Legal Business

Targeting Warsaw: Greenberg takes A&O and NRF former Polish real estate heads in 12-lawyer hire

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Allen & OveryGreenberg TraurigNorton Rose Fulbright
legal-business-default

Greenberg Traurig has hired real estate teams from both Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose Fulbright as it bolsters its practice in Warsaw with 12 new lawyers.

In a serious bid to grow and integrate its real estate network outside of the US, Greenberg Traurig has added 12 lawyers to its Warsaw office to create ‘one of the largest and most diversified real estate practices in the region’, according to the firm.

The firm has recruited Norton Rose Fulbright partner and former property team head in Warsaw Agnieszka Stankiewicz. She was named a leading individual in The Legal 500 for Polish real estate and recently advised ING on several major deals in the country. Stankiewicz brings with her local partner Magdalena Życzkowska-Jóźwiak, one senior associate, and five associates.

The firm has also hired A&O’s Radomił Charzyński, counsel and former head of real estate in Warsaw. He brings with him three others including local partner Karol Brzoskowski and two senior associates.

Both Charzyński and Stankiewicz join Greenberg as partners, and will work alongside Warsaw partner and head of the real estate group Marek Grodek. The new additions take Greenberg’s real estate team in Central Europe to a total of 30 lawyers while, with the arrival of the four-partner property team, the Warsaw practice will house 12 partners in total, headed by Jarosław Grzesiak and Lejb Fogelman. The office includes a seven-partner corporate team that covers M&A, private equity and capital markets, and one tax partner.

Grzesiak told Legal Business: ‘When I joined from Dewey & LeBoeuf in 2012, Greenberg had ten lawyers; we now have 80. We are top-tier in M&A but the modern day real estate practice is becoming multi-faceted and now includes capital market and finance aspects. Greenberg is building an international real estate practice and no other firm in Warsaw is stronger in real estate, given our offering in related practices.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

A&O, Freshfields and Slaughters land key roles on biggest-ever all-UK deal

Posted on |
Corporate Allen & OveryFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerSlaughter and May
legal-business-default

Shell offers £47bn for BG Group

The proposed £47bn acquisition of BG Group by fellow energy major Shell saw a trio of Magic Circle firms land leading roles, as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy (A&O) advising on what constitutes the largest UK-to-UK deal ever.

Slaughters is acting for Shell, supported by Cravath, Swaine & Moore on US corporate law and allied firm De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek on Dutch aspects of the deal. Corporate partners Roland Turnill, Hywel Davies and Rebecca Cousin are leading Slaughters’ team, which Turnill told Legal Business started ‘working in earnest’ on the transaction as far back as Christmas. Finance partner Matthew Tobin is also working on the deal alongside tax specialist Steve Edge, competition partners Bertrand Louveaux and Jordan Ellison and pensions and employment partners Jonathan Fenn and Roland Doughty.

Legal Business

Hitting your targets: A&O launches return to work pilot to meet 20:20 gender diversity goal

Posted on |
Gender diversity Allen & Overy
legal-business-default

Allen & Overy (A&O) has launched a back-to-work initiative for women, using its contract lawyer business Peerpoint in a bid to hit its 20:20 gender diversity target.

The firm’s ‘Return to Work’ programme will encourage 12 experienced lawyers on an extended career break to return to roles in the legal profession. The six month programme is aimed at A&O’s alumni network and targets women as part of the firm’s 20:20 initiative – which aims at increasing the number of women in the partnership to 20% by 2020.

The return to work programme will start in September 2015, where participants will undertake training through A&O’s practice groups and on-the-job development, in a bid to improve core skills, including personal brand, impact and resilience. Participants will also work within practice groups and have access to a mentor.

Participants will be offered a position at Peerpoint – the firm’s contract lawyer business – at the end of the programme, or in exceptional circumstances, with A&O. ‘If there’s one thing we’re learning about the support women need to fulfil their professional ambitions while balancing commitments outside of work, it’s that there’s no silver bullet,’ said Wim Dejonghe, managing partner at A&O. ‘To succeed here as a firm, we need to come up with new initiatives like this so that we can continue to broaden our understanding to find different approaches that address the varying needs of women wanting to continue their professional careers in law.’

Richard Punt, chief executive of Peerpoint, added: ‘We have learnt we need to do more. There’s a whole series of reasons why women don’t come back to work. This programme includes a combination of training, including dealing with confidence issues. You can’t just take a blanket policy, you need to look to the individual needs.’

A&O is the first firm to try such an initiative in the UK and has also partnered with She’s Back, a start-up organisation looking to help experienced women return to work, and the University of Edinburgh Business School on a research project.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Partner promotions: Allen & Overy makes up 22 to partner in a 40% female round

Posted on |
Partnership promotions Allen & Overy
legal-business-default

In its largest promotions round for years, Allen & Overy has made up 22 lawyers to partner with nine of those being women. The round saw just under a third made up in the City while a strong contingent was based in continental Europe.

