Page 573 – Legal Business

Revolving doors: Strategic growth for Mishcon, Hill Dickinson, Herbert Smith Freehills, Orrick Rambaud and Addleshaw Goddard

Mishcon de Reya this week (25 November) announced that it is to completely restructure its tax offering, consolidating its real estate, corporate tax, and private tax and wealth planning divisions and invest in the area with the hire King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin tax partner John Skoulding and solicitor Charlie Sosna from Berkeley Law.

Focusing on UK and international M&A, management buy-outs and corporate restructurings, among other issues, Skoulding has worked across sectors including betting and gaming, fashion, retail, intellectual property and financial services. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Strategic growth for Mishcon, Hill Dickinson, Herbert Smith Freehills, Orrick Rambaud and Addleshaw Goddard”

Continue reading “Consolidation continues as Manchester institution Pannone succumbs to Slater and Gordon’s advances”

Consolidation continues as Manchester institution Pannone succumbs to Slater and Gordon’s advances

After months of speculation, Slater and Gordon has finally announced the acquisition of the consumer services and personal injury (PI) business of Manchester’s Pannone today (28 November) in a deal worth £33m.

Slater and Gordon will acquire the majority share of Pannone, including personal injury and serious injury, clinical negligence, court of protection, family, wills, trusts and probate, property, as well as some elements of the employment and dispute resolution practice areas.

According to a statement by Pannone: ‘A new and independent business called Pannone Corporate LLP will be formed at the same time which will focus on commercial and corporate work for business clients.’

Continue reading “Southern comfort: Blake Lapthorn, Boyes Turner and Morgan Cole in three-way merger talks”

Southern comfort: Blake Lapthorn, Boyes Turner and Morgan Cole in three-way merger talks

It would create a south-east giant with combined revenues approaching £100m but any potential tie-up between Blake Lapthorn, Boyes Turner and Morgan Cole could require some considerable rationalisation.

The firms are currently in the very early stages in merger talks, potentially creating a firm with offices across the Midlands, south of England and Wales, employing over 450 lawyers.

A statement from Blake Lapthorn managing partner Walter Cha said: ‘A merger is one of the many options we have been exploring and Morgan Cole and Boyes Turner – both excellent firms – have been among those we have talked to. Discussions have not progressed beyond first stages at this juncture and it is too early to say whether talks will continue with either of the firms or indeed others.’

Guest post: Independence matters – banking and big law in the news

Lawyers and banks are in the news again. Lawrence Tomlinson, Entrepreneur in Residence at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has reported various abuses by RBS in particular and has this to say about the way banks instruct lawyers:

‘Any law firm that does business with the banks will have a clause in their contract, preventing them from taking action against the banks.This means that for businesses the pool of solicitors available to give them advice and take their case is extremely limited. Continue reading “Guest post: Independence matters – banking and big law in the news”

Leadership: Watson Farley managing partner Michael Greville stands down

Watson, Farley & Williams (WFW) has announced that longstanding managing partner Michael Greville has stepped down from his role as managing partner, according to a statement released today (28 November).

Having been in the role for over 12 years, Greville will step down as chief in the middle of January 2014 and resume a fee-earning role, focusing on shipping, oil & gas, and energy sectors.

An election to succeed Greville is currently underway with Chris Lowe (head of the firm’s global maritime practice and former head of the Singapore office) and Lothar Wegener (head of WFW’s German offices) as coming forward as candidates to replace Greville as joint managing partners. Continue reading “Leadership: Watson Farley managing partner Michael Greville stands down”

Merger talks: Dentons and McKenna Long partners say no to a tie-up

Just two days after Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and New York-headquartered Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman called off their potentially game changing merger, Dentons and McKenna Long & Aldridge have announced that their partners have said no to a tie-up, after the decision was put to a partnership vote yesterday (26 November).

Both firms confirmed that they were in merger talks in late September and a vote was originally scheduled for 14 November, which if it had gone through would have created a firm with around 3,100 lawyer globally. Continue reading “Merger talks: Dentons and McKenna Long partners say no to a tie-up”

Team hire: TLT takes on 30-strong Irwin Mitchell team in Manchester

TLT is putting its fledgling Manchester office at the centre of its UK-wide growth plans as the top 60 LB100 firm takes on a 30-strong Irwin Mitchell team, including former commercial litigation head John Lord.

The six-partner team, who will join the 250-lawyer firm’s six month old Manchester office before Christmas, also includes non-contentious property partner Andrew Bell, employment partner Ed Cotton, corporate partner Jon Close, commercial litigation partner Julien Luke and banking and finance litigation partner Tom Seabrook, along with 24 solicitors, paralegals and support staff. Continue reading “Team hire: TLT takes on 30-strong Irwin Mitchell team in Manchester”

Clifford Chance global managing partner vote: Layton takes the crown

The long-awaited decision over who will replace David Childs as Clifford Chance’s global managing partner (MP) has been announced, with the partnership electing global head of corporate Matthew Layton to take over the top management role after voting closed yesterday evening (27 November).

Layton (pictured above with Childs) was widely cited in the early stages of the election process as favourite to lead the 3,017-lawyer Magic Circle firm, with challengers emerging as Paris-based office managing partner and M&A lawyer Yves Wehrli; global head of tax, pensions and employment David Harkness; and City-based banking and finance partner Andrew Carnegie. Continue reading “Clifford Chance global managing partner vote: Layton takes the crown”

In-house draw: Chris Bown third Freshfields partner to take a corporate wage as he resigns for CVC

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner Chris Bown has become the third senior partner in two months to resign from the Magic Circle firm for an in-house role, with news that he is to join private equity house CVC Capital Partners.

