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Slaughters, Davis Polk and Skadden cash in on Shire’s biggest ever takeover

Dublin-headquartered Shire, took to the January sales with the $1.5bn it received in a break-fee from US pharma giant AbbVie following the collapse of their proposed $55bn tie-up late last year, securing the acquisition of biotech firm NPS Pharma.

The company returned to Slaughter and May, which drafted the AbbVie break-fee due to the political climate around tax inversion deals, to advise on the purchase of biotech NPS for $5.2bn. The deal is Shire’s largest-ever acquisition and comes amid increased pressure to deliver shareholder value.

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The firm most likely – can anything halt Latham’s global rise?

The most upwardly mobile member of the international elite has handed its leadership to a ‘global hawk’. Can anything halt the rise of Latham & Watkins?

At the end of a lengthy call mulling the prospects of Latham & Watkins amid a once-in-a-generation change of leadership, one Allen & Overy partner summarises: ‘They’re still doing better than we are though! Can you hand Bill [Voge] my CV when you see him!’

Indeed. To many neutral observers, Latham has been the most upwardly mobile firm in the upper echelons of the global legal market in the last 20 years, having transformed itself into an international force after deciding to go international in 2000. This rise was overseen by long-term head Bob Dell, one of the most forward thinking and admired leaders in the US legal market. Having led the firm for 20 years, Dell in January handed over as chair and managing partner to fellow Latham veteran Bill Voge (pictured).

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Birmingham’s £307m NEC sale puts the limelight on Eversheds, WLG and Gateley

Lloyds’ private equity arm acquires landmark event venue

Birmingham City Council brought in the New Year with one of its largest ever sales with Eversheds, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) and Gateley all winning mandates on the sale of the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) to Lloyds Banking Group’s private equity arm LDC.

WLG acted for the council on the £307m deal, which is for all NEC Group businesses except the leases of the Hilton Metropole and Crowne Plaza hotels. That included a 125-year lease for the NEC site itself plus a 25-year leasehold interest in the International Convention Centre and Barclaycard Arena. The transaction involved a substantial amount of property work as well as corporate aspects and saw Eversheds act for LDC, with Gateley for the management.

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Dentons becomes world’s most lawyered firm with Dacheng tie-up

Firms set to create a 6,600-lawyer, $1.7bn law firm giant

In a bid to create the world’s largest firm by lawyer headcount, Dentons is to combine with China’s biggest firm, Dacheng Law Offices, to form a 6,600-lawyer giant operating under a Swiss verein structure.

With offices across over 50 countries, combined revenues will be in the region of $1.7bn. At the end of the financial year 2013/14, Dentons’ turnover was $1.3bn, while Dacheng confirmed that its revenues currently stand at $400m, although revenues were reported to have hit just RMB1.78bn ($287m) in the 2013 financial year. The firm will have revenue per lawyer of $257,000, compared to $769,000 across the Global 100. Both partnerships confirmed the tie-up in late January, although at the time of press, both firms were awaiting approval from Chinese regulators.

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Withers targets Asia through new Australian presence

The end of 2014 saw two Legal Business 100 firms open international offices targeting new markets. Private client leader Withers launched in Australia, creating Withers SBL through an alliance with Sydney tax practice Balazs Lazanas & Welch (BLW) and Melbourne-based corporate boutique SBL Shmith, while Penningtons Manches set its sights on the US with the opening of its first overseas office in San Francisco’s financial district.

Withers has hired immigration law partner Rita Chowdhury to head up, on its side, the alliance with its Australian partners BLW, which was established in 2009 by three former Baker & McKenzie tax partners and SBL Shmith, a Melbourne boutique led by former Ashurst corporate partner Justin Shmith.

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Succession planning: RBS and Barclays lose their GCs

Last month saw both Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) put succession planning into place as global general counsel (GC) of corporate and investment banking at Barclays, Judith Shepherd, announced she would step down in the first half of 2015, while RBS’s group GC Chris Campbell was replaced as he prepares to retire.

Shepherd had risen steadily through the ranks, having joined as deputy group GC in 2006 from US firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she was a partner specialising in M&A, particularly public takeovers and cross-border securities issues.

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Client profile: Neil Harnby, Royal Mail Group

The postal service provider’s GC on unique legal work for an iconic British institution

As general counsel (GC) of Royal Mail, it would be fair to say that Neil Harnby’s corporate calendar over the last three years has been busier than most: a privatisation, a panel review, an inaugural corporate bond and an Ofcom-led Competition Act investigation are just some of the set-piece activities he has faced since joining the company in January 2012.

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The blessed – unheralded, Wall Street’s elite comes roaring back

New York’s legal elite re-asserted themselves through 2014, reaping the benefits of a bountiful market for high-end work. Have they done enough to preserve their legacies?

On a crisp September morning, the sun shines brightly from the newly refurbished rooftop offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 55 floors up on Park Avenue. There is no hustle on this terrace and time for a few photos of the stunning view. Even with the long trail of cars far below dividing the city, it is a calm place. The calm, of course, is utterly deceptive. 2014 was a breakthrough year for top Wall Street law firms. In the streets and offices in Midtown and Wall Street, the market is buzzing and no-one is benefiting more than the traditional legal lords of New York.

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Strangling the golden goose – English law needs reform

Slaughter and May’s Nigel Boardman, James Shirbin and Andrew Blake argue that English law needs drastic reform to remain internationally competitive

English law occupies a privileged position. Thanks in significant part to the City’s role as a major global financial centre, England has become the jurisdiction of choice for many enterprises and deals (and subsequent disputes) that may otherwise have little territorial connection to the UK. The primary beneficiaries of this happy arrangement have been London’s major commercial law firms, who have received a steady flow of major transactional and litigious work.

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New year, new privacy and security strategy

PwC Legal’s Stewart Room argues that 2015 is the year for companies and advisers to stop the denial of the realities of cyber security

New year is traditionally the time to change our ways. As we reflect back on the year just gone, perhaps we see that an inch has gone on to the waistline, or we’re more out of breath as we run for the train, or the savings have diminished even further. All good prompts to change our ways and come up with new life strategies?

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A crisis in law but not the one many claim

Akin Gump restructuring veteran James Roome argues those seeing a threat to the legal industry have mis-read the markets

Ever since the start of the financial crisis you haven’t had to look very far to find expert opinion pieces predicting the end of growth for law firms. The observer will tell you that this is because of the commoditisation of transactional services, the pressure of client expectations of price, staffing and delivery, new entrants in the market, cyclical downturns in the economy, challenging career paths, anti-social hours and so on.

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Dissent, it turns out, comes at a price even in disputes

Joe Tirado argues that dissenting opinions in arbitration are a double-edged sword

There are many so-called ‘hot’ topics in international arbitration that could have been the subject of this article, but ultimately the topic chose itself.

In arbitration, a dissenting opinion is a written statement that an arbitrator can make to express their disagreement with the award or the reasoning for it. It does not form part of the award. Nor is it a separate award. Under most arbitration legislation, it does not prevent the award from being final or from being an award.

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The Last Word: Done deals

With confidence in the M&A market slowly returning, the City M&A elite reflects on a positive year and give their prognosis for deal activity in 2015.

Fragile confidence

‘With the value of M&A activity hitting $3.7trn for 2014 and M&A activity increasing in almost every sector of the economy, confidence returned in spades last year and was the result of strategies adopted by companies since the financial crisis.

‘I expect the high value of deals to continue in 2015, but a combination of factors – including the general election in May, the price of oil and the effect of geopolitical risks on business confidence – make me wary of predicting another record year.’

David Patient, managing partner, Travers Smith

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What if ‘best practice’ is wrong?

Baker Tilly’s George Bull warns of possible flaws

There was once a poster at Watford Junction railway station, just outside London. Advertising the local shopping centre, it read: ‘Little blue dress, little blue dress, my life would be complete if only I could have that little blue dress.’ So it is with best practice: people within a firm readily incline to the view that, if they are adopting best practice, then professional life will be complete. What can possibly go wrong for the firm? Continue reading “What if ‘best practice’ is wrong?”

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London conference will highlight Jersey’s pivotal role as funds jurisdiction

Geoff Cook of Jersey Finance highlights the effects of the AIFMD on Jersey

Recent figures for Jersey’s funds sector show that business has reached its highest level in five years, with a strong upward trend in the alternative funds sector.

From a fund servicing point of view, as regulatory pressures ramp up the volume and complexity of reporting requirements, there is also expected to be a significant opportunity for Jersey’s specialist service providers to support lawyers and fund promoters onshore by meeting the demand for outsourced administration and governance requirements. Continue reading “London conference will highlight Jersey’s pivotal role as funds jurisdiction”

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Q&A: Heath Tarbert, US banking partner at A&O, talks competing for regulatory work and if US regulators are setting the pace

A year on from his move to Allen & Overy (A&O) from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, US bank regulatory head Heath Tarbert talks to Jaishree Kalia about the expanding influence of US regulators and why it’s easier for Magic Circle firms to compete for regulatory work.

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US financials 2014: Baker Botts grows revenues 11% as turnover picks-up at Dechert, McDermott and Goodwin Procter

Following Weil Gotshal & Manges’ impressive profit increase, other US firm numbers continue to paint a positive picture Stateside with Baker Botts recording 11% revenue growth while Dechert, Goodwin Procter and McDermott Will & Emery all see increased turnover.

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