In London, the Magic Circle firm’s corporate practice was the main beneficiary with Annabelle Croker, Lisa Goransson and Nigel Parker all joining the practice. Two partners join the banking practice, Jocelyn Land and David Oppenheimer, while litigation gained one new partner in the form of Mark Ridgway and US-qualified Jeff Hendrickson joined the international capital markets team (ICM).

The firm made up two new partners in the US with Jean Lee joining the banking practice in Washington DC and litigator Laura Hall being made up in New York. In Asia, just one lawyer made the cut with Fiona Cumming in Hong Kong joining the partnership while in the Middle East, real estate lawyer Ian Bevan was promoted.

Continental Europe saw 11 new partners in total spread across the firm’s offices in Paris, Milan, Madrid, Luxembourg, Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

Last year the firm made up 16 lawyers to partner while in 2013 it was 19, but this round has seen the firm return to previous form with over 20 partners having been made up in 2012 and 2011.

The firm’s managing partner Wim Dejonghe said: ‘This year’s promotions underline our strategy of continued investment in our core developed markets particularly in France, Germany and Spain which make up over 30% of our new partners.’

The full list of new partners is as follows:

Abu Dhabi

Ian Bevan, Real Estate

Amsterdam

Aroen Kuitenbrouwer, Banking

Brussels

Inge Vanderreken, Employment

Frankfurt

Stefan Henkelmann, ICM

Markus Kaepplinger, Corporate

Hong Kong

Fiona Cumming, Banking

London

Annabelle Croker, Corporate

Lisa Goransson, Corporate

Jeff Hendrickson, ICM

Jocelyn Land, Banking

David Oppenheimer, Banking

Nigel Parker, Corporate

Mark Ridgway, Litigation

Luxembourg

Peter Myners, Corporate

Madrid

Inigo Del Val, Corporate

Jimena Urretavizcaya, Banking

Milan

Pietro Scarfone, Banking

New York

Laura Hall, Litigation

Paris

Alexandre Rudoni, Litigation

Julien Sebastien, ICM

Marie Stoyanov, Litigation

Washington DC

Jean Lee, Banking

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: A&O, Linklaters and Slaughters take lead on Virgin Active sale to South Africa-listed Brait

Posted on |
Corporate Allen & OveryCliffe Dekker HofmeyrGibson, Dunn & CrutcherLinklatersSlaughter and May
legal-business-default

Magic Circle trio Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters and Slaughter and May have taken instructions advising on Virgin Group’s £682m sale of an 80% stake in international health club operator Virgin Active to South African-listed private equity group Brait.

The Linklaters team advised Brait on the deal, which values Virgin Active at £1.3bn, led by private equity partners Alex Woodward and Stuart Boyd, alongside corporate partner Stuart Bedford and tax partner Tim Lowe. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr took the lead advising Brait on South African law.

A&O advised Virgin Active working with general counsel Ashley Aylmer as well as the fitness chain’s management on Brait’s proposed acquisition. The transaction was led by the firm’s co-head of corporate Andrew Ballheimer, who is the relationship partner for Virgin Active and Virgin Group, and corporate partner Simon Toms. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher advised management shareholders with a team led by Mark Sperotto and Nicholas Aleksander.

Slaughter and May advised current owners Virgin Group and CVC on the sale with corporate partner Mark Zerdin leading a team including tax partner Dominic Robertson, and competition specialist Anna Lyle-Smythe.

The deal is expected to complete over the summer after which Brait will own 80% of Virgin Active with Virgin Group retaining 20% (excluding management). The existing management team will be retained, and will be reinvesting alongside Brait.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Links, A&O and HSF win roles on Sabadell’s £1.7bn TSB takeover

Posted on |
Corporate Allen & OveryHerbert Smith FreehillsLinklaters
legal-business-default

Less than a year after Lloyds floated TSB Bank, Linklaters, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) all secured instructions on its high-profile takeover by Spain’s Banco Sabadell.

Taxpayer-backed lender Lloyds Banking Group formalised the 340p-a-share offer in March and agreed to sell its 50% stake in TSB. The deal values TSB, which is already the UK’s seventh-largest retail bank with 4.5 million customers, at £1.7bn.

Legal Business

Dealwatch: Bakers and A&O deliver as FedEx looks to buy TNT for €4.4bn

Posted on |
Corporate Allen & OveryBaker McKenzie
legal-business-default

Baker & McKenzie and Allen & Overy (A&O) have both won places advising on US delivery service FedEx’s €4.4bn agreement to buy Dutch rival TNT Express as the company looks to boost its European capabilities and global footprint.

A cross-border Bakers team advised FedEx led by the firm’s London-based global head of M&A Tim Gee, alongside corporate partner Henk Arnold out of Amsterdam. Benelux legal adviser NautaDutilh also provided counsel to FedEx with corporate partner Christiaan de Brauw advising, while JP Morgan Securities provided financial advice.

A&O represented TNT on the deal, which values the company at a 33% premium over its closing price on 2 April 2015, with a team led by Amsterdam-based partner Jan Louis Burggraaf. Goldman Sachs International and Lazard were financial advisors.

Under the agreement, FedEx will offer €8 in cash per ordinary TNT share and see it gain access to TNT’s European road delivery network while offering existing TNT customers its global distribution platform. Both will contribute towards building an integrated global network, combining TNT Express European capabilities and FedEx’s offering in North America and Asia.

Subject to gaining regulatory approval, the two companies are looking to close the deal in the first half of 2016.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

International hires: A&O makes first lateral in South Africa as Freshfields bulks up in Hong Kong with Links partner

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Allen & OveryFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters
legal-business-default

Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its project finance offering in its sub-Saharan practice with its first lateral partner hire in South Africa, turning to Linklater-ally firm Webber Wentzel. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also turned to Linklaters in building its Hong Kong office with finance and energy partner Thomas Ng.

Project finance partner Jason van der Poel started yesterday (1 April) in A&O’s international projects, energy and infrastructure group in Johannesburg. Previously at Webber Wentzel, Poel has advised sponsors and lenders on projects with a particular focus on South Africa’s renewable energy programme.

His hire comes as the firm looks to complement its banking and finance platform in Johannesburg with an energy and infrastructure capability. A&O established its base in the region following its Johannesburg-office launch in October last year with a team of partners and lawyers from South African firm Bowman Gilfillan.

Meanwhile, rival firm Freshfields is investing in Hong Kong with the hire of Linklaters’ finance and energy partner Thomas Ng. Ng mostly advises Chinese companies and financial institutions on their finance, projects and energy transactions worldwide. Robert Ashworth, managing partner of Freshfields’ Asia practice, said the move demonstrated the firm’s intentions on bulking up finance and energy in Asia.

Previously, Ng was a partner in Linklaters’ Beijing office, and his hire follows the loss of Linklaters’ head of Asia-based US securities practice David Ludwick, also for Freshfields after a decade, last month.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Senior appointments: A&O names Muzilla as US corporate finance head after Wickenden steps down

Posted on |
Leadership Allen & Overy
legal-business-default

Allen & Overy (A&O) head of US corporate finance Jim Wickenden has left the firm, leading to the appointment of high-yield partner Kevin Muzilla as the new head.

Wickenden leaves the Magic Circle firm after just three years, having joined in April 2012 as a corporate finance partner. He relocated from London to Hong Kong as head of US securities in November 2013, bolstering the firm’s presence in the region, following the departure of one of A&O’s most senior US partners in Asia, James Grandolfo, for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. Wickenden moved back to London after only eight months in June 2014 as the firm’s head of US corporate finance.

Before A&O, Wickenden was at Herbert Smith for 13 years where his last role was global head of capital markets. Prior to this, he headed the EMEA legal and compliance department at JP Morgan, and was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in both its London and New York offices.

Muzilla, who is head of the firm’s European high-yield practice, joined A&O from Milbank in 2009 after being made partner in 2000. His new role went it to effect last month after Wickenden retired from the firm.

Other significant retirees from the firm include City-based real estate finance partner Mark O’Neill who officially retired last year having joined the firm in 1991. He became a partner in the banking department in 1995 and during his time at A&O, O’Neill headed the property finance group.

Another partner who also quit the firm last month was corporate partner David Wilkie, who specialises in infrastructure and real estate, to return to his former Australian firm Clayton Utz in Sydney, after leaving in 2010 to join the Magic Circle firm.

A&O said in a statement: ‘We thank Jim, Mark and David for their contribution and wish the best of luck for the future.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: Linklaters, A&O and HSF win places on Sabadell’s £1.7bn TSB offer

Posted on |
Corporate Allen & OveryHerbert Smith FreehillsLinklaters
legal-business-default

Linklaters, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have all been instructed on the high profile £1.7bn takeover offer for TSB by Spain’s Banco Sabadell, in a bid made less than a year after Lloyds floated the bank.

HSF is acting for TSB with a team led by senior partner James Palmer and corporate partner Mike Flockhart. Palmer has been advising TSB, alongside fellow corporate partner Nick Moore and outsourcing partner Nick Pantlin, and worked closely with general counsel Susan Crichton, on its initial public offering (IPO) and all aspects of its separation of Lloyds Bank, including on the material business and IT services arrangements required for TSB to operate as a standalone bank post-IPO.

Linklaters heavyweight corporate partner Matthew Bland, who led on the initial £1.5bn IPO of TSB for its longstanding client Lloyds, is understood to be leading on talks with Sabadell for the lender as well. Bland has represented Lloyds Bank for nearly a decade. His position as adviser on the £1.5bn IPO follows lead roles on Lloyds TSB’s takeover of HBOS in 2008 and related £5.5bn recapitalisation, as well as a £22.6bn combined rights issue in 2009. A&O partner Richard Browne, meanwhile, is leading a team advising Sabadell.

TSB, which is already the UK’s seventh largest retail bank with 4.5 million customers, is being spun off by Lloyds through a gradual sell-down of its stake in the business following an IPO in June 2014. The bank’s board has indicated it is willing to recommend the offer should agreement be reached on other terms and conditions.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk