Legal Business

Revolving doors: Mishcon loses City funds chief to OMM as firms bulk up in Asia

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O’Melveny & Myers (OMM) made a strategic move last week as it continues to ramp up its City office with the hire of Mishcon de Reya’s co-head of funds and financial services while Eversheds also looked to bolster its London presence. In Asia, Morrison & Foerster made a high-profile hire when it recruited Winston & Strawn’s Asia head of litigation.

Eve Ellis re-joins OMM, having previously been counsel in the firm’s investment funds group. She left the firm in 2010 to make partner at Charles Russell and then moved to Mishcon in May last year. Focused on UK and EU regulatory matters affecting funds and financial institutions, Ellis’ client base revolves around private equity but also covers real estate, hedge and emerging market funds, and institutional investors.

The second recruit to the firm’s London office, she will join new European corporate head and private placement specialist Andrew Weiler, who also starts today (3 August), from White & Case.

Eversheds, after having seen a swathe of real estate partners exit to King & Wood Mallesons following William Naunton and Clive Jones, has also expanded in London, improving its planning offering with the hire of a partner and three associates.

Morag Thomson, who was senior partner at Marrons before its merger with Shakespeares in 2013, joins the firm as partner along with a senior associate. Eversheds has also recruited a principal associate from Bircham Dyson Bell, Richard Marsh, and a senior associate from Forsters, Matt Nixon. Thomson covers both contentious and non-contentious work and specialises in major projects and infrastructure developments.

Meanwhile, MoFo boosted its Asia practice with Winston & Strawn’s regional head of litigation Adrian Yip.

Yip, who had been with the Chicago-bred firm for five years, has a broad range of experience in Hong Kong and Greater China, covering arbitration, criminal prosecutions, competition law and corporate investigations. He joins with 3 associates as the US firm looks to build up its Hong Kong disputes team – to that end it has also relocated Craig Celniker, chair of its disputes practice from Tokyo in 2013.

The move mirrors Yip’s arrival at Winston & Strawn, which he joined in 2010, also with three associates, after five years at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Ashurst joined MoFo in building up its Asia offering with the addition of Andrew Digges in its Singapore office. Digges, who makes partner in the move, joins from Allen & Overy where he was a foreign legal consultant at the Magic Circle firm’s associated office in Jakarta, Ginting & Reksodiputro.

Digges will join the firm’s resources and infrastructure team with 15 years’ experience garnered on South East Asian project work, in particular advising on Indonesian power deals.

The firm’s head of resources and infrastructure, Mark Elsey, commented: ‘Resources and infrastructure is an area of key strategic focus for the firm. Andrew is a seasoned and highly regarded practitioner who will add significant depth to our offering in this area in the Asia region as well as further enhancing our market leading global platform.’

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

News in brief – July 2015

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FRESHFIELDS BREAKS CITY LOCKSTEP TO BRING IN KIRKLAND’S McKIMM

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s hire of Kirkland & Ellis high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm made waves in the City in June. Joining as co-head of European leveraged finance, McKimm’s salary is understood to be well above the firm’s City top of equity.

 

Legal Business

Financials 2014/15: subdued performance from Eversheds with revenue and profits flat

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Eversheds has posted essentially flat results for the last financial year, with revenues flat at £380.7m compared with £379.1m in 2013/14, while profit per equity partner (PEP) has nudged up just 2% from £731,000 to £749,000.

The majority of the firm’s income came from its corporate practice, followed by disputes and real estate. Last year results saw the firm grow marginally, with turnover up 2% however this was contrasted by a double-digit increase in PEP of 14%.

Turnover at the firm has grown by a total of 7% over the last five years, with the firm posting revenues of £355.2m for the financial year 2009/10. PEP in the same period is up 45% from £515,000. However, the firm’s equity partner ranks have decreased 14% over that period, from 136 to 117, pointing to slower underlying growth in profitability – net income has grown by 25% over five years.

The 2014/15 financial year saw Eversheds continue to invest in its ongoing expansion strategy, with the firm last month merging with its German partner Heisse Kursawe following a full year of advanced negotiations. June also saw the firm enter the Northern Irish legal market with the launch of an outpost in Belfast covering general commercial and public sector legal work. In February, Eversheds further extended its presence in South Africa, establishing a new formal alliance with Cape Town firm Walkers, while also creating two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America towards the end of last year.

Eversheds’ year-on-year results stand in sharp contrast to the growth of national rival Pinsent Masons, which saw PEP soar 33% from £403,000 to £538,000, while turnover was up 12% from £323m to £362m. Managing partner John Cleland, who took over the role on 1 May, said the firm’s performance was a result of strategic investments Pinsents had made in recent years, including its 2012 merger with Scottish law firm McGrigors.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Eversheds enters Northern Irish legal market with Belfast launch

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Eversheds has become the latest firm to enter the Northern Irish legal market with the launch of an outpost in Belfast covering general commercial and public sector legal work.

