning responsibilities, Adams is visible, accessible, and engaged within the office.

Recently Adams was shortlisted for the 2019 Chambers and Partners Gender Diversity Lawyer of the Year - Europe-wide Award, recognizing her commitment to diversity.