Bown, who founded Freshfields London-based private equity practice in 1999, will be joining longstanding client CVC as a senior advisor when he retires from the 2330-lawyer firm in April next year. He will start his new role on 1 May on a part-time basis, advising CVC’s deal teams and working with both external counsel and the in-house team, which is headed by managing director Richard Perris, who joined from Clifford Chance in 2005. Continue reading “In-house draw: Chris Bown third Freshfields partner to take a corporate wage as he resigns for CVC”

Continue reading “No pay for delay: Court of Appeal holds firm on costs decision in ‘plebgate’ case”

No pay for delay: Court of Appeal holds firm on costs decision in ‘plebgate’ case

The post-Jackson hardline approach to costs budgeting was reinforced by a landmark Court of Appeal decision today (27 November) in a clear message to the profession that non-compliance will be ‘fatal’.

This latest decision – the most significant of the post-Jackson era – arises out of Andrew Mitchell MP’s ongoing ‘plebgate’ defamation claim against The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN). It follows the High Court ruling in September that Mitchell, were he to win the claim, would not be entitled to recoup any of his costs from NGN after his solicitors, Atkins Thomson, failed to comply with a costs practice direction.

Investigations: RBS appoints panel firm Clifford Chance to conduct independent review

Investigations have become big business for the City’s thriving litigation teams although the majority of them happen behind closed doors for valued clients and are not said to offer an ‘independent’ assessment.

A recent exception is the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) disclosure yesterday (25 November) that it has appointed Clifford Chance (CC) to conduct an independent inquiry into the treatment received by small business customers in financial distress, after allegations that the bank deliberately drove them to collapse for its own gain. Continue reading “Investigations: RBS appoints panel firm Clifford Chance to conduct independent review”

Panel review: Taylor Wessing and KWM SJ Berwin secure spots on property developer Essential Living’s ten-strong panel

Newly-formed rental property developer Essential Living has appointed a ten-strong panel of law firms to its roster as it focuses on ambitious development targets for the coming year, with Taylor Wessing and King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin securing advisory roles ‘with an overarching brief to provide corporate, finance and delivery advice,’ a statement said today (26 November). Continue reading “Panel review: Taylor Wessing and KWM SJ Berwin secure spots on property developer Essential Living’s ten-strong panel”

Merger talks: Orrick and Pillsbury call time on talks after client conflict issues dominate

The potentially game changing merger between California-based Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and New York-headquartered Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is off after the firms said issues surrounding client conflicts of interest had proved insurmountable.

The firms disclosed around a month ago that they were in talks, with a view to creating a 1,800-lawyer practice with revenues of around $1.4bn, putting the combined entity in the top 15 law firms in the world by fee income. Continue reading “Merger talks: Orrick and Pillsbury call time on talks after client conflict issues dominate”

Leadership: Andrew Saul takes over as senior partner at Osborne Clarke

With its half year revenues up by 12% and following a two-year period of international investment, Osborne Clarke‘s (OC’s) UK senior partner Tim Birt is to stand down with London head Andrew Saul taking over the role.

Corporate partner Saul – who joined 600-lawyer OC in 1996 as head of corporate and led the practice for seven years before becoming head of the London office in January 2012 – was voted in as senior partner through an election held at the London headquarters of the firm, ranked 32 in the LB100. He will take over the role on 1 January 2014. Continue reading “Leadership: Andrew Saul takes over as senior partner at Osborne Clarke”

Guest post: ‘Chasing short term profits is the enemy of long-term success’ – A conversation with Freshfields’ Ted Burke

I recently had the chance to sit down with Ted Burke, outgoing managing partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. I’ve known Ted for years and with the recent announcement that he would be stepping down at Freshfields to join Arclight Capital Partners as COO and general counsel it was time to catch up.

When we sat down, I asked Ted to reflect on his years at Freshfields (head of the firm since 2005). He opened: ‘It’s the oldest great firm in the world.’ Founded in 1743 with the Bank of England as a client, which remains a client today. The firm has been successful over 270 years, Ted observed, but not at all times, and it has had to change repeatedly. ‘No business can last more than a generation without changing.’ Continue reading “Guest post: ‘Chasing short term profits is the enemy of long-term success’ – A conversation with Freshfields’ Ted Burke”

Continue reading “Innovation alert – A&O becomes first top tier player to forge a contract lawyer service with launch of Peerpoint”

Innovation alert – A&O becomes first top tier player to forge a contract lawyer service with launch of Peerpoint

For all the talk of innovation in the profession, experimentation with new models has so far been more evident at mid-pack players like Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Eversheds than elite London or New York advisers.

However, as Legal Business reveals today (25 November), Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the first top tier outfit to challenge that orthodoxy with the Magic Circle firm launching a high-end contract lawyer service for major clients.

International expansion: Speechly opens in Paris as Rouse and Tilleke Gibbins launch in Myanmar

The burgeoning Paris market has drawn in another UK name as Speechly Bircham opens in the City while UK IP firm Rouse expands into Myanmar alongside new South East Asian entrant Tilleke & Gibbins, which has also launched in Indonesia and Laos.

Its fourth new European office in two years, UK top 55 firm Speechly Bircham opened today (25 November) in the French capital with an 11-strong team, which will focus on private wealth tax planning as well as corporate and litigation services to private clients, private equity investors and corporates. Continue reading “International expansion: Speechly opens in Paris as Rouse and Tilleke Gibbins launch in Myanmar”