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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”

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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”

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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.
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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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Fieldfisher continues European push with Luxembourg and Frankfurt offices

Legal Business 100 pacesetter Fieldfisher has further extended its European reach with the opening of a new office in Luxembourg, which will be managed by country managing partner Ingrid Dubourdieu who joins from local firm D.Law.

Initially focusing on finance and funds work, the London-headquartered firm expects the office to grow into corporate M&A and international tax, and will complement existing offices in Brussels and Amsterdam. Continue reading “Fieldfisher continues European push with Luxembourg and Frankfurt offices”

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Global elite joins Japanese and offshore heavyweights as Takeda persists with Shire bid

Linklaters

Life sciences giant puts £46bn offer on table for Irish rival

Magic Circle duo Slaughter and May and Linklaters have been joined by Davis Polk & Wardwell and Ashurst in landing key mandates as Japanese giant Takeda Pharmaceutical Company launched a £46bn takeover of Shire last month. Continue reading “Global elite joins Japanese and offshore heavyweights as Takeda persists with Shire bid”

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Dealwatch: PE deals continue to dominate agenda for City firms

Helen Croke
  • Ropes & Gray’s London arm advised on the largest-ever UK private equity software buyout. Helen Croke (pictured) led the team advising Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) on a £1.3bn joint partnership investment. ICG was joined by Hg Saturn Fund as they invested in IRIS Software Group, a business-critical software provider for the UK accountancy, education and business market. Hg Saturn was advised on the transaction by Linklaters, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acted for IRIS.
  • White & Case continued its strong run of private equity deals as the firm advised CVC Capital Partners on the €1.01bn loan financing of a consortium buyout of Finnish private healthcare provider Mehiläinen. The team comprised banking partners Martin Forbes and Justin Wagstaff. Meanwhile Latham & Watkins advised CVC and the banks – UBS, M&S, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jefferies, Credit Suisse, KeyBank and Barclays. Kirkland & Ellis advised Summit Partners, which was a selling shareholder.

Continue reading “Dealwatch: PE deals continue to dominate agenda for City firms”

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Rich pickings for Travers Smith and Freshfields as Bridgepoint cashes in on Pret

Pret a Manger

Ten years after acquiring Pret A Manger in a deal worth £350m, private equity house Bridgepoint is selling it for more than four times its original investment and providing City firms with big mandates.

Luxembourg-headquartered JAB Holding Company, an investment firm owned by Germany’s Reimann family, is to buy the food chain for £1.5bn. Continue reading “Rich pickings for Travers Smith and Freshfields as Bridgepoint cashes in on Pret”

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Deal View: DLA moves house in London but can it break free?

DLA Piper

Shifting to an agile-working office is a peculiar experience. Two camps quickly emerge: those excited by change and colleagues happy with decades-old paper in a pile on their desk. It is unsettling, yet can galvanise a workforce.

DLA Piper is similarly moving into a bespoke, semi-open-plan office this year – its single-largest capital investment ever. The flagship London HQ unites 360 lawyers from two separate offices, a grand total of 633 steps down the road. A new environment will be embraced by many, but for some the gloss quickly wears off. Continue reading “Deal View: DLA moves house in London but can it break free?”

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Growing weary of snake oil dressed as commentary

This may be an issue dominated by all things Millennial, but I am past that, so the column that follows is likely the result of age-induced cynicism. But even by the standards of the legal industry, I find myself increasingly weary of what passes for industry commentary these days.

If an alien beamed down to earth and judged the profession through the lens of what the consultancy and the ‘thought leadership’ industries said about it, what would be the lessons they would take? The law is staffed by incompetent managers. Lawyers are uninterested in technology. General counsel (GCs) are the sole drivers of innovation and progress in the profession. The Big Four accountants are tearing through law. The legal industry faces an imminent structural collapse. I could go on and the purveyors of this certainly do. Continue reading “Growing weary of snake oil dressed as commentary”

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The Last Word: Generation Next

Michael Chissick

As part of our partnership special, we asked young partners and managers alike for their take on the latest wave of partners coming through

Buck stops here

‘The biggest change for me when becoming partner was this immediate sense of responsibility – a responsibility to retain and attract talent, and to bring in interesting work. Suddenly you are supervising work and the buck stops with you. I miss the gossip! You got all the gossip when you were an associate, but when you become a partner people don’t want to gossip with you that much.’
Nicole Jadeja, partner, Fieldfisher Continue reading “The Last Word: Generation Next”

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All restless souls – City firms braced as partnership goes Millennial

‘It was so long ago,’ reflects Malcolm Sweeting, Clifford Chance’s (CC) senior partner, of his promotion to partner in 1990. ‘My only involvement in the process was playing football in Hackney one winter when a junior partner sidled up. “It’s all looking good,” he cryptically confided, before sidling away. Later, the senior partner rang me to say congratulations.’

Nearly 30 years from that night, the once obtuse path to partnership has been replaced with an excess of procedure, meaning the latest generation of partners has gone through a very different tournament to their colleagues currently nearing retirement. Continue reading “All restless souls – City firms braced as partnership goes Millennial”

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Crunching the data – Trends and tribulations

The Partnership Scoreboard – Trends and tribulations

As part of our analysis of the modern realities of partnership, Legal Business collected data on partnership rounds for the last three years across three groups: the top ten UK law firms by revenue, the ten US-based law firms with the largest organically-built London branches and a select group of mid-tier City players.

The most obvious observation is that there has been – barring a few exceptions – little easing up of the post-banking crisis clampdown on making up partners. One City head of a major US firm notes: ‘It’s harder to become a partner. All the firms are focused on profitability, the motivations are a lot more financial. Firms will always question the business case.’ Continue reading “Crunching the data – Trends and tribulations”

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Partnership Perspectives

‘The Dickensian management role of closed doors is a thing of the past.’

Jonathan Kewley, partner and co-head of Clifford Chance’s tech group. Made up in 2017

What attracted you to partnership?

I’m working in tech, a space that didn’t exist 30 years ago. There are challenges facing clients that didn’t exist five years ago. The tech environment fits with the character traits of partnership. You have to be entrepreneurial, and it’s more exciting to be that way. It maintains interest. Continue reading “Partnership Perspectives”