TRAVERS SMITH ADVISES ON $540M SOFTWARE DEAL
Travers Smith and Kirkland & Ellis landed lead advisory roles on the $540m acquisition by Micro Focus of US firm Serena Software. In March, UK software firm Micro Focus said it would acquire Serena Software on a cash and debt-free basis for $540m. Travers Smith acted for longstanding client Micro Focus while Kirkland acted for Serena Software.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in March 2016”
Every time my father got a promotion we had to move. It trains you to fit in with new crowds. He worked for the Midland Bank. We lived in Carlisle, Shropshire, Birmingham, Kingston-upon-Thames and Manchester. It focused me on academic work as each new school had a different syllabus so I was always catching up.
I used to stand in our garage handing my father spanners. My favourite car in my youth was the Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, which was one of the classic Pininfarina designs of the ’50s. They were the embodiment of high-quality engineering. I went through a severe Lancia-buying phase in my 20s. I bought five!
Continue reading “Life During Law: Chris Saul, Slaughter and May”
Shell external roster set to dominate reconfigured in-house department
Royal Dutch Shell has kicked off a review of its external legal roster after finalising its £47bn takeover of BG Group last month and as their existing panels come to an end. As a result of the takeover, the second-largest energy deal on record, both companies will overhaul their legal divisions.
A tax on City lawyers floated by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to subsidise the criminal court system has been effectively abandoned amid Treasury opposition, according to senior City sources.
The levy was floated by the MoJ in October last year as a means to replace revenue generated from a controversial court charge on convicted criminals that was supposed to bring in £65m to £90m annually.
Continue reading “Gove’s City levy kicked into long-grass amid Treasury opposition”
Bank’s European in-house team reshuffled as GC Leistner departs
A strong reputation for derivatives work has seen Ashurst selected to join the Magic Circle’s big four international firms on Credit Suisse’s recently finalised UK law firm roster.
Continue reading “Derivatives experience helps Ashurst join Magic Circle on Credit Suisse UK panel”
Firm aims to save clients up to 30% on disclosure
Mishcon de Reya has launched a new venture with e-discovery provider Unified and software developer kCura, agreeing a fixed-price three-year contract that it claims will save clients between 10% and 30% on large disclosure exercises.
Continue reading “Mishcon de Reya launches e-discovery business”
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is restructuring its London teams, which has delayed the election of a new European managing partner and comes amid cash flow problems in the legacy SJ Berwin practice.
The move comes as the firm rolls out its 2020 strategy, which KWM global managing partner Stuart Fuller described as setting ‘a vision to be in the global elite for the next century’.
Firm leaders discuss selling points as deal goes to a vote
As Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) closes in on its merger with Miami-based Greenberg Traurig, both firms have targeted full financial integration as their leaders sell the deal to their partnerships.
After a four-month election, Allen & Overy (A&O)’s C-suite for the next four years was revealed last month with corporate lawyers Wim Dejonghe and Andrew Ballheimer chosen as the new leaders.
Arguably the only Magic Circle firm to keep pace with US rivals over the last five years, A&O’s partnership opted for continuity as Dejonghe, who has been managing partner for the past eight years, was named senior partner. Co-head of corporate Ballheimer joined him as global managing partner, giving the management duo at A&O – which has traditionally included a partner from the firm’s signature banking group – a distinctly corporate look.
In the largest New Law merger to date, the UK’s biggest freelance lawyer service Lawyers On Demand (LOD) has sealed a deal with Australia’s AdventBalance to create a £25m business.
Revenue at LOD rose by 42% in the 2014/15 financial year to hit £12.3m and, with the merger doubling turnover, the deal is set to catapult LOD into the UK’s 100 largest legal services businesses, pulling in more than established law firms such as Harbottle & Lewis and Boodle Hatfield, less than a decade since its launch.
