Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) opened in Seoul last month, becoming the third UK firm to open in Korea, after Clifford Chance and DLA Piper.
The office will be co-headed by London disputes partner Tony Dymond and Singapore corporate partner Lewis McDonald, both of whom are relocating to the region.
The Seoul office will primarily focus on outbound work. It opens with two partners, three associates and a paralegal.
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Partner promotions continue apace with Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters the latest to announce their numbers, the majority of which are in Europe.
CC welcomed 20 new lawyers to its partnership, with three-quarters of those promotions spread across Europe, while Linklaters promoted 24 partners, of which 19 were in Europe.
CC announced five London based promotions, namely corporate lawyers Tom Evans and Nick Hughes, finance partners Peter Dahlen and Oliver Hipperson and litigator Maxine Mossman.
Half of CC’s total promotions were spread across the firm’s central European offices with three in Paris, two each in Madrid and Frankfurt and one apiece in Düsseldorf, Milan and Amsterdam. Three lawyers were made up in Asia, one in the US and one in Saudi Arabia.
The number of promotions is down from 27 in 2012, bringing the total to 589 partners.
CC managing partner David Childs said: ‘Many of this year’s new partners have demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting the growth of the firm’s offering internationally, including leading development efforts in a wide range of markets beyond their “home” office, into Scandinavia, the Middle East, Latin America and South East Asia.
‘This international mindset is at the heart of our firm’s culture and it is very pleasing to see our principles so clearly embodied in these individuals.’
Linklaters, meanwhile elected six new London partners – Stuart Boyd and Savi Hebbur in mainstream corporate, litigators Ben Carroll and Harriet Ellis, Edward Aldred in banking and Timothy Lowe in tax.
In Europe promotions were spread across Paris, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Brussels, Amsterdam, Madrid, Warsaw, Lisbon and Moscow. The remaining five were in Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai, with two in New York.
Linklaters’ chairman and senior partner Robert Elliott said: ‘These promotions underline our commitment to invest in our global practices in order to enhance the breadth and depth of expertise we offer our clients.’
Promotions at both firms will take effect from 1 May 2013.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Graham has announced three partner promotions – the same as last year – with two in London and one in Monaco. Since March 2012 nine new partners have joined the firm from Bird & Bird, Herbert Smith, Linklaters and Stephenson Harwood. Most recently private capital partner Zac Lucas joined the Singapore office in February from Ogier.
Elsewhere Watson Farley & Williams has promoted four partners, Jahnavi Ramachandran and Kavita Shah in asset finance in London, and Ahmad Khonsari and Daniel Marhewka in the corporate department in Munich.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
Network Rail has cut its legal roster from 12 to five core firms in a review that sees newly merged firm Dentons appointed to the panel.
Other firms awarded full service contracts for work in England and Wales are Bond Pearce (Bond Dickinson on 1 May), Eversheds and Addleshaw Goddard. Maclay Murray & Spens has been awarded the contract for Scottish law matters. All four were reappointed from the previous panel.
The firms will provide legal support to Network Rail’s entire business but with a particular focus on corporate projects, commercial contracts, dispute resolution, employment and property work.
Network Rail has also awarded three further contracts for work in specialist areas – to Clifford Chance for treasury and capital markets work; Kennedys for health & safety and regulatory enforcement; and Winckworth Sherwood for public law matters.
As of April 2012 Network Rail had a legal spend of around £15m per year.
Firms not re-appointed to the full panel are Simmons & Simmons, Berrymans Lace Mawer, Bircham Dyson Bell, MacRoberts, Schofield Sweeney and Winckworth Sherwood.
The tender, which was kicked off at a launch presentation in December, was put out to 20 firms, with a further seven unsuccessful.
The rail company’s review of its advisers, led by group general counsel Suzanne Wise, has centred on developing stronger relationships with its advisers and obtaining better value services.
Wise said: ‘This has not been about dissatisfaction with any of the company’s current suppliers. The decision to significantly reduce the size of the panel will drive efficiencies in line with the company’s business objectives. I wanted to develop deeper, more strategic relationships with fewer firms to drive better value and a more integrated approach to our work.’
A statement issued by Network Rail further explained: ‘Network Rail had found its legal spend spread too thinly across a panel of 12 firms making it difficult to develop a close strategic relationship whilst at the same time eroding the company’s ability to gain maximum benefit from the value added offered by many law firms in the market.’
Before joining Network Rail, Wise was general counsel and company secretary of Premier Foods, where she set up the FTSE 100 company’s first formal panel, appointing Eversheds, Slaughter and May and Wragge & Co.
She joined Network Rail in January 2012, with a brief to complete a wholesale review of the strategic objectives of the legal team, including a strategic vision for legal services.
caroline.hill@legalease.co.uk
Deutsche Bank today (17 April) announced the appointment of Clifford Chance partner Daniela Weber-Rey as chief governance officer and deputy global head compliance in its Frankfurt office.
Weber-Rey, who is a long-serving corporate partner at Clifford Chance, will join Europe’s biggest bank by assets in June, overseeing corporate governance globally and acting as adviser to the management board on the governance structures and processes of the bank.
She will report to Deutsche Bank management board and group executive committee member Stephan Leithner in her governance role and serve as deputy to compliance chief Andrew Procter.
Weber-Rey has been a partner at Clifford Chance and legacy firm Pünder Volhard Weber & Axster for over 20 years. She was also a member of the Magic Circle firm’s partnership council until earlier this year and continues to be a member of the Commission of the German Corporate Governance Code. She regularly advises German and multinational corporates and banks on corporate governance and general boardroom issues.
According to a statement from Deutsche, Weber-Rey’s hire forms an ‘important component’ of the bank’s cultural change initiative in ensuring good decision-making and clear accountabilities across the bank.
Leithner said: ‘We are pleased that Daniela Weber-Rey will be joining Deutsche Bank. Staying at the forefront on governance structures and processes, an area where the bank is traditionally strong, will be critical in the context of significant market and regulatory change.’
Weber-Rey becomes the second partner from a Magic Circle firm in Germany to announce a role in a financial institution this week. Former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer senior partner Konstantin Mettenheimer is set to join asset manager Edmond de Rothschild Group this summer as chairman for the Franco-Swiss bank’s businesses in Germany, including its asset management, private banking and advisory services. He will be based in Frankfurt.
francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk
Clifford Chance’s corporate practice had a stonking year in 2012, rocketing up the league tables and scoring roles on four of the ten largest M&A deals globally. Little wonder Matthew Layton was handed a second four-year term at the helm. Vive la revolution.
By anyone’s measure, Clifford Chance (CC) had a stupendous year for M&A work in 2012, appearing on four of the ten largest deals that took place worldwide and ranking second at year-end by deal value, up from 22nd two years ago. According to mergermarket, CC worked on 197 announced deals with a combined value of £156bn, nudging ahead of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and relegating Linklaters to fifth in the league tables.
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Two features this month focus on firms that have dusted themselves down and have come back fighting. For markedly different reasons, both Clifford Chance and Bristows have returned from positions of perceived weakness to enjoy something of a renaissance post-economic crisis.
In 2012 Clifford Chance was one of the stronger performers in a UK Global Elite that has been pretty beleaguered of late. Its performance in the most recent LB100 outstripped its rivals, posting a 7% growth in turnover and a 9% rise in profit per lawyer. But in particular, its corporate practice enjoyed a very strong 2012, topping mergermarket’s M&A tables for deals by value right up until the end of the year until Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom posted a trio of high-value deals in December.
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In the same way the sports media has speculated long and hard these past couple of years on the ‘demise’ of Tiger Woods, much has also been said about the Magic Circle also losing its aura of invincibility since the global financial crisis.
The Magic Circle’s relentless pursuit of domination has inspired awe over the last two decades but at the same time has drawn brickbats when things have gone awry. It is all too easy to build something up only to knock it down.
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As the sovereign debt crisis threatens to bring the euro to its knees, a group of lawyers has been working behind the scenes to keep the cogs turning. LB finds out what happened backstage.
Lee Buchheit has faced a frantic few months. He has been advising the Greek government on how to sort out its massive debt problem. This has seen him shuttle between meetings across Europe for the past five months and spend more time in hotel rooms in Paris, Brussels, Berlin and London than in his hometown of New York.
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