Insurance head steps up as Burns switches roles
The partnership at Clyde & Co has avoided a divisive leadership contest as global head of insurance Simon Konsta won an uncontested election to become the firm’s new senior partner last month.
Dentons Nextlaw becomes largest global referral network of more than 290 firms
Dentons has officially launched its free-to-use Nextlaw Global Referral Network, signing up 291 firms to make the largest referral network by firm count in the world.
The network now has access to more than 19,000 lawyers in more than 160 countries. Scottish firms MacRoberts and Lindsays both joined, as well as offshore firms Ogier, Appleby, Carey Olsen and Walkers and more than 70 US firms.
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‘I didn’t see anyone not put their hand up’: CMS, Olswang, Nabarro vote for merger
Madeleine Farman, Matthew Field and Kathryn McCann speak to those inside and outside the fence
‘A merger was definitely going to happen. That was obvious when I was at CMS four years ago,’ a former CMS Cameron McKenna partner tells Legal Business. ‘It is another great scheme; I don’t feel that the firm’s brand has improved since I left. I know from people inside that the network, although they make a great show of it working well, doesn’t really work as well as it should.’
Norton Rose and DLA lose out as Lloyds finalises UK roster
Lloyds Banking Group panel shrinks from ten firms to eight
Last month saw DLA Piper and Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) lose out as Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) reduced its UK legal roster from ten to eight firms.
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Search for BP legal head begins as Bondy departs for Reckitt Benckiser
BP’s group general counsel (GC) Rupert Bondy, one of the most high-profile in-house leaders, is to step down from his role by the end of the year to head up Reckitt Benckiser (RB)’s global legal team as senior vice president (SVP), GC and company secretary.
Last month BP announced internally that Bondy would step down at the end of 2016 to pursue another opportunity, with no current replacement for the role.
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Freshfields and Linklaters lead on largest post-Brexit IPO
ConvaTec’s $1.8bn float bright spot in a subdued autumn market
Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are advising on medical products company ConvaTec’s anticipated $1.8bn initial public offering (IPO).
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Skadden impresses as it takes lead on Abbey Life acquisition
US firm takes first-time instruction from Freshfields client Phoenix
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is in line for a windfall after taking the lead role advising on Phoenix Group Holdings’ proposed £935m acquisition of Abbey Life Assurance Company from Deutsche Bank, pocketing a significant chunk of £17m in fees in the process.
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Hogan Lovells becomes third firm to launch in Shanghai Free-Trade Zone
Association with Fidelity Law to lead to joint office offering Chinese law advice
Hogan Lovells is the third international law firm to enter the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone (FTZ) after agreeing an association with local outfit Fujian Xiamen Fidelity Law Firm in October.
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The M&A Report: To have and to have not
A frenetic 2015 has given way to a subdued deal market. LB assesses the outlook and asks which of the City’s deal teams have the individuals to win lucrative top-end work… and escape the squeezed mid-market
Amid a global economy experiencing considerable turbulence, 2015 was still a fantastic time to be an M&A partner at one of the City’s top law firms. A run of record-breaking deals. Check. Easy finance. Check. London strongly positioned as a finance hub, the UK economy moving back into recovery and a newly-elected pro-business Conservative government. Check, check and check.
‘Each market is different’: Dentons’ Australian tie-up delayed
Melbourne office unlikely following Singapore closure
Dentons’ tie-up with Australian firm Gadens, announced a year ago, has been delayed, with Dentons confirming Gadens’ Melbourne office is now unlikely to join.
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The Finance View: Global firms jostle for position in panda bond market
Victoria Young reviews how global firms are positioning themselves to cash in on a market on the cusp
As the internationalisation of China’s currency continues, global firms are making much of the pioneering Yankee bond-style deals in the Chinese market, eyeing opportunities in the orient and beyond.
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The M&A Report: Private equity offers the clients for all seasons
Market turbulence looks likely to only send the private equity bandwagon spinning faster… for those who can get on board
Markets can charge up or down, banking crises come and go, but it seems that it will take more than a little turmoil, uncertainty or even the spectre of Brexit to stop the rising influence of private equity and sponsors in Europe’s deal markets.
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The M&A Report: Postcards from the edge
We canvassed M&A veterans for their reflections on a changing environment for advisers as Brexit and uncertainty loom over Europe’s deal markets
‘The competition aspects of these deals are becoming more involved. If the government were to throw some grit into the works it could slow things down here.’
Charles Martin, Macfarlanes
Takeovers to come
‘What you have seen over the past 18 months is a larger number of major deals fall over, such as alliburton/Baker Hughes. There is no doubt antitrust has become harder in mega M&A, due to the number of jurisdictions you now have to file in and increased scrutiny from regulators. Parties to these deals have to have the appetite to live with a long gap between announcement and closing and be prepared to make divestments of the type we have seen in AB InBev/SABMiller. There are only a handful of top global firms that can provide the EU, US and Chinese antitrust advice on these type of deals.
We are confident there will be further foreign takeovers of UK plcs given the fall in sterling. Notwithstanding ongoing uncertainty around Brexit and the US elections, we are encouraged that the M&A landscape is quite well set for a stronger second half of the year.’
Charlie Jacobs, senior partner, Linklaters
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Outside the Box: Can Reed Smith’s new Euro heads take the firm’s London practice to the next level?
Georgiana Tudor and Victoria Young talk to Tamara Box and Andrew Jenkinson about competing in the London market
Three years ago, Legal Business noted that an upwardly-mobile Reed Smith was, in its own understated fashion, making notable strides in the City under EMEA head Roger Parker. The London office had been performing well on the back of investment in lateral hires to develop its key sector groups. In 2012, London revenues jumped 21% to £114.7m from £94.5m, with Parker predicting UK revenues of $200m for 2013.
The M&A Report
In a tough year for the deals market who will step up?
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- The M&A Report: To have and to have not
- The M&A Report: Postcards from the edge
- The M&A Report: Private equity offers the clients for all seasons
- The M&A Report: ‘Who Are Ya?’ – Mark Rawlinson: Freshfields’ playmaker leaves the pitch
- Rising Star: Charles Hayes, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Rising Star: Victoria Sigeti, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Rising Star: Alison Smith, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Rising Star: David Avery-Gee, Linklaters
- Rising Star: Matt Bland, Linklaters
- Rising Star: Rob Innes, Slaughter and May
- Rising Star: Chris McGaffin, Slaughter and May
Rising Star: David Avery-Gee, Linklaters
Key clients: Glencore, Lloyds Banking Group, Alinda
Partner since 2011
I always wanted to do M&A. I used to look at the financial papers at university and was always interested in the deals. As a Linklaters trainee I decided very quickly I wanted to do corporate. I enjoyed the transactions and being at the centre of client relationships.
Rising Star: Rob Innes, Slaughter and May
Key clients: Shell, Mediclinic, RSA, Dentsu Aegis, Remgro, Priceline
Partner since 2015
I went into law on gut feel. A non-law student who studied history and French. When you start thinking about getting in the City and what would suit my skillset, law felt like the natural choice.
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Rising Star: Matt Bland, Linklaters
Key clients: Friends Life, Julius Baer, Novartis, Lloyds Banking Group
Partner since 2008
Why corporate? The sheer variety. The access to senior decision-makers in clients was fantastic.
Rising Star: Chris McGaffin, Slaughter and May
Key clients: ARM Holdings, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Shire, Aggreko, WS Atkins
Partner since 2015
As a grammar school boy from Northern Ireland, I had two choices: lawyer or doctor, or I would get thrown out of the house. I did work experience at 15 at the local hospital. When I saw what the junior doctors had to do, I decided being a lawyer was for me.
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Rising Star: Charles Hayes, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Key clients: CVC Capital Partners, Charterhouse Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Middle East sovereign wealth funds
Partner since 2016
F1 is a big one for me [Hayes led on the Formula One sale to Liberty Media Corporation in September]. Particularly as a partner having tracked through the 2012 IPO attempt in Singapore. It’s a huge deal to do and one of great professional pride in the first few months of partnership.
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