The office, headed up by projects partner Peter Curran and based next to Belfast City Hall, is not currently full-service but will carry out legal work as part of Eversheds’ international network. The work will be serviced initially by lawyers from Eversheds’ existing offices in the UK and Dublin, but the firm is also looking to hire locally as well.

The launch is seen as ‘plugging a gap’ in Eversheds’ current offering across the UK and Ireland which includes offices in most of the main commercial centres and regional capitals including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The firm announced today (22 June) that it is also launching a new branch of its consulting service, Eversheds Ignite. The offering will be focused on helping in-house teams outsource high volume, low risk work such as statements of work and non-disclosure agreements.

The new office follows Eversheds’ merger earlier this month with its German partner Heisse Kursawe Eversheds following a full year of advanced negotiations. Eversheds will trade in Germany as Eversheds Deutschland and primarily practice in areas including corporate M&A, real estate and human resources. Around 30% of clients are currently shared between the firms, mainly US multinationals with operations in Germany.

Eversheds’ ongoing expansion strategy also saw the firm announce the creation of two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America, initiatives intended to further formalise relationships with local firms, but remain non-exclusive.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Eversheds merges with Heisse Kursawe after ‘a very long courtship’ as it plans greater German investment

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After a full year of advanced negotiations, Eversheds has merged with its German partner Heisse Kursawe Eversheds, allowing the duo to financially integrate and make investments in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.

Following the merger, Eversheds will trade in Germany as Eversheds Deutschland and primarily practice in areas including corporate M&A, real estate and human resources. Around 30% of clients are currently shared between the firms, mainly US multinationals with operations in Germany.

Negotiations were led by Lee Ranson, managing partner of Eversheds LLP, and Keith Froud, head Eversheds’ UK company commercial team. The union with the 28-partner firm was also overseen by partner Ian Gray, who was appointed to the role of international managing partner in early May and is tasked with developing German operations and other non-UK relationships.

Eversheds has been actively looking to boost its German piece for some time and last April the firm confirmed it was in talks over a full merger with Heisse Kursawe and at the same time opened a third German office in Berlin. 

Gray told Legal Business: ‘Heisse Kursawe has been part of Eversheds international network for 10 years – the plan was always to develop and financially integrate. The discussions developed over a number of years but became serious last year.

‘We are looking to grow aggressively in Germany and that requires investment. We we want to do that through the larger Eversheds LLP structure so we moved them into new offices in Munich and they’re being financially integrated so we can drive investment in the Munich, Berlin and Hamburg offices. It’s part of a wider strategy to develop bigger operations in key places around the world. We’re also focused on further developing in Paris, Hong Kong and Dubai.’

Managing partner of Heisse Kursawe Eversheds, which was founded in 1974, Matthias Heisse said: ‘Being a part of Eversheds International for so long has given us a very long courtship in which we have got to know each other very well. We share a common strategy with Eversheds to continuously strengthen our position in our domestic market whilst expanding our reach internationally, both across Western Europe and globally. We have thought long and hard about agreeing to this marriage. Ultimately the decision has been made by reference to what is best for our clients as well as for us.

‘Through merging with Eversheds we believe we can improve and extend our services for both our German and our many international clients for whom our partners will remain the trusted and highly committed advisers they have known for many years. We are very excited about the future as part of Eversheds LLP.’

Eversheds’ ongoing expansion strategy saw the firm announce the creation of two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America, initiatives intended to further formalise relationships with local firms, but remain non-exclusive.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

For in-depth analysis of Eversheds see: The ideal law firm for 2013? Eversheds hunts for its breakthrough

Legal Business

Enyo hires Eversheds partner and intelligence duo to tackle business in ‘unusual jurisdictions’

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In a sign of the travails facing law firms doing business in ‘unusual jurisdictions’, Enyo Law has established an in-house business intelligence unit to help conduct due diligence and build business while it has also bolstered its ranks after partner Annabel Thomas exited for Mishcon de Reya earlier this week, hiring Eversheds partner Jonathan Brook.

Brook is joining Enyo in early July after just a year at Eversheds, having joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2014. Experienced in domestic and international disputes, and investigations by regulatory and law enforcement authorities, his most recent work includes advising London reinsurers in connection with losses in Ukraine.

The firm also broadened its offering with the hire of Paul Austin, former operations director of business intelligence and corporate investigations outfit Pelican Worldwide, who has been recruited to spearhead the firm’s new in-house business intelligence unit.

Having joined London-based Pelican as a partner in 2011, Austin has previously worked as a consultant to KPMG and served in government as a deployed civilian expert for the Department of International Development. He joins alongside Pelican research analyst Jan Daniel Grozdanovic.

Austin will act as an internal resource to conduct due diligence on clients, often from unconventional background and locations, before the firm engages with them and supervise, where appropriate, third-party investigatory services that the firm currently uses. Speaking to Legal Business, Enyo Law co-founder Simon Twigden (pictured) said: ‘It struck me this is something no one else really does at a law firm. We have clients in odd jurisdictions at times and do high profile disputes – it’s sometimes difficult to know who your client is – is it the person in front of you or is there a person behind them? So before we take on a client in an unusual jurisdiction, we have someone to help defend us from something we may not want to get into.’

‘We all deal with the Krolls of this world – and they have a lot of experience in the private investigator realm dealing with governments, informants and so on, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand the limits of what they can and cannot do. So we’ve someone in-house to control that process.’

The new unit is also being designed to help win pitches and clients through intelligence gathering. Twigden said: ‘When you’re pitching to people in different jurisdictions we can offer to do private investigator work on their opponent, find out where their assets are – so before you press the trigger, whether it’s a worldwide freezing injunction or simply issuing proceedings and before incurring massive costs, we can do the work confidentially in-house.

The firm is in good stead to invest, having enjoyed substantial financial growth for the 2013/14 year with revenue jumping 61% to over £14m from £8.8m while profits effectively doubled to £9.6m from £4.8m. The news also follows the departure of Enyo partner Annabel Thomas who is set to return to full service firm Mishcon de Reya.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

For more on the rise of boutiques, see: Go your own way – legal boutiques and the seductive appeal of being your own boss

Legal Business

Strike action: Network Rail turns to Eversheds for legal challenge over rail workers’ looming walkout

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Eversheds has been instructed by Network Rail on its legal challenge to the TSSA union in an attempt to limit disruption should talks regarding a planned rail strike this bank holiday weekend fail.

With members of the TSSA voting to join RMT union workers in a 24-hour walkout from 5pm on Monday over pay and jobs, Network Rail alleges there were ‘numerous defects’ in the union’s ballot information. An interim injunction application hearing against the TSSA is set for tomorrow (21 May) at the High Court unless parties resolve the issue before then.

Network Rail are represented by a team from Eversheds led by partner and head of industrial relations in the London office Marc Meryon. The firm has instructed Fountain Court Chambers’ Paul Gott QC and Devereux Chambers’ Bruce Carr QC. The TSSA is represented by trade union and personal injury firm Morrish Solicitors with senior partner Paul Scholey leading. The Leeds-based firm has instructed Old Square Chambers’ John Hendy QC alongside barrister Betsan Criddle.

In total the dispute affects around 25,000 of Network Rail’s 35,000 staff.

A Network Rail spokesperson said yesterday (19 May): ‘We have asked the TSSA to withdraw notice of their industrial action as we believe there are numerous defects in their ballot information. Network Rail has a responsibility to passengers, freight users and to the country as a whole to do everything we can to avert a strike. Talks with the unions continue and we hope to reach a settlement, but we must explore all avenues at our disposal and that includes legal ones.’

TSSA’s general secretary Manuel Cortes said: ‘Our members are clearly very angry over the four year pay offer and particularly the one off £500 payment for this year which would mean them falling behind the cost of living. The last three years with RPI increases mean they would keep ahead with the cost of living. That is also what we want to see for this year as well. We are involved in talks to avert a dispute and we hope those talks succeed. No one wants to see a Bank Holiday weekend disrupted for millions of passengers.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Right to vote: Eversheds reforms fixed-share partner scheme to include voting and greater profit share

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In the wake of HMRC’s tax changes which have seen fixed-share partners (FSP) contribute capital at a slew of LB100 firms and many reassess their partnership model, Eversheds has reformed its fixed share scheme by allowing some FSPs to vote in firm elections and take home an increased profit share.

The scheme will enable a group of senior FSP’s to vote in the election of the firm’s chairman, chief executive and board while also providing an opportunity to buy into a profit pool worth up to 20% of their remuneration.

The change comes after a 12 month consultation which looked at creating a more transparent approach to the FSP system and build a stronger connection between reward, banding performance and partner participation.

Commenting on the changes, which came into effect on 1 May, Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson said that the fixed partners were an extremely important group, and central to the firm’s continued success.

He added: ‘After an extensive period of consultation, we have developed a new enhanced approach to rewarding those partners that has strong support across all levels of the firm. It is an important step in developing an even more transparent approach to remuneration and one that more clearly links performance to reward and enhances partner engagement.’

