Eversheds spins off New Law arm to supercharge growth and attract external investment

Posted on |
Eversheds spins off New Law arm to supercharge growth and attract external investment

Hamish McNicol reports on Eversheds Sutherland taking the partnership shackles off its Konexo offering

The alternative legal service provider (ALSP) market is estimated to be worth more than $10bn annually. Research led by Thomson Reuters, called Alternative Legal Service Providers 2019: Fast Growth, Expanding Use and Increasing Opportunity, found that the revenue generated from ALSPs had grown to that amount in 2017, up 13% from an estimated $8.4bn a couple of years earlier. Continue reading “Eversheds spins off New Law arm to supercharge growth and attract external investment”

‘Time for a change’ as multiple corporate legal chiefs leave posts for pastures new

Posted on |
‘Time for a change’ as multiple corporate legal chiefs leave posts for pastures new

Anna Cole-Bailey rounds up the latest senior corporate in-house moves

A string of general counsel (GCs) have made career changes of late, including high-profile names such as the long-serving Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) European legal chief Sajid Hussein and Rio Tinto GC Philip Richards. Continue reading “‘Time for a change’ as multiple corporate legal chiefs leave posts for pastures new”

Italian legal market consolidates as local champion Bonelli merges with rival Lombardi

Posted on |
Italian legal market consolidates as local champion Bonelli merges with rival Lombardi

The leadership of Slaughter and May’s Italian ally, BonelliErede, claims the firm has moved far ahead of its competitors after the recent takeover of litigation and corporate independent, Lombardi e Associati.

In a significant move for a market traditionally used to schisms, the merger – effective from July – sees Bonelli strengthen its position as the largest of the country’s three champions, growing its lawyer headcount by 70 to more than 500. Continue reading “Italian legal market consolidates as local champion Bonelli merges with rival Lombardi”

Eversheds launches in Chicago and dreams of California in first post-merger US moves

Posted on |
Eversheds launches in Chicago and dreams of California in first post-merger US moves

Eversheds Sutherland has chosen one of the most competitive legal markets for its first US office launch since its transatlantic union went live just over two years ago.

The firm in June opened its seventh US base in Chicago, home to strong Global 100 players Sidley Austin and Mayer Brown, and the world’s highest-grossing firm, Kirkland & Ellis. The focus will initially be on real estate, M&A and litigation, targeting the diversified industrials, technology, media and telecoms, financial institutions and energy sectors. Continue reading “Eversheds launches in Chicago and dreams of California in first post-merger US moves”

City and US heavyweights line up on Lego owner’s £4.8bn offer for Merlin

Posted on |
City and US heavyweights line up on Lego owner’s £4.8bn offer for Merlin

Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance (CC) are representing the City elite on a £4.8bn offer for Merlin Entertainments, in a deal that brought together a line-up of heavy hitters with Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins also fielding veteran partners.

The deal was announced on 28 June with Merlin, which is being advised by Slaughters, agreeing the terms of a recommended offer. The acquiring consortium comprises Kirkbi – the investment vehicle for Lego’s founding family – alongside private equity houses The Blackstone Group and the CPP Investment Board (CPPIB). Continue reading “City and US heavyweights line up on Lego owner’s £4.8bn offer for Merlin”

Dealwatch: US firms enjoy marquee run of deals with Kirkland and Goodwin leading the way

Posted on |
Dealwatch: US firms enjoy marquee run of deals with Kirkland and Goodwin leading the way
  • Kirkland & Ellis advised investment adviser and repeat customer GLP Investment Services on the $18.7bn sale of its US logistics business to The Blackstone Group. The Chicago-bred juggernaut fielded corporate partners Michael Steele in London and Michael Brueck in New York. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised longstanding client Blackstone out of New York with real estate partner Davis Coen leading the team.

    •  

  • Eversheds Sutherland advised Legal & General (L&G) on its £4.6bn buy-in to buy-out with the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund, with corporate partner Hugo Laing and pensions specialist Mark Latimour leading the team. The deal is billed as the UK’s largest-ever annuity transfer and saw CMS advise L&G with partner Thomas Lockley at the helm, while Linklaters acted for the trustees with global head of pensions Claire Petheram and derivatives partner Mark Brown advising. Continue reading “Dealwatch: US firms enjoy marquee run of deals with Kirkland and Goodwin leading the way”

Significant hires

Posted on |
Significant hires
  • Ashurst has lost former managing partner James Collis to Squire Patton Boggs. Collis succeeded Ashurst litigation managing partner Simon Bromwich in May 2012, before becoming inaugural managing partner following the firm’s merger with Australia’s Blake Dawson until stepping down in June 2016. However, Ashurst recently grew its project finance team with the hire of Adrian Lawrence, who joins from White & Case.
  • Norton Rose Fulbright has lost ten lawyers to insurance and shipping specialist Kennedys. This includes insurance and marine disputes partners Patrick Foss and Chris Zavos, who joined the firm from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert after its merger with Clyde & Co in 2011.

Continue reading “Significant hires”

Life during law: Andy Ryde

Posted on |
Life during law: Andy Ryde

It never occurred to me to be a lawyer until sixth form. I went to a regular comprehensive school and there wasn’t much career advice. I was a teenager who just wanted to be a footballer or rockstar.

My parents hadn’t been to university. I’m from Nottinghamshire, born in Mansfield. My grandad was a miner and the one thing he wanted was for his son not to be a miner, so my dad imaginatively went to the coal board as an accounts clerk. Continue reading “Life during law: Andy Ryde”