Legal Business

Brown Rudnick hires Speechly’s European IP head into equivalent City role

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Brown Rudnick has hired technology and intellectual property (IP) head Alex Carter-Silk from Speechly Bircham to lead its European IP practice in London.

The hire comes as the US firm aims to build its City technology and life sciences capabilities. Carter-Silk will work closely with Thomas Meyers, head of the firm’s global IP practice, and joins counsel Steven James in London to grow the European practice.

Carter-Silk headed Speechly’s innovation and IP department from 2006, becoming European IP only this month. He has experience of advising on licensing, sponsorship and franchising of IP rights, as well as the protection of copyright design rights and trademarks. He has also advised on advertising and marketing regulation and reputation management, including privacy and defamation. His clients include AIG, Beazley, Richemont, Gina Shoes, Elle Macpherson, WPL (Word Programming Limited) and CFC Underwriting Limited.

Brown Rudnick’s international litigation group head Neil Micklethwaite said: ‘Alex has a track record in building successful intellectual property and technology practices and is a litigation heavyweight, specialising in the resolution of complex, high-value, ‘bet-the-ranch’ disputes with particular expertise in the recovery of failing technology projects. His ideas, experience and drive will prove invaluable to his clients at Brown Rudnick.’

Carter-Silk added: ‘Brown Rudnick has been winning some of the toughest cases out there in recent years, building a global boutique with a reputation for top-quality senior advice. We have big ambitions for the European IP practice, with a number of strengths in complementary areas that we can use for leverage.’

Last year Brown Rudnick lost senior IP partner Georgie Collins – formerly head of IP at Lawrence Graham – to Irwin Mitchell.

Jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

International expansion: openings for Charles Russell in Saudi; Eversheds in Durban; Osborne Clarke in Amsterdam

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A trio of UK firms have this week expanded their international office base as Charles Russell agrees a formal association with Saudi Arabian firm Al-Soaib Law, Eversheds continues to enhance its operations in Africa via a tie-up with Durban-based Knight Turner and Osborne Clarke (OC) opens an office in Amsterdam with a four partner hire.

Charles Russell, which is currently in merger talks with Speechly Bircham, said on Sunday (1 June) that the association with Al-Saoaib Law is a key part of its plans for expansion in the wider Gulf region.

The firm, which already has offices in Bahrain and Qatar and has worked with Al-Soaib on international and cross-border matters, will now have offices in Riyadh and Al Khobar.

Head of Charles Russell’s Bahrain office, Patrick Gearon, said: ‘The formalising of our relationship with Al-Soaib Law further demonstrates our commitment to the region. Our story in the Middle East is one of growth, with over 20 lawyers now based in Bahrain and a team now also based in our new offices in Doha, a presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a natural next step and we are delighted to be able to team up with our friends at Al-Soaib.’

It comes after the top 50 firm last month unveiled healthy growth for the 2013/14 financial year, with revenue at the 310-lawyer firm up 7% while profit per equity partner (PEP) is expected to increase to around £350,000, constituting a 10% rise.

Yesterday (2 June), meanwhile, saw Eversheds build its footprint in Africa through an alliance with Durban-based law firm Knight Turner, a move which will see the local independent firm rebrand as Eversheds KZN. One of the most important manufacturing hubs in South Africa alongside Johannesburg, the firm’s entry into Durban follows the formation of its ‘pan-African’ strategy, leading to tie-ups with Mahons Attorneys in South Africa, as well as a presence in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Louis in Mauritius.

Eversheds chief executive Bryan Hughes said: ‘This latest agreement with established firm Knight Turner, forms a key part of our Pan African strategy as we firmly establish a presence in South Africa. Durban offers a strong commercial and logistics hub and we look forward to working collaboratively with the team at Eversheds KZN to offer a seamless client experience.’

Elsewhere, OC has made further inroads into the European legal market with the opening of an office in Amsterdam. Maintaining its focus on the digital sector, the firm has appointed Baker & McKenzie’s head of IP Michiel Odink to lead the team as managing partner of OC Amsterdam. Odink moves alongside fellow Bakers partner Jeroen Bedaux, who specialises in commercial litigation; London-based Norton Rose Fulbright IT partner Jeroen Lub; and employment partner Jorgo Tsiris who joins from Steins Bisschop & Schepel. Odink, Lub, and Tsiris are also all former Allen & Overy associates.

The addition of the Amsterdam office gives the firm a total of 18 offices in eight jurisdictions following the launch of its San Francisco office this year and Paris, New York and Brussels offices in 2013.

OC’s CEO Simon Beswick said: ‘As well as being a significant international hub, establishing our Amsterdam office gives us the increased ability to provide deep local and international market knowledge to our growing client base and access successful businesses in the Netherlands in the sectors in which we are strong. We intend to grow the office quickly over the coming months and are continuing our recruitment drive in the Amsterdam area.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Strategic UK hires for Irwin Mitchell; Simmons; Speechly and Winckworth Sherwood

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A series of lateral hires across the UK last week saw Irwin Mitchell take on a trio of commercial litigation partners from Eversheds, DLA Piper and Matthew Arnold Baldwin (MAB), while Simmons & Simmons bolstered its information technology team with a hire from DLA, and Speechly Bircham and Winckworth Sherwood hired into their planning and real estate practices respectively.

Irwin Mitchell made a significant investment into its business legal services division with the appointment of Eversheds banking and financial services litigation partner Jonathan Crook, DLA disputes partner Dorrien Peters and MAB professional indemnity partner Jonathan Sachs.

Sachs formerly headed the professional indemnity team at MAB and earlier roles have included leading the litigation teams at Pettman Smith and legacy Sprecher Grier Halberstam, now SGH Martineau. He will join the firm’s London office.

Crook was in Eversheds’ Manchester office previously, where he specialised in banking and financial services litigation, and he will transfer across to Irwin Mitchell in the North West City.

Peters, who originally trained as an electronic engineer with BAE before joining DLA Piper’s Sheffield office, specialises in complex disputes in the IT, manufacturing, engineering and construction sectors and the use of computer forensic methods in support of civil fraud claims.

‘All three are experts in their field and demonstrate our intention to grow our market share by investing in highly talented people who have an innovative approach to law and proven track record when it comes to supporting the complex needs of clients,’ said Nigel Kissack, national head of commercial litigation at the firm.

Elsewhere, top 20 UK firm Simmons & Simmons has expanded its information, communication and technology (ICT) team with the hire of DLA partner Hinal Patel to its London office. Patel’s practice incorporates non-contentious technology with an emphasis on technology sourcing and general commercial contracting. While at DLA, Patel worked in both the firm’s London and Dubai offices.

‘Hinal Patel’s arrival marks a further milestone in the expansion of our ICT practice. His extensive experience of ICT and outsourcing work and cross border matters will be invaluable to our international practice,’ said Mark Curtis, head of ICT for the firm.

Meanwhile, City firm Speechly Bircham has bolstered its planning practice with the arrival of Tim Johnson from DAC Beachcroft. Johnson specialises in environmental and ecological matters relating to the development of land and ensuring compliance with European Union law. The Legal 500 commends him for his ‘commercial sense’ and ‘very sound advice’.

‘Tim adds strength in depth to our team, in particular with his wide experience of acting for developers on complex, mixed use schemes,’ said Claire Fallows, head of planning at the firm.

Winckworth Sherwood has also strengthened its real estate practice with the arrival of Christopher Brigstocke from Squire Sanders where he was a partner. His clients include developers, investors, funders and public sector bodies. He specialises in dealing with transport and infrastructure matters.

‘Christopher is an enormously respected real estate lawyer. His considerable experience and client following will be a terrific asset to the team,’ said Roger Fitton, managing partner of the firm.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Financial results 2013/14: Charles Russell’s revenue up by 7% as Weightmans posts record numbers

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The first top 50 firms to unveil their 2013/14 financial results, Charles Russell and Weightmans this week each unveiled a healthy revenue increase of around 7%.

A Charles Russell spokesperson said the increase in revenue was spread across all areas of the 310-lawyer firm, which has yet to reveal its net profit for the year but expects profit per equity partner (PEP) to increase to around £350,000, constituting a 10% rise.

The revenue rise signals a marked improvement on Charles Russell’s 2012/11 turnover increase of 1% to £68.9m, although PEP for that year increased by 14% to £319,000.

The firm, which is in merger talks with Speechly Bircham, revealed in its latest limited liability partnership accounts in January that its highest paid partner took home £600,000, up from £366,000 the previous year, representing a 64% increase. It continues to pay off an £11m term loan taken in 2009 to refurbish its City offices, reducing its outstanding borrowings to £6.6m last year.

The financials are unveiled just weeks after the firm confirmed merger talks with private client firm Speechly Bircham, a proposed union that would place the combined firm in the top 30 of the LB100.

Meanwhile, national firm Weightmans has enjoyed revenue growth for 2013/14 of 6.6% across all business lines, with many practice areas exceeding annual targets. Record turnover stood at £87m for the period, an increase of £5m on the previous year. Net profit increased by 2% to £24.1m and debt was reduced from £9.6m to £3.5m, marking a reduction of 64%.

