Norton Rose and Dentons follow suit as offshoring takes flight
DLA Piper is to cut 200 business support jobs in the UK in a move that will see the firm make one of the largest law firm redundancies since the aftermath of the financial crisis. The restructuring comes as other Legal Business 100 firms, including Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) and Dentons, decided last month to also cut back-office jobs.
Continue reading “DLA to cut 200 UK jobs as global firms trim support roles”
NQs at Freshfields receiving £17.5k extra
Newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have received the largest bump in pay of the Magic Circle so far this year, taking home around 25% more than last year.
At Freshfields, NQ pay packets have been boosted by an extra £17,500 after the firm announced it would be folding in its discretionary bonuses, with pay set to rise 26% to £85,000 on last year’s figure of £67,500. The move follows a freeze last year.
The decision by Linklaters to spin off part of its Shanghai office in a bid to then merge with it at a later date, comes as part of a significant push by Magic Circle firms to practise local law in China.
Having already scoped out the local market for a suitable target to form a joint venture with under new Shanghai Free-Trade Zone (FTZ) rules, which permit domestic law firms to tie-up with international giants and practise local law, Linklaters has decided to go it alone.
Continue reading “Magic Circle chase Chinese law as Linklaters launches Shanghai spin-off”
Three NRF laterals boost German practice
Dentons has targeted two more regions for European growth, launching an office in Munich alongside plans for a back office in Poland.
In a bid to boost its corporate offering in Europe, Dentons is launching its Munich office this summer with the recruit of three partners from Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF). Alexander von Bergwelt will serve as managing partner for the Munich office, and will be responsible for building and leading the new team. He specialises in corporate, private equity, restructuring and litigation.
Continue reading “Dentons opens in Munich and looks to Warsaw for back-office”
Clyde & Co is advising global metals group Liberty House Group, one of the key UK bidders looking to acquire Tata Steel’s UK assets.
In May, Liberty House confirmed it had formally submitted its bid for Tata Steel’s UK assets, including its biggest UK plant, Port Talbot Steelworks. The company has already successfully acquired Tata Steel’s Scottish plate-making facilities in Lanarkshire. The company is one of two UK firms to have submitted a bid, the other being management buyout group Excalibur Steel.
Continue reading “Clyde & Co acts for Liberty House in bid to acquire Tata Steel’s UK assets”
Linklaters has advised on the development and financing of the first two UK offshore wind projects to obtain financing under the government’s new ‘Contract for Difference’ (CFD) regime, worth £2.6bn and £1.3bn respectively.
The Magic Circle firm advised on the construction and financing of the offshore windfarm Beatrice located in the Outer Moray Firth, worth £2.6bn, and advised the developers on the £1.3bn long-term financing for the development of one of the world’s largest offshore windfarms, the Dudgeon windfarm off the east coast of England.
Victoria Young talks to veteran chief David Kerr about growing pains and going even more global
There’s no doubt chief executive David Kerr has overseen a rapid extension of Bird & Bird’s international reach, with additions ranging from a major takeover in Australia, to acquisitions in Denmark, and associations around the Asia-Pacific region. But for Kerr – re-elected in March for another three-year term after spending two decades as chief executive – a new priority is consolidating and tightening the firm’s focus as it comes off a flat 12 months in a crowded mid-market.
ADDLESHAWS IN MERGER TALKS WITH US FIRM
Addleshaw Goddard has turned to the US for a potential merger, having entered into talks with Virginia-based Hunton & Williams. The US firm had revenues of $528m in 2015, while Addleshaws made £193m in 2014/15.
SULLIVANS AND WACHTELL ADVISE ON $62m BAYER DEAL
Sullivan & Cromwell, Allen & Overy (A&O), and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz all won roles as healthcare and agriculture company Bayer placed a bid to acquire agricultural company Monsanto for $62bn in May. Sullivans and A&O are acting for Bayer on M&A and financing matters respectively, while Wachtell has taken the lead for US firm Monsanto.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2016”
Describe myself in three words? Passionate, impatient and aspirational.
I come from a small fishing town in northern Greece most lawyers would not know. A very traditional family, my father was a local civil servant, my mother a homemaker. We weren’t poor, nor rich. Modest in Greece in the 1970s meant no car, no television. But there was a drive to do better. My pushy mum, when I was ten, would give any Indian or Chinese mum today a run for their money!
Continue reading “Life during law: Apostolos Gkoutzinis, Shearman & Sterling”
