Freshfields among firms in talks to take over the office
The last 12 months have been quite a whirlwind at Olswang. Following the surprise exit of chief executive David Stewart last autumn, the firm had only just appointed intellectual property (IP) partner Paul Stevens as its new chief executive in May, when last month its entire Berlin outpost announced it was splitting off.
Continue reading “Olswang to lose Berlin team in strategy reversal”
Withers makes further Asia push with Japanese opening
King & Spalding chose Tokyo last month as its second base in Asia, hiring a team of Ashurst partners led by Tokyo managing partner John McClenahan to spearhead its launch, while private client specialist Withers also made moves in the region by establishing a Japanese tax practice.
Continue reading “King & Spalding secures four-partner Ashurst team for Tokyo launch”
FRESHFIELDS BREAKS CITY LOCKSTEP TO BRING IN KIRKLAND’S McKIMM
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s hire of Kirkland & Ellis high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm made waves in the City in June. Joining as co-head of European leveraged finance, McKimm’s salary is understood to be well above the firm’s City top of equity.
US CITY TEAMS TAKE LEAD ROLES ON GHG’S £1.5BN DEBT RESTRUCTURING
General Healthcare Group (GHG)’s £1.5bn debt restructuring, involving two commercial mortgage-backed securitisations (CMBSs), saw Paul Hastings’ London office win a role advising Capita Asset Services, which acted on behalf of the senior lenders. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy represented the junior lenders, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted for Barclays, which had roles both in the CMBSs and as counter-party to an interest rate swap. Sidley Austin and Clifford Chance acted for other swap counter-parties, while Simmons & Simmons acted for GHG.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in June 2015”
The lift bank on my floor is the perfect length for a cricket pitch. My son’s old school cricket bat gets used and at 10pm it can be dangerous, as there is quite possibly a golf ball being chipped down the corridor. I have a number of dents outside my office. There is some valuable artwork on that wall, but nobody’s succeeded in hitting it yet.
I trained at Simpson Curtis in Leeds in the early 1980s, because I swore I would never come down to London. I just wasn’t going to come down to this nasty part of the world where it was a case of one-up-over-the-Joneses.
Continue reading “Life during law: Mark Darley, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom”
DAC Beachcroft is gearing up for a management election this summer between both insurance and non-insurance partners as the firm looks to select its first new executive team since the merger of Davies Arnold Cooper and Beachcroft in October 2011.
Current senior partner Simon Hodson and managing partner Paul Murray have been in place since 2005 when they were elected to the roles at legacy Beachcroft and then re-elected for a second term in 2010. Neither will stand again this time around.
Continue reading “DAC Beachcroft set for defining post-merger management election”
CLYDES AND SIMPSON & MARWICK IN ANGLO/SCOTS MERGER BID
Clyde & Co is in merger talks with former Kennedys target, Scottish firm Simpson & Marwick. Simpson’s five Scottish offices plus outposts in Newcastle, Leeds and London could be added on to Clydes’ office network, although its 15-strong family law team exited the firm last month for Brodies.
EY LAW HIRES FINREG LAUNCH TEAM AND SENIOR ADDLESHAWS DUO
Accountancy giant EY made a further push into legal services in May, hiring Baker & McKenzie financial services partner Steven Francis, plus a 12-strong team of lawyers to launch a financial regulatory business. It also announced the hire of former Addleshaw Goddard managing partner Paul Devitt and corporate partner Richard Thomas to its Manchester office with plans to grow a team servicing the North West.
Nearly a year in the offing, Reed Smith has opened its second German office with a bang, hiring a total of seven partners from Mayer Brown; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Willkie Farr & Gallagher; and Jones Day to launch the firm in Frankfurt.
Ten years after first arriving in Germany with an office in Munich, Reed Smith has opened in one of Europe’s largest financial centres with partners in finance, corporate, regulatory, private equity and real estate.
Continue reading “Reed Smith launches in Frankfurt with raid on US rivals”
As it looks to return to its pre-financial crisis form Addleshaw Goddard is set to launch AG Consulting, which will provide a range of new services to general counsel and in-house legal teams, including panel and risk management.
The consultancy falls within the firm’s existing client development centre (CDC) which was established in 2005. The focus will be on seven business lines: spend analytics, legal process analysis, legal risk management and horizon scanning, knowledge management, legal project management, legal needs analysis and panel management.
Continue reading “Addleshaws launches AG Consulting ahead of contract lawyer offering”
City giant’s remuneration review comes after recent key departures
In a move considered overdue by some, Clifford Chance (CC) voted through proposed changes to its remuneration system in late April, creating a more flexible lockstep by stretching the top of the ladder in a bid to retain star partners.
The firm traditionally operated a lockstep system with a single profit pool, where partners spent three years as juniors before progressing on to the equity ladder, which ranges between 40 and 100 points. Under the changes voted through, leading partners can be moved from 100 points up to either 115 or 130, while others may be brought down from the 100-point plateau to 70 points. While billed by management as a fairly comprehensive review intended to look at performance across all geographies, it remains unclear which criteria will be used to determine how partners will move up or down the ladder.
Continue reading “Clifford Chance votes through changes to lockstep in bid to retain heavyweights”
