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As Brazil cools Latam heat – Garrigues moves into Colombia; SJB primes Saudi move

With Brazil’s economy continuing to disappoint during 2013, there is increasing focus on other economies across Latin America. Moving to meet that demand Iberian giant Garrigues has announced that it is to acquire Colombian outfit Zarama y Asociados.

Garrigues has secured the signatures of Zarama y Asociados sole partners, Fernando Zarama and Camilo Zarama, along with the rest of the fee earners at the firm. The deal allows Garrigues to make a significant play in one of the fastest growing and most touted of Latin America’s economies, combining the practice with the Spanish firm’s Bogota branch.

Continue reading “As Brazil cools Latam heat – Garrigues moves into Colombia; SJB primes Saudi move”

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Entries and exits: ‘Tesco Law’ licences hit 200 mark but a few early movers stumble

Despite a handful of well-publicised problems at alternative business structures (ABS), there are no shortage of entrants looking to pursue the ‘Tesco Law’ model. Just how many was confirmed this week when it emerged that that Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has now awarded more than 200 ABS licences.

The move is a startling figure coming less than two years since the regime to consider ABS applications went live. City media boutique Wiggin became ABS number 200, and will operate as an ABS from the start of next month, while corporate boutique firm Gunnercooke came in at number 201 and is to become effective as an ABS structure in mid-November.

Continue reading “Entries and exits: ‘Tesco Law’ licences hit 200 mark but a few early movers stumble”

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Deutsche Bank profits dive amid €1.2bn legal provision as pressure builds on finance leaders

If anyone still doubts the mounting legal burdens now falling on the world’s largest finance houses Deutsche Bank has this week dispelled such thoughts after announcing a fresh €1.2bn provision to cover its legal costs.

The German banking giant today (29 October) reported a 98% fall in quarterly profits after setting aside additional funds to cover its liabilities, reflecting the mounting regulatory burden facing the financial institution. The bank’s group income before taxes dropped for the third quarter to €18m, against last year’s figure of €747m for the same period in 2012.

Continue reading “Deutsche Bank profits dive amid €1.2bn legal provision as pressure builds on finance leaders”

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OC rocks up in BoHo New York to chase the creative dollar

New York’s impenetrable legal community is well used to seeing – and rebuffing – the advances of UK law firms but Osborne Clarke (OC) is attempting a more tactical sashay into downtown Manhattan to cultivate its core TMT client base.

The 500-lawyer UK law firm is today (28 October) officially launching a branch in New York in the city’s creative and digital district of Soho. The unusual venture is the top 30 UK law firm’s second branch in the US following the launch of an outpost in Palo Alto in 2001, which was set up to build links with technology and venture capital clients.

Continue reading “OC rocks up in BoHo New York to chase the creative dollar”

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Those US mergers keep coming – Orrick closes in on deal with Pillsbury to forge top 10 giant

One of the most prolific merger suitors of recent years – Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe – is at it again with the top 30 US practice close to securing a merger with the 600-lawyer practice Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

The discussions, which were confirmed on Friday (25 October), could see Orrick sign a letter of intent as early as this week to recommend a combination with Pillsbury to its partners. A deal would create a 1,800-lawyer practice with revenues of around $1.4bn, putting it in the top 15 law firms in the world by fee income.

Continue reading “Those US mergers keep coming – Orrick closes in on deal with Pillsbury to forge top 10 giant”

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Almost meeting minds – a select band of CIOs and MPs plot a big, big breakthrough

During the original dot-com boom, there was a brief period – oh so brief – when legal technologists and managing partners were almost on the same page. With both camps dreaming of dramatic use of IT projects to revolutionise the legal business – the era of Blue Flag – there were big sums signed off, in many cases with poor results when it came to the hard grind of implementation. Dot-com boom turned to bust and IT professionals were once again from Venus and fee-earners from Mars.

Aside from Linklaters’ high-stakes investment in a platform from SAP during the 2000s, technology has shifted in recent years towards pragmatism and smaller initiatives. Mirroring the wider shift towards flexible tech, chief information officers (CIOs) are increasingly focusing on off-the-shelf tools that can be rapidly adapted at competitive costs. Continue reading “Almost meeting minds – a select band of CIOs and MPs plot a big, big breakthrough”

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As foreign advisers size up Africa, CC linked to alliance bid in South Africa

South Africa has faced more than its fair share of economic and social challenges in recent years, but with foreign investors and international law firms attempting to tap into the wider region, the queue of firms looking to enter the country is lengthening.

