Posted on

Veteran Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement

Felix Ehrat

A longstanding and well-respected member of the in-house community, Felix Ehrat has abruptly stepped down from his role as general counsel (GC) of Swiss healthcare giant Novartis after becoming entangled in a controversy involving US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer.

Ehrat said in mid-May he would retire from Novartis shortly thereafter. He had been GC and a member of the executive committee at the Basel-based pharmaceuticals company since 2011, but was forced to admit ‘an error’ relating to an agreement between the company and Michael Cohen – Trump’s lawyer. Continue reading “Veteran Novartis GC Ehrat steps down over ‘error’ in Trump lawyer agreement”

Posted on

Focus: Wild West or new frontier? Securities counsel divided as the cryptocurrency ‘float’ rears its blockchained head

Philip Smith

Marco Cillario sizes up the pros and cons for legal advisers of the current ICO boom

‘We are in an odd position: we feel we need to be closely involved in this, but there is a reputational risk because there is a lot of fraud.’ Understandably, the partner expressing this view does not want himself or his firm identified. But such words still sum up many securities lawyers’ feelings on the hottest topic in their field for years. Continue reading “Focus: Wild West or new frontier? Securities counsel divided as the cryptocurrency ‘float’ rears its blockchained head”

Posted on

The Euro Elite 100 – The Main Table

Baltics

Firm Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Sorainen 219 32 4
Ellex 195 41 3
COBALT 182 32 4
TGS Baltic 135 25 4
FORT 50 13 3

Benelux

Firm Country Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Loyens & Loeff Netherlands 862 216 12
NautaDutilh Netherlands 430 68 6
Stibbe Netherlands 381 73 6
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Netherlands 380 64 7
Arendt & Medernach Luxembourg 361 45 7
Houthoff Netherlands 300 49 7
Elvinger Hoss Prussen Luxembourg 180 36 2
Van Doorne Netherlands 170 38 2
Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick Belgium 131 33 2

CEE

Firm Country Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Wolf Theiss Austria 320 66 13
Schoenherr Austria 295 42 14
Kinstellar CEE 200 29 10
Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati Austria 180 45 8
Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen Romania 130 33 5
Ţuca Zbârcea & Asociaţii Romania 110 28 2
DORDA Austria 100 25 1
Binder Grösswang Austria 100 22 2
PRK Partners Czech Republic 100 17 3
Popovici Niţu Stoica & Asociații Romania 80 15 1
PeliFilip Romania 71 9 1
Karanović & Nikolić Serbia 110 23 7

France

Firm Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Gide Loyrette Nouel 520 111 14
Bredin Prat 175 43 2
De Pardieu Brocas Maffei 140 33 1
Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier 80 25 1
Veil Jourde 50 18 2

Germany

Firm Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Noerr 435 94 16
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek 316 137 10
Hengeler Mueller 280 90 7
Gleiss Lutz 280 86 7
P+P Pöllath + Partners 135 33 3
Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz 80 25 3

Iberia

Firm Country Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Garrigues Spain 1427 302 32
Cuatrecasas Spain 897 213 27
Uría Menéndez Spain 588 131 17
PLMJ Portugal 277 61 8
VdA Portugal 273 42 3
Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Spain 260 64 9
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados Portugal 203 58 3
Pérez-Llorca Spain 170 39 4

Ireland

Firm Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Arthur Cox 350 100 5
McCann FitzGerald 369 77 4
A&L Goodbody 366 91 6
William Fry 311 82 5
Matheson 282 86 5
Mason Hayes & Curran 257 87 4
ByrneWallace 130 39 2
Dillon Eustace 92 38 4

Italy

Firm Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners 440 99 11
Chiomenti 322 61 8
BonelliErede 294 63 8
Nctm 239 74 5
Legance 227 33 4
Gatti Pavesi Bianchi 71 26 2

