Legal Business

Q&A: Reed Smith’s new global arbitration head on the transition from a Miami litigation boutique to an international firm

Reed Smith‘s new head of international arbitration following the firm’s recent Miami merger with Astigarraga Davis, José Astigarraga (pictured), discusses his plans at Reed Smith and the future of international arbitration with Georgiana Tudor.

Why Reed Smith, and how did you find the transition from your own boutique to a large international firm?

Before the boutique, I was with a bigger law firm, Steel Hector, so I’m no stranger to a large practice. But it really is a different world – I knew the personal story of each of our people and now I’m walking around wondering which floor I’m supposed to find my new colleagues on.

The resources here at Reed Smith are outstanding, they really are eye-opening. The other reason for joining Reed Smith was the ability to reach across markets. There is a limit to what you can do as a boutique, and we saw opportunities at Reed Smith to serve clients with our joint skill-set which we really could not otherwise pursue.

How many other firms did you speak to before deciding on Reed Smith?

We had discussions with multiple firms, and we had an abundance of opportunities. The main reaction I have encountered from clients, peers and friends when we decided to merge with Reed Smith was ‘holy cow, we did not see this coming’. Our boutique’s philosophy was ‘the power of focus’ – and that did reflect in what we did.

Tell me about your plans for international arbitration at Reed Smith, as global chair. Is growth on the horizon?

As I looked at Reed Smith, I saw it as a truly exciting opportunity to help the firm enhance its brand in international arbitration. In great measure, that excellent arbitration capability is within the firm’s five industry groups. What Reed Smith is looking for and we are in the process of doing, is aligning all that and putting it together in a way that permits us to have an expanded offering and consistency across geographies both within and without the five sectors. 

Is much of the US practice transferrable to London/Europe, and how do you plan to work with those outside of the US?

One of the great things about international arbitration is not being limited by a certain geography – we practice all over the world. Having said that, the ‘localisation of international arbitration’ and the segmentation of the market have started. In Latin America, there is phenomenal arbitration on the ground and you need the local knowledge and expertise to serve the client well, alongside the international knowledge.

Are you worried about Trump’s approach to arbitration, and how do you see his policy playing out in the market?

There are two worlds, one is international commercial arbitration another is investor state arbitration. The big debate in Europe and the world, related to public investor-state arbitration disputes, is that people ask ‘why should these private citizens be deciding things that could have millions of dollars of impact on the public purse if the investor wins?’ While the Trump administation has expressed views regarding trade agreements, I have not seen a clear explanation of its views on investor-state arbitration. Trump’s policy has not yet reached the granular level in terms of how arbitration will work. It is too early to tell what will be the fate of arbitration as we know it as a method of solving disputes between the investor and the state.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Read miore: ‘Outside the Box: Can Reed Smith’s new Euro heads take the firm’s London practice to the next level?’


Legal Business

News in brief – May 2017

PINSENTS LAUNCHES IN MADRID

Pinsent Masons has launched in Madrid, the firm’s third international office in less than a year. The new office comprises six partners, four from local Madrid firm Ramón y Cajal Abogados. The firm has also hired from contractor OHL and promoted a Pinsents associate to partner.

Legal Business

‘A natural fit’: Reed Smith takes Chadbourne Moscow managing partner Baev ahead of NRF merger

Following its recent agreement to combine with Norton Rose Fulbright to create a $2bn firm, Chadbourne & Parke has lost the head of its Moscow office, Andrei Baev, to Reed Smith.

Leaving after only two years at Chadbourne, energy and infrastructure finance partner Baev will join Reed Smith’s London office but will split his time between London, Astana and Moscow. He leaves behind a three-partner team at Chadbourne in Moscow, with only one partner, Konstantin Konstantinov, focusing solely on Russia. Norton Rose currently has seven partners in Moscow.

Despite many firms with a focus on capital markets scaling back in Russia in recent years as US-led economic sanctions have heavily affected the market, Chadbourne hired Baev as Moscow managing partner from Goltsblat Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) in 2015 to boost its presence in Russia.

Formerly equity partner in BLP’s Moscow office since 2011, Baev was previously a partner at Allen & Overy for 10 years. Most recently, he resided in both of Chadbourne’s London and Moscow offices.

Baev (pictured) said: ‘This presents an opportunity for me to deepen my existing client relationships with major Russian oil & gas companies and further diversify my practice.

A specialist in project finance, Baev has more than 25 years’ experience advising across oil and gas, power, mining, telecoms and infrastructure, with a focus on Russia, Eastern and central Europe, central Asia and the Middle East.

Baev added: ‘While at Chadbourne, I worked with Reed Smith on the same client side of the negotiation table on one of the major power projects in Kazakhstan. Reed Smith has a brilliant practice in Astana and I am excited to become part of this prominent group of lawyers.’

Last year, Clifford Chance also tapped Chadbourne in New York for restructuring lawyer Douglas Deutsch, while a three-partner arbitration team from Chadbourne joined Cooley last December.

Reed Smith’s latest global revenues fell for the second consecutive year in 2016, by 4% to $1.08bn from $1.12bn, which the firm said was the result of managing down headcount by 81 lawyers over the year.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Moving into Miami: Reed Smith enters the market with seven lawyer disputes team

Reed Smith is opening a new office in Miami after hiring a seven lawyer arbitration and litigation team from local firm Astigarraga Davis.

The acquisition brings Reed Smith’s number of worldwide offices to 27, with the new outpost providing legal services in Spanish and Portuguese to clients across Mexico, Central America and South America.

Partner José Astigarraga will serve as leader of the firm’s international arbitration practice. He also currently acts on the International Chamber of Commerce’s commission on arbitration.

He said: ‘Over the years, we’ve been approached by many outstanding firms about joining, including firms where we have very good friends, and we always resisted the temptation. But in the case of Reed Smith, the platform was a perfect fit.

‘We see tremendous possibilities and are looking forward to joining Reed Smith’s outstanding group of arbitration lawyers.’

Astigarraga is joined by partners Cristina Cárdenas and Ed Mullins, with Mullins acting as managing partner of the new office. Counsel Eduardo De la Peña and associates Ana Barton, Sujey Herrera and Marianne Maldonado make up the Miami team.

Reed Smith now has 15 offices throughout the US, with other hubs in Century City, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Richmond, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Tysons, Washington DC, and Wilmington. The firm recently expanded its Manhattan office with the hire of international funds partner Parik Dasgupta from King & Wood Mallesons. Legacy SJ Berwin partner Dasgupta had joined the entity dubbed ‘KWM 2.0’, which is funded by KWM’s Chinese verein. However he announced his departure for Reed Smith last month.

In May 2016, Clyde & Co opened its sixth US office in Miami, hiring an entire litigation team from local firm Thornton Davis Fein. As part of the move, 35 lawyers and staff joined Clyde & Co, bringing the firm’s total number of legal professionals in the US to 160.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

KWM New York co-founder Dasgupta quits for Reed Smith leaving one partner in legacy SJ Berwin outpost

Reed Smith confirmed today (21 March) King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) New York-based international funds partner Parik Dasgupta has joined the firm’s corporate practice.

Dasgupta (pictured) launched KWM’s US funds practice and was one of two co-founding partners based in the firm’s New York office. The office was until recently part of the collapsed European arm and has now been taken on by the new European entity dubbed KWM 2.0, which is funded by KWM’s Chinese verein.

Dasgupta’s exit leaves George Pinkham the only partner in the New York base.

Before KWM, Dasgupta was an associate at Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis and Baker & McKenzie. He focuses on the commercial, legal and regulatory issues associated with private equity and venture capital fund formation. His key clients include PAI Partners, Triton, Macquarie, Astorg, Antin, First State, Capital Dynamics and UBS. Dasgupta was also a member of the firm’s India practice.

Matt Petersen, co-chair of Reed Smith’s global corporate group said: ‘Parik’s practice is a great fit for our corporate group and, in particular, our strong and growing funds practice. His high-end fund formation experience in connection with private equity and venture capital funds is a perfect addition to our existing practice.’

He added: ‘Parik also worked closely with many of the KWM attorneys who joined us earlier this year in Europe. All of these connections will be invaluable to us as we further grow our fund capabilities locally, nationally and globally,’ he added.

The addition of Dasgupta follows Reed Smith’s recent hire of 50 former KWM lawyers, including 17 partners who joined its London, Munich, Frankfurt and Paris offices in January.

Earlier this month, Reed Smith also took on three partners from Winston & Strawn, part of an eight-lawyer team in Paris.

However the firm’s global revenues fell for the second consecutive year in 2016, by 4% to $1.08bn from $1.12bn, which the firm said was the result of strategically managing down headcount by 81 lawyers over the year.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Read more on King & Wood Mallesons in: ‘Shattered – The final days of ‘SJ Berwin’

Legal Business

Deal watch: Corporate activity in March 2017

SLAUGHTERS TAKES LEAD ON PHARMA MEGA DEAL

Slaughter and May has acted opposite Cravath, Swaine & Moore as Johnson & Johnson made a $30bn offer to buy Swiss-based biopharma company Actelion Pharmaceuticals earlier this year. Slaughters advised along with Zürich-based Niederer Kraft & Frey and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for the takeover target, as Cravath advised Johnson.

 

Legal Business

Paris plays: Reed Smith hires eight lawyers from Winston, as Hogan Lovells and Olswang partner pair open office for Ogletree

In a busy week for Paris team hires, Reed Smith has taken on three partners from Winston & Strawn, while US firm Ogletree Deakins has launched its first French office with partner hires from Hogan Lovells and Olswang.

Reed Smith announced today (2 March) that it has hired an eight-lawyer team in Paris. The move includes three partners, Jean-Pierre Collet, Florence Bilger and David Colin, alongside three counsel, one associate and one jurist all joining from Winston & Strawn.

This brings Reed Smith’s Paris office to 66 lawyers, including 22 partners, and expands the Paris tax practice from eight to 16 lawyers. Collet was Winston’s head of tax in Paris, while Bilger and Colin focus on investment funds and entrepreneurs, providing tax advice on corporate transactions, as well as disputes and general tax advice.

The move comes after Reed Smith hired 18 lawyers from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) in January this year. The firm rebuilt its ranks in Paris after last year it lost several partners in that office, including corporate partners Lucas D’orgeval and Emmanuel Vergnaud, now co-founders of Volt Associes, Alexandre Tron and Stephane Letranchant who also left later in the year to join Volt, and Anker Sorensen who left to join De Gaulle Fleurance & Associates.

‘Following on from our recent hires across corporate, tax and private equity from KWM, these additions of talented French lawyers help us provide a truly cross border transactional service to our clients,’ commented Tamara Box, managing partner for Europe and the Middle East (pictured).

Meanwhile, Olswang and Hogan Lovells partners Karine Audouze and Jean-Marc Albiol will open a third European office for US law firm Ogletree Deakins, alongside a team of 11 lawyers and staff. The firm’s presence also includes Berlin and London.

Audouze, an employment lawyer, will be the office managing partner, and was at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton before joining Olswang. The launch comes as Olswang’s Paris office was closed this week following the three-way merger announced in September. In 2015 the office turned over £5m, and lawyers from the office had been without permanent accommodation after the lease expired at the start of this year. Several other lawyers have already left, including tax partner Julien Monsenego, who joined Gowling WLG, while office head Guillaume Kessler joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Reed Smith posts second year of declining revenue as firm manages down headcount

Reed Smith‘s global revenues fell for the second consecutive year in 2016, by 4% to $1.08bn from $1.12bn, which the firm said was the result of managing down headcount by 81 lawyers over the year.

Reed Smith global managing partner Sandy Thomas said: ‘We worked hard to manage out last year, which naturally results in less revenue. However this is consistent with our strategy, if you look at the other metrics they are all up.’

PEP was marginally up by $5m to $1.11m, as revenue per lawyer (RPL) rose by nearly 1% from $694,000 to $700,000.

Despite the drop in revenue, the firm also added 28 partners over the course of 2016 across natural resources, science and health and financial services as the firm’s key sectors.

Thomas (pictured) said: ‘Although it was in 2017, the addition of 50 King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) lawyers, including 17 partners, is a good example of that strategy, as it strengthens our financial regulatory offering in the UK.’

‘We’ve also invested heavily in New York and our offering there is stronger than ever, alongside the new alliance in Singapore which the firm launched in 2016. This was a heavy lift for us but is already paying off as a robust offering.’

Reed Smith’s lacklustre financial results follow stronger performances from Latham & Watkins which announced 7% growth yesterday (23 February) and broke the $3m PEP mark, while Shearman & Sterling has boosted its revenue by 6%.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘An aggressive timetable’: Macfarlanes, Reed Smith and Travers line-up on largest main market IPO of 2017 so far

Macfarlanes, Reed Smith and Travers Smith have all advised on Xafinity’s £190.3m flotation, in what is the largest premium main market IPO of 2017 to date.

As part of the deal, Xafinity is seeking to place £179.6m of existing and new ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The IPO also saw private equity house CBPE Capital sell its 100% stake in Xafinity.

Corporate partner Philip Taylor led for Reed Smith as the firm advised Xafinity, while the firm also offered expertise to CBPE Capital as it sold its stake in the company. Macfarlanes M&A partner Harry Coghill, alongside senior counsel Mark Slade and employment partner Robert Collard, provided advice to Xafinity’s management team.

Travers corporate finance partner Philip Cheveley advised Zeus Capital as financial adviser and sole bookrunner to the deal. Cheveley also ran the team that acted for Deloitte as financial adviser and sponsor.

Xafinity, a pensions actuarial, consulting and administration business, plans to utilise the net proceeds of the IPO to fund its existing banking facilities.

Cheveley told Legal Business: ‘It was challenging in the sense that we did it to quite an aggressive timetable. It’s a testament to the quality of the Xafinity business and its management team that they managed to do it on such a compressed timescale with such a high demand for the issue. Also, CBPE Capital was able to sell 100% of its stake, which is quite unusual.’

Taylor added: ‘The listing will not only enable Xafinity to raise its profile further among clients and provide it with access to the capital markets to aid future growth if required, but also enables CBPE to make a full and successful exit from its investment.’

Slade commented: ‘It was an interesting piece of work. One of the key challenges for management in these types of transactions is that they are inevitably immersed in every single area of the transaction and they’ve got limited time. It’s helpful to have an adviser who can do some of the thinking, in respect of their own personal position.’

In November 2016, Norton Rose Fulbright and Stephenson Harwood helped remedy a sluggish spell for the London IPO market by winning mandates on Civitas Social Housing’s float on the LSE. The listing raised £350m, well above initial estimates of £250m.

Meanwhile, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted on another major IPO in October 2016, advising medical products company ConvaTec on its $1.8bn flotation.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Simmons, BLP and Reed Smith win places on Lloyds’ specialist roster as bank gears up for commercial panel review

Simmons & Simmons, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Bond Dickinson and Reed Smith are among 24 firms to win a place on Lloyds Banking Group’s (LBG) specialist sub panel, which sits below the bank’s main core roster of eight firms.

It is understood that the firms on the specialist panel can be supported at times by the bank’s core firms on more specialist pieces of work. The bank’s core firms are: Addleshaw Goddard, Allen & Overy, Ashurst, CMS Cameron McKenna, Eversheds, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells and Linklaters.

In addition, firms are gearing up to pitch for Lloyds’ commercial banking panel, which is due to start shortly and is expected to include about 80 – 100 firms.

Speaking to Legal Business, one law firm partner said: ‘The main panel allows us to do work for pretty much everything. There are sub panels within the main panel and if you are appointed to the main panel you know which sub panels you are on. But then there are additional firms that are not on the main panel, which also get appointed to sub panels.

‘The banking pass through panel is different – it is much bigger and that process hasn’t started yet although it is due to start shortly.’

In a statement, a spokesperson from LBG said: ‘Following a rigorous and competitive tender process, the list of the group’s specialist legal panel was finalised in December 2016. The panel will include 24 firms which have been designated as specialist because they are able to offer services which are fully aligned to the needs of our group’s businesses. As previously announced, we will be announcing our specialist firms for our commercial banking division during the first half of 2017.’

LBG finalised its UK legal roster in October last year with DLA Piper and Norton Rose Fulbright losing their spots as the bank’s core panel shrunk from ten to eight firms.

kathryn.mcann@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘A buyer’s market – The trends and traumas in adviser reviews.’