Compliance drive – BLP’s financial services partner joins Barclays investment arm as EMEA head

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Finance BarclaysBerwin Leighton Paisner

As leading retail and investment banks bolster their internal compliance functions it has emerged that Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP) financial services partner Nick Kynoch has joined Barclays Investment Bank as the head of regulatory compliance for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The hire comes after Hector Sants, former chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, joined Barclays in December to the newly-created role of head of compliance and government and regulatory relations, overseeing all compliance activities across Barclays, meaning for the first time all compliance staff within the bank report to one individual and operate independently of business and regional management teams.

Ireland’s lucky number seven: Irish Treasury appoints septuplet of firms to its legal panel

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Ireland Arthur CoxMaples and CalderMason Hayes & CurranMathesonMcCann FitzGeraldWilliam Fry

Thanks to the economic turbulence that has plagued the Irish nation since 2008, Dublin’s largest firms continue to collect hefty recession related work post financial crisis, including most recently an appointment to advise the government’s asset and liabilities manager, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).

The NTMA, which is responsible for borrowing on behalf of the Irish government and managing the national debt, has appointed Dublin-based Big Five firms A&L Goodbody, Arthur Cox, William Fry, McCann FitzGerald and Matheson to its general legal services panel alongside Mason Hayes & Curran and offshore funds giant Maples and Calder.

Trainee retention: Macfarlanes & Latham reveal numbers

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Trainee retention FieldfisherLatham & WatkinsMacfarlanes

Macfarlanes has become the latest City firm to decide on its trainee retention rates, with 18 out of 24 trainees – equating to 75% – being offered a permanent position at the firm.

The figure, which represents a dip on last year’s near full house of 92%, comes after three trainees were not offered a position, however two trainees did not apply for a job with the firm and one declined the permanent newly-qualified (NQ) role on offer.

RSM Tenon in administration as three UK firms carve out Challinors

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Strategic recruitment Baker TillyCartwright KingClarke WillmottShoosmiths

The break-up of debt-laden Midlands firm Challinors took a ‘hunter turned hunted’ twist yesterday afternoon (22 August) after administrator RSM Tenon announced its own debt driven acquisition by rival Baker Tilly.

RSM was appointed in July to oversee the sale of Birmingham-headquartered Challinors’ business, and earlier yesterday announced the sale of parts of the law firm’s commercial litigation, medical negligence and family law practices to Clarke Willmott, Shoosmiths and Cartwright King respectively.

But in a mirror of its professional negotiations, the 35-office troubled accountancy firm was in crisis talks with Tilly and, like so many of the companies it advises, was forced into administration after Tilly pulled out of those talks.

Revolving Doors: Ashurst makes key energy hire in New York as Gibson Dunn and Squire Sanders expand in London

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Strategic recruitment AshurstGibson, Dunn & CrutcherSquire Patton Boggs

Ashurst this week announced the hire of Allen & Overy (A&O) energy partner Charles Williams in a bid to boost its New York energy, resources and infrastructure practice.

The move strengthens the firm’s position within the US public-private partnership (PPP) space – dubbed P3 in the US – an area Williams focussed on at A&O. He brings with him experience of representing the public sector, sponsors and lenders within the transportation sector and advising on renewables projects in the North, Central and South America.

Takeover potential – Linklaters & Simmons lead on Amec’s £700m bid for Kentz

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Corporate LinklatersSimmons & Simmons

Linklaters and
Simmons & Simmons‘ longstanding corporate relationships with Amec and Kentz have gifted them with a potentially lucrative takeover bid instruction as Kentz this week announced it had rejected a £700m offer from its larger engineering rival.

Linklaters corporate partners Shane Griffin and Aedamar Comiskey are leading the team for Amec, which it has advised on corporate matters for well over a decade. Simmons corporate partner Edward Baker is advising Kentz on the offer, which the FTSE 250 engineering company said it had rejected, together with an earlier offer in July from Germany’s M+W Group, on the basis that it undervalued the company.

Guest post: Could David Miranda be a “terrorist”?

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Legal affairs

There’s understandably been a great deal of reaction to the nine-hour detention at Heathrow airport of David Miranda, who was travelling as part of his work with Guardian journalists covering Edward Snowden’s disclosures, and whose laptop and memory stick were seized as a result of his detention and questioning under paragraphs 2 and 6 of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000.

Paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 7 says that:

An examining officer may question a person to whom this paragraph applies for the purpose of determining whether he appears to be a person falling within section 40(1)(b)

and section 40(1) provides that a

“terrorist” means a person who …

(b) is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

So there’s no doubt: the purpose of Schedule 7 is clear.

UK PI bandwagon – Slater & Gordon buys Fentons and reveals 2012/13 results

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Financial results 2012/13 Simpson MillarSlater and Gordon

Slater & Gordon today (21 August) made further inroads into the UK personal injury (PI) market as it formally announced to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) the acquisition of leading claimant firm Fentons, although discussions with earlier merger talks partner Simpson Millar have been deferred until early 2014.

The Australian-listed firm confirmed that due diligence on 120-lawyer Fentons, which has an annual revenue of £27.7m, is substantially completed and formal business sale agreements have been executed with the London and Manchester firm. Macfarlanes advised on the deal, led by corporate partners John Dodsworth and Jessica Adam, opposite Pinsent Masons for Fentons, led by corporate partner Gregg Davison.

Challinors administration: SGI Legal acquires personal injury work of ailing Midlands firm

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SGI Law Solicitors

The keenly-watched administration of Midlands firm Challinors this evening (20 August) led to a first sale of its personal injury caseload to Liverpool-based SGI Legal.

Birmingham-headquartered Challinors in July became the latest sizeable law firm to call in administrators, having filed a notice of intention to appoint Eric Walls and Wayne Harrison from KSA Group as administrators, who were then replaced by RSM Tenon.

BAE international: defence giant rolls out UK cab rank model to Asia and ME

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In-house BAE Systems

With the UK’s investment in defence broadly flat British defence giant BAE Systems is looking increasingly to the international markets for growth and its legal team is morphing with it.

This month, BAE’s 250-strong legal team, which counts the company’s 100,000-plus employees as its clients, rolled out its UK cab rank model – under which a pool of lawyers is available on a first-come-first-served basis – to Asia and the Middle East.