Matthew Field and Victoria Young talk to Taylor Wessing head Tim Eyles and assess the firm’s prospects
‘When Tim Eyles took over there was a sea change,’ says one Taylor Wessing partner of their firm’s high-profile UK managing partner. ‘What you need as a leader is clear vision and Tim’s vision of how important it is to be global and focused and to have a culture that recognises achievement is key.’
US ELITE LEAD AS VERIZON TAKES YAHOO! FOR $4.8BN
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are among a host of US firms advising on Verizon Wireless’ much-anticipated acquisition of Yahoo!. Wachtell, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Covington & Burling and Winston & Strawn are acting for Verizon. Skadden, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Weil, Gotshal & Manges are advising Yahoo!, while Cravath, Swaine & Moore is acting for the strategic review committee of Yahoo! as its independent legal adviser.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in July and August 2016”
It’s been a long career. I’m amazed at being here 27 years. People think that must be dull but I’ve had time abroad as a trainee in New York, in management in the Middle East, on secondment at the Takeover Panel. I don’t regret any of it.
Continue reading “Life during law: Guy Norman, Clifford Chance”
Firm posts impressive 8% PEP hike and 7% revenue increase despite headcount drop
With the unaudited results of firms in, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has produced the standout 2015/16 financial performance in what was another muted year for the City’s most powerful law firms.
Tom Moore and Matthew Field size up the immediate impact of the vote on City lawyers
It was the result the profession and the City feared but did not expect as the referendum on European Union (EU) membership on 23 June ended in a shock vote to exit the grouping, triggering political and market shocks set to reverberate for years to come.
DLA Piper misses out as bank sets out new categories
Barclays picked a raft of firms, including Clifford Chance, Ashurst, Simmons & Simmons, Hogan Lovells and Reed Smith, as the banking giant overhauled its global roster last month and slashed its number of go-to advisers by over 60%.
Continue reading “Barclays slashes number of firms by over 60% in global review”
City lawyers faced the wrath of MPs during May and June in an inquiry over the sale of BHS. The April collapse of the retailer, following its sale by Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group for £1 to Dominic Chappell’s Retail Acquisitions, caused political fallout for advisers on the deal, including law firms.
Partners from Olswang, Linklaters, Eversheds and Nabarro all appeared before a joint committee of MPs from the Work and Pensions and the Business, Innovation and Skills departments.
Allen & Overy (A&O)’s growing private equity (PE) team has had a strong year, topping Dealogic’s European PE table after advising on 31 deals across the 2015 calendar year for clients including Apollo Global Management, The Blackstone Group and Carlyle Investment Management. The firm advised on deals equal to 21% of the European buyout market last year, acting on $23.95bn worth of deals.
The A&O team, led by co-heads Stephen Lloyd (pictured), Karine Kodde and Robin Harvey, edged out Magic Circle counterparts as well as US firms in the City.
Continue reading “Allen & Overy beats UK rivals to top 2015 deal table for European private equity”
Axiom and Ashurst follow with similar service to meet regulations
In the first marquee joint venture between a Magic Circle firm and a Big Four accountant, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Deloitte have teamed up to create a tech-driven service to help banks handle post-Lehman regulation.
Both Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer scored lead roles on an attempt by South Africa’s Steinhoff International Holdings to take over British retailer Poundland. Steinhoff, a $22bn homeware and clothing conglomerate, made a bid to take over Poundland, which it already had a 23.26% stake in. At press time, Poundland had rejected Steinhoff’s initial bid, but Steinhoff upped its holding in the UK discount retailer to 23.52%.
Steinhoff already owns PEP, which sells discount clothing, footwear and homeware across 1,800 stores in Africa, as well as UK chain Harveys Furniture.
