Scott Hopkins

Scott advises investors and companies on transactions and governance. He previously served as head of UK Mergers & Acquisitions at the New York based law firm Skadden Arps, where he advised complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions and other corporate matters including governance, legal and regulatory responsibilities, contentious public meetings, disclosure, directors’ duties, and stewardship. Over 25 years, Scott advised on deals with an aggregate value of over £225 billion, including 5 of the 20 largest matters in the UK market between 2013 and 2023. Between 2008 and 2010, Scott was seconded to the UK Takeover Panel. During his two years at the Panel, Scott regulated more than 200 transactions governed by the UK Takeover Code.

At various points Scott has served as: Co-Chair of the Professional Services Group of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the UK; member of The City of London Law Society Takeovers Subcommittee; and adviser to the Investor Forum and the Impact Investing Institute. Scott continues to act as Co-Chair of the British Japanese Law Association and lectures on International M&A and Corporate Governance at the Said Business School, Oxford University. He is also Chair of the Streatham Youth Ice Hockey Club in London.

Scott grew up in Canada and went to university in Japan on an ice hockey scholarship when he was 18. He attended lectures in Japanese and lived in Tokyo for over 5 years before moving to London in 1994. As a result, he is a fluent Japanese speaker and has advised on many landmark outbound M&A deals by Japanese companies, including: Nikkei Shinbun’s acquisition of the Financial Times; Mitsui Sumitomo’s acquisition of Amlin, and Toshiba’s acquisition of Westinghouse. These transactions, combined with his contributions to legal relations between Japan and the UK resulted in him receiving the Japanese Ambassador’s commendation in 2019. Since retiring from Skadden, Scott has focused on the Japanese market, advising investors and companies, and now spends a significant portion of the year in Tokyo.