Legal Business

US partner promotions: Sidley Austin makes up just one in London in reduced round

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Sidley Austin is the latest US firm to announce its partnership promotions, electing 24 new partners, but making up just one in London in a reduced partnership round. 

The total number of promotions is 25% less than last year when 32 lawyers were made up, and matches 2013’s level in which 24 Sidley lawyers also made the ranks.

All promotions were made in the US apart from two in Europe – James Oussedik was promoted in London within the investment funds, advisers and derivatives practice while disputes pracitioner Michele Tagliaferri was made up in the Brussels office.

Last year, the US firm’s London office saw two promotions in the corporate reorganisation and bankruptcy, and real estate practice groups, while the year before no City promotions were made.

Sidley’s management committee chair Larry Barden said: ‘Our new partners share a strong dedication to the core values of our firm and exemplify Sidley’s commitment to excellent client service, integrity, diversity and collegiality.’

Sidley’s round comes after Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan made up one in London in a global round of nine, while London provided the bulk of this year’s partner promotions at Shearman & Sterling, with more lawyers joining its partnership in the City than in the US.

In November, Weil Gotshal & Manges focused on New York and London in a reduced round that saw seven of the eight promotions in the two major cities; after Mayer Brown made up two in London from a 27-strong round; while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett promoted nine new partners across the firm including three in London, and fellow Wall Street elite Sullivan & Cromwell only promoted in the US.

The promotions come into effect on 1 January 2016. 

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

The full list of Sidley’s partner promotions: 

Michele Tagliaferri, Complex Commercial Litigation, Brussels

Kathleen Carlson, Securities and Shareholder Litigation, Chicago

John McBride, Intellectual Property Litigation, Chicago

Joseph Paral, Tax, Chicago

Beth Quintana, Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives, Chicago

Steven Sexton, Securities and Shareholder Litigation, Chicago

Adam Snyder, M&A, Chicago

Robert Velevis, Complex Commercial Litigation, Dallas

James Oussedik, Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives, London

Courtney Rangen, Real Estate, Los Angeles

Michael Rosenfield, Insurance, Los Angeles

David Form, Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives, New York

Neil Horner, M&A, New York

Robert Kao, Global Finance, New York

Sheetal Khera, Global Finance, New York

John Fisher, M&A, Palo Alto

Jaime Bartlett, Securities and Shareholder Litigation, San Francisco

Kwaku Akowuah, Supreme Court and Appellate, Washington DC

Andrew Blake, Securities & Derivatives Enforcement and Regulatory, Washington DC

Colleen Theresa Brown, Privacy, Data Security and Information Law, Washington DC

Stephanie Hales, Healthcare, Washington DC

Karen Kazmerzak, Antitrust/Competition, Washington DC

Brian Morrissey, White Collar: Government Litigation & Investigations, Washington DC

Raj Pai, Food, Drug and Medical Device Compliance and Enforcement, Washington DC

Legal Business

King & Wood strengthens capital markets bench with Sidley hire

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Increased demand for US capital markets capability in recent times has seen King & Wood Mallesons dip into the laterals market, and appoint US securities partner Bart Capeci in London.

Capeci joins KWM from Sidley Austin, where he was a partner for six years. Qualified in the US he moved to Sidley from Allen & Overy to support its City push for IPOs, bond issues and high yield financings.

Seen as important part of the growth of A&Os capital markets practice during his 13 years at the firm, first as an associate and then partner, Capeci is an important appointment for KWM.

He joins the Hong Kong-based firm as it makes a concerted push for capital markets work, with US securities partner Christine Chen joining in Beijing from JP Morgan Chase, Gary Lock arriving from Herbert Smith Freehills in Hong Kong and Hao Zhou joining from Linklaters in the same city.

KWM’s capital markets practice secured roles as issuer’s counsel on Alibaba’s record-breaking $25bn IPO, National Australia Bank’s $5bn rights issue and China General Nuclear Power’s $500m bond issue.

Last week KWM advised on Hong Kong’s largest rights issue to date this year, with investment house Fosun International raising $1.5bn to fund a push into financial services. 

Capeci becomes the 20th partner to join KWM in Europe this year, with the majority of those hires occurring in real estate.

William Boss, KWM’s Europe and Middle East managing partner, said: ‘Attracting talent like Bart Capeci is a sign of the growing strength of our global capital markets practice as well as our international finance team in Europe. Bart will complement the firm’s growing capabilities in US securities.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Subscribers can read more about what’s going on at KWM in ‘Sum of its parts: can King & Wood Mallesons match the hype?

Legal Business

Europe’s re-emerging CLO market sees Sidley and Ropes turn to Weil Gotshal to boost structured finance teams

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Strategic recruitment Ropes & GraySidley AustinWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges‘ structured finance practice in the City has been hit by the departure of two lawyers with partner Rupert Wall heading to Sidley Austin and senior associate Chris McGarry making partner at Ropes & Gray.

The exits come as firms look to bulk up their presence in the securitisation markets after the fall off in work seen post-financial crisis ends and politicians start to see the markets as an alternative to bank lending and a prime way to get investment flowing back into the real economy.

Wall made partner at Weil in 2012 and is listed as a leading individual for securitisation in The Legal 500. He has experience in a range of asset classes including trade receivables, credit-card receivables, auto loans, vehicle rental fleets and mortgage loans, and in using a variety of structures, including collateralised loan obligations (CLO), asset-backed commercial paper conduits and whole business securitisations.

Sidley’s London managing partner and co-head of its global finance team, Matthew Dening, told Legal Business: ‘We have seen a recovery in the securitisation markets in the US and we are starting to see signs of one in Europe which we expect to gather pace. Rupert’s hire helps position us for this recovery.’

McGarry, who was a senior associate at Weil but makes partner in the move to Ropes, has focused on CLOs for arrangers, sponsors, originators and investors though also covers consumer asset-backed securitisation, trade receivables and restructurings. Before Weil, McGarry worked as an associate at Clifford Chance and as vice president in Royal Bank of Scotland’s structured finance team.

‘Chris will play a key role as we ramp-up our CLO and securitisations capabilities in London,’ said Jane Rogers, co-leader of Ropes’ London-based finance practice group which also hired structured finance partner Partha Pal in May 2015 from Chadbourne & Parke.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Asia: Sidley builds Singapore M&A team with White & Case’s Indonesia chief as KWM loses an arbitration partner

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Sidley Austin has boosted both its M&A and private equity offering in Southeast Asia with the hire of White & Case partner and Indonesia chief Charlie Wilson into its Singapore office.

Wilson joined White & Case in 2009 from an in-house role at specialist finance company Linq Asia Capital and acted as the firm’s Indonesian head.

A specialist in private equity and sovereign wealth fund investments and disposals in Southeast Asia, Wilson is ranked as a leading individual by The Legal 500 and has worked on deals including Pertamina, Indonesia’s state oil monopoly, purchase of Venezuelan oil assets.

Thomas Albrecht, managing partner for Sidley Asia Pacific, said: ‘Charlie has a particular strength in understanding the investment philosophy of, and legal requirements for, private equity investment in the region, and we believe that investment sector will continue to expand along with the regional economy.’

‘He also brings valuable Indonesia experience to the firm, and we expect that country to continue to attract the attention of our international clients,’ added Matthew Sheridan, head of international corporate finance practice in Asia and a member of Sidley’s executive committee.

In Indonesia White & Case recently established a new alliance with local, Jakarta-based firm Witara Cakra Advocates, after its previous ally also suffered partner exits.

Meanwhile, also in Singapore, King & Wood Mallesons lost Hong Kong-based international arbitration partner David Bateson to 39 Essex Chambers. He joins the set on 1 July 2015, with a focus on commercial arbitration and construction and will work alongside Ben Olbourne who joined in 2014.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Asia: DLA Piper builds up its Singapore office while Milbank and Sidley expand in China

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DLA Piper, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and Sidley Austin have all completed partner raids on rivals in Asia as they seek to expand their presence in the region.

DLA Piper, which undertook a major overhaul of its Asia partnership in 2014 as it moved on underperforming lawyers, secured a coup with the hire of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Singapore partner John Viverito and of counsel Myles Hankin.

The corporate duo joined Gibson in 2008 from Jones Day to launch the firm’s Singapore office and will be joined by their former colleague, capital markets partner Joseph Bauerschmidt, who is departing Jones Day to reunite with Viverito. All three will join DLA Piper as partners.

Viverito will take charge of DLA Piper’s Singapore office, replacing insurance litigator John Goulios, who will now co-head the firm’s Asia Pacific insurance practice.

Meanwhile, Milbank has continued to add to its ranks in Asia, hiring another Allen & Overy Hong Kong partner in the form of M&A lawyer David Kuo.

Kuo, a US and Hong Kong qualified lawyer, made partner at the Magic Circle firm in May 2013. His practice focuses on cross-border acquisitions, focusing on handling work for private equity and hedge funds.

The US firm lured a four-lawyer team from A&O led by capital markets partner Jim Grandolfo at the tail end of 2013 and bolstered its ranks last year with the hire of Stephenson Harwood’s aviation finance chief Paul Ng in Singapore.

Attempts to capture market share in Asia have placed a premium on those with management experience, as a host of firm’s seek to rework strategies that have failed to bear fruit.

With technology M&A having created a surge in legal work at the international law firms able to handle cross-border work, Sidley Austin has hired management experience with the addition of US technology firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Beijing head Kefei Li.

Li, who earlier in his career had spells at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Dewey & LeBoeuf, ended a three-year stint at the tech law firm to move his capital markets practice to Sidley Austin’s more developed Beijing office. He has headed Wilson Sonsini’s office in the Chinese capital since its opening in 2012.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

US partner promotions: Sidley Austin and Dechert place different weight on City

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Dechert made London a core focus in its promotions this year with three associates making the grade in the City, over 25% of the firm’s 11-strong round, while Sidley Austin elected just two London lawyers to partner as part of its 32-lawyer list.

The US dominated Sidley Austin’s promotions round this year, with 23 of its 32 lawyers who made partner coming from six US offices. London featured less prominently, with two promotions, having last year made up four associates. Following on from its US rivals, the firm boosted its finance practice as European offices attract clients looking to tap into US investment pools and products. Finance lawyer Aparna Sehgal was made a partner in the City, alongside competition specialist Patrick Harrison.

With sanctions work on the rise and an increasing concern for businesses, Geneva was also a core focus during this year’s promotions, with international trade specialist Iain Sandford joining the partnership. Home to the World Trade Organization, which recently noted its concern about the rising tide of state disputes it is having to administer, international arbitration specialist Dorothee Schramm also made the grade as political distractions in Europe’s other major arbitral centres push parties, particularly those in the Middle East and Russia, towards Geneva due to its perceived neutrality.

Dechert made a stronger push in London than its US compatriot, with three out of its 11 promotions based in the City. The gains made by US investment banks in the capital, and the knock-on benefits for US law firms due to their longstanding relationships with them, was again witnessed, with the firm promoting debt capital markets specialist Patrick Lyons to help meet demand.

Litigator Caroline Black, who advises clients on UK Serious Fraud Office cases and is often on the frontline when dealing with raids on corporate or personal premises, was also promoted, along with corporate lawyer Andrew Harrow. Harrow recently advised the Mohamed Al Fayed family trust on its sale of Fulham Football Club to Shahid Khan, who also owns American Football team Jacksonville Jaguars.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Sidley Austin and Linklaters lead on Bank of Cyprus €1bn capital raise

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The London teams of both US firm Sidley Austin and Magic Circle firm Linklaters have scored heavyweight roles advising on a €1bn capital raise for the beleaguered Bank of Cyprus, in a landmark deal completed just one year after it was saved from collapse by an international rescue package.

Sidley acted as international legal counsel to the Bank as it raised the mammoth sum through a private placement, which includes international fund managers led by US billionaire Wilbur Ross and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Led by City-based global finance partner Matthew Cahill, who was supported by capital markets partner Stephen Roith, US securities partner Bart Capeci, and capital markets counsel Shireen Khoo, the team has advised Bank of Cyprus since it was placed into resolution in March 2013.

At Linklaters, corporate partner Nick Garland and capital markets partner Jason Manketo were also instructed as placement counsel, advising HSBC and Credit Suisse while Cypriot firm Chryssafinis & Polyviou acted as local counsel.

On the progression made by the bank just 12 months into its rescue deal, Sidley’s Roith said: ‘That Bank of Cyprus has successfully raised €1bn of new share capital just 12 months after exiting resolution is a great achievement and we understand that it is likely to be beneficial to the Cypriot economy as a whole. This was an interesting deal, as it had some of the characteristics of an institutional share offering and some of a private equity sale. We look forward to supporting Bank of Cyprus through the next stages of its capital raising.’

The deal is subject to approval by shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting in late August, with new shares expected to be sold at €0.24 each.

It constitutes an important step for the bank to regain market access since it came out of resolution in July last year. The private placement involved an ‘unusual and complex arrangement’ whereby a publicly-listed company offered unlisted shares privately to a group of potential investors.

Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

 

For more on the Cypriot legal market post-crisis, see Making bail – getting Cyprus back on its feet

Legal Business

Divided we fall – Sidley Austin announces review of Frankfurt office following partner departures

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Europe’s largest and one of its most highly divided economies, Germany has put many law firms’ strategy to the test and today (25 February) Sidley Austin announced that it has placed its Frankfurt office under review following a number of partner departures.

The Global 100 top 15 firm’s announcement – which follows the decision by Shearman & Sterling last year to close its Dusseldorf and Munich offices and consolidate its efforts in Frankfurt, as Latham & Watkins also last May announced the launch of a further German office in Dusseldorf – comes after Sidley tax partner Werner Geisselmeier left for Pinsent Masons’ Munich office in December last year, leaving the office with only one partner.

The remaining partner is Jens Rinze, a capital markets specialist working alongside three lawyers. At its peak, the office had 20 fee earners.

George Petrow, a London partner and member of the management and executive committee, said in a statement: ‘We are reviewing a number of alternatives in relation to our four-lawyer Frankfurt office and are seeking the solution that will best serve the interests of our clients and staff.’

Frankfurt is Sidley’s only office in Germany, opening in 2006 under the direction of Rinze and fellow capital markets partner Oliver Kessler. Regional managing partner Kessler left the firm to join German firm Oppenhoff & Partner in October 2012, and was followed to its Frankfurt office by Sidley corporate partner Jerome Freidrich in June last year.

Germany has proved to be a difficult market for US firms, with its de-centralised economy meaning that elite firms find it difficult to operate with less than three offices. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, for example, has six, while Germany’s largest firm, CMS Hasche Sigle, is present in nine cities.

Frankfurt, where Herbert Smith Freehills announced it is to open a new office in February, is the recognised financial hub, but other than Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Börse, there are no other DAX 30 members headquartered in the city.

Latham’s launch in Dusseldorf last May, meanwhile, was driven by the fact it is one of the world’s major industrial centres and a hub a manufacturing.

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

For further, detailed analysis of the German legal market see How the dust settles – Germany’s profession is forever changed but singular still

Legal Business

US results season: Sidley posts a 7% increase in turnover as Mayer Brown sees a return to 2007 PEP levels

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A year of expansion has seen top 15 Global100 firm Sidley Austin post solid 2013 results, with revenue up by around 7% to $1.6bn from $1.49bn and net profits up by around the same margin to $547m from $510.5m. The firm’s profit per equity partner (PEP) and revenue per lawyer both rose by approximately 4% to $1.87m and $954,000 respectively.

Highlights for the 1,636-lawyer firm include being awarded a coveted qualifying foreign law practice license in Singapore last February, since when it has built a 25 fee-earner office, focusing in part on energy work.

The firm also took a ten partner securities regulation group from Bingham McCutchen in New York in April last year and an eight partner team from Weil Gotshal & Manges in Dallas in September. Six of the Weil Gotshal partners joined the complex commercial litigation practice and two the private equity group.

Sidley’s clients include JP Morgan, which the firm represented in mortgage-backed securities litigation, Airbus SAS and the People’s Republic of China in World Trade Organisation disputes.

Meanwhile Mayer Brown has posted a PEP figure of $1.285m, an increase of 11.6% that takes it to above 2007 levels.

Turnover was up by around 5.5% to $1.15bn, from $1.09bn in 2012, which had seen a drop of 4% on 2011 numbers. Over a five year period from 2007-12, the firm’s overall revenue is down 8%.

The firm attributed its growth in revenues to a strong performance across the board in its Americas, Asia and European offices, with litigation and finance singled out for performing particularly well.

Revenue per lawyer was up 9.7% from $711,000 to $780,000 while overall lawyer and partner headcount remained relatively flat.

The firm said its City office revenues were up 12% in 2013, with its finance, litigation and real estate teams performing well. Growth came from winning new panel appointments as well as a number of panel re-appointments for clients including General Electric, Kiln Group, Deutsche Bank and Nomura.

Mayer Brown senior partner Sean Connolly said: ‘We are very pleased with our results. As the market continues to shrink, we gain more market share.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk, david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

$100bn of M&A deals announced as Global 100 firms advise on Suntory, Time Warner and Amec bids

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Corporate Cleary Gottlieb Steen & HamiltonSidley AustinWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
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Last year’s growth in confidence in the corporate sector together with fundraising activity among a number of large private equity houses has culminated in deals totaling almost $100bn being announced yesterday (13 January), with one of the largest being Japanese investment firm Suntory’s $16bn offer for Beam, throwing up heavyweight roles for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Sidley Austin.

For Suntory, which will acquire all of Beam’s shares for $83.50 per share, Cleary Gottlieb is being led by corporate partners Paul Shim and Benet O’Reilly, with the team also including New York-based finance partner Meme Peponis; competition partners Mark Nelson (Washington); and Robbert Snelders (Brussels). The firm also advised Suntory on IP, tax, environmental and executive compensation and employee benefits.

Beam is being advised by a team from top 15 global firm Sidley Austin, led by Chicago-based M&A partners Tom Cole and Beth Flaming.

The deal, which has the unanimous backing of each companies’ board of directors but is subject to regulatory approval, will see Suntory acquire Beam’s famous brand alcoholic beverages, including Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Knob Creek bourbons, Teacher’s and Laphroaig Scotch whiskies. This will add to Suntory’s own portfolio of Japanese whiskies, including Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki, and Kakubin. If the deal goes through it will make Suntory the world’s third largest maker of distilled drinks.

The deal follows Suntory’s £1.35bn acquisition of soft drink brands Lucazade and Ribena from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in September last year, when Clifford Chance advised the Japanese investment company and Allen & Overy advised GSK.

Other deals announced this week include Charter Communications’ $61bn offer for Time Warner Cable, throwing up heavyweight roles for Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and Kirkland & Ellis for Charter.

Time Warner, which is being advised by Paul Weiss Rifkand Wharton & Garrison, has rejected the offer, which is the biggest unsolicited takeover bid since 2008, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, two UK magic circle firms are facing off in another major transaction. Linklaters is advising Amec on the $3.2bn acquisition of its Swiss rival Foster Wheeler, led by corporate finance partner Shane Griffin, alongside fellow corporate partner Aedamar Comiskey. Scott Sonnenblick and Tom Shropshire are advising on US law aspects of the deal from New York and London respectively, while John Tucker and Simon Pritchard are providing advice on finance and antitrust.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is representing Foster Wheeler, with London co-head of M&A Simon Marchant leading the team alongside US corporate practice head Matthew Herman.

News of these deals come despite reports that M&A transactions were down overall globally in 2013. However, Weil, Gotshal & Manges equity capital markets and M&A partner Peter King told Legal Business: ‘The market has been building up since the second half of last year and is starting to produce more deals. There’s more confidence at  boardroom level and private equity has been active throughout.

‘But there is always an element of fragility in these things, and any unexpected events could disrupt the market.’

david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk