Allen & Overy news, updates and analysis | Page 22 of 34

It will be the end of an era at Allen & Overy (A&O) come May 2016 when senior partner David Morley and global managing partner Wim Dejonghe step down from their current leadership roles, with Morley retiring from the firm after 36 years.

The duo have led the firm since 2008, completing two terms each – the maximum any A&O partner can hold a senior management position. And while they have left big shoes to fill, names of potential candidates to take on the management of arguably the strongest Magic Circle performer of the last five years have been disclosed by internal and external A&O sources ahead of the official announcement at the end of the year.

Co-head of global corporate Andrew Ballheimer is a potential contender to replace Dejonghe as managing partner, with Dejonghe having the option to seek election to succeed Morley as senior partner. Others cited as strong candidates include global banking co-heads Stephen Kensell and Andrew Trahair, as well as disputes head Tim House. None of the incoming names have run as candidates in previous leadership elections. All partners mentioned declined to respond to questions about the firm’s leadership.

The firm’s small, partner-driven organising committee will oversee the election process and call for partners to put themselves forward towards the end of the year, after which the nominees will be officially announced and the campaigning process will begin. The vote is not scheduled until early next year, followed by the handover period. The new leadership roles will take effect in May 2016.

A spokesperson at A&O declined to comment at this stage.

Ballheimer covers public and private M&A and equity capital market transactions, and became corporate managing partner for operations in 2005. Kensell and Trahair were both appointed to co-head the firm’s banking group in 2008 and will by next year have completed two terms as practice heads. House, on the other hand, has over 25 years’ experience in litigation, and previously sat on the management board for two terms.

Former A&O capital markets chief Boyan Wells – who departed the firm in 2014 to join SGDA’s strategic advisory board – ran against Dejonghe for the managing partner post in 2008, while Morley was up against Richard Cranfield, global chair of A&O’s corporate practice and co-head of the financial institutions group.

Morley first went into leadership in May 2003 – after battling it out against Dejonghe – for the firm’s global managing partner position. He succeeded John Rink as managing partner after Rink stepped down a year ahead of schedule. He was then elected as senior partner in 2008, replacing Guy Beringer.

Dejonghe led the firm’s Belgium office for six years before being elected as global managing partner in 2008, replacing Morley, who had completed two terms. Prior to this, Dejonghe also co-headed A&O’s global corporate practice, having joined the firm in 2001 from Loeff Claeys Verbeke (now Loyens & Loeff).

A&O’s preparation for new leadership comes as peers also undergo senior management changes, with Linklaters in September eliminating early frontrunners and leaving banking chief Gideon Moore, dispute resolution head Michael Bennett, and Asia managing partner Marc Harvey as the final three in contention to replace Simon Davies as the firm’s managing partner. The winner will most likely serve alongside corporate partner Charlie Jacobs, frontrunner for the senior partner position set to be vacated by Robert Elliott this time next year.

Meanwhile, Slaughter and May’s preparation for new leadership remains ongoing, following senior partner Chris Saul’s confirmation in June that he will step down.

Also in June, after a three-way contest, frontrunners Edward Braham and Christopher Pugh won Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s leadership election with Braham confirmed as senior partner, while Pugh will sit alongside Cologne-based Stephan Eilers as joint managing partner.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Allen & Overy (A&O) is closing down its Canadian office, one year on from becoming the first Magic Circle firm to set up a representative office in Toronto.

The closure comes after the office’s only partner and office head Francois Duquette announced he will quit to take on an in-house role at Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et de Placement du Quebec. The office’s two other staff members – an associate and one personal assistant – are currently exploring their options.

The office handled outbound investment work for Canadian clients, but still used a network of local firms for domestic Canadian work, as A&O’s outpost did not practice local law. A&O confirmed it will continue to use these firms for domestic work and manage its Canadian client relationships on a ‘fly-in-fly-out basis’.

A&O had placed its Canada-launch on hold in 2011 to focus on the firm’s opening in Australia. The Toronto base opened its doors last year after Duquette wanted to relocate back to Canada.

Duquette was the founding partner of A&O’s Casablanca office in 2011, and practised in Abu Dhabi from 2004 to 2011. He joined A&O in 2007 as a partner from Simmons & Simmons, where he was an associate. Duquette has banking, finance and corporate experience, and has advised clients across Canada, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

The firm said in a statement: ‘We would like to thank Francois for the contribution he has made during his time at Allen & Overy and wish him all the best for the future.’

In June, A&O won roles, alongside Ashurst and Dickson Minto, on the off-market acquisition of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) by Canadian pension funds OMERS Private Equity and co-investor Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), for which A&O advised OMERS and AIMCo on all aspects of the deal that valued ERM at $1.7bn.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk