Pinsent Masons has kicked off 2019 in expansionist mode, opening a new office in Frankfurt, right after finishing 2018 with three partner hires for its Irish base.
Three years after opening in Düsseldorf, Pinsents announced at the beginning of January it had hired six partners from a range of independent and international firms to spearhead the new German branch. Continue reading “Third German office and trio of Dublin hires the latest moves in Pinsents’ international odyssey”
Dentons has acquired Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF)’s 26-lawyer Caracas office, coinciding with Venezuela’s acute economic and political crisis.
As part of the acquisition, Dentons hired eight partners with a sector focus on energy and natural resources, as well as employment. Currently led by labour partner Juan Carlos Pró-Rísquez, who became NRF managing partner in the country last year, the office is set to become Despacho de Abogados miembros de Dentons, after a transition period that sees it associated with Dentons’ Colombian business in Bogotá. Continue reading “Dentons risks Venezuelan instability to secure Norton Rose Caracas business”
The ghost of political turmoil did little to hinder deal-doing in Europe in the first half of 2018 but its presence appears to have made itself increasingly felt as the year wore on. With plcs wary of major investments ahead of the threat of mounting Brexit-related convulsions, not to mention a mainland European economy that lost some pace through 2018, it was an uneven run for corporate takeovers.
Globally, the latest figures from Mergermarket show the volume of deals completed in 2018 fell for the first time since 2010 to 19,232, after a decade of steadily rising. However, if overall activity was subdued, there was more cause for cheer with marquee deals; average deal value rose to $384.8m, the second-highest value on record, falling just short of the $400.3m notched up in 2015. Continue reading “M&A focus: A sign of things to come? Europe’s deal market ends 2018 with a whimper after a forceful start”
My mother was always convinced I was going to be a barrister. She used to watch TV dramas involving barristers. My father, a much more practical man, was desperately trying to convince me I should do a subject that was useful. So I went into the law and really enjoyed it.
I started at Edwards Geldard, one of the ‘big four’ in Cardiff. I joined the IP group because I loved the tech side. Contentious and non-contentious surrounding tech: being paid to do what I enjoyed seemed amazing. Continue reading “Life during law: Jeremy Drew”
Our cover feature this month looks at London-centric peer firms Macfarlanes and Travers Smith. Here we look at the two firms’ UK rankings in The Legal 500. For further information see ‘Defying gravity’.
Thomas Alan assesses the initially lauded, now forgotten social inclusion initiative
‘Forgive my ignorance, can you tell me what you mean by PRIME? What is it exactly?’ asks one partner at a top-25 UK law firm, a partner charged with responsibility for overseeing apprenticeships at a firm with membership to that same cross-industry group. Continue reading “Whatever happened to PRIME? – Drift sets in for once lauded diversity project”
An array of City and US firms have landed roles advising on Boston Scientific’s buyout of British healthcare firm BTG in the latest bumper deal in the pharmaceutical sector. Allen & Overy (A&O), Shearman & Sterling, Travers Smith, White & Case, and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer were all called upon to advise on the deal, continuing a spate of takeovers in the UK healthcare market.
Shearman acted as lead counsel for longstanding client Boston Scientific, with a team headed by New York corporate partner Clare O’Brien alongside London-based veteran Europe and Middle East M&A head Laurence Levy. City firm Travers worked alongside Shearman, with partner Mahesh Varia advising on share option schemes, while Arnold & Porter Washington DC antitrust partner Michael Bernstein was also drafted in by Boston Scientific. Continue reading “Pharma just the tonic for US firms leading on Boston Scientific’s £3bn bid for BTG”
Global players scaled up their investment in continental Europe this autumn, with Dentons launching its fourth German base and White & Case growing its French team. Meanwhile, Weil, Gotshal & Manges has shut its doors in Prague, its second office closure in central and eastern Europe (CEE) in 2018.
Dentons’ fast-growing German branch hired Taylor Wessing’s former head of competition, EU and trade, Andreas Haak, and employment partner Sascha Grosjean to lead the opening of the new outpost in Düsseldorf in January 2019. Germany managing partner Andreas Ziegenhagen told Legal Business the firm aims to have around 30 lawyers in the city in Germany’s industrial heartland, bringing the total headcount in the country to over 200. Continue reading “Globetrotters in Europe: Dentons and White & Case expand operations as Weil scales back in CEE again”