The 481-lawyer firm has seen sustained revenue growth having revealed a 6% increase in turnover last year to £82m, although its PEP figure dipped by 1% to £294,000.

Having reported a H1 revenue of £41m last November, 7% up on £38.3m at the same point the year before, Weightman’s managing partner John Schorah attributed the positive results to an around 20% increase in the firm’s corporate practice, and further highlighted a strong performance in the firm’s core insurance team, particularly in its large-loss and disease group, with commercial litigation and family also doing well.

The firm boosted also its family capability earlier this year, picking up a legacy Challinors family team in Birmingham in August.

This year also saw the firm make a capital call to salaried partners following a consultation in response to new HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) rules, with fixed share partners contributing an average of around £30,000 to the firm, totalling £3.8m – an amount that Schorah said would be invested in the firm’s development.

On the latest results, Schorah said: ‘This year we are continuing our focus on technological innovation, making significant improvements to our processes internally, but also externally enhancing client experiences. Over the next 12 months we will continue to invest in our business, for our clients and our people, and strengthen our brand as we continue to grow.’

Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Mergerwatch: Speechly Bircham in talks with Charles Russell

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Speechly Bircham is trying its hand once more at finding a merger partner as the firm last month announced it is currently in talks with fellow Legal Business 100 firm Charles Russell, a deal that would place the combined firm in the top 30 of the LB100.

A joint statement released by both firms on 21 February said: ‘City law firms Charles Russell and Speechly Bircham have confirmed that they are in preliminary talks about a potential merger between their two firms.

Legal Business

International expansion: Speechly opens in Paris as Rouse and Tilleke Gibbins launch in Myanmar

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The burgeoning Paris market has drawn in another UK name as Speechly Bircham opens in the City while UK IP firm Rouse expands into Myanmar alongside new South East Asian entrant Tilleke & Gibbins, which has also launched in Indonesia and Laos.

Its fourth new European office in two years, UK top 55 firm Speechly Bircham opened today (25 November) in the French capital with an 11-strong team, which will focus on private wealth tax planning as well as corporate and litigation services to private clients, private equity investors and corporates.

The four-partner launch team comprises former STC partners Stéphane de Lassus and Anne-Marie Berthault-Boissonnas, who advise on international tax planning for wealthy families, entrepreneurs and management teams, along with STC litigation partner Frédéric Jeannin and corporate partner Thibaut Caharel of Paris’ PDGB Avocats.

Responsible for developing the firm’s international operations, Speechly’s senior partner, Michael Lingens, said: ‘Building on the success of our first international offices, Paris feels like a natural next step due to its importance as a European commercial centre. Speechly Bircham has invested in growing its international private wealth, investment management and funds offering and we are delighted that this very talented team has joined us.

‘The addition of Paris will enable us to broaden our offering to wealthy families and successful entrepreneurs as well as private equity houses and corporates.’

The 230-lawyer City firm, which has also opened in Luxembourg, Geneva and Zurich in the last two years, follows on the heels of Osborne Clarke, which opened in Paris in July.

Meanwhile in Myanmar, London-based IP firm Rouse is opening its 16th base in the former capital of Burma, Yangon, run by head of patents and Thailand country manager Fabrice Mattei, joined by qualified Myanmar attorney and IP specialist Moe Mynn Thu, who joins the firm from Myanmar Brewery Limited.

The office will offer filing and prosecution for trademarks, patents designs and geographic indications, as well as broader portfolio management, commercial work and IP commercialisation services such as technology transfer.

Chief executive of Rouse, Luke Minford, said: ‘We are delighted to announce the opening of Myanmar office, the first of its kind for an international IP firm. We have worked actively in the Myanmar market for several years, and believe the time is now right to establish a base in the country. We already manage the IP of over 50 clients in Myanmar, and this step will ensure we can continue to deliver the level of service we pride ourselves on at Rouse.’

Elsewhere, South East Asian IP firm Telleke & Gibbins completed a run of office openings in the region earlier this month with new bases in Jakarta, Vientiane and Yangan, where it has already been advising IP clients for many years, building on its longstanding presence in Thailand and Vietnam.

Myanmar has also been a draw for foreign firms entering the legal market as it opens up, either through owned or alliance set-ups, including Stephenson Harwood, which opened in May, Selvam & Partners, which opened in September and US-based Herzfeld Rubin Meyer & Rose, which launched in October.

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

European expansion: Speechlys opens second Swiss base as Pinsents and OC bolster Euro offices through lateral hires

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It’s been a year of highs and lows for private client firm Speechly Bircham which, after enduring flat revenues for 2012/13 and unsuccessful merger talks with rival private client firm Withers earlier in the year, has opened an office in Geneva this week. Meanwhile, both Pinsent Masons and Osborne Clarke have made key strategic hires to European offices.

For 221-lawyer Speechlys, Geneva will be the firm’s second office in Switzerland, having opened in Zurich in 2011. According to the firm, the region is home to a third of the world’s privately held wealth and a quarter of the world’s private banking, and subsequently a major hotspot for firms honing in on private client work.

The new office will be headed by private client specialists Michael Wells-Greco and Francis Rojas, and will work alongside head of the firm’s Swiss practice Mark Summers. Ironically, both are former Withers lawyers.

Michael Lingens, senior partner at Speechly said: ‘Growing client demand for joined-up corporate and private wealth expertise made a second presence in Switzerland a logical next move for us.

‘Zurich and Geneva are both important centres for the private banking sector and having an on the ground presence in both cities demonstrates our commitment to the Swiss market.’

Elsewhere, Pinsent Masons’ launch of a French tax practice coincides with the hire of Eugénie Berthet, a partner at Marccus Partners (part of French audit firm Mazars), who specialises in cross-border employee share schemes and international tax planning for individuals. Berthet brings considerable experience to Pinsent Masons, as her industry experience extends to working at Landwell, the legal arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, as well as several years as a tax specialist at French blueblood Bredin Prat and at Slaughter and May.

Berthet rejoins former Marccus Partner colleagues, after Pinsents launched in Paris almost exactly a year ago after hiring a nine-partner team from Marccus, including office head Christoph Maurer, providing corporate, commercial, restructuring, finance, real estate, IT, IP, employment, litigation and arbitration advice.

On the new appointment, Jason Collins, head of tax at the firm said: ‘Eugénie is a standout tax practitioner and her specialisms fit well with a cross-section of our corporate clients as well as our focus on financial services, and the needs of our private wealth clients whose personal and business interests cross many borders. We see significant opportunities around offering cross-border tax advice generally and the growth in share plans specifically.’

Meanwhile, Osborne Clarke has bolstered its Brussels and recently launched Paris offices with the hires of IP specialist Claire Bouchenard, founding partner of Paris boutique B-Cube and corporate and technology lawyer David Haex, who was a managing associate at Linklaters in Brussels. Both will become partners at OC.

The extension of the Paris and Brussels offices come after OC dissolved its European alliance last year, parting ways with Belgium’s De Wolf & Partners, Dutch firm Ploum Lodder Princen and France’s Stehlin & Associés of France, before taking on with Italian and Spanish firms SLA Studio Legale Associato and Osborne Clarke Spain.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Clydes and Charles Russell establish new footprints while Kinstellar snares 10-lawyer team from Dentons’ expanding Kazakhstan operation

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The start of September has seen international firms reinvigorate their expansion plans, with Clyde & Co revealing an Indonesian alliance after joining forces with Indonesian law firm, while Charles Russell has extended its global footprint with the opening of an office in Qatar. Elsewhere, central and eastern European focused firm Kinstellar launched its seventh office located in Kazakhstan, hiring a team from Dentons, which has just opened a second office in the CIS state.

As no foreign firm can practise independently in Indonesia, Clyde & Co has signed a formal association with 30-year old domestic firm Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo (LGS). Heading the new Indonesian venture is Singapore-based projects and resources partner Michael Horn, an Indonesian market veteran who first moved to the region in 1992.

As part of the integration process, both Clyde & Co and LGS plan to place lawyers into each other’s offices. Clyde & Co’s Asia managing partner Michael Parker said: ‘LGS is an ideal partner for us, given its established, leading practice in the areas in which we specialise. For us, an established firm that has both history and vision makes an ideal partner.’

LGS has experience of working closely with large UK firms – the firm had a non-exclusive alliance with Norton Rose prior to the UK firm’s tie-up with Deacons to form Norton Rose Australia, which formalised its relationship with Susandarini & Partners in 2011.

‘As Indonesian business increasingly engages beyond Indonesian borders and international businesses expand in Indonesia’s regions, [the firms] offer the right combination of international and local reach,’ said LGS managing partner M. Idwan ‘Kiki’ Ganie.

Meanwhile, the primary focus of Charles Russell’s new office in Doha will be real estate and construction work and will seek to take advantage of the upsurge in construction activity throughout the Middle East.

The Qatar team will be led by the firm’s head of real estate and construction for the Middle East, Simon Green, and will officially open this month. It follows the firm’s move to larger office premises in Bahrain in early July.