Taylor Wessing recently announced it would move to an all equity partnership, also on 1 May, while Mishcon de Reya has plans to convert this summer.

Meanwhile, the firm has expanded in Asia with the appointment of Muna Dandan – former head of legal for Barclay’s retail and commercial banking business in the Middle East – as head of the firm’s financial services disputes and investigations (FSDI) practice in Asia.

Dandan, who also joined the firm at the start of May, was, before his role at Barclays, deputy head of legal at property development company Nakheel PJSC and an in-house legal adviser for HSBC in the Middle East. Dandan also worked in private practice at Reed Smith and Baker & McKenzie, advising banks and large multi-national corporates on general commercial litigation.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Partner promotions: Eversheds makes 22 up to partner with nine overseas

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As LB100 firms continue to make efforts to improve the gender diversity of their partnerships, Eversheds has made up 22 lawyers across the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa, with 45% of these women.

The majority of the 22 promotions for 2015, which includes affiliated offices, were UK-based with offices in London, Cardiff, Leeds, Birmingham, Ipswich and Manchester all receiving new partners, with the City gaining the most with four new partners. However, over 40% of promotions were made internationally including Abu Dhabi, Mauritius and Madrid. A further 10 lawyers have also been appointed as legal directors or equivalent.

The partner promotions were spread across four practice groups: company commercial, real estate, litigation and dispute management, and human resources. Company commercial saw the biggest number with 12 lawyers made up across eleven offices, while real estate gained five partners in five different locations. There were four partners promoted in the litigation team, while one partner in human resources was promoted in Eversheds’ Dublin office.

Commenting on the promotions, Bryan Hughes, Eversheds’ chief executive said: ‘Our new partners and legal directors have contributed significantly to the achievement of our strategic objectives. They have demonstrated dedication and hard work and provide a further building block for the firm to continue its strategic expansion around the world.’

The full list of partner promotions is as follows:

Company Commercial

Geraldine Ahern, Abu Dhabi

Richard Batchelor, London

Joanne Canning, Cardiff

Louise Finnie, Birmingham

Yannik Fok, Mauritius*

Richard Jones, Manchester

Agnes Koko, London

Emna Louati, Tunisia*

Crisanto Pérez-Abad, Madrid

Bruno Schoch, Berne

Greg Shapiro, South Africa*

Tamás Zentai, Budapest

Real estate

Dawn Hilton, Birmingham

Lee Jackson, London

Cian MacGinley, Dublin

Michelle Naylor, Manchester

Peter Nesbit, Leeds

Litigation and dispute management

Mark Howarth, Leeds

Nicola Lashmar, Ipswich

Rich Lloyd, Birmingham

Jennifer Miles, London

Human resources group

Anna Broderick, Dublin

*affiliated office

kathryn.mcann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘A significant phase of renewal’: King & Wood Mallesons takes real estate team from Eversheds

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Three months after persuading Eversheds‘ heavyweight real estate trio William Naunton, Clive Jones and Cornelius Medvei to stay in Big Law and not launch their own boutique, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has hired a team of Eversheds partners as it seeks to reshape its London office.

Looking to rebuild after a string of senior exits post-merger with City stalwart SJ Berwin in late 2013, real estate partners Simon Burson and Jeremy Brooks make the switch alongside principal associate George Burrha who is becoming partner in the move and technology specialist James Walsh. Five associates are also making the move to KWM’s offices.

KWM’s fast spinning revolving door has now seen 15 lateral partner hires in the last 12 months, making up ground in real estate and projects, while the corporate team has been heaviest hit by exits. Corporate co-head Richard Lever departed to launch Goodwin Procter’s private equity group in the City earlier this month, following the departure of his predecessor Steven Davis to Proskauer Rose, Tim Wright to DLA Piper and Ed Harris to Hogan Lovells.

The latest hires from Eversheds build out the firm’s capacity to capture hedge fund and investors in the UK’s booming real estate market. While Naunton served as head of real estate, Jones as London head of tax and Medvei as senior partner, Burson also carries over years of management experience, having run the firm’s 25-lawyer real estate offering in Cambridge.

Over the year, the firm’s real estate team has led on Invesco’s disposal of 1 Finsbury Circus to China Overseas Holdings Limited, British Land’s sale of Ropemaker Place to an AXA led consortium for £472m and advised China Investment Corporation and Invesco on their joint venture acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s London HQ, Winchester House.

William Boss, European & Middle East managing partner at KWM, said: ‘We have made enormous progress as a firm, which has led to a significant phase of renewal, and we will continue to hire the best collegiate and relationship focused talent for our business.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk