Legal Business

Revolving doors: CC partner seconded to Takeover Panel, 2Birds, PwC and Farrer hire in London, while K&E adds to Germany

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Bird & BirdClifford ChanceFarrer & CoKirkland & EllisPwC

Law firms are strengthening their European practices, with Bird & Bird, PwC and Farrer & Co all hiring in London, Kirkland & Ellis in Germany, while a Clifford Chance (CC) partner was appointed to a high-profile panel role.

James Bole, promoted to CC’s M&A partner two months ago, has been named as the new secretary of the Takeover Panel, on a two-year secondment from September. Bole is CC’s first Takeover Panel appointment for a decade. He will replace Addleshaw Goddard partner Simon Woodin the role.

Bird & Bird appointed banking and finance partner Samrad Nazer in its London office, as part of its growth plan in acquisition and leveraged finance work.

Nazer has now joined from US firm Locke Lord, where he was head of banking and finance, with particular expertise in energy & utilities, fintech and sport. He advised on both lender and borrower side, within corporate finance, corporate lending and structured finance.

Nazer said he relished the opportunity to ‘work for a more developed, international platform and have a more focused strategic direction within the banking and finance practice’, adding that he will work to develop both Bird & Bird’s banking and finance practice in London and the firm’s offices across the globe.

Tom Ince has joined PwC’s employment law team as a partner from Reed Smith, where he was  deputy practice group leader of the global employment law practice and a partner.

At PwC he will lead on outsourcing-related employment matters. He said: ‘Businesses are facing unprecedented changes in their workforce, whether that is due to increased regulation across the globe or the changing nature of the workplace.’ Tom Kerr Williams joined the employment team from DLA Piper in April 2016.

Private client firm Farrer & Co has hired Rachel Mainwaring-Taylor as a London partner from Hunters Solicitors. She specialises in personal tax and succession planning, both in the UK and internationally, and advises clients on trust structures, wills and cross-border estates. She is experienced in working with international families.

Meanwhile in Germany, Kirkland has hired Attila Oldag as Munich corporate partner from Gütt Olk Feldhaus. A partner at the firm since 2013, Oldag advises German and international companies and financial investors on private equity and M&A transactions.

The latest addition to the firm’s German corporate practice, after private equity specialist Volkmar Bruckner joined from Weil, Gotshal & Manges in May, three in 2016 and Joerg Kirchner from Latham & Watkins in 2015.

Marco.cillario@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

‘Our focus has proven successful’: technology drives revenue growth as Bird & Bird latest to unveil financials

Posted on |
Financial results 2016/17 Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird has recorded its 26th year of turnover growth, with global revenues for 2016/17 up 5% in euros to €361m from €343.8m, which translates to a 11% increase in sterling from £273.8m to £303.2m.

The firm said that turnover increased ‘by 11% globally in underlying local currencies’ compared to 2015/16. It has yet to announce profit figures but David Kerr (pictured), who has been the firm’s CEO for more than 20 years, told Legal Business he expected to see a ‘very similar increase’ in profitability.

The technology-focused firm attributed the performance to what it described as ‘double-digit growth’ in the key practice areas of corporate, IP and employment.

It advised Nokia on its patent dispute with Apple, which settled in May, and Capgemini’s divestment of its IBX Business Network to Tradeshift. It also acted on ARM’s investment in Blu Wireless Technology to help it accelerate the rollout of 5G networks.

‘We get involved in complicated technology matters other firms struggle with,’ said Kerr. ‘I am very pleased with our performance given that other firms were struggling while we were not. Our focus on technology has proven successful.’

In terms of headcount growth, overall lawyer numbers are up slightly from 1,084 to 1,141, while the firm completed 26 lateral hires and 16 promotions to partnership in the past financial year, bringing the total number of partners to 291 across its 28 offices in Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Kerr said partnership recruitment had made an immediate contribution to the firm over the year. ‘We have a very clear vision and a very clear mission. Partners seek us out and want to join us specifically for our focus on technology and our strategy. That makes it much easier for them to integrate: it is not just partners wanting to change firm, they know our strategy, they know what firm they are joining.’

Bird & Bird also advised the European Commission and UK government on changes to data protection regulation, the UK government on the investigatory powers bill, and the European Commission on the effectiveness of EU rules on state aid for research, development and innovation.

The firm said this demonstrated it was helping ‘set the legislative agenda in the areas where we operate’.

marco.cillario@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

CC, Hogan Lovells and Bird & Bird all strengthen European antitrust practices

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Bird & BirdClifford ChanceHogan Lovells

Clifford Chance (CC), Hogan Lovells and Bird & Bird have all bolstered their European antitrust practices with key appointments. 

CC has added to its Paris antitrust team with the hire of David Tayar as a partner, who joins from Wilkie Farr & Gallagher’s Paris team, where he has worked for 11 years. 

Tayar, who spent six years as an associate at Freshfields, is a specialist in handling merger control investigations on behalf of European and French antitrust agencies.

CC’s global antitrust head Thomas Vinje described Tayar as having an ‘outstanding reputation’ and the hire would satisfy the firm’s clients’ ‘needs and expectations.’

In Brussels, Bird & Bird has hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer competition and EU law specialist Hein Hobbelen as a partner. He will divide his time between the firm’s offices in Brussels and The Hague. Hobbelen is experienced in EU competition law and TMT regulation. Hein Hobbelen spent nearly 14 years at Freshfields.

Anne Federle, head of Bird & Bird in Brussels, told Legal Business that Hobbelen will devote 50% of his time to both offices but that this could change over time.

Federle stated that Hobbelen’s hire came after a drive to find a ‘Brussels-based competition lawyer with a strong media background’, to complement Bird & Bird’s particular focus on technology and media. Federle confirmed that Hobbelen will bring a number of clients with him to the firm.

Hogan Lovells also strengthened its Brussels office with the appointment of partner Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte, from Crowell & Moring.

Ugarte’s expertise spans a range of sectors, although she has a particular focus on consumer goods and financial services. Ugarte has experience advising clients during merger transactions and antitrust investigations.

Matthew Levitt, managing partner of Hogan Lovells’ Brussels office, described Ugarte as ‘exactly the kind of international antitrust lawyer that we look for.’

Suyong Kim, Hogan Lovells’ global antitrust head, added that ‘Brussels has always been a home for the firm, and it is also the home of EU and antitrust law. Her addition will enable us to continue growing our competition law practice in Brussels and globally.’

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

 

 

Legal Business

Partner promotions: Bird & Bird and Simmons both announce increased rounds

Posted on |
Partnership promotions Bird & BirdSimmons & Simmons

Simmons & Simmons and Bird & Bird have both announced their partnership promotion rounds for 2017, with both firms seeing an overall increase in numbers over last year’s figures.

Simmons made up 12 associates this year, nearly doubling last year’s number of seven. Effective 1 May 2017, Simmons has promoted in a variety of practice areas.

In IP, the firm has made up Andrew Hutchinson, Darren Meale and Mattie de Koning. Meale and Hutchinson will join the firm’s London IP practice while de Koning has been made up in Amsterdam. Lucian Firth and Catherine Weeks have both been promoted to the firm’s financial services department in London, with professional negligence specialist Felix Zimmerman joining Simmons’ commercial litigation team in the City.

Completing Simmons’ London line-up is Lawrence Brown and Eucharia Bragg. Bragg, who joined Simmons in 2004, has been made up in capital markets and Brown has been promoted in information, communications and technology.

Simmons senior partner Colin Passmore (pictured) commented: ‘I am really pleased to welcome this ambitious, committed and collegiate group of new partners. The firm and its clients will benefit from the expertise they offer across their specialisms as we continue to build on our strengths.’

Bird & Bird also increased its promotions, making up 16 this year, compared to last year’s nine. Of the new partners, 25% of them are female. All the promotions are effective from 1 May 2017, except Shing Lo, who was appointed in November last year.

Lo was promoted to Bird & Bird’s London corporate practice, and is joined in the City by Zoe Feller, Craig Giles, Ewan Grist, Bryony Hurst and Gabriel Voisin. Hurst has been promoted in dispute resolution, while Voisin has been made up in data protection. Feller is a new tax partner, while Giles has been promoted to Bird & Bird’s London commercial team. Grist has been made up in IP.

Bird & Bird chief executive David Kerr commented: ‘My congratulations to all our new partners. Each one of them has an important role to play in helping us achieve our vision of being the number one law firm acting for organisations being changed by technology and the digital world.’

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Simmons & Simmons partner promotions in full:

Eucharia Bragg, capital markets, London

Lawrence Brown, information, communications and technology, London

Lucian Firth, financial services, London

Andrew Hutchinson, IP, London

Mattie de Koning, IP, Amsterdam

Darren Meale, IP, London

Raza Rizvi, corporate and commercial, Dubai

Jingyuan Shi, corporate and commercial, Hong Kong

Juan Sosa Pons-Sorolla, tax, Madrid

Matthias Wagner, real estate, Frankfurt

Catherine Weeks, financial services, London

Felix Zimmerman, commercial litigation, London

Bird & Bird partner promotions in full:

Gabriel Voisin, data protection, London

Bryony Hurst, dispute resolution, London

Ewan Grist, IP, London

Craig Giles, commercial, London

Shing Lo, corporate, London

Zoe Feller, tax, London

Matthias Spilker, commercial, Germany

Christopher Maierhoefer, IP, Germany

Lennart Schuessler, data protection/IT, Germany

Kai Kerger, corporate, Germany

Janneke Kohlen, commercial, Netherlands

Paul Waszink, commercial, Netherlands

Miguel Pastur, employment, Spain

Jose Luis Lorente, financial services, Spain

Troy Gurnett, IP, Australia

Mikko Ahonen, corporate, Finland

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Clydes and Bird & Bird boost offerings as Barclays makes key appointment

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment BarclaysBird & BirdClyde & Co

Clyde & Co has strengthened its London office with a new recruit, as Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Bird & Bird, Sidley Austin and Barclays all secure new talent.

David Hansom joins Clydes as partner from Veale Wasbrough Vizards, where he was national head of its public sector team. Hansom has expertise in procurement law, offering over 15 years’ experience and specialisms in the transport, energy, education, health, technology and waste sectors.

Clydes projects and construction partner Liz Jenkins said: ‘Procurement law has grown significantly in the UK over the past 20 years and David’s hire will help us further enhance the end-to-end contentious and non-contentious support we offer clients across the firm’s core sectors.’

Bird & Bird has also boosted its London office, hiring a team from PwC Legal including partners Andy Brown and Julian Balson and three other fee earners. The team hires are to launch a specialist tax team within the firm’s international dispute resolution team. The firm as also hired

Anan Sivananthan as a partner for its Singapore office. Sivananthan will join Bird & Bird’s IP team, and arrives from Creative Technology where he was head of the global legal team.  

HSF has improved its African presence with the dual hire of competition partner Jean Meijer and project finance consultant Biddy Faber.

Both have joined the firm’s Johannesburg office in South Africa. Meijer was a partner at Bowmans for over 10 years, serving as head and co-head of the competition practice. Meijer also have extensive history of acting in high-profile South African competition cases.

Faber worked at two of the country’s leading banks; FirstRand and Absa. Faber was previously a partner in Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s finance and banking practice.

Sidley Austin has hired private equity partner Jan Schinköth from DLA Piper. Joining the firm’s Munich office, Schinköth provides expertise on advising private equity sponsors on the German law aspect of multi-jurisdictional transactions.

Meanwhile, in in-house appointments, Barclays has hired former Bank of America managing director Frederick Reynolds as global head of financial crime. Reynolds will join Barclays’ New York office.

Former Karhoo head of legal Andrew Winterton has been appointed group general counsel and company secretary of Flit Technologies, the company that has bought his former employer out of administration. The new company will relaunch Karhoo later this year after it went into administration in November.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Bird & Bird profits rise 2% after €17m spend on new City headquarters, accounts reveal

Posted on |
Financial results 2015/16 Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird‘s turnover increased 5% to €344.5m for the 2015/16 financial year, according to the firm’s recently filed accounts. Alongside the increase in turnover, the firm saw its profits rise by 2% to €96m and net debt tumble by 15% to €39.5m. The accounts partially attribute this downslide to the stronger Euro against Sterling.

The positive growth in profit is recorded despite the €17m cost of its new 12 Fetter Lane premises, including office equipment and computers.

The highest paid member was paid €920,000, down from €1.02m the year before, the accounts showed. This figure in LLP accounts does not necessarily equate to the highest paid equity partner and can relate to ‘golden handshakes’ to retiring members.

For the six months ending 31 October 2016, Bird & Bird saw turnover increase by 4%, but the firm said this is up 11% in underlying currencies.

Bird & Bird chief executive David Kerr told Legal Business: ‘Globally we’re seeing strong activity, certainly higher than we expected considering the political uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the US election. It’s good to see transactional and contentious work picking up across the board.’

The transfer of Bird & Bird’s London office to its new headquarters took place in September 2016, with an ambition to grow the firm’s headcount in the City by 25%.

Late last year Legal Business revealed Kerr received support from less than half the firm’s partnership as almost 30% of partners abstained from voting during the firm’s last leadership election in March. 

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Read more on the firm in the Focus Feature: ‘David made Goliath – Kerr on Bird & Bird’s re-invention as a leading global TMT shop.’

Legal Business

Victory for Dentons as judge throws out £30m PAG claim against RBS

Posted on |
Litigation Bird & BirdDentons
legal-business-default

Dentons client The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has won a battle over interest rate swaps mis-selling against Bird & Bird client Property Alliance Group.

According to a High Court judgment released today (21 December), the Manchester investment company lost the $30m claim against RBS, which was advised by Dentons litigation partner Richard Caird instructing Fountain Court Chambers’ Richard Handyside QC.

Justice Asplin dismissed the claims that the bank had mis-sold four interest rate swaps, that the firm’s global restructuring group had acted in bad faith, and that it had breached terms in the setting of Libor. The trial lasted 10 weeks over the summer.

Bird & Bird represented Property Alliance Group, having replaced the group’s former lawyers, Cooke, Young & Keidan earlier this year. The group was represented by disputes head Steven Baker, who has since left the firm for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, instructing Tim Lord QC of Brick Court Chambers.

In March, Dentons managed to move the Property Alliance Group claim to London’s newly created financial court, hearing the case as a financial list claim.

RBS remains subject to several other high-profile court cases, including a shareholder action stemming from the banks’ share rights issue, which led to thousands losing money after RBS sold its shares at £2 per share. The claimants allege that the prospectus on which the rights issue was based was ‘defective’ and contained material misstatements and omissions.

Herbert Smith Freehills partners continue to defend RBS in the action with a team lead by partners Adam Johnson, Simon Clarke, Kirsten Massey and James Norris-Jones. While claimants represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Stewarts Law have settled their claims, Signature Litigation’s clients are pressing for a trial next spring.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Buy-back: Bird & Bird shelves trademark and IP consultancy spin-off

Posted on |
Competition Bird & Bird
legal-business-default

After a management shake-up at its IT consultancy arm, Bird & Bird has shelved its intellectual property and trademarks spin-off, just two years after launch and after almost 50% the partnership put capital into the business.

Aves Brands, a consultancy set up by the IP and technology focused firm in 2013, was re-acquired by Bird & Bird over the summer from Aves Enterprises. The firm applied for a change of name in July, rebranding the spin-off as Bird & Bird IP Services.

Lawyers at the 285 partner firm could invest in Aves Enterprises – the parent company of Aves Brands and Bird & Bird technology and IT consultancy Baseline – including using amounts from quarterly profit distributions, Legal Business understands. However, only 157 current and former Bird & Bird partners and other employees are currently invested in the Aves Enterprises LLP.

While the consultancy’s website has been shut down, its marketing material claimed it could save companies 30-50% in IP support services costs, as its ‘broad range of transactional services allows you to offload your administrative burden.’

In its latest financial results, Aves Brands reported turnover of £660,000 for the year ending December 2015, but also recorded losses of £200,000 with costs mostly related to recruitment and marketing.

Partners at Bird & Bird currently control much of the £500,000 worth of shares invested in the company. The spin-off was led by chief executive Jade Thompson, a former global marketing director at CPA Global, with the company’s directors including senior Bird & Bird IP partners Morag MacDonald and Katherine Stephens.

Around 150 former and current Bird & Bird partners and other employees have shares in Aves Enterprises – the parent company of Aves Brands and Bird & Bird technology and IT consultancy Baseline.

Baseline has also experienced significant changes this year, losing its chief executive Dominic Cook, a senior Bird & Bird partner, who quit the firm earlier this year. Cook left following a failed leadership challenge against long-standing Bird & Bird chief executive David Kerr. It recently appointed Edoardo Monopoli, founder of Valeocon Management Consulting, as its new chief executive.

