Q&A with HSF’s new global head of disputes Justin D’Agostino

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Justin D’Agostino has taken over as global head of dispute resolution at commercial litigation heavyweight Herbert Smith Freehills. Here the Asia-based lawyer talks to Legal Business about joining the dots of an expanding practice.

What effect will a Hong Kong-based disputes head have on the global practice?

Being based in Asia gives me a good opportunity to be in the middle of it all; it’s a positive from that respect. It will be different having the global head not being based in London but we have very strong local disputes managers in London. I will be joining the pieces across the globe.

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With an external legal spend in excess of $1bn since 2010, BP launches panel review

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Energy giant BP, which has paid around $1bn in external legal fees in relation to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, has announced a review of its UK law firm adviser line-up.

Firms have been asked to tender for a place on the FTSE 100 company’s new roster, pending the expiry in May of a three-year panel put in place in 2011. The review will be completed towards the middle of 2014.

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Blake Lapthorn and Morgan Cole announce July merger

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Tie-up to create a strong platform in south of England and Wales

Despite talks over the giant south-east combination between Blake Lapthorn, Boyes Turner and Morgan Cole to create a £100m firm falling through late last year with Boyes Turner withdrawing, Blake Lapthorn and Morgan Cole last month announced the two will merge on 1 July to form Blake Morgan, a 120-partner firm with a joint revenue of £72m.

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‘We’ll see who wants to step up’ – Burch on growth, ambition and managing partners

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Francesca Fanshawe talks to Addleshaw Goddard’s senior partner ahead of big strategic decisions

There is a lot riding on the strategy Addleshaw Goddard will finalise this year, with the national thoroughbred still struggling to regain its form five years after the banking crisis severely hit its practice.

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Freshfields remains bullish in wake of heavyweight arbitration departures

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Magic Circle firm will continue to work with Three Crowns spin off

An undisputed leader in the field of arbitration, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has nonetheless been hit by the recent departures of London heavyweights Constantine Partasides and Paris-based partner Georgios Petrochilos, together with a team out of its German offices, bringing the latest exits to five.

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Those thoroughly fashionable provinces – vogue for City players to hit low-cost regions becomes the new black

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Sarah Downey reports on how a regional arm became the hottest accessory for London firms

How the fashions in professional services can change. Having long disdained moving into lower-cost regions, March saw another two top 20 City players announce ‘northshoring’ ventures, with Hogan Lovells and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) confirming moves respectively into Birmingham and Manchester.

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Spanish leaders Uría and Cuatrecasas hike fees as confidence returns to battered market

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Despite Spanish M&A values dropping significantly in 2013 and amid the country’s continuing well-publicised debt crisis, two of Spain’s big four law firms have reported an uptick in turnover as a note of optimism returns to Europe’s fourth-largest jurisdiction.

Deal value in 2013 was down from $47.6bn to $32.2bn, according to mergermarket, but with a substantially improving pipeline post summer 2013, Uría Menéndez last month reported the strongest growth of the four: a 2.9% increase in revenues for 2013.

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Singapore: QFLP renewals, hires for Milbank and a new office for Harneys

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Singapore has over the past month dominated much of the legal agenda in Asia, starting with the renewal process early in March of its sought-after qualifying foreign legal practice (QFLP) licences.

Of the original six firms that were awarded a QFLP in 2008 and which came up for five-year renewal, Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance, Latham & Watkins and Norton Rose Fulbright had their licences renewed for another five years.

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Adviser cheer as City float boom builds momentum with a string of major IPOs

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Retail IPO surge on back of increasing confidence

Capital markets partners attest to an end to the jitters that have until now dogged the initial public offerings (IPO) market, with retailers including Poundland, Pets at Home and AO World in recent weeks making their debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

With the latest figures from Thomson Reuters showing that the value of LSE listings is up by 677% compared to this time last year, Pets at Home listed in mid-March at a value of £1.2bn, gifting Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Clifford Chance (CC) and Travers Smith with lead mandates.

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Irwin Mitchell replaced by Shakespeares on National Grid’s UK panel after review

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Top 30 UK firm Irwin Mitchell last month lost its place on energy giant National Grid’s legal panel to Shakespeares, following a review by UK general counsel (GC) and company secretary Karen Clayton.

The 700-lawyer firm was appointed for debt recovery services on the FTSE 100 energy company’s panel in 2011, at a time when it cut its roster of firms by 25% to 16.

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