Legal Business

Clyde & Co advises Liberty on bid for Tata Steel’s UK assets

Posted on |
Corporate Clyde & Co
legal-business-default

Clyde & Co is advising global metals group Liberty House in its bid to acquire Tata Steel’s UK assets.

Liberty House Group confirmed it had formally submitted its bid yesterday (3 May) for Tata Steel’s UK assets, including its biggest UK plant, Port Talbot works.Liberty House has already successfully acquired Tata’s Scottish plate-making facilities at Dalzell and Clydebridge in Lanarkshire.

Liberty House welcomed the government’s new rescue deal when it was announced late last month by business secretary Sajid Javid in a continued effort to save up to 40,000 jobs. The package includes hundreds of millions of pounds in financial support and the possibility of taking up an equity stake of up to 25%. Corporate finance partner Simon Vere Nicoll and dispute resolution partner Michael Swangard are leading Clyde’s team on the deal.

Long-time adviser to Tata Steel Slaughter and May continues to work with Tata on the sale of its assets. Corporate partner Gary Eaborn is leading a team that includes finance partners Ian Johnson and Andrew McClean, corporate partner Padraig Cronin, real estate partner John Nevin, tax partner Gareth Miles and IP partner Cathy Connolly.

A bid for the steel producer’s long products division has not been placed by Liberty House, which is being sold separately.

In April Forsters advised UK investment house Greybull Capital on its bid for Tata Steel’s long products business. The deal covers seven sites making steel used in construction, including Tata Steel’s steelworks in Scunthorpe and two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, and associated distribution facilities, as well as a mill in northern France.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Clyde & Co makes up 16 partners in half-female promotion round

Posted on |
Partnership promotions Clyde & Co
legal-business-default

Clyde & Co has announced a record number of promotions, adding 16 new partners, half of whom are women. 

This year’s promotion round is an increase on last year when the firm made up 13 partners, with five women made making the cut. The 2015 promotions were an improvement on the nine lawyers it made up the year before.

Insurance saw the largest intake of new partners, with dispute resolution, corporate, infrastructure and energy also boosted by promotions.

Geographically, the firm made up five promotions in the City, with two made up in Edinburgh and one in Guildford. Other partners were made up in the Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Abu Dhabi and San Francisco offices.

Clyde & Co senior partner James Burns said: ‘The size of the group demonstrates the top quality calibre of the candidates coming through, the opportunities available to talented individuals at this firm and the importance we place on developing and investing in our people.’

He added: ‘I’m especially pleased with the diversity of gender, geography and sectors in this year’s new partner group, which reflects the diverse nature of our business.’

Earlier this week, Linklaters made up 10 partners from its Silk Street headquarters in a 24-strong round.

The promotions are effective from 1 May.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

The full list of partner promotions is as follows:

David Méheut, insurance, Paris

Sapna Jhangiani, disputes, Singapore

Avryl Lattin, corporate, Sydney

Janette McLennan, insurance, Sydney

Naji Hawayek, corporate, Dubai

Heather Nevin, infrastructure, Abu Dhabi

Alfred Thornton, disputes, Abu Dhabi

Kathryn Ashton, insurance, San Francisco

Emma Ager, insurance, London

Toni Ashby, insurance, Edinburgh

Nicholas Bathurst, insurance, Guildford

Bruce Goodbrand, insurance, Edinburgh

Bryn Hodges, insurance, London

Ricardo Lewandowski, disputes, London

Paul Lowrie, energy/insurance London

Helen Rowlands, disputes, London

Legal Business

Pinsent Masons, Shearman and Clyde & Co major winners at 2016 Legal Business Awards

Posted on |
Clyde & CoPinsent MasonsShearman & Sterling
legal-business-default

Pinsent Masons, Shearman & Sterling and Clyde & Co were among the major winners at the 2016 Legal Business Awards, with Slaughter and May’s outgoing senior partner Chris Saul named Lawyer of the Year in recognition of an outstanding career.

Pinsents was the night’s main winner, picking up two awards, first Energy & Infrastructure Team of the Year and then the coveted Law Firm of the Year award, thanks to a sustained period of strong financial performance and a firm commitment to a meaningful sector focus.

Meanwhile, Clydes’ managing partner James Burns was named Management Partner of the Year for being central to the success of the Global 100 firm since taking on the role in 2013.

Shearman picked up one of the most-prized practice area awards, selected as Corporate Team of the Year for its role advising Qatar Investment Authority on its complex £2.6bn bid for Songbird Estates, ultimately leading to the takeover of Canary Wharf Group. Herbert Smith Freehills picked up two awards – Finance Team of the Year for its role advising Virgin Atlantic on the innovative secured bond financing of its Heathrow airport slot portfolio, while it was jointly named Dispute Resolution Team of the Year with Jones Day after the firms collaborated to successfully represent the Standard Bank on entering into the UK’s first ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

Other major awards saw Skyscanner’s legal team named In-House Team of the Year for the team’s role in helping it become the world’s fastest-growing travel site, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was named US Law Firm of the Year for the third time in five years, while Stevens & Bolton picked up National/Regional Firm of the Year after a very strong 2015.

The awards were presented to more than 1,000 guests in a gala ceremony last night (7 April) hosted by former Labour party chief press secretary and communications strategist Alastair Campbell. The event was preceded by a reception to mark the launch of this year’s GC Power List report.

The winners were selected by an external judging panel comprising the following senior general counsel: Nilema Bhakta-Jones (Ascential); Claire Chapman (Daily Mail and General Trust); Kirsty Cooper (Aviva); former vice-president and GC of group legal affairs & compliance at RB, Claire Debney; Chris Fowler (BT); Dan Guildford (FT); Michael Herlihy (Smiths Group); Robert Ivens (Marks and Spencer); Alison Kay (National Grid); Ned Staple (Zoopla); Nyeem Syed (Thomson Reuters); and Suzanne Wise (Network Rail). The panel was completed by Jomati founder Tony Williams as well as Alex Novarese and Mark McAteer from Legal Business.

Our May edition will include a full report of the night.

For more details click here. See #lbawards2016 on Twitter or click here for photos from the night. 

mark.mcateer@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business Awards 2016 – The Winners

King & Wood Mallesons – TMT Team of the Year

Herbert Smith Freehills – Finance Team of the Year

Weil, Gotshal & Manges – Restructuring Team of the Year

Linklaters – Competition Team of the Year

Pinsent Masons – Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year

Herbert Smith Freehills/Jones Day – Dispute Resolution Team of the Year

Irwin Mitchell – Private Client Team of the Year

Eversheds – Insurance Team of the Year

Shearman & Sterling – Corporate Team of the Year

Travers Smith – Private Equity Team of the Year

Burges Salmon – Real Estate Team of the Year

Tapestry Compliance – Boutique of the Year

Chris Saul, Slaughter and May – Lawyer of the Year

ITV – CSR Programme of the Year

Al Tamimi & Company – International Firm of the Year

Daniel Whitehead, Citibank – Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year

Skyscanner – In-House Team of the Year

James Burns, Clyde & Co – Management Partner of the Year

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan – US Law Firm of the Year

Lawyers On Demand – Legal Innovator of the Year

Kennedys – Legal Technology Team of the Year

Stevens & Bolton – National/Regional Firm of the Year

Pinsent Masons – Law Firm of the Year

Legal Business

Clydes misses out as Eversheds and Burness Paull take away places on Yum! panel

Posted on |
Adviser reviews Burness PaullClyde & CoEversheds Sutherland
legal-business-default

Eversheds and Burness Paull have won places on Yum! Brands slimmed down legal panel, with Clyde & Co missing out on reappointment.

Sarah Nelson Smith, general counsel (GC) (pictured) for the company behind KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, has trimmed its legal panel from nine in its latest panel review. Squire Patton Boggs, Whiting & Purches and Wright Hassall have both retained their places on the legal panel, with Yum! Brands introducing TLT to the list.

Alongside Clyde & Co, Howard Kennedy, Collins Dryland & Thorowgood, which advised on real estate work, and Leeds firm Woods Whur which had advised on licensing work, have not been reappointed to the panel.

Panel firms have been assigned for a two year period, the same time frame as the last Yum! Brands panel which was appointed in 2014.

GC Nelson Smith oversees more than 1,500 stores in the UK with a team of just three lawyers and has led on several initiatives for the company, including the recent trial of acquiring licenses to sell alcohol from a number of Pizza Hut delivery stores. She joined Yum! Brands in 2011, having been trained at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and having also worked at US firm Baker Botts.

In other recent panel appointments, Pinsent Masons won a place on FTSE 100 firm Land Securities’ legal panel, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has come off the roster following a review and Eversheds, Reed Smith, Dentons and K&L Gates have landed spots on a seven-firm global panel created by US car rental giant Avis.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

 

 

Legal Business

Revolving doors: team hires galore as Stephenson Harwood, Dentons and Clydes all add to their benches

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Clyde & CoDentonsStephenson Harwood
legal-business-default

In a busy week for international hires, several firms have made key team hires around the globe, with Stephenson Harwood, Clyde & Co and Milan all making appointments.

In Asia, Stephenson Harwood has appointed two partners from Eversheds, King Tak Fung and Ivan Ng. The duo join the firm’s Hong Kong office, along with five associates. Fung is a trade finance lawyer and Stephenson Harwood says combined with the practice of existing finance partner Mark Reed, the firm will have signifcantly expanded its trade finance capabilities. Ng is a commercial litigator with more than 20 years’ experience.

Meanwhile in Australia, Clyde & Co has hired two partners from Norton Rose Fulbright in a bid to build up its occupational health and safety team. Michael Tooma and Alena Titterton join the firm’s Sydney office along with eight other lawyers. Nooma will lead the firm’s occupational health and safety team across the Asia Pacific. He said in a statement: ‘We were attracted to Clyde & Co’s global platform, particularly in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, and the strength and reputation of the firm in the aviation, construction and the oil and gas industries. These are industries that have been an area of focus of ours from a health and safety perspective for a number of years.’ The team hire follows Clyde & Co’s appointment of a 30-lawyer team late last year, also in the Sydney office. Before Christmas the firm announced it had picked up five partners in Sydney who joined the firm with another 25 lawyers, all from Lee & Lyons. David Lee and Lucinda Lyons, who founded Lee & Lyons in 2002, joined with partners David Amentas, Michelle Dunne and Christopher Smith.

In London Clyde & Co has made another key hire, employing Ralph Cox from Fasken Martineau where he was head of the London contentious IP group for the last ten years. Cox’s practice focuses on patent litigation, especially in the life sciences sector, and he has expertise in contentious trade mark, passing off and design work.

In the US, Paul Hastings has added international arbitration lawyer Camilo Cardozo as a partner in the firm’s New York office. Cardozo joins from DLA Piper where he was co-chair of the US International Arbitration practice group. Paul Hastings head of international arbitration Joe Profaizer said: ‘Our clients increasingly turn to international arbitration as a preferred means of resolving larger, more complex, multi-party international disputes.’

Dentons hired another 11 lawyers in Milan, following the opening of its office in October last year. The firm has appointed two new partners, Sara Biglieri and Andrea Fiorelli, who will head the firm’s litigation and arbitration group and tax practices respectively. Biglieri was a partner at Studio Rucellai & Raffaelli, where she acted for Italian companies in judicial and arbitration activities and business litigation. Fiorelli was head of the tax department at Norton Rose Fulbright and advises on financial market taxation and fiscal treatment of financial products and Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities. Denton’s Milan managing partner Federico Sutti said: ‘We are extremely pleased to welcome these two well respected partners on board. They will help us to quickly grow our tax and litigation and arbitration practices in Italy, which are integral to Dentons’ full service approach.’

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Clydes top-paid member took home 36% more in 2015, as firm’s profits rise

Posted on |
Salaries Clyde & Co
legal-business-default

Clyde & Co rewarded its highest paid member 36% more, dishing out £1.8m in the 2014/15 financial year. the firm’s LLP filings show.

The figure, up from £1.3m the previous year, does not necessarily equate to the highest paid equity partner and can relate to ‘golden handshakes’ to retiring members.

Staff costs at the firm grew 12% from £155.5m in 2014 to £173.5m in 2015 for the group, with the largest difference coming from salary and wages costs which rose 12% from £138.3m to £154.9m.

The average number of people employed during the same period for the group grew 9% to total 2,503 from 2,307, while the overall number of employees working in practice rose by 134 to 2,503.

In contrast, the average number of LLP members grew during the same period from 222 to 236, rising 6%.

The audited figures show turnover came in slightly higher than previously reported in the firm’s yearly financials, increasing 8% to £396.8m from £366m the previous year. Profit for the financial year available for discretionary division among members grew 8% from £89m to £109.7m, surpassing the £100m mark.

‘We have not seen some of the challenges that some of our marine firm peers have seen. We are diversified in geography and practice focus,’ said Clyde & Co chief executive Peter Hasson.

‘We have seen solid performance in the developed markets and good growth in the US and Asia Pacific,’ Hasson added.

The firm recently expanded in Australia with the hire of a 25-lawyer team from Lee & Lyons in December last year, and is also looking to expand in Latin America.

While the firm looks set to grow internationally, any expansion in the UK seems to be on ice. ‘We are not ignoring the UK. We did the Simpson Marwick merger last year and bedding this down is the focus,’ added Hasson. ‘We reviewed our transaction capability a year ago and have no intention of reviewing it again. We have been hiring in corporate – we have people joining in the Asia Pacific. The key is that our corporate practice works well with the rest of the business.’

In December last year the firm posted its first half results for the 2015/16 financial year, reporting an 8% rise in turnover to £192m.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Revolving doors: A&O and Linklaters make key lateral hires as Clydes picks up Aussie team

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Allen & OveryClyde & CoLinklaters
legal-business-default

Allen & Overy (A&O) has made a key hire for its US securities practice with David Flechner joining the firm’s New York office. Flechner joins from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton where he worked for a decade.

Flechner represents issuers and underwriters in SEC-registered and private offerings of debt and equity securities, predominantly focusing on Latin America. A&O said the appointment was in line with the firm’s strategy to grow its US securities practice, which currently has 24 partners.

Meanwhile magic circle rival Linklaters has hired Loyens & Loeff partner Guido Portier who joins as a civil law notary partner in the firm’s Amsterdam office. Portier was at Loyens & Loeff for ten years and had headed the firm’s corporate practice in its New York office. Linklaters said the hire was about strengthening the firm’s capability in the Dutch market.

In London, Simmons & Simmons has expanded with the appointment of Will Greig as a partner. The firm, which last week reported a modest 1% half year revenue rise, said Greig’s appointment is part of continued development and investment in its property finance practice. Greig joins from Pinsent Masons and specialises in real estate finance transactions with expertise in domestic and international cross border real estate financing. Simmons banking group head Alyson Lockett said: ‘Working closely with partners Mark Waghorn and Simon Kildahl, his experience will provide additional capability to our focus across the areas of real estate finance, insurance and construction.’

Down under, Clyde & Co has picked up five partners in Sydney who join with the firm with another 25 lawyers, all from Lee & Lyons. David Lee and Lucinda Lyons, who founded Lee & Lyons in 2002, join with partners David Amentas, Michelle Dunne and Christopher Smith in February next year. Clyde & Co senior partner James Burns said: ‘Australia is an increasingly important market for our clients and one in which we are seeing significant and rapid growth. We are committed to providing our clients with the leading insurance capability in Australia and the Asia Pacific region and this expansion is in line with that ambition. ‘

Meanwhile Fladgate has appointed a corporate team of two partners and an associate from Fasken Martineau. The West-end firm said the appointment of partners Nigel Gordon and Chris Chrysanthou and associate Zehra Kofturcu will add to the firm’s extensive AIM practice. Gordon was the heads of Fasken’s corporate practice group in London and co-head of the firm’s mining practice, while Chrysanthou also focuses on capital markets and M&A in the life sciences sector. Fladgate chairman Charles Wander said: ‘We expect the combined team to be recognised as one of the leading AIM practices in the UK. In addition, the significant experience that Nigel has gained through advising on the first central London-focused residential REIT to be admitted to AIM will also enhance our real estate and funds capability.’

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

H1 2015/16: ‘Well balanced’ – Clyde & Co turnover rises 8% as firm praises sector focus

Posted on |
Financial results 2015/16 Clyde & Co
legal-business-default

Clyde & Co has posted an 8% rise in turnover totalling £192m for the first half of the 2015/16 financial year, improving on last year’s 5.3% increase over the same period to £178m.

According to the firm, the first-half fee income would have been closer to 10% on a currency constant basis, which is typically what it aims to achieve on an annual basis. Although an increase on last year, the firm is yet to achieve turnover levels in the first-half of 2013/14 when revenues shot up 16.5% to £169m. At that time, the firm attributed the increase to a combination of underlying growth and improvements in working capital management.

The first-half turnover figure does not include revenues from Scottish insurance firm Simpson & Marwick, which ‎merged with Clydes on 1 October this year adding 45 partners and six additional UK offices. While the firm does expect to see between £25-28m added top its top line over the second-half, this is still materially small in comparison to the firm’s international revenues.

During the period, some 57% of firm-wide revenues are generated in the firm’s home offices in UK, with the remainder spread more or less evenly between the APAC (11%), MENA (13%) and North America (12%), while 6% is generated in other jurisdictions.

Clydes chief executive officer Peter Hasson said the firm saw ‘steady performance’ in most mature markets, such as the UK and MENA and faster growth internationally, with the APAC and the US performing especially strong. In addition, the firm’s international arbitration practice and transactional groups in MENA and APAC were also strong.

‘Firms that have our geographic spread struggle to get our numbers because they don’t have our core sector balance,’ Hasson told Legal Business. ‘A number of marine firms in the UK are struggling but we have our international marine business which makes us more resilient,’ he said. 

Clydes senior partner James Burns added: ‘Having a focus on core global sectors and a broad global platform, across both developed and emerging markets, means that our business is well-balanced.’

The rise this year comes alongside a recruitment drive at Clydes which has made 21 lateral hires this year including six partners in South Africa; real estate partners Liam Buckley and Stelios Coutsavlis from Squire Patton Boggs in Manchester; international arbitration partner Richard Power from BLP; and Richard Devine, an energy focused corporate partner who joined from Baker Botts in Dubai.

The firm did lose several corporate partners from its City practice after what was described as a ‘shoulder tapping exercise’ took place as the practice came under management scrutiny for under performance.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Changing counsel: Clyde & Co swaps XXIV Old Buildings for Brick Court Chambers in $285m mining tussle

Posted on |
Litigation Brick Court ChambersClyde & CoXXIV Old Buildings
legal-business-default

The bitter dispute between Zamin Ferrous, the mining company run by Indian billionaire Pramod Agarwal, and embattled natural resources group ENRC over a Brazilian mine has taken another turn with Zamin drafting in barristers from Brick Court Chambers to replace existing counsel XXIV Old Buildings.

Zamin’s solicitors, Clyde & Co, opted to change counsel, switching from Philip Shepherd QC, Bajul Shah and Erin Hitchens at XXIV Old Buildings to Neil Calver QC and Stephen Midwinter at Brick Court Chambers. Clyde & Co litigator Andrew Preston is spearheading the case for Zamin. The firm would not comment on why it decided to drop XXIV Old Buildings.

The mining company has claimed $220m from ENRC, alleging it failed to pay the final instalment for Zamin’s share in their Brazilian iron ore mine joint venture. The spat stems from a $670m deal in 2010 for ENRC to purchase the stake in the Pedra de Ferro iron ore project in Brazil that it didn’t already own.

Zamin claims that profitable extraction and a port licence triggered a $220m payment, but ENRC’s defence is that the port installation licence issued by Brazil’s federal environmental agency is illegitimate and thus the trigger for the $220m payment was never met. The case goes before the High Court in February and will test the illegality defence in English law.

ENRC which recently rebranded as Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) after being beset by corruption allegations, has filed a $65m counterclaim over repayment of a loan it paid to Zamin’s subsidiary Ardila Investments as part of the original sale.

ENRC, which is under investigation by the UK Serious Fraud Office over allegations of bribery and corruption in Africa, has instructed Hogan Lovells litigation partner Richard Lewis for its legal tussle with Zamin. Stephen Smith QC of Erskine Chambers was chosen as counsel.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: It’s one in, two out at Clyde & Co while DWF boosts practice in Dubai

Posted on |
Strategic recruitment Clyde & CoDWF
legal-business-default

Clyde & Co has appointed Mark Sutton as a senior equity partner in its professional financial disputes group. Sutton joined from national firm DAC Beachcroft where he was head of its global directors & officers and financial institutions group.

Going the other way, commodities trade finance partner Philip Prowse has left Clydes for Holman Fenwick Willan, having joined the firm back in 2011. His departure follows that of finance and insolvency specialist Terry Green who has also left the firm to join the London office of Chicago headquartered Katten Muchin Rosenman.

DWF has hired Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla arbitration head Gordon Blanke as a partner in the firm’s international commercial arbitration team. Based in DWF’s first international office in Dubai, which opened this year, Blanke has been lead counsel and arbitrator in a number of leading international cases under a wide range of UK and international rules of arbitration, as well as ad hoc cases and also holds rights of audience before the Dubai International Financial Centre courts.

Meanwhile in Paris, Gide Loyrette Nouel has hired Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira partner Nuria Bové to create an Iberian desk in the French capital. The Gide Cuatrecasas’ Iberian Desk will support Iberian and Latin American companies on their operations in France, as well as French clients on their operations in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. Both firms said the specialist team will naturally work alongside all of Gide’s other practice groups and international offices and was born out of a long-standing relationship between the French and Iberian firm, along with Chiomenti in Italy and Gleiss Lutz in Germany.

At the Bar, 11KBW has hired Julian Blake of 6KBW College Hill to add to its public law team. The chambers said the hire was in line with its strategy to consolidate and enhance three core areas of practice commercial, employment and public law. 

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk