Legal Business

Life During Law: Stephen Paget-Brown, Travers Smith

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Life During Law Travers Smith
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My career couldn’t be better. Nice work, nice clients, good money… The culture of this firm lends itself to being an enjoyable place to work. We don’t have the bureaucracy or warfare other firms have.

I started at Clifford Turner. Matthew Layton was still in shorts. The head of commercial litigation in the early 1980s was a South African called Leon Boshoff – very tall, powerfully built… Behind that fearsome appearance he had a razor-sharp mind. One of the cases involved Lloyd’s of London. He took them on four square. He taught us to be fearless and not judge a situation by: ‘Well, this is a reputable institution, they can’t have done anything wrong.’ Drill down. Find the evidence. Form your own judgement.

Legal Business

‘An important victory’: Travers Smith gets another Tchenguiz claim dismissed

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Litigation Travers Smith
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Travers Smith has secured a win against British entrepreneur Vincent Tchenguiz, as a Commercial Court judge dismissed a £2.2bn claim against Jóhannes Rúnar Jóhannsson, who had helped wind up Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

The claim was part of November 2014 suit brought by Tchenguiz and related parties against Kaupthing, Jóhannsson, Grant Thornton and two of its partners, Stephen Akers and Hossein Hamedani.

They had alleged that Akers, Hamedani and Jóhannsson conspired to pass information, dishonestly, to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), in order to instigate and encourage an investigation by the SFO into Tchenguiz and his related companies in the context of Kaupthing’s collapse in October 2008, and that they did so for their own commercial gain.

In July 2015 the Commercial Court dismissed the claim as against Kaupthing, while today (20 April), Mr Justice Knowles has dismissed the claim against Jóhannsson.

The judge said the claim had already been settled by virtue of an agreement entered into by earlier proceedings.

However a separate claim made by Robert Tchenguiz continues against Grant Thornton and its two partners Akers and Hamedani, and the same argument used by Jóhannsson is also available to the remaining defendants.

Travers Smith partner Stephen Paget-Brown (pictured), who led the team on the case said: ‘This is an important victory for Jóhannsson which, subject to any attempted appeal, brings the claim brought by Vincent Tchenguiz against both of our clients to an end.’

He added: ‘This is a claim which should never have been brought: it is clear to me that the very serious allegations made in the claim about the conduct of Jóhannsson had absolutely no basis in fact, and were pursued despite the absence of any evidence whatsoever supporting those allegations’

Paget-Brown’s team on the case also included dispute resolution partner Huw Jenkin. Travers Smith instructed 4 Stone Buildings’ Queens Counsel Robert Miles, who was supported by Jeremy Goldring QC of South Square. Tchenguiz was advised by McGuire Woods, which instructed Romie Tager QC of Selborne Chambers and David Cavender QC of One Essex Court.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Deal watch: Corporate activity in March 2016

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Corporate Travers Smith
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TRAVERS SMITH ADVISES ON $540M SOFTWARE DEAL

Travers Smith and Kirkland & Ellis landed lead advisory roles on the $540m acquisition by Micro Focus of US firm Serena Software. In March, UK software firm Micro Focus said it would acquire Serena Software on a cash and debt-free basis for $540m. Travers Smith acted for longstanding client Micro Focus while Kirkland acted for Serena Software.

 

Legal Business

A&O, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith to contest top prize at the Legal Business Awards

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Allen & OveryMacfarlanesTravers Smith
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Allen & Overy, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith are among the firms competing to be named Law Firm of the Year at this year’s Legal Business Awards.

Also shortlisted in the flagship category for the awards, which take place at Grosvenor House Hotel next Thursday (7 April), are Mishcon de Reya, Pinsent Masons, Stephenson Harwood and Stewarts Law.

The full shortlists, revealed below, will see high-calibre law firms, in-house teams and individuals competing across 23 categories, including 11 practice area awards.

The finalists for the coveted In-House Team of the Year award are BT, Funding Circle, InterContinental Hotels Group, Roche Products, SABMiller and Skyscanner.

Meanwhile, Ashurst, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Shearman & Sterling are among the firms fighting it out to be named Corporate Team of the Year. In the Dispute Resolution category, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Slaughter and May and a joint nomination for Herbert Smith Freehills and Jones Day are among the contenders.

The winners, which will be unveiled at the gala ceremony hosted by journalist and broadcaster Nick Robinson, will be decided by an independent judging panel for the second year running.

This year’s panel comprises: Nilema Bhakta-Jones, group legal director of Ascential Group; Claire Chapman, general counsel (GC) and company secretary of Daily Mail and General Trust; Kirsty Cooper, group GC and company secretary at Aviva; former vice-president and GC of group legal affairs & compliance at RB Claire Debney; Chris Fowler, GC UK Commercial for BT; FT GC Dan Guildford; Michael Herlihy, GC at Smiths Group; Marks and Spencer’s head of legal Robert Ivens; Alison Kay, group GC & company secretary at National Grid; Zoopla Property Group GC Ned Staple; Nyeem Syed, assistant GC, financial & risk at Thomson Reuters; Tony Williams of Jomati; and Suzanne Wise, group GC and company secretary of Network Rail.

Major winners last year included Osborne Clarke, which was named Law Firm of the Year and Macfarlanes, which won the Corporate Team of the Year award, while Royal Mail walked away with the In-House prize.

mark.mcateer@legalease.co.uk

Click here for further information about the awards.

Practice area awards shortlists

TMT Team of the Year

Dentons

DLA Piper

King & Wood Mallesons

Linklaters

Olswang

Powell Gilbert

Finance Team of the Year

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Herbert Smith Freehills

Macfarlanes

Pinsent Masons

Simmons & Simmons

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Restructuring Team of the Year

Allen & Overy

Hogan Lovells

Sidley Austin

Simmons & Simmons

Weil, Gotshal & Manges

White & Case

Competition Team of the Year

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Linklaters

Macfarlanes

Nabarro

Norton Rose Fulbright

Slaughter and May

Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year

Ashurst

DLA Piper

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy

Norton Rose Fulbright

Pinsent Masons

Stephenson Harwood

Dispute Resolution Team of the Year

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

Herbert Smith Freehills/Jones Day

Hogan Lovells

Humphries Kerstetter

Mishcon de Reya

Slaughter and May

Private Client Team of the Year

Boodle Hatfield

Charles Russell Speechlys

Irwin Mitchell

McDermott Will & Emery

Penningtons Manches

Taylor Wessing

Insurance Team of the Year

BLM

DWF

Eversheds

Herbert Smith Freehills

Norton Rose Fulbright

RPC

Corporate Team of the Year

Ashurst

Clifford Chance/Norton Rose Fulbright

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Gowling WLG

Jones Day

Shearman & Sterling

Squire Patton Boggs

Private Equity Team of the Year

Addleshaw Goddard

Clifford Chance

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Latham & Watkins

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Travers Smith

White & Case

Real Estate Team of the Year

Burges Salmon

Eversheds

Hogan Lovells

King & Wood Mallesons

Mayer Brown

Nabarro

Winckworth Sherwood


Merit awards shortlists

Boutique Law Firm of the Year

Campbell Johnston Clark

Kemp Little

MJ Hudson

Radiant Law

Signature Litigation

Tapestry Compliance

Three Crowns

Lawyer of the Year

Susan Crichton, TSB

Ian Forrester QC, White & Case

David Morley, Allen & Overy

Chris Saul, Slaughter and May

Penelope Warne, CMS

CSR Programme of the Year

CMS

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

ITV

Linklaters

Reed Smith

Simmons & Simmons

International Firm of the Year

Al Tamimi & Company

Arthur Cox

Garrigues

Goltsblat BLP

Harneys

Magnusson

Noerr

Rising Star In-House Counsel of the Year

Carole Deadman, Abbey Life Assurance

Henry Gardener, Markel International

Annaliese Hemsley, BATLaw

Daniel Whitehead, Citibank

Matthew Wilson, Uber

Caroline Withers, Virgin Media

In-House Team of the Year

BT

Funding Circle

InterContinental Hotels

Group

Roche Products

SABMiller

Skyscanner

Management Partner of the Year

Ray Berg , Osborne Clarke

Nick Buckworth, Shearman & Sterling

James Burns, Clyde & Co

Michael Chissick, Fieldfisher

Tim Eyles, Taylor Wessing

Chris Lowe/Lothar Wegener, Watson Farley & Williams

Margaret Robertson, Withers

US Law Firm of the Year

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Boies, Schiller & Flexner

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Latham & Watkins

Paul Hastings

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

Ropes & Gray

Legal Innovator of the Year

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

Eversheds

Gowling WLG

Lawyers On Demand

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Legal Technology Team of the Year

Axiom

Berwin Leighton Paisner

Cooley

DWF

Kennedys

Osborne Clarke

RPC

National/Regional Firm of the Year

Ashfords

Bond Dickinson

Brodies

Browne Jacobson

Foot Anstey

Shoosmiths

Stevens & Bolton

Law Firm of the Year

Allen & Overy

Macfarlanes

Mishcon de Reya

Pinsent Masons

Stephenson Harwood

Stewarts Law

Travers Smith

Legal Business

Travers Smith and Kirkland take lead roles as Micro Focus agrees $540m acquisition of Serena Software

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Corporate Kirkland & EllisTravers Smith
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Against sluggish levels of transactional activity of late, Travers Smith and Kirkland & Ellis have landed lead advisory roles on the $540m acquisition by Micro Focus of US firm Serena Software.

UK software firm Micro Focus will acquire Serena Software on a cash and debt free basis for $540m in cash, to be settled through the repayment of its net indebtedness (estimated at approximately $252m) and the purchase of Serena Software’s entire share capital for approximately $288m, subject to customary working capital and other adjustments.

To fund the bid, Micro Focus will raise about $216m through a placing underwritten by Numis Securities.

Travers Smith corporate head Spencer Summerfield advised the firm’s longstanding client Micro Focus on the deal with Serena Software, which provides software that can track and make changes to other application systems during the development process.

Summerfield was supported by tax partner Simon Yates, while US advice was provided by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. A team led by Summerfield also acted for Micro Focus on its high-profile merger with the Attachmate Group in 2014.

Kirkland & Ellis corporate partner Travis Nelson led a team based in Palo Alto advising Serena Software.

The deal is conditional on competition clearances in the USA and Germany and is expected to take place in May 2016.

Summerfield said: ‘Micro Focus’ acquisition of Serena Software is a significant development, demonstrating the continued success of Micro Focus in executing its buy-and-build strategy. We are very pleased to have assisted Micro Focus on this important transaction, which will help consolidate Micro Focus’ position as a global leader in the software marketplace.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: Magic Circle trio and Travers Smith advise as Carlyle sells RAC stake to new investors

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Corporate Clifford ChanceFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklatersTravers Smith
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Clifford Chance (CC), Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have all landed advisory roles alongside Travers Smith on a deal which will see CVC Capital Partners form a partnership with Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC to invest in the roadside assistance provider RAC through the purchase of Carlyle’s stake in the latter.

The RAC is the second-largest roadside assistance provider across the UK and has approximately 8.6m members as of 30 September, 2015. During Carlyle’s ownership, revenues grew from £417m in 2010 to £498m in 2014.

CC advised longstanding client CVC with a team led by corporate partner David Pearson. The firm also recently advised CVC, which holds $60bn in funds under management, on its $150m acquisition of a 50% stake in Arteria Networks Corporation, a Japan-based telecoms carrier focused on enterprise customers.

Linklaters advised Carlyle on the exit with relationship partner Alex Woodward leading, while Freshfields advised GIC with global financial investors group co-head David Higgins leading a team.

Travers Smith advised RAC management on the transaction with senior partner Chris Hale leading a team alongside corporate partner Adam Orr.

Last year Freshfields, Linklaters and Travers combined for the same clients as Carlyle sold half its majority stake in RAC to GIC.

The transaction is subject to approvals and is expected to close in early 2016.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

For more on deal activity subscribers can read: ‘Private equity ABC – the brutally simple world of a private equity lawyer’

Legal Business

Travers Smith: CPR 36: time for a re-boot?

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Litigation Travers Smith
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Jan-Jaap Baer

Partner, Travers Smith

Emma Reynolds

Associate, Travers Smith

In April this year, CPR 36 underwent the latest in a series of amendments. These amendments did not amount to a root-and-branch overhaul of the regime but rather to a reorganisation and codification of existing principles, largely designed to address issues which have been thrown up by recent court decisions. The changes were generally welcomed as providing a greater degree of clarity for litigants when navigating their way through what remain complex and densely drafted rules. However, there remains a question as to whether a more radical overhaul of the rules is desirable.

Legal Business

Deal machines – the resilience of Macfarlanes, Travers Smith and the mid-tier deal team

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Corporate MacfarlanesTravers Smith
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The forced obsolescence of Macfarlanes and Travers Smith as City-focused M&A teams has been as long predicted as it has failed to materialise. Since 2010, after both firms quickly recovered from a brutal post-Lehman shock, the pair have proved not just resilient but able to thrive.

The pair performed robustly again in 2014/15, with Macfarlanes having been one of the most successful top-100 firms over the last five years with organic revenue growth of 73%. Around 20% of revenue is generated by its corporate department, reflecting the size of its private client practice and a concerted push to broaden its disputes, regulatory and finance teams.

Legal Business

‘Why £70k? That’s where we think we need to be’: Travers Smith boosts NQ salaries by 9% to match Slaughters

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Salaries Slaughter and MayTravers Smith
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Having enjoyed another respectable financial performance for the 2014/15 year, Travers Smith has boosted its newly qualified (NQ) associate salaries by £6,000 to £70,000 from £64,000, constituting a 9% rise and putting its rates on a par with Slaughter and May and Hogan Lovells.

Speaking to Legal Business on the 9% pay boost, managing partner David Patient (pictured) said: ‘Why £70k? That’s where we think we need to be in this market – we have terrifically talented people we want to reward properly – it’s very competitive out there. It’s specific to the type of work we do, corporate and disputes, and giving an incentive to retain top talent. To do high quality work you need high quality people. We have that. To have them you need to pay high quality salaries. Full stop.’

Patient added that the wave of US firms offering mid-Atlantic salaries is not of major concern to the firm: ‘I don’t lose any sleep [over losing associates to US firms] but we’re in a market at the moment that’s very competitive. If you look at websites that publicise US law firm salaries they are considerably higher than those at the leading UK firms. Inevitably that may turn people’s heads. You have the so-called “diamonds and deposits era” in your life where you want more money. But the UK firms aren’t going to compete on salaries with US firms – I question how sustainable that is for lots of them. If a US firm is competing for work in London the pressure on fees will mean there will end up potentially being downward pressure on salaries. They might be having their day but how sustainable is that?’

This year the City outfit, which offers around 25 training contracts annually, posted strong results for the past financial year, registering a 9% rise in revenue to break the £100m boundary. This was buoyed by an active deal market in the City, particularly within the private equity space where high returns on post-financial crisis investments sparked a series of sell-offs.

The firm capitalised on its strong deal reputation to pull in £8.8m extra in turnover to reach revenues of £106m while profit per equity partner rose 6% to £935,000 as the average pay for equity partners rose by £55,000 from last year.

This summer also saw Allen & Overy announce it was gifting associates with a £20,000 increase in their base salaries as the firm incorporates bonuses into the annual pay packet.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Travers Smith posts record results as turnover crosses £100m boundary and PEP reaches £935k

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Financial results 2014/15 Travers Smith
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City outfit Travers Smith has become the latest UK law firm to post strong results for the past financial year, registering a 9% rise in revenue to break the £100m boundary.

Buoyed by an active deal market in the City, particularly within the private equity space where high returns on post-financial crisis investments sparked a series of sell-offs, Travers capitalised on its strong deal reputation to pull in an £8.8m extra in turnover to reach revenues of £106m for the 2014/15 financial year. As a result, profit per equity partner (PEP) soared 6% to £935,000 as the average pay for equity partners rose by £55,000 from last year.

The results also marks back-to-back growth at the 300-lawyer firm, with double-digit increases in revenue and PEP recorded in the 2013/14 financial year. However, the firm was outpaced by fellow City firm Macfarlanes which revealed last week it had grown revenues 14% to £160m for the last financial year with PEP jumping 30% to £1.55m from £1.2m.

The upbeat results follow a string of high profile deal instructions, with Travers advising the equity-holding management of RAC as private equity giant Carlyle sold the roadside recovery company to Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC; the equity-holding management of Europe’s second-largest, second-hand vehicle auctioneer BCA Marketplace as private equity house Clayton, Dubilier & Rice sold its investment to Haversham Holdings; and took a lead role on the £3.4bn UK High Court dispute between Hewlett-Packard and Autonomy founder Michael Lynch over allegations of fraudulent accounting ahead of the IT giant’s infamous takeover.

Travers Smith’s new managing partner David Patient (pictured), who replaced the longstanding Andrew Lilley at the start of the year, said: ‘This is a strong set of financial results, and with turnover exceeding £100m for the first time, a landmark achievement for the firm. Our performance is particularly robust in the context of the significant investment we are currently making in our business and people, including a complete refurbishment of our office space and the promotion of nine new partners this year and two lateral hires, demonstrating our commitment to growth.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk