Legal Business

Bakers bolsters City financial services and regulatory capability with hire of RPC team head Steven Francis

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Boasting an extensive international network to push its financial services credibility, Baker & McKenzie is also extending its links with industry regulators with its latest City hire of RPC’s head of financial services and regulatory (FSR) group Steven Francis.

Francis (pictured), who established the FSR group at RPC, was formerly part of the management team of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA’s) wholesale firms and markets enforcement division. He will join the top five Global 100 firm’s London financial services group.

While at the FSA, Francis, who is described by The Legal 500 as ‘commercially astute’ and ‘always willing to think outside of the box’ worked on insider dealing and market abuse cases, and rules and principles cases against large financial services institutions. He has extensive experience in Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforcement work, non-contentious FCA compliance advice, financial crime and corporate compliance issues.

With major US and UK firms seeing an increasing proportion of their instructions lean towards proactive and reactive internal investigations, Francis has previously undertaken – mainly for US-owned companies – a number of multi-jurisdictional compliance reviews and health checks to assure shareholders that the company is complying with all local laws and regulations.

‘Steven is an excellent addition to the team. His deep understanding of the financial services industry, together with his specialist knowledge of regulatory compliance and experience in-house at the FSA will be of huge benefit to our clients,’ said Arun Srivastava, head of the firm’s financial services group in London.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

South eastern promise: Baker & McKenzie unveils launch in touted Myanmar market

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As international law firms continue their strategic push into south east Asia, Baker & McKenzie has become the latest global player to launch an office in Myanmar.

Bakers today (18 February) confirmed the launch of a branch in the city of Yangon to be led by infrastructure and corporate partner Chris Hughes, who is currently based in Sydney. The decision was made at the firm’s Asia Pacific partners meeting held in Tokyo this year, handing Bakers its 16th office in the wider Asia region.

The branch will focus on energy, mining and infrastructure; information technology and telecommunications; consumer goods, corporate transactions and intellectual property (IP). The 4,000-lawyer firm had already been serving Myanmar from its Bangkok arm but the new office will be staffed by a team of locally-qualified lawyers, supported by the Bakers network, including counsel with Myanmar language skills in Sydney and Singapore.

Myanmar has attracted increasing attention from foreign advisers in the last two years drawn by its rich natural resources and the potential of a country with a population of 60 million. US law firm Duane Morris in September last year became the first non-Asian adviser to launch locally. In addition Singapore leader Rajah & Tann, Japanese law firm Nishimura & Asahi and London intellectual property boutique Rouse have recently secured local capability.

‘Clients are increasingly looking to Myanmar and south east Asia for growth opportunities, particularly as the ASEAN nations work collaboratively towards achieving the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015,’ said Eduardo Leite, chairman of Bakers’ executive committee.

Other international firms that have expressed an interest in Myanmar include Herbert Smith Freehills, Berwin Leighton Paisner and Hogan Lovells.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Key transactional and antitrust hires for Bakers, Bird & Bird, K&L Gates, Trowers, Reed Smith and Mayer Brown

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With transactional activity on the rise international firms including Bird & Bird, K&L Gates, Trowers & Hamlins and Reed Smith have bolstered their European corporate and banking capability, while Baker & McKenzie and Mayer Brown have made appointments in the buoyant pharmaceutical and antitrust sectors respectively.

In London, Bakers on Monday (3 February) announced the hire of highly rated pharmaceutical lawyer Julian Thurston, a former partner and consultant at Morrison & Foerster, who joins the firm’s 450-lawyer global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry group as a consultant.Recognised internationally as one of the leading life sciences transactional lawyers, the Legal 500 describes Thurston, who focuses on strategic joint ventures, licensing and collaborations with an emphasis emerging markets such as China Latin America and Russia, as a ‘leading individual’ in the industry.

Also in London, top 50 law firm Trowers & Hamlins announced this week that it has bolstered its banking and finance capability with the appointment of former Squire Sanders partner Simon Owen, who headed the banking team at legacy Hammonds prior to its January 2011 merger with the US firm.

Adrian Carter, head of banking and finance at Trowers, said: ‘With his enviable track record and skill set, Simon will help further strengthen our existing real estate and finance capabilities.’

In the corporate sector, Bird & Bird announced on Monday that it has hired former Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton corporate partner and cable market specialist Hans Peter Leube in Germany. Luebe, who joined the Frankfurt office on 1 February from Schalast & Partner in Frankfurt, has had an extensive career working across Cleary’s Frankfurt and New York offices, having previously worked for Baker & Mackenzie in Düsseldorf and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Frankfurt.

‘We are very pleased to welcome Hans Peter to our corporate team. Drawing on his practical experience in the communications industry, especially in the cable market, he can offer our clients an exceptional level of industry insight and advice,’ said Alexander Schröder-Frerkes, managing partner of Bird & Bird’s German practice and head of the international corporate group.

Also bolstering its corporate capability, this time in Paris, Reed Smith last week turned to Hogan Lovells for the hire of corporate partner Isabelle MacElhone, who was previously a partner with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

MacElhone’s hire, which brings the Paris corporate team up to five partners, follows the launch of the Paris competition practice in April 2013 with the hire of Hogan Lovell’s antitrust partner Michel Debroux.

‘We have a full-service corporate team in Paris, and with Isabelle’s added experience and knowledge we are able to provide both French and international organisations with expert support. Isabelle’s appointment brings new expertise and strengthens the capabilities of an already strong corporate team in Paris. I am very pleased to welcome her to Reed Smith,’ said James Wilkinson, head of the firm’s Europe & Middle East corporate group.

Also in Paris, which has seen a number of team moves and individual hires in recent months, global law firm K&L Gates has hired Allen & Overy (A&O) partner Jean-Patrice Labautière as a partner in the corporate/M&A practice.

An experienced corporate and transactional lawyer, Labautière practised with A&O for 15 years and advises financial institutions, corporations, and private equity clients on a wide variety of transactions, including complex acquisitions, reorganizations, and joint ventures. He is particularly active in the healthcare, financial services, and technology sectors.

The hire follows the January arrival in K&L Gates Hong Kong office of Deacons investment management partner Greg Heaton.

Meanhwhile, bolstering its competition capability in the Brussels heartland is global top 30 firm Mayer Brown, which has hired antitrust partner Julian Ellison from Ashurst. Ellison specialises in EU and UK competition law and has been involved in merger cases including ferry company P&O’s mergers with Stena Line and Brittany Ferries. The Legal 500 describe him as ‘easy to contact’ and adds that he ‘maintains the right balance between technicalities and practicalities’.

Kiran Desai, partner-in-charge of the firm’s Brussels office, said: ‘Julian is a highly regarded EU and UK competition lawyer whose experience complements our focus in Europe on network industries, local markets, government investigations and litigation before the EU Court of Justice. In addition, his skills will enhance our state aid practice and our representation of clients in sectors such as transport and chemicals.’

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Expansion for Global 100 giants as Bakers plans new offshoring centre and Reed Smith launches in Kazakhstan

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Baker & McKenzie and Reed Smith will further extend their global footprints, with Bakers looking at another low-cost offshore base after its success in Manila while Reed Smith has today (21 January) announced a new launch in Kazakhstan with the hire of one partner each from Morgan Lewis and White & Case.

Bakers, which launched its captive offshore support centre in Manila in at the turn of the millennium, is ‘exploring options for replicating the model in other jurisdictions’ but at this time has no set timetable.

‘Baker & McKenzie was one of the first firms to establish a sophisticated support centre in an advantageous location, opening an office in Manila more than 10 years ago. Our 600-plus professionals in Manila provide 24/7 service to lawyers around the world, and we believe this approach has provided efficiencies and reduced costs that benefit clients,’ said a spokesperson for the firm.

The Manila team supports lawyers, paralegals, accountants, developers, researchers, designers manage projects and processes and deliver front- and back-end support to the firm’s 70 offices. In 2007, the firm brokered a deal with multinational Unilever, which saw the Manila office handle the entire company’s trade mark portfolio work.

Meanwhile Reed Smith has hired Vladimir Shuster from Morgan Lewis and Arman Tastanbekov from White & Case to staff its new launch in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. Both advise on corporate and commercial transactions with a focus on cross-border M&A, energy and natural resources, banking, private equity and capital markets and had worked together at Dewey & LeBoeuf before the US firm went into administration in May 2012. The pair are dual qualified in US and Kazakhstan law.

Reed Smith has been involved in disputes in the country for 14 years but the new hires give the firm added capacity to advise on corporate matters. The corporate team has already advised the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on its participation in a consortium for the £3bn takeover of scandal-hit Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) last year.

‘We’ve established a strong disputes practice in the region. However, our clients increasingly require on-the-ground transactional capability, and Vladimir’s and Arman’s arrival has helped us achieve just that. Having experienced partners on the ground will enable us to better serve our clients’ needs, while ensuring we’re able to provide a competitive quality service,’ said Belinda Paisley, an international arbitration partner who will run the Kazakhstan office from London.

‘The ENRC deal was one of the largest and most complex takeover deals in the City this year, highlighting both our capability and the quality of work emanating from Kazakhstan. Vladimir’s and Arman’s arrival puts us in an even better position to act on corporate transactions of this nature,’ said James Wilkinson, partner and head of the firm’s Europe and Middle East corporate practice.

Reed Smith joins the growing number of firms expanding Kazakhstan, with White & Case (where Tastanbekov was a partner) and Dentons both opening their second Kazakhstan offices in Astana in 2013.

Legal Business

Baker & McKenzie hires EY tax partner as EY looks at growth

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Baker & McKenzie has again turned to one of the Big Four accountancy firms to boost its sizeable London tax practice as EY tax partner Mark Bevington joins as a partner in the 4004-lawyer firm’s City office.

Bevington (pictured) specialises in international tax planning, with a focus on UK domestic taxation, including intangible assets planning, patent box and pension restructuring. His appointment brings the number of tax lawyers in London to nearly 40.

This is not the first time this year that Bakers has looked to the Big Four to bolster its tax practice globally: Peter Tan joined the firm in Singapore from PricewaterhouseCoopers in February and, also in February, Michele Santocchini who joined in Rome from Deloitte.

Baker & McKenzie’s London head of corporate tax, Alex Chadwick, who notably advised both Sony and the Mubadala Development Company on the $2.2bn acquisition of EMI Music Publishing by Sony, which closed last year, said: ‘The international tax services market continues to be in a state of flux. Our ambition is be a leader in the market and Mark’s appointment is in line with that. Having Mark in the team will enable us to further expand the scope of the services we can offer clients in London, while adding strength to an already cutting-edge practice.’

The move comes as EY has recently made its own hire, of Bird & Bird commercial litigation associate Chris Stone. Taking into account Bevington’s departure, Stone’s arrival will bring EY’s lean in-house team to 12 lawyers plus one paralegal. EY is unusual in that it typically hires litigation lawyers who then take on broader work in-house, and general counsel Lisa Cameron is currently reviewing whether the team needs to grow further.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

With no time off for good behaviour Baker’s outgoing City head joins global giant’s exec body

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Where do veteran law firm leaders go after a stint at the top? Another stint near the top in the case of Gary Senior, the veteran former London managing of Baker & McKenzie, who recently handed over to Paul Rawlinson.

The 4,000-lawyer firm announced today (28 October) that Senior had been elected to serve on Baker’s global executive committee, taking the place of fellow London-based partner Beatriz Araujo, whose term on the body has ended.

The committee is Baker’s primary leadership team, responsible for developing and implementing global business strategy and managing the day-to-day business of the firm. Current members of the committee include Sydney-based Bruce Hambrett, Jim Holloway in Toronto, Chicago-based Phil Suse, Koen Vanhaerents in Brussels and Winston Zee in Hong Kong.

Eduardo Leite, chairman of Baker’s executive committee, said: ‘Our deepest gratitude goes to Beatriz for her service to the firm and commitment to championing our client-driven strategy. Congratulations to Gary on his new role. His experience, insight and passion will prove invaluable as we strive to be our clients’ most trusted global advisers.’

The popular Senior has extensive experience within the firm, having joined as a trainee in 1984 and becoming a corporate partner in 1992. He has also spent time working in Baker’s Chicago arm. Between 2003 and 2013, Senior served as managing partner of the firm’s largest office, London, which generated revenues of £126.8m in its 2011/12 year. The US-bred giant has made raising the profile of its 400-lawyer City arm one of its key strategic priorities as it continues its long haul attempt to turn what was regarded as a franchise operation into slickly integrated professional services giant.

At the same time of Senior’s replacement, the firm announced a shake-up of its London management committee with corporate partner Helen Bradley and employment partner Monica Kurnatowska joining the body, replacing Senior and Peter Strivens.

Click here to see how Baker fits in the new world order

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Aviation: Further consolidation predicted as Aegean acquisition of Olympic approved

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Aviation lawyers expect further consolidation within the airline industry as Aegean Airlines was on Wednesday (9 October) given the all clear to buy troubled Olympic Air, led by White & Case and Baker & McKenzie.

The European Commission (EC) took the first-time step of reversing its earlier decision to block an acquisition attempt in 2011, approving the buyout from investment group Marfin.

Aegean was represented by White & Case led by Brussels-based competition partners Mark Powell and Assimakis Komninos. Baker’s competition partner Gavin Bushell, also based in Brussels, assisted Aegean on the transaction.

Komninos said: ‘The decision is very welcome news for the Greek airline sector and for Greek passengers as it will permit badly needed consolidation that will allow Aegean to compete more aggressively on the European stage.’

One aviation partner at a top City firm added: ‘The Olympic Air saga was a Greek tragedy. The EC had ruled [in 2002] that the airline had received illegal state aid that must be paid back. With Greece on its knees Olympic collapsed into insolvency.’

The EC’s decision to reverse its 2011 ruling was largely based on the fact that if Aegean was not permitted to acquire Olympic, it would cease trading. As reported by Reuters, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said: ‘It is clear that, due to the ongoing Greek crisis and given Olympic’s own very difficult financial situation, Olympic would be forced to leave the market soon in any event,’ adding that the merger would have no additional negative effect on competition.

The move comes as aviation lawyers predict further consolidation at the smaller end of the market, with one aviation partner commenting: ‘People are still making money in aviation, although it is a difficult period for the industry. I fully expect some airlines to go bust this winter.’

This situation is in stark contrast with the proposed $11bn merger between dominant American Airlines and US Airways, which was blocked by the US Justice Department this summer. The deal, which would have created the world’s biggest airline, saw a clutch of leading US firms secure roles including Latham & Watkins, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Paul Hastings, Debevoise & Plimpton and K&L Gates.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Financial results 2013: Bakers reveals double-digit profit growth against global turnover increase of 5%

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Baker & McKenzie has revealed above average financial performance for 2012/13, with a global revenue increase of 5% to $2.419bn and profits per equity partner up by 10% to $1.2m. This growth comes in above the Legal Business Global 100 average of 4% increase in turnover and flat profits for the past financial year.

Over the last year Bakers, which has a financial year end of 30 June, has taken on 60 lateral partners, pushing its headcount up to over 4,100, an increase of 2% on last year’s figure of 4,000. These latest results see a return to 2011 profit levels for the 74-office firm after heavy investment saw its PEP dip to $1,090m in 2012.

The past year has seen Bakers continue to invest in new offices in Casablanca, Lima and Seoul and revenue is now almost equally divided between the global regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) accounts for 37% of turnover, Asia Pacific 28% and the Americas 35%.

Latin America, where the firm stands out for having offices across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, has seen the most growth, together with North America and Asia Pacific. Chairman of the executive committee Eduardo Leite told Legal Business: ‘There is growth in the investment and trade within the emerging world from China to Africa, from Japan to South Africa, from Indonesia to South Africa. I think Asia for us is an engine of growth not a challenge of return on investment.’

‘Clients need to go to the growth markets and they feel very comfortable when they go to Turkey or South Africa or Colombia or Japan that we have partners who are Turkish, South African, Colombian or Japanese, not expats but second or third generation Bakers partners,’ Leite added.

Notable multi-jurisdictional transactions the firm has acted on during the last 12 months include Carlsberg Group’s $1.2bn public offer to buy Baltika Breweries; Toyota Tsusho’s agreement with PPR to expand its automotive business in Africa; and Mizuho Corporate Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Deutsche Bank’s $19.6bn debt financing of Softbank’s acquisition of a 70% interest in Sprint.

caroline.hill@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Asia round-up: Bakers ushers in new Singapore head as MoFo and Taylor Wessing plot regional growth

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Aside from the big Asia Pacific news this week of SJ Berwin’s tie-up with King & Wood Mallesons, other major players are expanding in the region or re-freshing their leadership teams.

Baker & McKenzie Wong & Leow, the Singapore arm of Bakers, has appointed a new managing partner. Andy Leck is to replace Edmund Leow, who has been appointed as a Judicial Commissioner in the Supreme Court of Singapore. Leow will leave the global law firm on 31 August to take on his new role.

‘Leow is one of the finest legal minds around, who has practised law with the highest integrity,’ said Wong Kien Keong, chairman of the firm in Singapore

Leck is currently the head of the intellectual property (IP) practice and co-head of the disputes practice in Singapore and has 20 years of experience in contentious and non-contentious IP matters.

Morrison & Foerster, meanwhile, has bulked up its Singapore presence with the hire of corporate partners Jake Robson and Adam Summerly from Norton Rose Fulbright. The firm, which opened in Singapore earlier this year, has landed two Singapore veterans as Robson and Summerly have been in Singapore for eight and 14 years respectively. Both partners’ practices are focused on M&A, private equity, cross-border investment and joint ventures in the banking, insurance, natural resources and telecoms sectors.

‘Jake and Adam, both of whom have extensive M&A experience, bring distinguished track records advising on large and cutting-edge transactions throughout the region,’ said Eric Piesner, Singapore managing partner and firm-wide managing partner for Asia.

Finally, Taylor Wessing‘s Singapore member firm, RHT Law Taylor Wessing, has stated plans to secure formal alliances with local firms in four Southeast Asian markets next month. The firm is looking for tie-ups with firms in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia in the next four months.

Tim Eyles, UK managing partner of Taylor Wessing, commented: ‘Asia is an area of focus for us and we are continuing to develop relationships in Hong Kong and the ASEAN region.’

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

European movers: Bakers bolsters Madrid office with team of 20 as Hogan Lovells launches in Luxembourg and Wragges takes on Paris team

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In many ways it is a curious time to be building up corporate and finance capability in the depressed Spanish market but Baker & McKenzie has significantly bolstered its strength in its largely third-tier Madrid office with the hire a local team of 20 lawyers from Mayer Brown’s former Spanish ally, Ramón y Cajal, including five partners.

Two of the founding members of the Spanish firm; Alberto Ureba, co-head of Ramón y Cajal’s corporate team, and Francisco Bauzá, co-head of the firm’s finance practice, are leaving to join the global behemoth by the end of the month.

Other key partners expected to leave include Guillermo Guerra, Rafael Bazán and Fernando Marroquín, none of whom were able to comment at the time.

Baker & McKenzie confirmed the news, first reported by a Spanish website, although said it did not release the news as the firm waits until lawyers are in place before announcing hires.

Mayer Brown entered into an exclusive alliance with Ramón y Cajal in 2007, although the US firm confirmed that this alliance is now over.

Elsewhere in Europe, Hogan Lovells looks set to open in the Grand Duchy after partners began voting on the move last Friday, with a Luxembourg office expected to launch at the end of the summer.

The top 15 Global 100 firm is planning on taking advantage of Luxemburg’s attractive tax status and world leading investment funds platform to set up a practice in that space. The office is likely to service a number of other practice areas and clients including corporate, real estate, private equity and tax.

‘We have plans to open in the country later this summer as there are a number of attractions for us in that market,’ said a spokesman for the firm.

This is the latest of a series of international plans to come to fruition. The firm recently bolstered its Latin America presence after obtaining a license to practice in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo last week. It also took three partners from Chadbourne & Parke earlier this year, including one based in Mexico, as the firm announced it was exploring the Mexican market.

In Paris, meanwhile, Wragge & Co has come back from the news last week that a seven-lawyer team had departed for local firm Franklin with the announcement that it has hired a four-lawyer Paris real estate team from the local office of leading UK firm Bird & Bird.

Partner Constance de La Hosseraye, who will lead the Paris-based real estate team, has joined together with three associates.

Wragge & Co’s Paris joint managing partner, Pierre Appremont, said: “Constance and her team are outstanding lawyers and exciting additions to the firm. Highly regarded in the market-place, Constance has a strong track record advising major French and international institutional investors on the full range of real estate matters.’

La Hosseraye added: ‘Wragge & Co has a compelling full-service offering and a market-leading real estate practice. In the three years since opening, the firm has made a big impact in Paris with its single team approach and ability to provide creative, pragmatic solutions to complex transactions. It’s this reputation which attracted me to join.’

 

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk