Revolving Doors: Squire Sanders, Pinsent Masons and Bird & Bird boost corporate and finance capability

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Strategic recruitment Bird & BirdPinsent MasonsSquire Patton Boggs

Squire Sanders has today announced the hire of US Dorsey & Whitney City-based corporate finance partner Matthew Doughty in a week that has also seen Pinsent Masons take on a new head of banking in Birmingham and Bird & Bird boost its finance capability in Frankfurt.

Doughty, who specializes in equity capital markets (ECM) with experience of the New York, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London Stock Exchanges, including AIM, was formerly a partner at Addleshaw Goddard’s City office, from where he joined Squire Sanders in June 2009.

Nicholas Medcroft joins Wilberforce Chambers as Erskine makes key hires and two leading sets take on new head

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The Bar 4 New SquareErskine ChambersEssex Court ChambersWilberforce Chambers

Nicholas Medcroft has joined Wilberforce Chambers from Outer Temple Chambers in a week that has also seen Erskine Chambers welcome a three-barrister asset recovery team and leading sets 4 New Square and Essex Court Chambers take on a new head.

Medcroft is said by Legal 500 to be ‘the first person to turn to when it comes to matters relating to financial crime and banks.’ Specialising in professional negligence, business and banking, financial services and commercial fraud, he has worked on large scale litigation including acting for the Financial Reporting Council, alongside Fountain Court’s Tim Dutton QC, in the case against audit firm Deloitte over the collapse of the MG Rover Group.

Government spending review brings legal aid cuts and privatisation closer as MoJ’s budget cut by 10%

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Legal affairs

The government’s plans to cut criminal legal aid and privatise parts of the court services appeared to edge one step closer yesterday following Chancellor George Osborne’s Comprehensive Spending Review, under which The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will see its budget slashed by 10% over the next 18 months.

Guest Post: Legal education review – why everyone is happy and no one is smiling

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Education

So the first round of the Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) is complete. Julian Webb et al’s report is out and the dust can begin to settle. The research phase faced a number of problems. There are four I would emphasise:

  • a wide, ill-defined brief, not susceptible to original research on the resources devoted to it;
  • a long-term neglect of all interested parties to research the links between education, training, regulation and competence; and,
  • a political situation which looks a bit like the Game of Thrones, without the erotica; and,
  • a regulatory framework that owes at least as much to history and politics as it does to the public interest.

Kennedys unveils 9% turnover increase and signals further expansion to its network

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Financial results 2013 Kennedys

Kennedys has today announced a turnover increase of 9% after a year of both lateral hires and organic growth, with revenues up to £117m from £109m in 2011/12.

The results do not reflect the firm’s recent merger with aviation firm Gates and Partners on 1 June this year, which is expected to add £10m to the City-based insurance specialist’s bottom line.

Travers senior lawyers to be paid for interruptions to family life as firm adopts more merit-based model

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Salaries Travers Smith

Travers Smith has become the latest City firm to overhaul its lockstep for senior associates in a bid to incentivise and reward lawyers for their hard work and interruptions to family life as they approach partnership.

Led by managing partner Andrew Lilley and pensions partner Paul Stannard, a 10-month review has concluded that Travers should continue to operate a strict lockstep for junior and mid-level associates, under which they receive an annual bonus at the end of the year. However, a new, more merit-based system will now be introduced for senior lawyers, including an additional one-off payment for those that have experienced disruption in their personal lives and increased flexibility from the lockstep structure for associates with six years’ post qualification experience (PQE).

Revolving Doors: Field Fisher hires Taylor Wessing’s David Kent as Irwin Mitchell and TLT make key hires

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Strategic recruitment FieldfisherIrwin MitchellTLT

Taylor Wessing’s long reputed head of inward investment David Kent is to join Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) in a week that has also seen Irwin Mitchell and TLT make strategic partner hires.

Kent is a corporate partner specialising in advising emerging growth and listed companies from the US, Canada and Europe on structuring, establishing and operating businesses in the UK and Europe, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, technology transfers, distribution and licensing agreements.

Deal watch: CMS, Matheson and Akin Gump act on high-profile international deals

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Corporate Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & FeldCMSMatheson

As international M&A catches the headlines, CMS Cameron McKenna has advised a consortium owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing on a HK$9.7 billion dollar acquisition of the Netherlands’ largest waste management group AVR Afvalverwerking.

CMS London corporate partner Charles Currier and Amsterdam partners Martika Jonk and Cecilia van der Weijden led the multi-disciplinary team advising Cheung Kong Infrastructure Consortium (CKI). Last year CKI acquired MGN Gas Networks for $1bn, also advised by CMS.

Three years in the making: Legal education and training review unveiled

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Education

A report touted as the most comprehensive review of legal education in the UK since the Omrod report of 1971 has finally been published today (25 June), three years after it was first announced.

The Legal Education and Training Review (LETR), which was undertaken on behalf of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), ILEX Professional Standards and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), looks at the educational requirements for entering the profession, continuing education including the obligations of law school providers and the impact of the Legal Services Act.

Corporate: Alibaba and Kabel Deutschland deals land roles for Freshfields, Linklaters and Hengeler Mueller

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Corporate Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerHengeler MuellerLinklaters

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have landed two major corporate mandates advising Alibaba on what Reuters describes as ‘the most anticipated IPO since Facebook’ and Vodafone on its €7.7bn (£6.6bn) acquisition of Germany’s largest cable TV operator respectively.

Amidst much market speculation over roles and particularly the levels of fees that will be commanded, Freshfields is understood to be advising the China e-commerce giant on an IPO reportedly valued at as much as $100bn (64bn), with Hong Kong equity capital markets partner and Greater China head Teresa Ko understood to be leading the team.