Posted on

In-house: Aviva appoints new UK insurance head as RBS ends search for legal operations chief

FTSE 100 insurer Aviva has appointed former Bupa UK legal director Alison Gammon as its UK Insurance general counsel (GC) following the departures of Aviva UK Life GC and company secretary Monica Risam and Tim Vickers, who led Aviva’s General Insurance legal team.

Aviva recently brought its UK Life Assurance and UK General Insurance businesses together as UK Insurance, with Gammon now heading the combined legal team. Prior to joining Bupa in 2013 and becoming its UK legal director in 2015, Gammon worked at Legal & General as international legal director for nine years and was a senior associate in Allen & Overy’s financial institutions team. Continue reading “In-house: Aviva appoints new UK insurance head as RBS ends search for legal operations chief”

Posted on

Ashurst and Hogan Lovells win roles on Palmer & Harvey administration as takeover plan goes up in smoke

City firms have landed lead mandates on the administration of beleaguered British tobacco wholesaler Palmer & Harvey (P&H) following the collapse of a rescue takeover by The Carlyle Group.

Ashurst and Hogan Lovells are advising administrator PwC, which was brought in when a sale process that would see US buyout giant Carlyle acquire the ailing business fell over. Continue reading “Ashurst and Hogan Lovells win roles on Palmer & Harvey administration as takeover plan goes up in smoke”

Posted on

‘Opportunistic’: Sidley Austin taps Simpson Thacher for brace of London private equity lawyers

With demand for City-based buyout specialists greater than ever, Sidley Austin is making good on its strategy of bolstering its European private equity practice with the hire of two lawyers from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s highly-rated practice in London.

Wim De Vlieger had been counsel since 2007 and Till Lefranc an associate at Simpson Thacher since 2008. The pair will become partners and will start at Sidley’s London office within the next two months. Continue reading “‘Opportunistic’: Sidley Austin taps Simpson Thacher for brace of London private equity lawyers”

Posted on

International doubles – Bird & Bird and Herbert Smith Freehills open new hubs in Amsterdam and Sydney

Bird & Bird continues to invest in its international operations, launching its second Dutch office in Amsterdam 16 years after opening in The Hague.

However the new base, operative in January 2018, will not have any permanent staff but act as a hub for the firm’s lawyers to meet with Amsterdam-based clients as well as providing a flexible working space. Continue reading “International doubles – Bird & Bird and Herbert Smith Freehills open new hubs in Amsterdam and Sydney”

Posted on

Clifford Chance partner Panayides to face SDT over Excalibur involvement

Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA

In another twist in the Excalibur professional negligence saga and a clear sign of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) clamping down on lawyers at the City’s top firms, a case management hearing over Clifford Chance (CC) disputes partner Alex Panayides took place at Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) on Friday (24 November) following an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

First reported on RollOnFriday and according to a daily cause list published by the SDT, the hearing over Panayides took place at midday, with the SRA being represented by Capsticks litigator Daniel Purcell. Continue reading “Clifford Chance partner Panayides to face SDT over Excalibur involvement”

Posted on

‘Meagre and inadequate’: Hammond’s Budget sees £600m stripped from Ministry of Justice

While yesterday’s (22 November) lukewarm autumn Budget saw fresh cash boosts handed out to the NHS and Ministry of Defence (MoD), chancellor Phillip Hammond’s financial forecasts revealed a £600m reduction in Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spending by 2019/20.

Hammond’s plans show that the budget for the MoJ for the 2017/18 financial year stands at £6.6bn, but that figure slips to £6.2bn for 2018/19 and then £6bn for 2019/20. The £600m reduction in funding represents a 9% drop. Continue reading “‘Meagre and inadequate’: Hammond’s Budget sees £600m stripped from Ministry of Justice”

Posted on

Sector focus vindicated for Watson Farley & Williams as it maintains pace with 13% H1 revenue surge

After quietly establishing itself as one of the LB100’s strongest performers in the last financial year, Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has recorded a 13% jump in its 2017/18 half-year revenues.

Turnover for the first half of the financial year to 31 October has grown to £76.1m, which is up from £67.6m on the previous year. WFW co-managing partner Chris Lowe (pictured) argued that the strong result was ‘clear evidence of the success of our industry sector-focused model despite a challenging macro-economic environment.’ Continue reading “Sector focus vindicated for Watson Farley & Williams as it maintains pace with 13% H1 revenue surge”

Posted on

Cleary Gottlieb makes London disputes play as Herbert Smith Freehills loses seasoned partner

The continued dominance of US firms in the City lateral market shows no sign of slowing, with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton yesterday (20 November) bringing in experienced disputes partner James Norris-Jones from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to its office in the capital.

Norris-Jones, who was made a partner at HSF in 2012, has a broad practice that encompasses High Court litigation as well as arbitration. His arrival will boost Cleary’s already well-established London disputes team, comprising partners Sunil Gadhia, Jonathan Kelly, Christopher Moore, David Sabel and Romano Subiotto QC. Continue reading “Cleary Gottlieb makes London disputes play as Herbert Smith Freehills loses seasoned partner”

Posted on

Financials 2017/18: CMS claims 25% profit hike post-merger as DWF’s top line grows 23%

car following road sign to global britain

CMS UK has today (20 November) claimed profits have grown 25% in the six months since its three-way merger with Nabarro and Olswang. Meanwhile, DWF’s unrelenting push internationally has seen turnover grow 23% at the H1 2017/18 stage.

Following its tripartite merger on 1 May this year, CMS said H1 turnover for its UK business was more than 50% of its full-year budget, at £253m. Continue reading “Financials 2017/18: CMS claims 25% profit hike post-merger as DWF’s top line grows 23%”

Posted on

Second Ashurst partner exit this week as disputes specialist Giaretta joins Mishcon de Reya

Ashurst has seen its partner bench further diminished with the departure of disputes stalwart Ben Giaretta to Mishcon de Reya.

Giaretta – who joined Ashurst in 1999 – was made up to partner in 2009 and headed its Asian arbitration team out of Singapore for seven years. He moved back to the firm’s London office last year. Continue reading “Second Ashurst partner exit this week as disputes specialist Giaretta joins Mishcon de Reya”

Posted on

The Brexit effect: Bristows to open first international office in 180-year history with Brussels launch

pop art woman with the word Brexit reflected in her sunglasses lens

Technology and life sciences specialist Bristows is to open in Brussels next year in a move that underlines the impact of Brexit on City stalwarts.

In what will be its first move overseas in its 180-year history, Bristows’ EU regulatory and competition lawyers will be using the new office from March 2018 as a base for representing international clients on EU law, with the firm currently not planning to recruit any new partners to work there full-time. Continue reading “The Brexit effect: Bristows to open first international office in 180-year history with Brussels launch”

Posted on

Dentons targets in-house lawyers as it adds new consultancy service to Nextlaw family

Dentons has embarked on yet another chapter in its experimentation with the legal services model as the 8,000-lawyer giant announced the launch of Nextlaw In-House Solutions yesterday (15 November).

The fifth service line to come out of the firm’s spin-off Nextlaw business, the new consultancy service will see 50 of the firm’s lawyers – all former GCs – advise existing in-house lawyers on matters including procurement for panels, relationship with the c-suite and use of technology. Continue reading “Dentons targets in-house lawyers as it adds new consultancy service to Nextlaw family”

Posted on

‘A milestone’: Keystone becomes third UK law firm to float on London Stock Exchange

Following the trail blazed by Gateley two years ago and Gordon Dadds this summer, New Law player Keystone will become the third UK law firm to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with shares to begin trading on 27 November priced at 160 pence per share.

Mid-market challenger firm Keystone Law, which will raise £15m from joining AIM, is valued at £50m and will be known as Keystone Law Group Plc. Panmure Gordon has been instructed by the firm to act as financial adviser, nominated adviser and broker. Continue reading “‘A milestone’: Keystone becomes third UK law firm to float on London Stock Exchange”

Posted on

Comment: What’s the point of Baker McKenzie? (And does Paul Rawlinson have an answer?)

Paul Rawlinson

Ever wonder what Baker McKenzie is waiting for? The firm once had a crystal clear market position as the only major commercial practice that got anywhere near being truly globalised. And while the sprawling nature of the network meant a 20-year battle to shrug off the franchise tag, Bakers has long achieved polished mid-market credibility in many key jurisdictions. While it was never a threat to the US and London elite, the logic for an emerging giant to handle the mid-stream work for global plcs speaks for itself. Yet Bakers has continually fallen short of its own rhetoric.

Having been an international trailblazer, growth has been pedestrian for a decade now and there is too little evidence of the oft-promised push up the value chain. Continue reading “Comment: What’s the point of Baker McKenzie? (And does Paul Rawlinson have an answer?)”

Posted on

Letter from… Frankfurt: Where political deadlock is fine for business… but not all lawyers

What a difference a few hundred miles can make: an election not resulting in a clear majority; a government polling much worse than expected; a leader weakened; and complicated negotiations ahead. In London, such headlines spell uncertainty, prudence, even panic.

While any poll in the UK fills its legal community with trepidation, the Germans reacted to the results of the federal election on 24 September by either stressing that no-one should overestimate the impact of politics on business or by saying it was good news. Says Georg Seyfarth, veteran corporate partner of German blueblood Hengeler Mueller: ‘Building the coalition will be difficult and it will take time. However, eventually we will see a “Jamaica coalition”, which will be good for businesses. The M&A market will not be affected.’ Continue reading “Letter from… Frankfurt: Where political deadlock is fine for business… but not all lawyers”

Posted on

Ashurst sees second City corporate departure to US firm in as many weeks

Ashurst’s beleaguered M&A practice has received a fresh blow as corporate partner Dominic Ross departs for the City office of White & Case.

Ross’ exit from Ashurst’s corporate practice marks the second in as many weeks to a US firm in London after it was announced that partner James Wood would join Sidley Austin in London two weeks ago (30 October). Continue reading “Ashurst sees second City corporate departure to US firm in as many weeks”

Posted on

Freshfields ushers in sweeping reforms to ditch heritage as lockstep shop in hugely symbolic move

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has pushed through a wholesale overhaul of its partnership structure that will see top earners bringing home as much as five times its most junior equity partners.

The move – which was backed in a partners’ vote concluding today (14 November) – will see Freshfields’ core equity range widen from between 17.5 points and 50 points to between 12 points and 60 points, though the ‘core ladder’ will run from 12 to 40 points. Continue reading “Freshfields ushers in sweeping reforms to ditch heritage as lockstep shop in hugely symbolic move”

Posted on

Revolving doors: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher continues City push as Bird & Bird hires in Europe

The push by leading US firms in London has continued in the past week, with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher the latest to strengthen its City cohort with a senior hire from a regulator, while Bird & Bird strengthened its international ranks with a lateral hire in Denmark.

Gibson Dunn bolstered its UK disputes and white-collar crime capabilities with the hire of Sacha Harber-Kelly. He joins from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), where he worked for 10 years, most recently as a prosecutor in the anti-corruption and bribery division. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Gibson Dunn & Crutcher continues City push as Bird & Bird hires in Europe”

Posted on

Fieldfisher sets pace again with 20% H1 growth as it unveils more key hires

After a string of international office openings and staking a claim as one of the fastest growing firms in the LB100, Fieldfisher has announced a 20% rise in turnover in its half-year results for 2017/18.

The firm’s half-year revenue is £76.8m, up from £64.1m. The figure excludes turnover from all the Swiss Verein members and covers Fieldfisher’s offices in the UK, Silicon Valley, Paris, Brussels and Germany This represents a significant uptick in the top line from the two previous years: in 2016/17, revenue was up 10% at the H1 stage, while the firm posted an 8% rise the year previous. Continue reading “Fieldfisher sets pace again with 20% H1 growth as it unveils more key hires”

Posted on

‘Rationalisation and upgrade’: CMS UK sublets legacy Nabarro and Olswang headquarters

Six months into the UK’s largest ever legal merger, CMS has signed deals to sublet most of legacy Nabarro and Olswang’s London offices.

Lloyds Bank has today moved into Nabarro’s former premises at 125 London Wall, while University College London (UCL) and US law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan have taken four of Olswang’s five floors at 90 High Holborn. Continue reading “‘Rationalisation and upgrade’: CMS UK sublets legacy Nabarro and Olswang headquarters”