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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”

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In-house: TSB brings in GE legal head to replace retiring Crichton

TSB Bank has hired a new general counsel (GC) from GE Renewable Energy to replace retiring GC Susan Crichton, who guided it through both an initial public offer (IPO) and subsequent takeover.

The Edinburgh-based bank has appointed Lorna Curry, GC at the Hydro arm of multinational conglomerate GE, to replace Crichton (pictured), who is set to retire early next year. Continue reading “In-house: TSB brings in GE legal head to replace retiring Crichton”

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Deal watch: HSF, Travers and Linklaters front of the queue on Intu acquisition as WFW picks up $2.3bn Asia energy project

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Travers Smith and Linklaters are all acting as retail property powerhouse Hammerson acquired its rival Intu for £3.4bn, meanwhile Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe have advised on a $2.3bn coal-fired power project in Vietnam.

Hammerson’s £3.4bn buyout of Intu will create a £21bn pan-European shopping mall giant and bring London’s Brent Cross, the Birmingham Bullring and Manchester’s Trafford Centre under single ownership. Continue reading “Deal watch: HSF, Travers and Linklaters front of the queue on Intu acquisition as WFW picks up $2.3bn Asia energy project”

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International growth drives Simmons’ H1 revenues up 12% despite tough conditions

jeremy hoyland

Building on respectable 2016/17 results, Simmons & Simmons has announced a 12% hike in its half-year revenues to £167.3m.

The figure is up considerably on last year’s H1 result of £149.4m, and comes after the 900-lawyer firm went on a recruitment drive adding 27 partners since May 2017 (including 13 promotions). Simmons managing partner Jeremy Hoyland told Legal Business: ‘The Middle East and continental Europe continue to do well, with France and Italy being our strongest performers. We have also seen a little bit of swing back towards the transactional areas.’ Continue reading “International growth drives Simmons’ H1 revenues up 12% despite tough conditions”

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Clifford Chance re-appoints Layton as managing partner – will the steady hand play as safe in his second term?

Clifford Chance (CC) has reappointed managing partner Matthew Layton for a second term.

Layton’s second term will run from 1 May 2018 for four years, coming after an uncontested election that reflects the substantial popularity he has at the City giant. Continue reading “Clifford Chance re-appoints Layton as managing partner – will the steady hand play as safe in his second term?”

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Eversheds Sutherland elects Thompson chair in second female C-suite move in City Law this week

Eversheds Sutherland has elected the first-ever female chair of its UK-based international business, with financial services product head Pamela Thompson chosen today (5 December) over ‘a number of very strong candidates’.

Thompson will take the position of chair of the Eversheds Sutherland International LLP for a term of four years from next May, after incumbent Paul Smith did not stand for re-election.  Her main areas of practice include investment fund structuring and establishment and financial services regulatory work. She said: ‘I am honoured to have been elected chair and I would like to thank my partners for the trust they have placed in me.’ Continue reading “Eversheds Sutherland elects Thompson chair in second female C-suite move in City Law this week”

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Double City disputes hire for Bracewell as energy specialist responds to client demand

Oil prices, energy

US energy firm Bracewell has hired a brace of arbitration partners to lead the launch of its London disputes practice.

Litigation and arbitration specialist Damian Watkin has joined the Houston-headquartered firm, best known for energy advisory, on Monday (4 December) from McDermott Will & Emery. He had only been a partner at McDermott since February 2017, before which he was a barrister in Jones Day’s global disputes practice for four years in Sydney and Dubai. Continue reading “Double City disputes hire for Bracewell as energy specialist responds to client demand”

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NRF appoints first female chair as City veteran Parish steps down

Norton Rose Fulbright

While Norton Rose Fulbright’s (NRF) chief executive Peter Martyr is closing in on two decades leading the firm, its C-suite will see a new face with Tricia Hobson becoming its first female chair and Stephen Parish stepping down as EMEA chair next spring.

NRF announced that Australia head Hobson will take over as global chair at the end of the year from the London-based Parish. Continue reading “NRF appoints first female chair as City veteran Parish steps down”

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Slater and Gordon to close four UK offices amid further upheaval

Capping off a challenging year, Slater and Gordon (S&G) is to close four of its UK offices as it seeks to consolidate its operations.

S&G, which saw its UK revenues for 2017 decline by 17%, told staff on Monday (27 November) that it plans to relocate employees from smaller regional outposts to the firm’s larger UK offices. The firm’s branches in Chester, Wrexham and Milton Keynes will be closed, while S&G’s Preston office will close when the lease on the premises runs out next summer. The firm currently has 14 offices in the UK. Continue reading “Slater and Gordon to close four UK offices amid further upheaval”

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Disputes round-up: Links and Milbank secure win on high-stakes Visa dispute as High Court rules against Morrisons on data breach

Linklaters and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy have successfully defended client Visa in a claim brought by Sainsbury’s, with Mr Justice Phillips ruling for the first time that interchange fees do not affect competition.

The case which concluded yesterday (30 November) initially saw a number of retailers led by the Arcadia Group claim that fees charged to them each time a customer pays using a credit or debit card breached UK and EU competition law. By the time of the closing submission in February, all claimants had settled except Sainsbury’s, which instructed Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Continue reading “Disputes round-up: Links and Milbank secure win on high-stakes Visa dispute as High Court rules against Morrisons on data breach”

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CC and partner Panayides fined £50,000 each by SDT over Excalibur saga

Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA

Clifford Chance (CC) and its disputes partner Alex Panayides have both been fined £50,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) for their involvement in the Excalibur professional negligence saga. The sanction is the first fine ever levied on one of London’s Magic Circle law firms.

Both Panayides and CC admitted to conducting High Court litigation under a conditional fee agreement which was ‘unlawful and unenforceable’, and they also admitted to producing an advisory document for a litigation funder ‘without disclosing that it had been drafted by one of the owners of the client’. Continue reading “CC and partner Panayides fined £50,000 each by SDT over Excalibur saga”