Nordics

Firm Country Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Mannheimer Swartling Sweden 400 82 8
Vinge Sweden 297 70 5
Kromann Reumert Denmark 275 65 3
Bech-Bruun Denmark 271 69 3
Lindahl Sweden 265 90 6
Gorrissen Federspiel Denmark 256 48 2
Roschier Finland 243 44 2
Plesner Denmark 202 61 1
GLIMSTEDT Sweden 200 45 16
Wikborg Rein Norway 200 59 5
Setterwalls Sweden 177 48 3
Thommessen Denmark 175 54 4
Hannes Snellman Finland 174 41 2
Simonsen Vogt Wiig Norway 160 65 7
Wiersholm Norway 160 45 1
Schjødt Norway 158 68 4
Bruun & Hjejle Denmark 140 30 1
Wistrand Sweden 138 57 2
Krogerus Finland 137 24 3
Castrén & Snellman Finland 133 28 3
BA-HR Norway 130 36 1
Arntzen de Besche Norway 123 57 3
Selmer Norway 120 36 2
Borenius Finland 120 26 4
Haavind Norway 119 40 1

Russia and CIS

Firm Country Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Russia 262 35 6
ALRUD Russia 100 9 1
Sayenko Kharenko Ukraine 95 13 2

Southern Europe

Firm Country Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Elias Neocleous & Co Cyprus 144 18 7
Zepos & Yannopoulos Greece 71 23 1
PotamitisVekris Greece 65 11 1
Dryllerakis & Associates Greece 41 10 1
Bernitsas Law Greece 36 12 1

Switzerland

Firm Total lawyers Total partners No. of offices
Lenz & Staehelin 200 42 3
Walder Wyss 175 53 6
Homburger 150 33 1
Schellenberg Wittmer 147 39 3
Bär & Karrer 130 44 4
Niederer Kraft Frey 103 35 1
Meyerlustenberger Lachenal 100 34 5
Pestalozzi 90 27 2

Return to The Euro Elite main menu

Posted on

The Euro Elite Top 25

Rank Firm Region The Legal 500 rank Size rank Lawyers Partners Recent partner promotions Offices Revenue
1 Loyens & Loeff Benelux 5 3 862 216 5 12 €311.6m
2 Garrigues Iberia 8 1 1427 302 11 32 €357.1m
3 Uría Menéndez Iberia 6 4 588 131 4 17 €235.2m
4 Cuatrecasas, Goncalves Pereira Iberia 9 2 897 213 11 27 €247.8m
5 Noerr Germany 4 7 435 94 5 16 €222.6m
6 Gide Loyrette Nouel France 12 5 520 111 2 14 €188m
7 NautaDutilh Benelux 10 8 430 68 3 6 €175m*
8 Wolf Theiss CEE 2 16 320 66 3 13 €65m
9 Schoenherr CEE 3 21 295 42 2 14 €74m
10 Stibbe Benelux 13 10 381 73 3 6 €148m
11 Hengeler Mueller Germany 1 24 280 90 2 7 €272m*
12 Gianni, Origoni, Grippo, Cappelli & Partners Italy 20 6 440 99 5 11 €132m
13 Chiomenti Italy 14 16 322 61 3 8 €150m*
14 Gleiss Lutz Germany 7 25 280 86 0 7 €195m
15 De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Benelux 23 11 380 64 3 7 €169m
16 BonelliErede Italy 16 22 294 63 3 8 €158m*
17 A&L Goodbody Ireland 27 13 366 91 7 6 €149m*
18 Arthur Cox Ireland 27 14 350 100 3 5 €156m*
19 McCann FitzGerald Ireland 29 12 369 77 10 4 €132m*
20 William Fry Ireland 27 17 311 82 5 5 €96m*
21 Kinstellar CEE 11 35 200 29 2 10 €35m*
22 Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners Russia & CIS 19 28 262 35 0 6 €124.4m*
23 Sorainen Baltics 15 32 219 32 4 4 €25.5m
24 Matheson Ireland 27 23 282 86 7 5 €126m*
25 Roschier Nordics 22 30 243 44 1 2 €94.6m

*Market estimate, not provided by firm

Return to The Euro Elite main menu

Posted on

Yet unremarked, generational conflict cripples City law

Our cover feature this month largely speaks for itself in assessing the changing face of partnership as Millennials begin colonising the senior ranks of City law firms. Within five years, this group will be the driving force of elite commercial advisers.

