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TTIP: Arbitration moves into the limelight

Tom Moore looks at the US-EU free trade pact’s potential for arbitration

The rise of international arbitration has gone unhindered and under the radar, despite the proliferation of investor-state disputes that has seen investors sue governments for changing tax regimes, introducing austerity measures and implementing plain packaging for cigarettes. But negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) – a free-trade deal between the EU and US that will cover half of world trade – has changed that, throwing attention on a shift away from national courts and raising the potential for a boom in arbitration.

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Booming pharma sector delivers work to US firms’ City offices

M&A work in the pharmaceutical industry continued apace last month, with White & Case’s London office winning its first mandate from CVC Capital Partners, as the private equity firm led a club of investors in buying a controlling stake in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett-client Alvogen.

Although White & Case has a historic relationship with CVC stateside, the deal for the $2bn pharma company is the first to be led out of London for the European private equity fund, which has previously turned to a raft of firms for its corporate work, including Clifford Chance and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Private equity heavyweight Ian Bagshaw in London, alongside Oliver Brahmst from New York, led the firm’s team, which included New York partner Brian Smarsh and London partners Justin Wagstaff and Marcus Booth.

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Dickson Minto lands role alongside Proskauer Rose, A&O and Ashurst on $1.7bn ERM sale

The recent appetite of Canadian pension funds for high-quality assets was demonstrated again in June as Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, Proskauer Rose and Dickson Minto all won roles on the off-market, bilateral sale of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) to OMERS Private Equity and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).

The sale saw Charterhouse Capital Partners sell its stake in the $1.7bn business, turning to longstanding adviser Alastair Dickson from Dickson Minto, whose previous mandates for the private equity investment firm include acting on the company’s £1.35bn acquisition of Saga in 2004.

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Olswang to lose Berlin team in strategy reversal

Freshfields among firms in talks to take over the office

The last 12 months have been quite a whirlwind at Olswang. Following the surprise exit of chief executive David Stewart last autumn, the firm had only just appointed intellectual property (IP) partner Paul Stevens as its new chief executive in May, when last month its entire Berlin outpost announced it was splitting off.

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King & Spalding secures four-partner Ashurst team for Tokyo launch

Withers makes further Asia push with Japanese opening

King & Spalding chose Tokyo last month as its second base in Asia, hiring a team of Ashurst partners led by Tokyo managing partner John McClenahan to spearhead its launch, while private client specialist Withers also made moves in the region by establishing a Japanese tax practice.

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in June 2015

US CITY TEAMS TAKE LEAD ROLES ON GHG’S £1.5BN DEBT RESTRUCTURING

General Healthcare Group (GHG)’s £1.5bn debt restructuring, involving two commercial mortgage-backed securitisations (CMBSs), saw Paul Hastings’ London office win a role advising Capita Asset Services, which acted on behalf of the senior lenders. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy represented the junior lenders, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted for Barclays, which had roles both in the CMBSs and as counter-party to an interest rate swap. Sidley Austin and Clifford Chance acted for other swap counter-parties, while Simmons & Simmons acted for GHG.

 

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Taking the firm to the client – traditional rainmakers are gone

Simmons senior partner Colin Passmore argues a new breed of collaborators are the rainmakers of tomorrow

When I qualified (was it really 30 years ago?) I had this impression about how law firms worked. The partnership was made up of different people. There were the technical geniuses – the lawyers who were the equivalent of the rocket scientists at the investment banks. There were the managers who made things work, like meeting the deadlines. Then there were the rainmakers.

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Getting a grip on the ‘slippery ladder’ – women and law

Reed Smith’s Tamara Box argues the profession needs to fight the gender stereotypes that stop women advancing

Imagine, in sequence, a football player, a surveyor, a figure skater and a managing partner of a law firm – all without gender association. Were you able to do that? Now imagine a carpenter. When you have that image settled in your mind, tell me the colour of her hair.

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The Last Word: Progress Report

As part of our Global 100 report, law firm leaders give their assessment on how their firms are performing.

Self-efficiency

‘For us, the last year has been a continuation of a strategy we launched five or six years ago and was refreshed two years ago to provide some differentiation. There’s no doubt the market is better now than then and we’ve had the two mergers during that time. The intense pressure of cost efficiency on the industry has really benefited the firm generally by forcing us to look at the impact revisiting infrastructure can have on a law firm. During the last five years, the firm has saved €100m through its efficiency drive.’

Duncan Weston, managing partner, CMS Cameron McKenna

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Wragges in surprise union with mid-pack Canada firm to create 600-partner global player

There has been plenty of speculation about US and UK firms moving into Canada, but until now UK stalwart Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) had not been high up the list of suitors in the profession’s mind. Nevertheless, WLG this week made the surprise announcement that it is to combine with the sizeable Canadian practice Gowlings in a move that will create a 622-partner law firm across 18 cities. Continue reading “Wragges in surprise union with mid-pack Canada firm to create 600-partner global player”

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Global 100: Clifford Chance – The shoulders of giants

The trailblazing global law firm has had more than its share of knocks since the banking crisis. Will a popular new leader and strategic shake-up help Clifford Chance regain the magic?

‘There seems to be a point at every lunch and every cocktail party where the conversation turns to Clifford Chance. It always happens with conspiratorial whispers and knowing laughter, lawyers in City firms recount the latest tittle-tattle about the second largest firm in the world…

‘Why are people so obsessed with Clifford Chance? Because it is big? Because the lawyers are aggressive? Because the firm challenges City convention? Or it is because they are pioneers? Whether competitors know it or not, Clifford Chance has become a marker by which they measure themselves.’

Legal Business, June 1993

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Clause and effect – The arbitration backing Africa’s investment boom

As foreign investment into Africa grows, so does the demand for dispute resolution. We team up with Simmons & Simmons to assess how clients can get the best out of that crunch arbitration clause.

The attraction of Africa, and its abundance of natural resources, is undeniable. In 20 years, foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 853% from just over $6bn in 1994 to $57.2bn in 2013, compared to a global average of 466% growth. It is unsurprising then that the increase in African-related arbitration has been robust. Where international investment goes, disputes invariably follow.

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Asia: Mayer Brown to form local JV in Hong Kong as Cleary takes Shearman partner

Mayer Brown‘s Asia arm is in the final stages of forming an association with the Hong Kong office of Chinese firm Jingtian & Gongcheng, subject to regulatory approval from The Law Society of Hong Kong, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has hired Shearman & Sterling capital markets partner Shuang Zhao.

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Survival of the fittest

RBS’s James Tsolakis on why law firms must adapt

On so many levels, the business of law is changing and the velocity of change has never been greater. These changes are creating unforeseen tensions within law firms and they challenge some of the fundamental principles that have historically defined the legal profession in the UK, a profession characterised by a tradition of conservatism and consistency, which are both foundations on which the enduring stability of the profession was founded. Continue reading “Survival of the fittest”