Patrick Gearon, head of Bahrain office, said: ‘With the firm’s continuing expansion in the region, Qatar was the obvious choice for us. We maintain a long-term commitment to the Middle East region.’

Qatar is emerging as a serious competitor to Dubai as a prime Western-friendly legal hub and considered by many firms as an easier Launchpad into the Middle East. Backed by huge oil reserves, which have given the country the highest GDP per capita in the world and home to several large sovereign wealth funds, it is not hard to see the appeal. With the World Cup being held in Qatar in 2022 there has been a rush to improve infrastructure.

Finally, over in Kazakhstan, Dentons partner Joel Benjamin moved to CEE firm Kinstellar as part of a team of ten lawyers including debt and equity capital markets specialist Adlet Yerkinbayev who was made partner.

According to a Kinstellar statement, the new office ‘enhances the firm’s ability to meet client needs in emerging markets including, now, the resource-based economies of Central Asia’.

A former legacy SNR Denton partner, Benjamin has worked in Kazakhstan since 1993 and has also spent time at White & Case. Specialising in M&A, banking and capital market transactions, he will serve as managing partner in the new Almaty office.

Benjamin described the new venture as a ‘very attractive’ prospect, and said the firm intends to focus primarily on corporate work.

‘Dentons has taken a focus to become one of the mega firms in the world,’ he added. ‘That really was not for myself or Adlet [Yerkinbayev]. We didn’t see the benefits to us. This is much more attractive to us because the vision of Kinstellar and ours is very much aligned. We want to be independent with international quality and local counsel in this market. We enjoy that independence – it enables us to work on the highest quality deals.

‘We expect to get a lot of new clients – we have a reputation in the market. This increases our opportunity and enables us to work with other international firms without that fear that they’ll refer work to a competitor. In terms of mandates, we have a full pipeline at the moment that is following us.’

Newly merged entity Dentons has countered the loss of this team in Almaty with the launch of a satellite office in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, and will be headed by newly promoted partner and construction specialist Birzhan Zharasbayev.

Dariusz Oleszczuk, the firm’s Europe chief executive officer, said: ‘Kazakhstan is a rapidly growing economic hub in the CIS region, so strengthening our capabilities and presence in this country is of strategic importance to us.’

This move follows the firm’s decision to  close its Kuwait office in June, post the three-way merger of Salans, SNR Denton and Fraser Milner Casgrain to form Dentons earlier this year. Since then, managing partner of the now closed office Stuart Cavet has moved to the Abu Dhabi office, while corporate specialist Mary Ann Sharp works as a consultant in the Doha office. Two out of three associates within the Kuwait team are no longer at Dentons.

‘Following the closure of its office in Kuwait, Dentons can confirm that those lawyers who could and wished be re-assigned to other offices in the Middle East have now been,’ said a firm statement.

Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Speechly posts flat financials but forecasts PEP boost next year

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Speechly Bircham has posted flat financials for the 2012/13 year following failed merger talks with Withers and a spate of partner exits.

The City-headquartered firm saw a slight drop in revenue to £57.5m from £57.6m in 2011/12, while profits per equity partner decreased from £299,000 to £293,000.

The firm has seen double digit partner exits since the last financial year, when the combined equity and non-equity partners figure stood at 91. As a result however, the firm is estimating a 25% growth in PEP next year.

Those to exit have included private client partners Sanjvee Shah who left for Taylor Wessing in May and Charles Gothard who went to Macfarlanes in November last year.

The results come in the wake of collapsed merger talks with international private client firm Withers – a tie-up which would have created a 600-lawyer practice with combined revenue of £170m.

However, managing partner James Carter injected a note of optimism into the figures, commenting: ‘Our steady financial performance through 2012-2013, despite the challenging market, provides a solid base from which to achieve growth. We have been working hard to strengthen and globalise our sector strategy and this will be furthered bolstered by the opening of our two new European offices later this year. 2013/14 promises to be a year of further development for the firm.’

Speechly is the latest in a series of UK firms to post financials for the 2012/13 year. Fellow private client firm Forsters announced a revenue boost of 16% in mid-May, with total fee income at the 120-lawyer Mayfair practice growing to £32.5m up from £28m last year, while profits increased 11%.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Withers and Speechly union off as SJP and KWM edge closer

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Merger talks between private client firms Withers and Speechly Bircham were called off at the end of May as both sides claimed the merger would not be in their best interests.

A joint statement from the firms said: ‘Following detailed discussions between the management and partnerships of Withers and Speechly Bircham, both sides have now concluded that a merger would not be in the best interests of both firms and have agreed not to pursue this further. The talks have enhanced the respect that both firms have for each other.’