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Travers’ grip on Bridgepoint challenged as it wins Burger King franchise buyout

Travers Smith, one of Bridgepoint’s go-to firms, has sealed another mandate in the form of the private equity (PE) house’s acquisition of a raft of UK Burger King franchises.

The mid-market deal saw Travers advise its longstanding client, while Macfarlanes – itself no stranger to Bridgepoint – advised the management buy-in team. The acquisition from Burger King Europe (BKE) means Bridgepoint will now own Caspian UK Group, the franchisee of some 74 fast food outlets. Continue reading “Travers’ grip on Bridgepoint challenged as it wins Burger King franchise buyout”

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Reversal of fortunes – how three mid-tiers outgunned the City elite for a decade

Michael Chissick

It is dominated by mid-sized firms while global players and City leaders lag far behind. Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) sits in the third spot. You must scroll down nearly 40 positions before finding the likes of Linklaters and Clifford Chance.

It is not the chart for revenue, profits or partner earnings. It is a table of major British law firms’ organic growth over the last ten years, marking the period since the financial crisis. Continue reading “Reversal of fortunes – how three mid-tiers outgunned the City elite for a decade”

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Disputes Eye: Disclosure reform – time to err off the side of caution

It takes a brave soul to tackle the issue of extortionate disclosure in the UK, and finding the happy medium required to satisfy both fretting clients and sceptical lawyers is difficult.

But that is exactly what the Disclosure Working Group is attempting to do, introducing a wave of reforms in November that will run as a mandatory two-year pilot across the business and property courts in the Rolls Building, starting in 2018 subject to approval from the Civil Procedure Rules Committee. Continue reading “Disputes Eye: Disclosure reform – time to err off the side of caution”

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Letter from Paris: After the malaise, local counsel rediscover la joie de vivre

Paris

It was one of the defining moments of the year: on 7 May president-elect Emmanuel Macron strode towards the stage outside the Louvre to give his victory speech to Ode to Joy. Much has been written on what that moment meant for France as a more confident, globally-minded country. The triumph of a 39-year-old ex-banker who marked his success with the EU’s German-born anthem rather than La Marseillaise has done much to raise hopes in the French business community.

Rising confidence is obviously welcome for the profession with the French legal market remaining one of Europe’s key hunting grounds and – unlike Germany’s increasingly-price-sensitive sector – one that comfortably sustains Global 100-level profitability. Continue reading “Letter from Paris: After the malaise, local counsel rediscover la joie de vivre”

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Deal view: A&O does private equity – faint praise confounded but a plateau lurks

Allen & Overy

‘Since Stephen Lloyd joined Allen & Overy (A&O) its star has definitely risen in the world of private equity,’ says one rival partner. As wringing any non-contemptuous words from rivals in the thrusting world of leveraged finance is hard, this view counts as high praise.

The team had a bumper couple of years after Lloyd defected from Ashurst in 2013, shortly joined by ex-colleague Karan Dinamani. Their arrival augmented a practice that previously relied on Gordon Milne as its sole dedicated UK partner. The recruitment of Lloyd, which former senior partner David Morley took a personal hand in, was symbolic for a shop that until then seemed to view private equity (PE) as a conflict-strewn liability for its debt finance team rather than an opportunity for the M&A department. Continue reading “Deal view: A&O does private equity – faint praise confounded but a plateau lurks”

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A life in politics – the tricky art for law firm leaders of governing the ungovernable

Laura Empson

Laura Empson reflects on the confidence trick required of successful law firm leaders

Leaders, by definition, must have followers. This statement is axiomatic. But among lawyers it is not nearly as simple as that. In firms filled with highly-educated, independent thinkers, who do not like being told what to do, finding people who think of themselves as followers is not easy. And finding people who are happy to put themselves forward as leaders can be even harder. Continue reading “A life in politics – the tricky art for law firm leaders of governing the ungovernable”

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Any conversation is potentially significant – the emerging skills that will equip the best lawyers of the future

David Morley reflects on the impact of communication in professional services and opportunities for lawyers to improve

My guess is that a law firm partner or general counsel might have the opportunity for around 100 high-value conversations every year in their professional life. That is 100 out of the roughly 10,000 conversations the average adult will have each year. What do I mean by high value? A career-enhancing conversation that transforms a situation or a relationship for the better. It might be with a client, a fellow partner, an associate or someone else. Continue reading “Any conversation is potentially significant – the emerging skills that will equip the best lawyers of the future”

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The last word: 2017 – year in review

charles martin

More mergers, more Brexit and more uncertainty – law firm leaders reflect on the past 12 months and look ahead

Feeling hot

‘It has been a great year to be a private equity financing lawyer! The debt markets for leveraged finance have been hot, and our banking and high-yield team has advised sponsor clients on some of the largest and most complex financings in 2017. We expect this trend to continue with lots of liquidity being provided to fund buyouts from both private debt funds and the debt capital markets. It has been a strong market for the top US firms in London.’
Neel Sachdev, partner, Kirkland & Ellis Continue reading “The last word: 2017 – year in review”

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Client profile: Rushad Abadan, Standard Life Aberdeen

Rushad Abadan

The general counsel of the Scots-based investment giant reflects on the lessons of the financial crisis and what it takes to run a FTSE 100 legal team

Rushad Abadan always knew what he wanted to do with his life. ‘I always fancied the idea of being a lawyer, even at school. I was one of those people who was very clear about their career path early on. Happily for me it worked out.’ Continue reading “Client profile: Rushad Abadan, Standard Life Aberdeen”

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The edge of the cliff – Brexit response for worried GCs

For UK business, 2018 will be dominated by one question: when do we push the button on Brexit? Months of scenario planning have given a sense of the possible outcomes, but there is little confidence that a decision will be taken in full possession of the facts.

‘We are 500 or so days on from the referendum, and it is still not clear what the arrangements between the UK and the EU will be,’ notes Kirsty Cooper, group general counsel (GC) and company secretary at Aviva. ‘As GCs we are being asked to give our best guess, but the scale of the conjecture with Brexit is unusual.’ Continue reading “The edge of the cliff – Brexit response for worried GCs”

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Client Intelligence Report: Data view – Who provides better service among the world’s elite – US or UK law firms?

The chart below illustrates the overall key performance indicator (KPI) scores as defined by the Client Intelligence Report (www.clientintelligencereport.com), for 30 of the largest law firms in the world by size.

The overall KPI ratings show US firms are significantly outperforming their UK counterparts when it comes to client reviews. Of the 15 firms listed here, all but four exceed the average, while only one solely UK-headquartered firm hit comparable scores. Continue reading “Client Intelligence Report: Data view – Who provides better service among the world’s elite – US or UK law firms?”

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Who Represents Who: The data behind the story – AT&T and Time Warner

To the public dismay of AT&T’s chief executive Randall Stephenson and general counsel David McAtee, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has filed a lawsuit to block the company’s $85bn takeover of Time Warner, in a decision described by McAtee as an ‘inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent’. The DoJ insists that the deal would be likely to harm competition. A court battle looms.

The Legal 500’s Who Represents Who data shows both companies have engaged a broad range of law firms on a host of instructions in recent years, though the would-be-combined media giants have little in common in terms of who they turn to for advice, with only Arent Fox issued instructions for both in 2015 and 2016 in the same sector (TMT). Continue reading “Who Represents Who: The data behind the story – AT&T and Time Warner”

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Global Elite advise Siemens on €40bn German IPO of medical division

Latham & Watkins, Linklaters and Sullivan & Cromwell are all advising as German conglomerate Siemens plans to list its €40bn medical technology unit in what will be one of the largest IPOs in the country since Deutsche Telekom floated for €13bn in 1996.