Yet this column is not about the changing attitudes of youngish lawyers, more an issue that touches so many topics in the pages of this magazine, spanning remuneration, strategy, governance and talent. Quite simply, that is the success – and much more often failure – of leading law firms in balancing the interests of their younger ranks with their older partners. Continue reading “Yet unremarked, generational conflict cripples City law”

Posted on

The Euro Elite Methodology

Legal Business’ Euro Elite comprises independent law firms based in more than 40 European jurisdictions, rather than the local offices of international firms.

To compile the 100 firms featured in this report Legal Business analysed more than 150 of the largest law firms in Europe by the number of lawyers, as well as more than 150 of the top-ranking firms in the current edition of The Legal 500 EMEA. A combined score was given for the size of the firm and its Legal 500 rankings, providing a qualitative as well as a quantitative analysis. The 100 firms with the highest combined score make The Euro Elite. Continue reading “The Euro Elite Methodology”

Posted on

BCLP: A slightly better sales pitch than expected

Therese Pritchard and Lisa Mayhew

It would take a generous observer of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) to claim the once sure-footed outfit had managed anything better than an indifferent run in the years preceding its union with Bryan Cave. Having dazzled through the 2000s – a period in which the firm seemed to have single-handedly revived the unfashionable notion of a City mid-tier – the last five years have been a stark contrast. Volatile financial performance, a disastrous run of partner recruitment and tension over its property-heavy direction – all in, it was unclear where the firm was going.

As such, confirmation earlier this year that BLP was uniting with a solid US operator, but one whose brand had limited potency in Europe, did not quicken the pulse. Continue reading “BCLP: A slightly better sales pitch than expected”

Posted on

The Euro Elite: Market overviews

Frankfurt

‘The main threat will be from legal tech in the long term.’
Christof Jäckle, Hengeler Mueller

Germany

Despite riding out a surprisingly competitive general election that threatened to disrupt the fruitful status quo, 2017 marked another year of growth for the German economy. GDP grew 2.2% compared to 1.9% and the year ended with an unemployment rate of 3.8%, though the country’s longstanding trade surplus fell for the first time since 2009 as domestic demand drew in more imports for the export-orientated economy. All the while the impending arrival of Brexit is met with equal parts indifference and anticipation.

Continue reading “The Euro Elite: Market overviews”

Posted on

Full disclosure: Links and HSF usher in personal relationship policies in bid to face #MeToo demons

Mark Rigotti

City firms Linklaters and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have been spurred into action by the swathe of sexual misconduct allegations that in recent months have plagued the industry, launching personal relationship disclosure and whistleblowing initiatives within a fortnight of one another.

In early May, Linklaters issued ‘guidance on how to manage relationships at work’, with the imperative that partners and staff disclose any relationship with colleagues to an office, group or practice head, or someone in HR, in order to manage ‘actual or potential’ conflict of interest. Continue reading “Full disclosure: Links and HSF usher in personal relationship policies in bid to face #MeToo demons”

Posted on

Paul Hastings doubles up in the City as A&O loses global IP head to Kirkland

Anu Balasubramanian

Paul Hastings pulled off two headline lateral hires in London in a week as the US firm strengthens its corporate offering in the City.

Private equity rising star Anu Balasubramanian was the first hire announced, as DLA Piper lost another key dealmaker in the City. The addition will be a major boost to Paul Hastings’ City corporate and private equity practice, with Balasubramanian bringing experience in an array of mid-market work, acting for sponsors such as ABRY Partners, Accel-KKR, Oakley Capital and Aurium Capital Markets. Continue reading “Paul Hastings doubles up in the City as A&O loses global IP head to Kirkland”

Posted on

Moves of the month

Addleshaw Goddard
  • White & Case maintained its recent hiring spree in its litigation practice with the recruitment of Chris Brennan from Addleshaw Goddard. Brennan is White & Case’s second key City disputes lateral hire this year following the addition of Hannah Field-Lowes from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Brennan previously headed up Addleshaw’s Financial Conduct Authority investigations and enforcement team as well as serving as head of regulatory at Lloyds Banking Group.
  • As Allen & Overy lost Nicola Dagg, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer strengthened its intellectual property capability with the addition of Christopher Stothers from Arnold & Porter. Stothers is due to work closely with the firm’s patent litigation teams in Germany and the Netherlands.
  • Ashurst has set about rebuilding after a three-partner exodus at the end of 2017, with the hire of Baker McKenzie’s former global co-head of securitisation Jonathan Walsh. Walsh left Bakers after 13 years, having also served as head of international securities at Norton Rose until 2005.
  • Bakers, meanwhile, made additions of its own this last month, with the hire of Kathy Honeywood to its energy, mining and industrials practice. Honeywood was previously at Clifford Chance, bringing with her experience in M&A transactions, corporate finance and joint ventures. She relocated to Singapore in 2015, where she led the Magic Circle firm’s corporate practice in South-East Asia.
  • Dentons strengthened its City presence with the addition of Howard Barrie, who rejoins the firm after a previous 19-year stint with Dentons before leaving for Eversheds Sutherland. Barrie focuses on projects and project finance, in addition to structured trade finance and commodity finance.
  • Mayer Brown was among those to make strategic international additions, securing the hire of Raúl Fernández-Briseño from White & Case. Fernández spent nearly 20 years at White & Case and will now serve as head of M&A for Mayer Brown in Mexico City.
Posted on

The Euro Elite Overview: Ode to Joy

Stargazing

The good times are back in Europe – at least for now – making growth the word on every managing partner’s lips. According to the International Monetary Fund, last year’s European recovery was an ‘engine of global trade and economic growth’. Across the EU27, annual GDP grew between 1.5% and 5% – the biggest figures being recorded among the smallest member states that experienced a severe post-crisis downturn, including Ireland and some CEE countries.

The corollary? Bullish stock markets and buoyant initial public offerings with Mergermarket data showing that European M&A hit a post-crisis high of $929.3bn across 7,235 deals in 2017 – Europe’s resurgence has unleashed a wealth of corporate dealmaking ambition. Continue reading “The Euro Elite Overview: Ode to Joy”

Posted on

Rosenblatt unveils third-party funding ambitions following £43m float

London litigation specialist Rosenblatt became the fourth UK firm to list in May, simultaneously revealing plans to establish a third-party disputes funding division.

Rosenblatt raised £43m in its AIM flotation, giving the 21-partner outfit a £76m market capitalisation in what it described as a ‘significantly oversubscribed’ listing. In terms of value, it was the largest law firm initial public offering (IPO) in the UK to date. This could change with Knights’ listing slated to take place this summer. Continue reading “Rosenblatt unveils third-party funding ambitions following £43m float”

Posted on

Disputes Eye: A no-brainer? How tech can save your client £2m

Ed Crosse, Simmons & Simmons, Commercial Litigation Summit 2017

With proposed procedural overhauls to disclosure going down like a lead balloon with the Law Society, technology is being touted as the much-needed saviour of time and money.

News in May that Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) declared itself the first firm to win a significant court victory on the back of using document review technology gave hope. Continue reading “Disputes Eye: A no-brainer? How tech can save your client £2m”

Posted on

Europe’s elite continues robust performance as multi-site firms prosper

The mood among most managing partners at independent law firms from Lisbon to Moscow is certainly upbeat. And for good reason. Our third Euro Elite survey shows overall revenues of continental Europe’s 25 top independents had a strong year, reaching €4.04bn.

The number is only marginally up on last year’s €4.03bn, but with smaller outfits from Russia and the Baltics joining the elite club it still speaks of a robust performance among continental European players. The total number of lawyers in the group is marginally down to 10,753 from 10,867, while partner numbers have risen to 2,355 from 2,338. Continue reading “Europe’s elite continues robust performance as multi-site firms prosper”

Posted on

Asia calling: Linklaters and CMS confirm local law capability in Shanghai and Hong Kong

Recent announcements from Linklaters and CMS have provided a fillip to international firms looking to gain a surer footing in China.

Linklaters announced in May that it had finally received the green light to practise Chinese law through a joint operations agreement with Shanghai outfit Zhao Sheng Law Firm. Continue reading “Asia calling: Linklaters and CMS confirm local law capability in Shanghai and Hong Kong”