ITV pulls in panel firms in new development programme

ITV is taking steps to embed its law firms in the fabric of the organisation by involving them in a new programme of training and development with its lawyers.

The initiative, spearheaded by ITV’s director of legal affairs and third-party sales relationships, Barry Matthews, together with general counsel (GC) Andrew Garard, will see ITV roll out a four-prong development programme this year that will see it work closely with panel firms to help them understand its strategy and commercial imperatives.

For lawyers with more than two years’ PQE, ITV has partnered with Olswang to run a ‘peer partnership programme’, in which private practice and in-house lawyers research and write together a piece of management consultancy to present to Garard and Olswang chief executive David Stewart.

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Davenport Lyons goes into administration as Gordon Dadds takes on business

After two rounds of failed merger talks Davenport Lyons went into administration at the end of April, with Mayfair firm Gordon Dadds confirming that it had taken on the client database, the majority of assets and secured nearly all of the partners of the West End firm.

The terms of the sale were agreed the week before by joint administrator Baker Tilly. A spokesman from Davenport Lyons said: ‘As of close of business on Friday 25 April, the legal entity known as Davenport Lyons ceased trading and the majority of the company’s client balances, work in progress and client files have been transferred to Gordon Dadds, who will also be collecting debtor balances on behalf of the administrator.

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Latest partnership rounds confirm another tough year to make the grade at City leaders

Partnership promotion figures unveiled in April saw a slight improvement on the dwindling numbers seen in earlier announcements, although still fall largely short of the 5% estimated to be needed to maintain partnerships at their current levels.

Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) made up 21 partners apiece and Herbert Smith Freehills 23, as Norton Rose Fulbright unveiled a post-merger figure of 46, and Ashurst similarly revealed it will make up 15 partners in the first round since its merger last year with Australia’s Blake Dawson.

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Irwin Mitchell’s outgoing chief executive John Pickering on change in the sector and why it was time to hang up his boots

Announcing his retirement last month, Irwin Mitchell’s longstanding head and current group chief executive John Pickering pointed to ‘the changing legal sector’ and his desire for the firm to have settled long-term senior management.

Speaking to Legal Business, Pickering, who joined the firm as an articled clerk in 1977 and now plans to pursue non-executive director positions elsewhere, explains his reasoning behind the decision.

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BLP’s head of banking and finance litigation defects to King & Spalding

Hughes’ exit follows spate of departures from international firm

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s head of banking and finance litigation, David Hughes, is set to leave the firm to join the litigation team at King & Spalding.

Described by one former BLP partner as a ‘big-hitting litigator’, Hughes specialises in asset recovery (including ships and aircrafts) and security enforcement involving complicated capital markets products, as well as the enforcement of bond structures and International Swaps and Derivatives Association contracts. He also advises clients on fraud, financial irregularities and money laundering issues.

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Senior Clydes ship finance partner joins Curtis Davis Garrard

Senior maritime player Matt Hannaford is leaving Clyde & Co’s transport finance group with a team of three to join specialist shipping boutique Curtis Davis Garrard (CDG).

The commercial shipping partner, who is particularly recognised for his work in ship finance, will join CDG alongside legal director Owen McHugh, who will join CDG as a partner.

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‘A treasure trove for potential claimants’ – forex scandal to bring windfall of instructions to UK firms

US class action filed ahead of DoJ findings targets more than a dozen investors

UK financial disputes partners are gearing up to take on lucrative ‘break the bank’ instructions in the now global investigation into foreign exchange manipulation, as the US class action against a host of investment banks continues to grow, gifting Allen & Overy (A&O) with a lucrative New York mandate.

The class action, which has been filed ahead of any findings by the Department of Justice (DoJ) over whether traders colluded to manipulate the estimated $5.3trn a day foreign exchange market (forex), most recently saw over a dozen investors, including several large US pension funds sign up to an antitrust lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York.

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Not reached the bottom yet – sanctions on Russia begin to bite for law firms

Jaishree Kalia reports on the anticipated fall-off in deal work in the wake of Ukraine crisis

Russia’s volatile political environment has begun to impact the business of international and domestic law firms in Moscow as M&A activity falls, new capital markets work dries up and expanding sanctions cause increasing concern.

Western targeted sanctions imposed largely on individuals in Russia over its handling of the crisis in Ukraine have already had a crippling effect on corporate activity. However, it is the looming threat of yet tougher, broader-based sanctions as the situation escalates, with measures potentially targeting the Russian financial and energy sectors specifically, which could cause advisers even deeper problems.

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European deal wave anticipated amid growing market confidence

Holcim/Lafarge merger and Vivendi’s SFR acquisition lead the way

Corporate partners are forecasting the next big European M&A wave after deal values this quarter shot up, partly on the back of ready debt finance and growing market confidence. Such conditions have supported a run of lucrative mandates, including the €40bn merger in April of cement companies Holcim and Lafarge and the acquisition of Vivendi’s phone unit SFR by cable group Altice for a total value in excess of €17bn.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were among a host of firms advising on Holcim’s combination with Lafarge, a deal that, subject to regulatory approval, will create LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest cement maker.

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Eversheds in talks to extend voting rights as 164 junior partners inject cash

Fixed-share partners to make capital contributions of 25% of profit share

Eversheds started talks in April over the voting rights of its fixed-share partners (FSPs) after they were asked to contribute 25% of their annual earnings in response to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tax changes for limited liability partnerships (LLPs).

The firm called on its 164 junior partners to make the contributions to avoid being deemed employees, which would require Eversheds to pay national insurance contributions for them.

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