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Leadership in law: improving, crucial and maybe in the nick of time

Strong leadership is fundamental to driving innovation in law firms. This is not a discussion point. There is no discussion. This issue, Legal Business teamed up with Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) for an extended look at the role of leadership in a period of uncertainty and the strength of that core conclusion surprised even me.

While it’s not surprising that law firm leaders hold that view – it would be odd if they didn’t – it was more telling that clients did as well. But the real acid test is the overwhelming endorsement of the need for robust leadership from partners and associates in our research. As this involves partners downplaying their own contribution – which they are neither culturally inclined nor structurally incentivised to do – that’s saying something.

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Never mind the magic, feel the substance

During its 125th anniversary year, Slaughter and May still divides the industry like no other institution. For its admirers, it is the standard bearer, bucking the received wisdom of the modern legal market – for detractors, an outfit on borrowed time, hoping to bet against the market (with an unhedged bet at that).

But 17 years since it first articulated what became irritatingly known as its best friends strategy, there remains no clear answer as to which camp is right.

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Gang aft agley – relief for Scots lawyers but indy vote is hard on mice an’ men

It was late in the day, as opinion polls narrowed alarmingly, that English lawyers took notice of Scotland’s independence vote last month and entertained the huge implications of a split in the UK’s 300-year-old union.

As several major Scottish institutions warned they would relocate operations to London, sterling buckled and one mortgage-backed securities deal went so far as to exclude Scots real estate, the implications began to sink in for business.

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Signature Litigation grows revenues 70% to £8m and unveils team profit-sharing model

High-flying disputes boutique Signature Litigation has seen its revenue surge by 70% from £4.82 to £8.17m in 2013/14, despite having only launched two years ago, while profit margins are estimated at 50%. The firm has also taken an innovative approach by operating an all-inclusive, fully transparent, profit-sharing model.

Founded by former Hogan Lovells partners Graham Huntley and Helen Brannigan, the 30-member firm has seen some substantive disputes mandates come its way since its inception, taking on a role in the heavyweight Fortress v Blue Skye litigation, a dispute that arose out of the reorganisation of the €200m Blue Skye Investment Group in Italy. Listed for trial over 12 weeks from May this year, Signature represented the defendant Blue Skye while Slaughter and May and DAC Beachcroft acted for Fortress Value Recovery Fund. ‘There can be no more testing mandate for a niche firm than taking on a massive case of that nature in mid-course against two very well-resourced opponents,’ said Huntley.

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Linklaters wins best firm in show from annual in-house survey

In what signals a marked return to favour for the City’s elite players, Magic Circle firm Linklaters has led the field in Legal Business‘ third annual in-house survey as best overall adviser in 2014, pushing Eversheds, which emerged as the clear overall favourite in 2013, into second place.

Our 2014 survey, which drew responses from 436 individuals at major companies operating in the UK, reveals the top ten firms comprise largely the same names as last year, with the Magic Circle plus Eversheds, DLA Piper, Pinsent Masons and Baker & McKenzie all appearing. The only significant change was alternative legal services provider Axiom taking the tenth spot, pushing Herbert Smith Freehills into 11th place, demonstrating how non-law firm providers are winning over some bluechip clients.

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Herbert Smith Freehills’ heavyweight misses out on management post after elections

Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) partnership vote for its global partnership council has revealed the firm’s post-merger dynamics, with prominent corporate partner James Palmer missing out on a seat, which instead was secured by Sydney-based M&A partner Mark Crean.

Three spots were available on the council, which is led by London-based senior partner Jonathan Scott. One place was designated for an EMEA (excluding UK) partner, which Madrid-based Nicolás Martín – head of private equity in Spain and co-head of corporate – took, while another was reserved for Asia, with Hong Kong litigator Gareth Thomas elected. That saw Palmer entering into the contest for the final position with a pool of candidates from the UK and Australia.

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When will the US become a land of opportunity for Freshfields?

Tom Moore looks at Freshfields’ recent expansion in Manhattan

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has made growing its US practice its number one priority and the firm has even stepped on a few Wall Street toes in 2014 with its aggressive hiring strategy. In the space of a month, six new partners have been drafted in, including Shearman & Sterling M&A veteran Peter Lyons and former Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz dealmaker Mitchell Presser to boost an underweight transactional group. Despite success in US disputes and investigations work, Freshfields has lacked a real M&A engine in New York but has pinned its hopes on the duo putting a change to that.

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‘There will be uncertainty’: partners discuss consequences of Scotland voting ‘no’

Scotland’s ‘no’ to independence last month returned confidence to the markets with a spike in sterling and share prices of FTSE 100-listed Scottish companies.

The legal profession breathed easy too as while independence would have signalled a surge of work over the first few years, long term the outlook was tied to uncertain economic fortunes.

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The $50m question – will Akin Gump’s record-breaking City acquisition pay off?

There was a rushed engagement before the union and there is unlikely to be a long honeymoon for the 26 Bingham McCutchen partners, including ten financial restructuring partners, switching to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld later this month. Such is the size of the investment the Dallas-bred giant has made, with the total number of lawyers set to transfer across London, Hong Kong and Frankfurt expected to reach around 60, the team led by financial restructuring guru James Roome will have to hit the ground running when they transfer in late October. This is, after all, a team with around $50m in annual revenue, by some yardsticks the largest team hire ever executed in the Square Mile.

The move, which Legal Business first revealed online in early September, shifts virtually all of Bingham’s London arm, minus two partners whose futures are undecided.

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A&O, Clifford Chance, Links and CMS lead on Phones4u administration

Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance (CC), Linklaters and CMS Cameron McKenna landed the key roles when high street retailer Phones4u entered administration last month.

With PwC acting as administrator, the company went into administration on 15 September after the withdrawal of EE, O2 and Vodafone products from its stores, placing nearly 5,596 jobs and more than 700 outlets at risk. However, some stores and staff were relocated with mobile carriers EE and Vodafone, as well as Dixons Carphone purchasing assets.

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US law firms cash in on Alibaba and Citizens flotations

King & Wood Mallesons and US firms were the main beneficiaries of the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, Alibaba’s $25bn listing, which generated $15.8m in legal fees while The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)’s Citizens flotation also saw US firms take leading roles.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised Alibaba on US federal securities and New York state law with China head Leiming Chen and partners Daniel Fertig and William Hinman advising, while Sullivan & Cromwell partners William Chua, Jay Clayton and Sarah Payne advised the underwriters, including Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Maples and Calder advised on Cayman Islands law, while Chinese law was covered by Fangda Partners for Alibaba and King & Wood Mallesons for the underwriters.

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Edwards Wildman and Locke Lord set to combine

Fellow US firm Cooley plans London office takeover

Dallas-bred Locke Lord and Boston’s Edwards Wildman Palmer became the latest US duo to announce plans to merge last month, as consolidation continues in the US national market. The news emerges as California firm Cooley prepares to launch in London, potentially taking on a major proportion of Edwards Wildman’s City team in the process.

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BLP scales back Paris office just eight years after opening as local head departs

Clifford Chance boosts French corporate offering with HSF and Willkie Farr hires

Last month saw much strategic decision-making by Legal Business 100 firms located in Paris, with Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) scaling back its offering in the French capital and leaving only a liaison outpost following the departure of French head Antoine-Audoin Maggiar, just eight years after opening. Meanwhile, Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance (CC) has made efforts to boost its Paris offering, having hired longstanding Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) securities partner Alex Bafi and Willkie Farr & Gallagher private equity partner Fabrice Cohen.

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Uría Menéndez takes stake in first major Latin America tie-up

As Dentons hires IDB’s general counsel in hunt for regional mergers

Last month saw leading Iberian law firm Uría Menéndez acquire a 30% stake in the merger of its best friend firms and national heavyweights, Chile’s Philippi and Colombia’s Prietocarrizosa, as part of its strategy to consolidate its commitment in the region.

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The Last Word – The client’s view

Interviewed for our annual in-house report, general counsel (GCs) at leading companies give us their views on panels, pricing, regulation and diversity

Law across borders

‘We are going to see a lot more cross-border, multinational transactions that involve an in-depth legal scope well beyond the UK Companies Act. In-house lawyers, especially at the GC level, even if they just manage a local UK business, are going to see a lot more cross-border transactions and complexity. In my experience, law firms in the UK, especially in the South East and London, are much more flexible and open about the discussion on alternative billing than firms in New York.’

Bill Mordan, senior vice president and group GC, Reckitt Benckiser

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The new boy – can Ryde & co keep Slaughters’ deal team on top?

The City’s top deal shop has a new corporate head. Legal Business meets Andy Ryde and asks if Slaughters can keep the M&A magic going.

For a state school lad from Nottinghamshire who self-mockingly confesses to still having the tiniest chip on his shoulder, it has been quite a journey. Slaughter and May partner Andy Ryde in March was named as the firm’s new head of corporate, leading what most neutral observers would see as, by some margin, the City’s top deal practice.

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Offshore: Putting funds back on the map

With transactional work picking up globally, offshore funds are back in vogue. We assess the most active offshore firms and the key recent developments

The renewed sense of optimism emanating from the world’s major financial centres has clearly made its way offshore. While the global financial crisis put successful launches of offshore private equity, real estate and listed funds on hold, the mood has clearly changed. New funds and start-ups are upbeat again and the fund practices of offshore law firms are enjoying healthy flows of work.

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The In-House Survey: managing counsel – Getting with the programme

For years clients have decried advisers’ poor attitude to flexibility and value. Our third in-house lawyer survey shows the message is getting through at last.

Deborah Prince, head of legal and company secretary at the British Heart Foundation, who is forthright in her views on questionable behaviour by external advisers, recalls a recent incident with a law firm that she swears she will never use again. Responding to a request to work on a high-value contract, the firm sent back an excessively long document, containing endless provisions on issues that were never going to be a concern.

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Centre of the universe – the offshore counsel role in big ticket deals

With corporate lawyers finding their feet once more, Legal Business examines the often overlooked role of offshore firms in major global corporate and capital markets transactions

2014 has been the year where the corporate lawyer has begun to feel valued again. Take Dublin-based drug manufacturer Shire’s proposed £32bn takeover by US giant AbbVie, which is scheduled to close this year and pitches US/UK corporate heavyweights Sullivan & Cromwell and Herbert Smith Freehills opposite Davis Polk & Wardwell and Slaughter and May for Shire. But while those elite international firms make the headlines, the deal is to be implemented via a scheme of arrangement in Jersey, based on advice to Shire from a Mourant Ozannes team led by partner Robert Hickling, with Ogier’s Simon Dinning heading a team for AbbVie.

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The In-House Survey: adviser feedback – The usual suspects

As clients give advisers credit for improving value and service, our third annual in-house lawyer survey shows some of the City’s top firms making the most ground

‘When Magic Circle firms are appointed on appropriate matters, they offer real quality and value. The problem is, there is an ever-increasing type of work that is not appropriate to instruct them on as other firms offer significantly better quality and value. When the Magic Circle is retained on work that is not appropriate, my experiences are broadly negative.’

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