Legal Business

Addleshaws in bid to merge with Glasgow’s Maclays as run of Anglo-Scots consolidation continues

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Legal mergers Addleshaw Goddard
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Addleshaw Goddard is in talks to merge with Scots law firm Maclay Murray & Spens in a deal that would create a national practice with combined revenues of around £230m and offices in eleven locations, including London, Manchester, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Hong Kong.

An Addleshaws partner confirmed the discussions. The proposed merger, which is planned to go live on 1 May 2016, is still subject to a partnership vote.

Legal Business understands that Addleshaws partners had a firm-wide meeting on 12 November, and although the possibility of a merger was discussed, the union with Maclays was not mentioned at this time, according to one partner.

Top 25 UK firm Addleshaws saw a turnaround this financial year, after a period dominated by internal discord, management changes and falling revenues. The 2014/15 year saw the firm post revenue growth of 12%, up from £171m in 2013/14 to £193m – the highest levels since 2007/08. Profits per equity partner (PEP) was up 26% to £491,000.

The Glasgow-based Maclays, which announced revenues of £43.5m for 2014/15, has faced its own challenges in recent years amid a difficult national legal market. Growth was stagnant for this year with revenues at the firm down 17% over the last five years. However, PEP was up 10% annually to £283,000.

Maclays is one of Scotland’s last remaining major independent firms, following Dundas & Wilson’s 2014 merger with CMS and McGrigors 2012 tie-up with Pinsent Masons. The firm had previously entered talks with legacy firm Bond Pearce in 2011.

Both firms refused to comment officially on the discussions but made no attempt to deny talks.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Addleshaws enters booming contract lawyer market with AG Integrate

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As it continues its revamp in the hope of becoming a top 20-firm by 2019, Addleshaw Goddard has launched a contract lawyer offering labelled AG Integrate, targeting both clients and as a service to supplement its own workforce.

Headed up by Greg Bott, the service will draw from a pool of lawyers comprising alumni and others that have passed an assessment – a process that incorporates CV, interviews and technical tests. As well as placing those lawyers with clients, Addleshaws will use the service itself for when practices see peaks in demand or if groups have lost staff through secondments or parental leave.

Greg Bott, who also manages the firm’s Client Development Centre, told Legal Business: ‘We know that clients do have a need for temporary resource for discrete periods of time, clients are operating on this approach of more for less. There is a demand from our client base, this business will help us meet that but it will also help with our own work as we see peaks in demand for deal flow where we would like to access a wider pool of talent. It also has the potential for an alternative career path for some of our people.’

The move will see Addleshaws follow in the footsteps of other law firms’ flexible lawyer efforts such as Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Lawyers On Demand (LOD) and Pinsent Masons’ Vario network. However, the firm confirmed the new service will not be spun-out as a separate entity like LOD was.

Katherine Rathbone, HR manager at Addleshaws argued the firm had done similar measures previously on an informal basis: ‘We have done this informally before, both with our fee earners, and also our paralegals through the TST, where clients are looking for resource at different levels rather than just a one-off placement. We see it more as an evolution rather than a necessity.’

Looking ahead, Bott said: ‘This will be an important element of the firm’s offering in the medium to long term. I would like it to be a strong supportive element of our business which is high-quality and perceived in the market as being such – that all the people you get through AG integrate are of highest quality. This will not dilute the quality of Addleshaw’s brand and if there had been the slightest risk of that we wouldn’t have launched this.’

The launch follows the unveiling of the firm’s new strategy, announced by managing partner John Joyce at the end of 2014. Concrete financial targets include the aim of becoming a top-20 firm by 2019, with a profit per equity partner spread of £300,000 to £1m, almost double the £560,000 it is now, as well as a profit margin of 30%. The new strategy seeks to re-establish AG’s place in the market – something boosted by its 2014/15 financials that saw revenues grow 12% from £171m to £193m.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Addleshaw Goddard’s top of equity nears £1m goal as it rises 67% to £936k

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Financial results 2015 Addleshaw Goddard
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Addleshaw Goddard’s top of equity figure has edged closer to the £1m goal unveiled in John Joyce’s (pictured) revamped strategy last year, soaring 67% from £560,000 to £936,000.

The firm’s equity spread now ranges from £246,000 to £936,000 compared to financial year 2013/14 when it ranged from £220,000 to £560,000. The change shows the firm is on track to hit the financial targets set out in Joyce’s new strategy, unveiled at the end of last year and which wanted to see partners able to access greater rewards.

Addleshaws is aiming to become a top-20 firm by 2019, with a profit per equity partner (PEP) spread of £300,000 to £1m, as well as a profit margin of 30%. The firm is also targeting £6,000 per equity point by financial year 2017/18, with its current model running from 50 to 140 points with the opportunity to award bonus points based on performance.

Addleshaws has enjoyed a change in fortunes for the 2014/15 financial year, posting double-digit revenue growth of 12%, up from £171m in 2013/14 to £193m – the highest revenue figure since 2007/08 and just shy in nominal terms of the £195m it achieved then. The results mean larger pay packets for both fee and non-fee earners at the firm, with a ring-fenced bonus pool for strong performers being increased up to fourfold.

Last month, the firm obtained a fillip to its 2015/16 financials when it was revealed that it had won £12.6m in legal fees relating to action undertaken for Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. The firm has also recently broadened its strategy by expanding the Client Development Centre it established in 2005, creating AG Consulting and preparing a flexible lawyer offering.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

For more on Addleshaws’ new strategy see: Last orders – Addleshaws gets behind its new leader, but can it regain its form?

Legal Business

Addleshaw Goddard wins claim for £12.6m in ‘hard earned’ fees from Berezovsky estate

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In a judgment published today (28 July) at the Senior Courts Costs Office, Addleshaw Goddard has won its case against the administrators of Boris Berezovsky estate over £12.6m in ‘hard earned’ fees.

The estate’s administrators, Grant Thornton’s Nicholas Wood and Kevin Hellard, had refused to pay the legal fees, which related to the $6.5bn litigation undertaken by Berezovsky against Roman Abramvoich and over 30 other matters, as they believe the estate to be insolvent. The administrators argued against Addleshaws claim on several grounds including that the contract had been a conditional fee agreement rather than a contentious business agreement and that even if owed that the firm would rank alongside unsecured creditors.

However, Costs Judge Master Campbell found in favour of Addleshaws in all arguments, saying: ‘The fees were hard earned on AG’s part and without the firm’s exertions, the creditors could usefully reflect that there would have been no fund over which they can now lay claim. Given too, that but for his death, the money would long since have been paid to AG, I consider it is only just that the firm’s bills should be cleared without further delay.’

The firm, with a team led by partners Mark Hastings and John Kelleher, acted for Berezovsky on his landmark $6.5bn dispute with Abramvoich and is now set to recieve the £12.6m plus costs and interests. The Russian oligarch signed an engagement letter in May 2009, with a later letter in October laying out the terms which gave a 50% reduction if the case failed and then two levels of fee if the case was successful that were based on the amount recovered.

The firm said in a statement: ‘Addleshaw Goddard has not, and will not discuss the arrangements this firm entered into with the late Mr Berezovsky, save to say that the steps the firm has taken are to ensure that funds are paid in accordance with the arrangements agreed and the instructions given by the late Mr Berezovsky.’

Addleshaws’ Hastings instructed Nicholas Bacon QC and Danial Saoul of 4 New Square on its claim alongside South Square’s John Briggs. The administrators turned to Holman Fenwick Willan for their defence, which instructed 4 New Square’s Robert Marven and Stephen Atherton QC from 20 Essex Street.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

For more coverage of the landmark Berezovsky litigation see: Battle Royale

Legal Business

Addleshaws launches AG Consulting ahead of contract lawyer offering

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Innovation Addleshaw Goddard
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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.

Speaking to Legal Business, Greg Bott, who is heading up the venture, said: ‘These are all areas where clients need more help and support than ever before.’

The unit will include a contract lawyer offering, which is currently in the final stages of development and is set to launch shortly. The new service uses a pool of qualified lawyers and paralegals, and will also be offered to clients on a stand-alone basis as well as for Addleshaws’ internal use to fill gaps left by lawyers seconded to clients or where one-off projects require extra personnel.

Addleshaws will be offering both AG Consulting and its flexible resourcing capability on top of its current Manchester-based transaction services team, which consists of paralegals mainly carrying out document processing and high-volume work.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Addleshaws launches AG Consulting ahead of contract lawyer offering

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Innovation Addleshaw Goddard
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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.

Legal Business

‘Not job done but it is the first step’: Addleshaws’ turnaround emerges as revenues grow 12% to £193m

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Financial results 2015 Addleshaw Goddard
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After having elected managing partner John Joyce (pictured) to help turnaround what had been a string of lethargic results following the financial crisis, Addleshaw Goddard has posted double digit revenue growth of 12%, up from £171m in 2013/14 to £193m for the financial year 2014/15, while profits per equity partner (PEP) are expected to return to 2012/13 levels.

The turnover rise takes revenue to its highest level since 2007/08 and just shy in nominal terms of the £195m it achieved then. While the firm’s PEP figure has yet to be released, it is expected to have grown faster than the 12% revenue rise, putting it past £437,000 – a figure that compares favourably with the £440,000 in 2012/13 and comes after last year’s PEP fell by 11% to £390,000. The results will also see larger pay packets for fee and non-fee earners at the firm, with a ring-fenced bonus pool for strong performers being increased up to fourfold.

According to Joyce, the 675-lawyer firm has also ended the year in a positive cash position for the first time since 2009. Speaking to Legal Business, Joyce said the revenue figure was at the top end of the firm’s expectations: ‘It is an awesome result – to quote our financial director. It’s not job done but it is the first step along the way. It shows we are on the right track. And it is not just in the numbers either, it is in the atmosphere within the firm and the general vibe around the offices is much more positive.’

Addleshaws best-performing service lines were corporate, commercial and litigation – which all grew in excess of 12%. A result which Joyce puts down to a general pick up in the market and the fact that the firm has picked up some big transactions particularly in top-end litigation. Joyce is confident that the result is also evidence that the ‘A Fresh Perspective’ strategy, rolled out in December 2014, is working.

‘I think the result is a mixture of both the strategy and the general market. Part of it is the strategy but in a favourable market which enables you to deliver better on it,’ he said. ‘It shows we have got ourselves back on a different trajectory than what we were. I would say that we have broken out of that decline spiral and therefore that should make us more attractive for people that want to come and join us. I think the other great thing about this year as well is the fact we ended it with cash at bank rather than debt.’

The results will go some way towards meeting the key financial performance targets put in place by the firm’s new strategy, including achieving at least £250m in fee income by 2017/18 with an equity spread of £300,000 to £1m, a 30% profit margin.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

For more on Addleshaws’ new strategy and its impact see: Last orders – Addleshaws gets behind its new leader, but can it regain its form?

Legal Business

Another management departure at Olswang as GC Callander leaves to take on new role at Addleshaws

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Strategic recruitment Addleshaw GoddardCMS UK
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Addleshaw Goddard has hired Olswang’s general counsel (GC) and partnership secretary Simon Callander as it expands its partnership secretary role, left vacant by Peter Smith last year, to include GC responsibilities.

Callander, who had worked at Olswang from November 2011, is the latest management exit from the firm after global director of human resources Ffion Griffith, who also sat on the firm’s executive committee, left in March. He specialises in areas including major commercial contract negotiation, litigation and risk management, and operational leadership and management.

Legal Business understands that Callander accepted an offer from Addleshaws in March and is currently working out his notice period before joining the firm in September. The general counsel portion of the role is new for the firm and was added, according to a spokesperson, because ‘there is a sense that the firm would benefit from somebody taking on that role and responsibility. It covers a wide range of areas including risk.’

The partnership secretary role at Addleshaws has been vacant for just over a year since Peter Smith retired last May. Smith, who served in the role for almost five years, was previously the global COO of Baker & McKenzie and was based in Chicago. He was also chief executive of the now defunct Norton Rose M5 Group from 1990 – 1998.

The move follows news earlier this month that Olswang had elected intellectual property partner Paul Stevens as chief executive, taking over from Michael Burdon who carried out the role on an interim basis following former chief executive David Stewart’s resignation in October last year. Stewart’s exit came after differences emerged with other management figures over the firm’s strategy, expansion plans and spending.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Winning work: Addleshaws picks up lead role on Tate & Lyle’s joint venture break up

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Corporate Addleshaw Goddard
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Addleshaw Goddard has secured a lucrative mandate from British-based multinational Tate & Lyle, a client traditionally associated with the Magic Circle firm Linklaters.

The firm is acting for Tate & Lyle in the breaking up and subsequent sell-off of its Eaststarch joint venture with The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), an American-based global food processing and commodities-trading Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, ADM will take full ownership of corn wet mills in Bulgaria and Turkey and will own a 50 percent stake in a wet mill in Hungary. Meanwhile Tate & Lyle will receive a cash consideration of €240m and take full ownership of the Eaststarch facility in Slovakia.

The team is led by retail and consumer head Andrew Rosling, with support from ex-Linklaters partner Bruce Kilpatrick advising on competition and regulatory issues. Ben Woolf, corporate lawyer at Tate & Lyle, worked on the deal from the in-house side.

Eversheds advised ADM on the deal with a team led by the co-chair of Eversheds’ cross border M&A team Robin Johnson and head of UK commercial in Manchester Tom Bridgford.

Addleshaws also worked with two firms from their international best friends network Rotterdam headquartered Loyens & Loeff and German-based Noerr on certain cross-border jurisdictional issues.

Legal Business understands that Tate & Lyle is a new client relationship for Addleshaws, and while the firm has carried out some pieces of work already for company, this is the most significant instruction to date.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Last orders – Addleshaws gets behind its new leader, but can it regain its form?

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Leadership Addleshaw Goddard
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National thoroughbred Addleshaw Goddard has consistently struggled to find its form since the credit crunch. Kathryn McCann assesses if new MP John Joyce can galvanise the firm.

‘There is a general sense of optimism in the firm at the moment,’ comments one former Addleshaw Goddard partner of their old shop. ‘But then you have got to realise how bad it was. The reason why people are so upbeat is because the last four or five years have been nothing short of a disaster. It has stopped the rot, but the big challenge is what’s going to happen next.’