Recent years have seen DLA Piper and Baker & McKenzie enter the market, while Norton Rose and Linklaters have tied up with top tier local advisers. Now the word in Joburg is that Clifford Chance (CC) is aiming to strike a similar deal to the alliance between Webber Wentzel and Linklaters, which went live on 1 February.

Continue reading “As foreign advisers size up Africa, CC linked to alliance bid in South Africa”

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Profile: Rosemary Martin, Vodafone

Continuous money saving has been the order of the day for Vodafone’s general counsel (GC) and company secretary Rosemary Martin, who has been under continued pressure to cut costs and headcount since becoming responsible for around 350 professionals in the telecom giant’s global legal team spread across 24 countries.

Vodafone, in common with other mobile phone operators and the telecoms sector at large, has faced strong headwinds, including tough economic conditions in Southern Europe, an adverse European regulatory environment and increased competition, leading to a dip in its 2012/13 revenue of 4.2%, albeit to well over £44bn.

Continue reading “Profile: Rosemary Martin, Vodafone”

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Comment: ‘2006 and all that – an oh-so-familiar mess at Linklaters

The most hackneyed cliché of the pundit is history repeating itself, a claim that rarely holds up upon closer examination. But with the recent departure of Linklaters’ private equity co-heads Ian Bagshaw and Richard Youle for White & Case, well, sometimes you just can’t escape the past.

Personality clashes, a mid-market practice not gelling with Linklaters’ M&A business, finance supposedly not supporting sponsor clients, prolonged rumours over exit talks, and, finally, a dramatic exit to a big spending US rival; yes, it’s 2006 all over again when Graham White and Raymond McKeeve quit for Kirkland & Ellis.

Continue reading “Comment: ‘2006 and all that – an oh-so-familiar mess at Linklaters”

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With no time off for good behaviour Baker’s outgoing City head joins global giant’s exec body

Where do veteran law firm leaders go after a stint at the top? Another stint near the top in the case of Gary Senior, the veteran former London managing of Baker & McKenzie, who recently handed over to Paul Rawlinson.

The 4,000-lawyer firm announced today (28 October) that Senior had been elected to serve on Baker’s global executive committee, taking the place of fellow London-based partner Beatriz Araujo, whose term on the body has ended.

Continue reading “With no time off for good behaviour Baker’s outgoing City head joins global giant’s exec body”

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Sticking to the rules – the rise of the in-house litigator

As the UK’s financial institutions and leaders in commerce and industry embrace a tougher regulatory landscape, Legal Business looks at the movers and shakers in their disputes and compliance teams.

It’s December 2012 and the world’s third largest bank, HSBC, has just entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ). It has been fined $1.9bn (£1.2bn), then the largest ever bank payout to date, over its inadequate anti-money laundering system.

Continue reading “Sticking to the rules – the rise of the in-house litigator”

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After the gold rush – has the age of the oligarch dispute passed?

Russia newspaper cuttings

Boris Berezovsky v Roman Abramovich; Michael Cherney v Oleg Deripaska – these were the two headlining title bouts that for a brief and glorious moment took the often prosaic world of shareholder disputes out of the business sections and on to the front page of almost every national newspaper.

They involved a cast of colourful litigants with a seemingly bottomless pit of money and grudges, whose lawyers, particularly the barristers, were turned into media stars, if only for a while. The costs were huge and the outcomes of both cases well documented. Continue reading “After the gold rush – has the age of the oligarch dispute passed?”

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The Last Word: India

With a slowing economy and the political landscape unsettled, we ask leading international partners with noted Indian practices for their prognosis on the country and whether tougher times will shake up the local legal market

Policy paralysis

‘It is the understatement of the year to say that India has been having problems.

At the beginning of the year there was policy paralysis; there were taxation problems which caused a negative reaction and the budget wasn’t well received. The growth rate is slowing down and inflation Continue reading “The Last Word: India”

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International in-house moves – Total SA, Global Eagle and Environ bring in new GCs

A clutch of international general counsel moves this week has seen Total bring in oilfield services heavyweight Maarten Scholten as its head of legal while across the Atlantic Jay Itzkowitz has been hired as senior vice president and general counsel (GC) of NASDAQ-listed in-flight entertainment provider Global Eagle and international environmental consultancy Environ has appointed its first-ever general counsel.

At French oil giant Total SA – one of the six ‘supermajor’ oil companies in the world – incumbent senior vice-president and GC Peter Herbel will hand over the reins to Scholten on 1 January after nine years in the role. Continue reading “International in-house moves – Total SA, Global Eagle and Environ bring in new GCs”

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The Bar: Bloch QC exits Wilberforce for Blackstone as Lord Hope joins Brick Court

Just weeks after Wilberforce Chambers’ longstanding chief executive and senior clerk Declan Redmond announced he is leaving for Keating Chambers, Wilberforce QC Michael Bloch has announced he is to depart for rival Blackstone Chambers.

A rated commercial and intellectual property specialist, Bloch QC’s recent caseload includes Nestles’ successful High Court battle with Cadbury earlier this month, after Cadbury tried to trademark the iconic purple colour of its Dairy Milk bars. Other significant cases include the British Sky Broadcasting Group v Microsoft over the latter’s use of the word ‘SkyDrive’ as the name for its cloud storage service. Continue reading “The Bar: Bloch QC exits Wilberforce for Blackstone as Lord Hope joins Brick Court”

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City ambitions – Mayer Brown adds to London laterals tally with hire of BLP finance partner

Mayer Brown has added to its tally of recent London hires as Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) finance and restructuring partner Trevor Wood joins the US firm.

Wood will be reunited with former BLP banking and finance partner Richard Todd when he joins 1,536-lawyer Mayer Brown, which has made six lateral hires in its London office in the last month, compared to just five in 2012.

Meanwhile, BLP’s partner departures continue in the wake of the firm’s disclosure in September that its profits for 2012/13 are down by nearly 40%. The firm also unveiled a drop in revenues this summer of 5% to £233m, making it the worst financial performer of the top 25 UK firms.

Continue reading “City ambitions – Mayer Brown adds to London laterals tally with hire of BLP finance partner”

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Slater & Gordon takes over Manchester PI firm as Pannone vote looms

ASX-listed firm Slater & Gordon (S&G) continues to make inroads into the UK’s personal injury (PI) market having confirmed today (24 October) it has acquired Manchester-based clinical negligence and PI practice John Pickering & Partners.

S&G, which generates an annual revenue of £27.7m, made the announcement at its annual general meeting in Australia yesterday, but made no mention of recent reports that it is in talks to acquire Manchester-based Pannone’s consumer services business. Continue reading “Slater & Gordon takes over Manchester PI firm as Pannone vote looms”

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Law Society reaches out to City firms with hire of A&O’s Denyer

The Law Society has not always seen eye-to-eye with its City firm contingent but the hire of Allen & Overy’s (A&O) global markets partner Stephen Denyer, who is leaving the Magic Circle firm to join the representative body as City and international head, may go some way towards building a bridge between the two camps.

Despite moving across from private practice Denyer, who is charged with developing relationships with larger firms, already has form in this kind of role. Continue reading “Law Society reaches out to City firms with hire of A&O’s Denyer”

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Major milestone for CC global MP elections as Layton, Wehrli and Carnegie go forward

Clifford Chance (CC) has reached the first major milestone in its global managing partner elections, with the nominations stage now closed and global head of corporate Matthew Layton, Paris managing partner Yves Wehrli and real estate finance partner Andrew Carnegie confirmed as the three candidates going forward.

Hustings will begin shortly and the first round of voting will occur in early to mid-November. Partners will expect to receive the candidates’ manifestos in the next few days. Continue reading “Major milestone for CC global MP elections as Layton, Wehrli and Carnegie go forward”

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Revolving Doors: SJ Berwin corporate heavyweight Harris to Hogan Lovells as Bingham and Bond Dicks make key hires

Just weeks away from its merger with King Wood & Mallesons, SJ Berwin corporate heavyweight Ed Harris is leaving for Hogan Lovells as Bingham McCutcheon also raids Jones Day to build its London competition team and Osborne Clarke’s remaining two-partner private client team joins Bond Dickinson.

Harris, who will move across to Hogan Lovells on an unknown date as a result of ongoing negotiations with management, has been at SJ Berwin since 2007 and has advised a number of high profile clients including Terra Firma, Pantheon Ventures Investindustrial, EQT, Actavis and Constellation Software Inc. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: SJ Berwin corporate heavyweight Harris to Hogan Lovells as Bingham and Bond Dicks make key hires”