The listing is slated for the first half of 2018 on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and will see Siemens create Siemens Healthineers, a spin-off of the company’s medical technology business. After the listing, Siemens will become the new company’s most significant shareholder. Continue reading “Global Elite advise Siemens on €40bn German IPO of medical division”

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Revolving doors: December shopping spree continues in lateral recruitment market

game of hoopla with lawyers

Lateral recruitment is mirroring the pre-Christmas deal rush after multiple firms announced multiple partner hires last week.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Fieldfisher, Pinsent Masons, CMS UK and Kennedys have all made lateral moves already this month, following a strong November for partner recruitment. Continue reading “Revolving doors: December shopping spree continues in lateral recruitment market”

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Signature boosts revenue 16% as dispute boutiques sustain their ascendency

RBS

City litigation specialist Signature Litigation has capped off a run of high-profile mandates to record a 16% uptick in revenue for the 2016/17 financial year.

The rise sees turnover climb to £11.95m. Under Signature’s profit-sharing scheme, 21% of profits were paid out to staff. Cumulative profits paid out by Signature over the last five years amount to 131% of salary. Signature’s structure sees ownership held more widely than the traditional equity partnership towards a co-operative model. Continue reading “Signature boosts revenue 16% as dispute boutiques sustain their ascendency”

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GC community to lose a heavyweight as BT’s Fitz steps down

Widely cited as one of the most influential and admired general counsel (GC) since Legal Business began covering the in-house legal market in earnest more than five years ago, BT GC Dan Fitz is stepping down after seven years to be replaced by former Anheuser-Busch InBev legal chief Sabine Chalmers.

A spokesperson confirmed Chalmers would join BT as GC in April next year, while Fitz (pictured), who has been BT GC since 2010, will remain on the executive committee as company secretary. Continue reading “GC community to lose a heavyweight as BT’s Fitz steps down”

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Goodbye lockstep – HSF latest City leader to give richer rewards for rainmakers

Herbert Smith Freehills

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has backed a shake-up of its partnership that will boost top performers’ earnings by a third, hiking plateau equity shares from 100 to 130 points.

The move substantially lengthens its core pay ‘ladder’ and paves the way for top City earners to take home well over £1.5m with bonuses. The overhaul comes just weeks after Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer voted through similar reforms. Continue reading “Goodbye lockstep – HSF latest City leader to give richer rewards for rainmakers”

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Clyde & Co, CMS and DAC Beachcroft pick up partners from an ailing Sedgwick

As US firm Sedgwick heads towards closure in the New Year, UK-based outfits Clyde & Co,  CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang and DAC Beachcroft have profited by picking up a number of partners.

DAC has hired a team comprising two partners and four associates from Sedgwick that will join its London office in January. This includes Mark Kendall, who led Sedgwick’s London international property and casualty team since 2010 and has also headed the firm’s Latin American group since 2014. Kendall’s practice has a strong focus on product recall and liability in sectors including food and pharmaceuticals. DAC confirmed that Kendall ‘shares a number of key clients’ with the firm. Continue reading “Clyde & Co, CMS and DAC Beachcroft pick up partners from an ailing Sedgwick”

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Addleshaws and Ashurst picked as favourites as GVC pitches in for Ladbrokes takeover

Addleshaw Goddard and Ashurst are acting as gaming and betting company GVC Holdings launches a proposed £3.9bn takeover of rival Ladbrokes Coral.

The proposed deal, announced today (7 December), would create a global online gambling group that the boards of the two companies claim would have strong growth prospects and an enhanced position in some of the world’s largest regulated online gaming markets, including the UK, Italy and Australia. Continue reading “Addleshaws and Ashurst picked as favourites as GVC pitches in for Ladbrokes takeover”

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Focus: A confident handover for its veteran MP but Taylor Wessing still faces some big decisions post-Eyles

With an three terms under his belt it was not a shock that Taylor Wessing’s UK managing partner Tim Eyles has ruled himself out of another run but the impending handover will still be a significant changing of the guard.

‘This is a firm where nine years is a very long time,’ says one partner. ‘Tim thought it was time for a new pair of hands on the job.’ Another adds: ‘Tim broke the mould in doing a third term. He has done a transformational job on the firm.’ Continue reading “Focus: A confident handover for its veteran MP but Taylor Wessing still faces some big decisions post-Eyles”