Baseline’s reported turnover dropped from around £1m in 2014 to less than £250,000 for the year ending 2015, according to its Companies House accounts. Partners at Bird & Bird invested capital in the startup in 2015 to work on IT project consultancy, with a deal to channel Baseline’s legal work back to the firm.

Bird & Bird declined to comment.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Bird & Bird election revealed: Less than half of firm’s partnership voted for Kerr

Posted on |
Leadership Bird & Bird
legal-business-default

Bird & Bird chief executive David Kerr received support from less than half the firm’s partnership as almost 30% of partners abstained from voting during the firm’s last leadership election in March, Legal Business can reveal.

Long-standing partner Dominic Cook launched a leadership challenge to Kerr (pictured) receiving around a third of the vote, held earlier this year. Kerr secured a majority of those that voted which gave him another term.

Legal Business revealed in August that Cook departed the firm, leaving his role as head of Bird & Bird’s IT consultancy Baseline.

A current partner told Legal Business: ‘David has a continuing mandate. There wasn’t anything particularly different in the platforms, but it’s good to have a conversation in this situation. For example, there is discussion of whether Theresa May has much of a mandate without an election. I always think having a vote if you can gives the opportunity for discussion and ensures the winning person has a proper mandate.’

However one rival managing partner said: ‘What I’d heard was Cook was just a put up candidate. But if he was a put up candidate, why would he leave? It doesn’t stack up if he then left.’

Cook is also understood to have stood against former chair Michael Frie during the firm’s 2013 election for chairman. Frie stood down in 2016, with Italian partner Massimilano Mostardini taking on the role this year.

Earlier this month, the firm announced that Edoardo Monopoli had been appointed as the new CEO of Baseline. Monopoli joins from Valeocon Management Consulting, where he remains a partner and leader of the UK team. Bird & Bird also landed former Nokia litigation head Richard Vary as a partner in its intellectual property (IP) and tech & communications group however it saw the exit of co-head of disputes Steven Baker to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft at the beginning of September.

Kerr’s re-election saw him continue an unbroken 20-year tenure as chief executive, having first taken on the role in 1996. In that time Kerr has overseen the firm’s expansion from 70 lawyers in three offices to 1,100 fee earners across 28 offices around the globe.

During his time at Bird & Bird Cook worked with major clients such as BT which he advised on its multi-billion pound IT contract for the NHS.

Bird & Bird declined to comment on the election result.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Bird & Bird strengthens disputes bench with Nokia litigation head

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Bird & Bird
legal-business-default

Bird & Bird has landed former Nokia litigation head Richard Vary as a partner in its intellectual property (IP) and tech & communications group.

Vary (pictured) was vice president and head of litigation at Nokia, managing cross border patent suits with KPM, IPCom, Apple, HTC, Blackberry and Viewsonic as well as a major arbitration case with Samsung.

He also has experience of dealing with competition law, tax disputes, trademarks as well as working on M&A deals for Nokia’s in-house team as part of the group dealing with Microsoft’s $7.5bn acquisition of Nokia’s handset business in 2014.

Vary led a litigation team of 20 lawyers within Nokia’s 450-strong legal team. Prior to joining Nokia in 2006, Vary was a managing associate in Linklaters’ IP team.

Bird & Bird co-head of international IP Morag Macdonald said: ‘Richard has a very wide skill set across technology, communications and intellectual property – three key areas of specialism for our firm. We are delighted to have someone of his calibre join our team.’

Vary is the firm’s first partner hire in the City since it moved into new offices on New Fetter Lane, which provide the firm with the potential to expand London headcount by around 25%.

Bird & Bird has most recently added internationally, hiring corporate partner Maria Carlsson to its Helsinki office from Borenius Attorneys in August. In May, the firm hired Simmons & Simmons head of TMT Alexander Shepherd to its Singapore office and brought in Perform Group’s general counsel Richard McMorris as a partner in its London office.

However, the firm recently saw the departure of transformational projects head Dominic Cook in May, while co-head of disputes Steven Baker is moving to US firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

For more on the legal team at Nokia, see ‘The Client: Richard Vary’

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk