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The DAC Interview – Close to the rocks

Virginia Clegg and David Pollitt

Legal Business (LB): You have both been in charge for nearly four years. What are some of the highlights?

David Pollitt (DP), managing partner, DAC Beachcroft: One of the first things we decided was to streamline our governance, which Virginia led on. We wanted to become more corporate, leaner and more efficient in decision-making. But we also wanted to be clear about our purpose, our vision, our principles and our business strategy. It took us some time, probably 12 months. Continue reading “The DAC Interview – Close to the rocks”

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Sponsored briefing: A risk checkup can help companies fight back against fraud

Statistics show that in the UK alone, an estimated 7% of annual turnover is lost to fraud schemes, involving issues such as kickbacks, insider trading, financial statement and invoice fraud, bribery, and even the simple skimming and misappropriation of assets. It is estimated that fraud costs business in the UK over £110bn per year.

Fraud, like any serious disease, spreads if not treated early. It saps corporate reputations and finances, and in the worst cases can prove fatal to an organisation. Reputational damage, in particular, can be devastating. A loss of confidence by shareholders, customers, suppliers and regulators, as well as the potential of litigation in the wake of a fraud, can lead to a drop in share price from which a company may never recover. In addition, if it can be shown that a company’s directors and management have neglected their fiduciary responsibilities, they can be held personally liable for the loss incurred by the company. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: A risk checkup can help companies fight back against fraud”

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Paywars III – City elite caught between rock and hard place

Alex Novarese

The news last month that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was to push through the highest real-terms pay rises by a major City firm for a decade is a significant moment for the London legal market.

The decision to hike its associate pay scale, raising its benchmark rate for newly-qualified solicitors from £85,000 to £100,000 is a bold and expensive step for the City giant. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest such a move, which will put Freshfields well ahead of its Magic Circle peers, comes at an annual cost in the region of £10m. Continue reading “Paywars III – City elite caught between rock and hard place”

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The influx of BAME lawyers may yet be squandered

Raph Mokades

The good news is that up close the reality turns out to be not as awful as the cynics have feared. After all, for years the profession has avoided a frontal discussion of its record on ethnic diversity, choosing to submerge the topic within the umbrella of diversity and inclusion even as law firms became more intent on selling their progressive credentials.

And in fairness, avoiding that debate has been as much about a general British reticence to tackle issues of race head on with commentators and the media often treading with excessive delicacy in such matters. Still, the end result has been little frank discussion, certainly compared to the increasingly forthright debate on the profession’s record on female representation and retention or tackling social mobility. Continue reading “The influx of BAME lawyers may yet be squandered”

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Cross-selling to glory will only get the Big Four so far

Matthew Kellett

This title is on the record as having doubts regarding the Big Four’s legal ambitions, at least judged against claims typically made by some outside observers. Readers will all know such assertions: that the group are more sophisticated, slicker and tech-savvy than law firms and set to disrupt law on a global scale.

But while the last 25 years has not yet seen them live up to such claims, the Big Four clearly have formidable assets, contacts and brands and have collectively stepped up their investment in the last three years. Continue reading “Cross-selling to glory will only get the Big Four so far”

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Associate pay war, anyone? Freshfields sets new Magic Circle standard by raising NQ pay to £100k

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer office reception

Marco Cillario assesses the City-wide implications of Freshfields’ decision to dramatically hike associate salaries

A decade after leading the way in resetting downwards the going rate for City associates, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in May set a new standard for Magic Circle firms, raising its newly-qualified (NQ) salaries from £85,000 including bonuses to a symbolic £100,000, with bonuses on top. Continue reading “Associate pay war, anyone? Freshfields sets new Magic Circle standard by raising NQ pay to £100k”

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‘Necessary bandwidth’: Addleshaws lures deal finance veteran from McDermott

Alex Dumphy

Amid a quiet month for the lateral recruitment market in London, Addleshaw Goddard made the most significant play, bolstering its City banking practice with the hire of leveraged finance partner Peter Crichton from US firm McDermott Will & Emery. Well known in the deal community, Crichton joins Addleshaws’ active mid-market practice led by Alex Dumphy.

Crichton’s career as an acquisition finance lawyer saw him act for AIB, HSBC, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander on Caledonia’s acquisition of the drinks business Liberation Group in 2016 and AIB, HSBC and Santander on the refinancing of the Jockey Club. He has spent around 16 years advising on the debtor side of the loan markets and specialising in leveraged finance, becoming partner at DLA Piper and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang before joining McDermott before the three-way merger took effect in 2017. Continue reading “‘Necessary bandwidth’: Addleshaws lures deal finance veteran from McDermott”

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Significant hires

Gavin Gordon
    • US giant Kirkland & Ellis has lost private equity duo David Arnold and Gavin Gordon (pictured) to Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Long-rumoured to be on their way out of the City office, the pair joined Kirkland from Ashurst in 2010 in one of the firm’s first major private equity lateral hires in London. Clients Gordon has worked with include Cinven, ABRY Partners, KKR and Vista, while Arnold’s list include CapVest Partners and Montagu Private Equity (see Deal View).

 

    • Watson Farley & Williams head of litigation and arbitration Andrew Savage has joined McDermott Will & Emery as a partner in the dispute resolution team in London as the firm looks to bolster its international arbitration practice. Savage spent 15 years at Watson Farley, becoming head of litigation in 2007.
      Continue reading “Significant hires”
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Ashurst, Slaughters and White & Case re-elect leaders as rivals ring in the change

Paul Jenkins

The recent spate of leadership elections has seen Ashurst, Slaughter and May and White & Case all sticking with tradition while Stephenson Harwood and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan bet on new leaders.

May saw Hugh Verrier’s term as White & Case chair extended to 16 years after he was re-elected for another four years at the helm of the New York-bred giant. First elected to the role in 2007, Verrier’s tenure has seen sustained growth for the firm, most strikingly in London, where the 2020 strategy led by partner Oliver Brettle, and its core ambition of taking on the Magic Circle in its own backyard, have paid dividends. Continue reading “Ashurst, Slaughters and White & Case re-elect leaders as rivals ring in the change”

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‘Independent thinker’ Greenberg Traurig picks Milan as latest step of unusual European footprint

Milan

Greenberg Traurig’s executive chair Richard Rosenbaum has pointed to his firm’s track record for independent thinking as it enters Italy through a merger in Milan.

In July, the northern Italian city will become the location of the Miami-bred firm’s 40th office, after Greenberg absorbs its local ally of 14 years, Santa Maria Studio Legale. Two Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer veterans will also join the firm’s first Italian base: local real estate head Marzio Longo and finance partner Corrado Angelelli, giving it a starting team of around 50 lawyers. Continue reading “‘Independent thinker’ Greenberg Traurig picks Milan as latest step of unusual European footprint”

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Addleshaws enters continental Europe through BCLP Hamburg hires

Hamburg

Despite having launched five international offices in Asia and the Middle East since 2012, top-20 UK law firm Addleshaw Goddard had no presence in continental Europe until last month. That was when it announced the hire of five partners from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) to spearhead a launch in Hamburg.

The hires include the two founders of legacy Bryan Cave’s German offices in 2007, Eckart Budelmann and Michael Leue. Partners Martin Lüderitz, Maximilian Karacz and Hubertus Schröder joined the duo in the move from BCLP, alongside five other lawyers. Continue reading “Addleshaws enters continental Europe through BCLP Hamburg hires”

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Global Elite line up on Nestlé’s $10bn skincare business sale to EQT

Nestlé

Latham & Watkins is acting alongside US counterpart Kirkland & Ellis in advising EQT as the private equity house looks to acquire Nestlé’s skincare business, in what could be one of the largest transactions in Europe this year.

Nestlé, which is being advised by Linklaters corporate partners David Martin and Michael Honan, confirmed talks with EQT in May following a competitive auction process with rival buyout funds and industry players all eager to make the acquisition. The group of investors includes Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Continue reading “Global Elite line up on Nestlé’s $10bn skincare business sale to EQT”

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Dealwatch: Insolvencies provide work for CC and Gateley

Pret a Manger
  • Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised food chain Pret A Manger as it agreed to acquire all of Eat’s 94 shops for an undisclosed sum. The London team was led by corporate partners Richard Youle, Katja Butler and Linda Davies. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also advised Pret on antitrust while Travers Smith acted for the selling shareholders.

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  • Gateley fielded insolvency partner Daniel French to act alongside administrator KPMG after Jamie Oliver’s restaurant business collapsed. The insolvency will see 22 of the 25 eateries close, resulting in 1,000 job losses. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Insolvencies provide work for CC and Gateley”
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Deal View: Despite that late start, Willkie underlines surprisingly forceful City buyout push with hire of GavDav

David Arnold

Affectionately known in buyout circles as ‘GavDav’, the long-time duo of private equity specialists Gavin Gordon and David Arnold has finally landed at Willkie Farr & Gallagher from Kirkland & Ellis after months of speculation.

While Kirkland may play down its significance, it is nevertheless a rare and high-profile exit for the Chicago-bred juggernaut and a chance for Willkie – a firm whose progress in the City has been muted compared with many US peers given the quality of its US private equity practice – to finally get its brand on the radar in London. Continue reading “Deal View: Despite that late start, Willkie underlines surprisingly forceful City buyout push with hire of GavDav”

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The Big Four meets GCs – The hard sell

Matthew Kellett

‘I have never instructed a Big Four firm on a legal matter,’ says one UK general counsel (GC) of a large multinational. ‘The accountants’ legal offering is not something I’m close to,’ concedes Tesco GC Adrian Morris. The respective legal chiefs at The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group strike a similar note: ‘We don’t currently use any of them,’ says Michael Shaw, while Kate Cheetham notes: ‘Our use of these offerings is quite limited.’

Canvassing 20 GCs for this piece – including ten from the FTSE 100 – found only four had used the Big Four’s legal services. Continue reading “The Big Four meets GCs – The hard sell”

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Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?

Raph Mokades

‘People are so scared to talk about race in the UK,’ Linklaters senior partner Charlie Jacobs says. ‘They think it’s a landmine they’re going to walk straight into, so they’d rather avoid it entirely.’

A landmine – easy to lay but hard to get rid of – which has seen Big Law for years avoid a substantive discussion around ethnic diversity. Gender is already an uncomfortable topic for the industry, yet not so uncomfortable that it has obscured increasingly intense scrutiny of the profession’s poor record promoting female partners. In contrast, ethnic diversity at the upper reaches of commercial law is rarely addressed head-on, being submerged in the wider ‘D&I’ discussion. Continue reading “Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?”