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Linklaters PE team scores first-time instruction from BC Partners

Linklaters landed its first mandate from private equity (PE) house BC Partners at the end of July, with PE partners Alex Woodward and Vincent Ponsonnaille leading on a $1.6bn deal for a majority stake in Israeli furniture makerKeter Plastic.

BC, which has traditionally usedDickson Minto, turned toLinklaters as it trumped rivals The Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners to acquire an 80% stake inKeter from the Sagol family. Woodward and Ponsonnaille worked alongside Linklaters finance partners Brian Gray and Kathryn Merryfield, and tax partner Édouard Chapellier.

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Fighting back – a golden opportunity to take on the Big Four in tax services

Bakers City head Alex Chadwick argues that law firms are increasingly primed to take core tax work off Big Four rivals

As the international tax framework becomes subject to increased scrutiny and legal change, the demand for strategic global advice has never been stronger. In the UK, law firms have traditionally played second fiddle to the Big Four accountants when advising on tax. Today, however, law firms with the right infrastructure are incredibly well positioned to take more of a leading role in the tax affairs of their clients. This is down to a combination of greater regulation of audit services, tougher restrictions on the provision by accounting firms of non-audit services, such as tax, valuation and legal services and deregulation of the legal profession.

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Tokyo deal wave anticipated following SoftBank’s £24.3bn ARM takeover

Lawyers working on the £24.3bn ARM Holdings takeover by Tokyo-based telecoms group SoftBank expect more M&A deals to come out of Japan after Slaughter and May, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) scored roles on the deal.

Slaughters advised its long-term client, chip designer ARM, on the largest-ever acquisition of a European tech business. Senior partner Steve Cooke led on the deal alongside corporate partner Chris McGaffin and Brussels competition partner Jordan Ellison. Davis Polk worked alongside Slaughters advising ARM, with a team including managing partner Thomas Reid and London-based corporate partner Reuven Young.

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A Brexit veto? The best-laid plans for Scotland’s future in the UK and in the EU

Brodies’ Christine O’Neill looks at the constitutional and legal position north of the border

It might be premature to say that the dust has settled on the result of the EU referendum. Although the initial shock of the outcome has worn off, there has been ongoing upheaval with a change of prime minister, the abrupt ending (and revival) of several political careers and the launch of a leadership challenge within the opposition.

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The Last Word – Place your bets

‘People want to be in a firm that is winning better work and achieving better results. There’s been a shift in expectation levels.’

Juan Picón, DLA Piper

From post-Brexit investment to the threat of accountants, LB100 leaders tell us how the cards are stacked


Moving quickly

‘As a firm which is investing outside the UK, the cost of investment has gone up, but the returns have also gone up, so you’ve got to put a premium on being able to identify the right opportunities and be able to get return back quickly. When times are uncertain people often try to hang on to cash.’

Peter Hasson, chief executive, Clyde & Co

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The Legal Business 100 2016

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No more Taylor Who? Flair and a bit of vision take Taylor Wessing to next step but what now?

Matthew Field and Victoria Young talk to Taylor Wessing head Tim Eyles and assess the firm’s prospects

‘When Tim Eyles took over there was a sea change,’ says one Taylor Wessing partner of their firm’s high-profile UK managing partner. ‘What you need as a leader is clear vision and Tim’s vision of how important it is to be global and focused and to have a culture that recognises achievement is key.’

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in July and August 2016


US ELITE LEAD AS VERIZON TAKES YAHOO! FOR $4.8BN

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are among a host of US firms advising on Verizon Wireless’ much-anticipated acquisition of Yahoo!. Wachtell, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Covington & Burling and Winston & Strawn are acting for Verizon. Skadden, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Weil, Gotshal & Manges are advising Yahoo!, while Cravath, Swaine & Moore is acting for the strategic review committee of Yahoo! as its independent legal adviser.

 

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Recasting finance at Freshfields: high ambition married with gently lowered expectations

Victoria Young and Madeleine Farman analyse the changes in Freshfields’ finance practice

‘I could have spent another ten years punching the clock but I wanted to build a business, and do more than just be another Freshfields [Bruckhaus Deringer] banking partner,’ reflects one former hand at the Magic Circle firm. It’s a refrain that strikes a chord among the sizeable group of notable finance practitioners who have plied their trade at Fleet Street over the years.

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Osborne Clarke continues Asia phase of international expansion with Singapore tie-up

Formal association with former Bird & Bird partner forms OC Queen Street

Last month saw Legal Business 100 top 25 firm Osborne Clarke (OC) continue the ‘second phase’ of its international growth by entering into a formal association with new Singaporean firm, OC Queen Street. Set up by a former partner of Bird & Bird ATMD, Chia-Ling Koh, OC Queen Street will focus on IT, data and IP, and will initially serve clients in the digital and fintech sectors. Koh will be joined later in the year by further partners and support staff.

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The Italian job: Dentons opens in Rome a year after Milan launch

With its sights currently set on deepening its European coverage, Dentons has expanded its presence in Italy by opening an office in Rome, its second branch in the country in less than 12 months.

After launching in Milan in October last year, Dentons has opened the Rome office with hires made earlier this year in Milan, including antitrust partner Michele Carpagnano and corporate partner Luca Pocobelli as well as a team of associates.

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Case study: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

By some margin the strongest-performing Magic Circle firm for the 2015/16 year, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer posted 7% revenue growth from £1.245bn to £1.327bn and an 8% profit per equity partner (PEP) hike to £1.47m from £1.37m.

This performance is particularly impressive after a year of investment. The firm pushed hard on the development of its legal services hub in 2015, gaining the lease to its Manchester office in July last year. Rapidly scaled up, Freshfields’ Manchester staff will move into new premises double the size of the current office from early 2017, accommodating legal services staff as well as human resources, IT, marketing and business development, office management, document specialists and change management. Plans are already underway to open a second legal services hub in either the US or Canada to offer a 24-hour service to clients. Continue reading “Case study: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer”

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Case study: Berwin Leighton Paisner

Had merger talks earlier this year with Miami-based Global 100 firm, Greenberg Traurig, been successful, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) would now be part of a £1.1bn firm and a £5m fall in revenue would look like a drop in the ocean. As it is, BLP’s strategy is under scrutiny again with its recent revival looking short-lived.

Revenue fell 2% at BLP in 2015/16 to £254m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) was more positive with 4% growth to £687,000. This is in sharp contrast to the rapid growth of the previous financial year, when revenue rose 5% to hit a record £259m and PEP surged 22% to £661,000. Continue reading “Case study: Berwin Leighton Paisner”

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Case study: Mishcon de Reya

The standout performer from this year’s second 25 is once again Mishcon de Reya which, along with Macfarlanes, has been the pace setter in this peer group over the last five years. The firm has come a long way since it first made its debut into the top 50 four years ago in 2012. Over five years, revenue has climbed more than 100% from £65m.

Mishcon revealed robust profits for the 2015/16 financial year, with profit per equity partner (PEP) up 11% to £1m as global revenue grew to £132.7m from £116.7m, an increase of 14%. The firm did, however, this year downsize its Manhattan practice to focus on IP. As such, New York revenue came in at £4.8m, a considerable drop given the business in recent years generated upwards of £13m.

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Case study: TLT

‘We want to be a top 50 law firm. We have the trappings, but we’re not quite there yet.’ So said TLT managing partner David Pester to Legal Business three years ago. This year that ambition has been realised, with the Bristol-based law firm entering the top 50 for the first time.

TLT continued its strong growth trajectory in 2015/16, posting a 15% increase in turnover to £71.6m while profit per equity partner (PEP) was up 10% to £253,000. Overall, the firm has grown in turnover 65% from £43.3m over the last five years, particularly impressive considering the firm’s place in the squeezed national mid-market.

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Case study: Bond Dickinson

National player Bond Dickinson had a disappointing year financially, with turnover down 3% to £104m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) has also dropped 3% to £275,000, a stark contrast to the firm’s performance in last year’s Legal Business 100, where PEP soared 26% to £284,000 and turnover climbed 8% to £107m. Blaming the results on a harder mid-market and significant IT investment, managing partner Jonathan Blair says that despite the tougher conditions, real estate, private client and transport all performed particularly well.

‘Real estate was strong for us – on the operational property side, on the investor side, on the house building side,’ he says. ‘Private wealth has always been an area for us that has been very reliable. It seems to be able to withstand the vagaries you get in litigation, which tends to be counter cyclical, or M&A activity or any transactional activity. Private wealth is always pretty strong – we have grown that and worked hard on it.’

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Going long: a ten-year view of the LB100

While headline figures for revenue, profit and headcount in this year’s LB100 confirm another year of subdued trading, a look at how the top 100 UK-based firms by revenue have performed overall since the halcyon, pre-credit crisis days of 2006 makes interesting viewing. Not least as they are testament to the inherent strength of the industry, despite the hurdles it has seemingly faced in ten years. We also look at 2011 as a five-year mid-point, the stage when the global financial crisis had started to ebb. Continue reading “Going long: a ten-year view of the LB100”