Evolutionary forces – US body for legal ops hits Europe as new breed of client emerges

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Evolutionary forces – US body for legal ops hits Europe as new breed of client emerges

Disruption looms as James Wood reports on first European conference for CLOC

Richard Susskind must have lost count of the number of times he has spoken about the future of law, but in his introductory remarks to the 2018 CLOC EMEA Institute gathering in London he seemed cheerfully off balance. Many of the concepts Susskind has prophesied are now realities at large US companies and even sceptics would concede that the emergence of sophisticated legal operations teams feels like a decisive shift for the industry.

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Can Freshfields limit the damage as Kirkland tempts PE heavyweight with $10m transfer?

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Can Freshfields limit the damage as Kirkland tempts PE heavyweight with $10m transfer?

Nathalie Tidman assesses the fallout as M&A veteran quits an unsettled City giant

Even for a market grown blithe to big-name M&A partners quitting for the dollar, Kirkland & Ellis’s recruitment of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s David Higgins just before Christmas sent a jolt. Continue reading “Can Freshfields limit the damage as Kirkland tempts PE heavyweight with $10m transfer?”

Cadwalader takes multiple hits in London as Milbank and Brown Rudnick swoop in

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Cadwalader takes multiple hits in London as Milbank and Brown Rudnick swoop in

It has been an expansive start of the year in terms of partner hires for a group of finance-focused US shops with tight London operations.

First Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s City restructuring practice was decimated by the departure of four partners to Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, led by global financial restructuring co-chair Yushan Ng, with Jacqueline Ingram, Karen McMaster and Sinjini Saha following him. McMaster and Ingram had already followed Ng in changing firms in 2013 from Linklaters, where they were associates. Saha was made partner when she joined Cadwalader from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in 2015.

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DLA whittles senior partner race to three-way contest as elections grip the City

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DLA whittles senior partner race to three-way contest as elections grip the City

Hamish McNicol looks at the frontrunners amid a bumper season of senior leadership changes

DLA Piper is making up for lost time in its first senior partner election in a decade. The month-long process, which initially involved eight candidates, two voting stages and ten days of hustings, has been heralded by the firm as showing its breadth and depth, but has also raised eyebrows. Continue reading “DLA whittles senior partner race to three-way contest as elections grip the City”

After an expansive 2017, Norton Rose Fulbright starts year with Asia pullback

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After an expansive 2017, Norton Rose Fulbright starts year with Asia pullback

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) made headlines in 2017 by pulling off mergers in the US and Australia, but 2018 has started with the firm retrenching internationally, closing in Kazakhstan and Abu Dhabi while Paul Hastings raided its Japanese corporate team.

NRF Tokyo head of corporate, M&A and securities Eiji Kobayashi joined Paul Hastings’ Japanese base in mid-January, with a four-person team, including two associates, one paralegal and one secretary, to follow him a few weeks later. Continue reading “After an expansive 2017, Norton Rose Fulbright starts year with Asia pullback”

An ‘amicable’ discussion sees Weil Gotshal exit Hungary as 20-strong team joins Bird & Bird

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An ‘amicable’ discussion sees Weil Gotshal exit Hungary as 20-strong team joins Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird has bolstered its Budapest operations by adding a 20-strong Weil, Gotshal & Manges team, bringing the US firm’s presence in Hungary to an end.

Both parties insisted that the two-partner team move on 1 February was the result of an ‘amicable arrangement’ between the firms rather than headhunting by Bird & Bird. Continue reading “An ‘amicable’ discussion sees Weil Gotshal exit Hungary as 20-strong team joins Bird & Bird”

‘Incredibly strong’ – debt counsel gear up for another boom year in leveraged finance

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‘Incredibly strong’ – debt counsel gear up for another boom year in leveraged finance

Nathalie Tidman finds lawyers bemused by crazy pricing and a wall of debt

‘Short of Trump nuking North Korea, I can’t see any immediate problems on the horizon,’ reflects Latham & Watkins partner Christopher Kandel. It is safe to say finance advisers believe the recent bonanza of European leveraged finance activity will continue through 2018 on the back of another record year for the European market. Continue reading “‘Incredibly strong’ – debt counsel gear up for another boom year in leveraged finance”

Carillion collapse: Global 100 firms take centre stage as construction giant enters liquidation

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Carillion collapse: Global 100 firms take centre stage as construction giant enters liquidation

Freshfields is acting for the official receiver

One of the largest UK insolvencies for years, the collapse of construction giant Carillion is poised to have a wide-ranging impact on a number of industries, not least among the most prominent restructuring and insolvency advisers in the City. Continue reading “Carillion collapse: Global 100 firms take centre stage as construction giant enters liquidation”

Dealwatch: the Magic Circle players kicking off 2018

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Dealwatch: the Magic Circle players kicking off 2018
  • Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters advised as media company Informa entered talks to acquire events organiser UBM. Corporate partners Katherine Moir and Steven Fox led the CC team advising Informa on the deal, which would create a company worth £9bn. Linklaters corporate partners Michael Honan and Iain Fenn acted for UBM.
  • Linklaters also joined Kirkland & Ellis on the restructuring of South African retail holding company Steinhoff International reported to have €2.7bn in convertible bonds and debts of €10.7bn. Restructuring partners Sean Lacey and Kon Asimacopoulos led the Kirkland team advising the convertible bonds alongside Munich restructuring partner Sacha Lürken, while Linklaters’ Richard Bussell advised Steinhoff.

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