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.
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Ashurst‘s highest paid member pocketed 11% less in the 2014/15 financial year compared to 2013/14, the firm’s LLP accounts show. The member with the highest entitlement to profit took home a little over £1m compared to £1.1m the previous year.
This contrasts from the firm’s LLPs last year that showed highest earning member pay was up 16% compared with the previous financial year when the highest profit share’s value was £977,000. The figures in the LLP accounts do not necessarily equate to the highest paid equity member and can relate to ‘golden handshakes’ to retiring members.
The average number of persons employed during the year also dropped by 9% from 2,898 to 2,651, with fee-earning staff heads falling by 93 to 1,399 (down 6%) and other staff head figures falling more considerably by 11% from 1,406 to 1,252. As a result, overall staff costs were down 6% from over £235m to £220m, with salary costs decreasing 7% and social security costs down by 10%.
Ashurst saw some sizeable team exits last year including a nine-lawyer team exit from its US offices, and a four-partner team that left to join King & Spalding in Tokyo.
The audited figures show income is in line with the firm’s revenues posted in July last year decreasing 4% from £582m to £558.6m. In summer 2015 the firm said the results ‘came as no surprise’ given that the last 12 months was a year of investment, including the implementation of a new business strategy, and added that ‘on a like-for-like basis’, with figures adjusted for movement in exchange rates, revenues were up 1% from £558m in 2014.
The firm’s profit for the financial year available for division among members dropped in 2014/15 from just over £203m to £186m falling 8%, while operating profit decreased by 10% from £214m to £193m.
Filed with Companies House, the LLP accounts are the second since Ashurst’s merger with Blake Dawson in November 2013, following the big six Australian firm’s rebranding as Ashurst Australia in March 2012. The LLP comprises legal and tax activity in Asia, Australia, continental Europe, the Middle East, North America and the UK.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
Candidates to replace Ashurst‘s global managing partner have emerged as Legal Business can reveal the board is using a headhunter to find external non-lawyers to be considered for the role.
Although one of many options, recruiting a non-lawyer as the firm’s next managing partner would be a first for Ashurst as it moves into its next phase, which some have called a shift toward a more ‘process-driven’ firm.
As one partner said: ‘Bringing in non-lawyers is about control, discipline and greater focus on profit.’
It is understood the firm is using a headhunter to find potential candidates in chief executive or chief operating officer roles, either in law firms or other professional services firms.
Current global head James Collis took the reins in May 2012 and will stand down at the end of his four-year stint in May this year to return to practice. During his tenure, Collis took a more operational role and oversaw the firm’s finances and the practical areas of running the business.
The global head role will work closely with the firm’s board which already includes two independent non-lawyer members. In June 2013, non-lawyers Robert Gillespie, the former director general of the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, David Turner, the former chairman of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, joined Ashurst’s board to provide external advice and expertise for the first time.
The board members currently are Collis, chairman Ben Tidswell, vice chairman Mary Padbury, chief financial officer Brian Dunlop, partners Cristina Calvo, Mark Vickers, Jennie Mansfield, Roger Davies and Angela Pearson and independent members Gillespie and Turner.
While the firm is open to considering an external non-lawyer to sit as its global head, some partners have signalled some noteworthy internal candidates including Simon Beddow, global co-head of the firm’s corporate, competition and tax division, who has been a partner in the corporate department in London since 1998.
Energy partner Logan Mair who is responsible for the development and implementation of Ashurst’s global client strategy has also been cited a credible candidate by numerous partners, while others have cited equity capital markets head Nicholas Holmes and the former head of Ashurst’s Middle East practice and corporate partner Nick Williamson.
Another name mentioned is Perth-based global co-head of the energy, resources, real estate and infrastructure division Geoff Gishubl, although one partner said that having a leader that was ‘not based in the City could be problematic as the head needs regular contact with the other key roles that are London-based’.
Ashurst previously had Australia-based John Carrington as its managing partner down under, who retired from the firm in October 2014. No successor to the role of Australian managing partner was appointed and the responsibilities of the position were shared across the firm’s Australia-based leadership group.
A joint leadership team with heads in both the UK and Australia is not under consideration. ‘There is an awful amount of travel but the board decided a long time ago that a single head is the best way to go,’ said one partner.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
Ashurst is on the look-out for the firm’s next managing partner as current head James Collis is to stand down after completing his term at the end of May 2016.
The firm has started a selection process to find its successor and will announce the successful candidate in due course. The new leader will be Ashurst’s first board-selected head since its chairman Ben Tidswell was elected to the run the firm in 2013.
Tidswell said: ‘During his term [Collis] has successfully guided us through a large merger, the substantial growth of our business in Asia, the establishment of a highly successful legal and business support office in Glasgow and the implementation of our new strategy.’
Collis added: ‘I feel that now is a good time to return to the finance practice and let someone else direct the firm in this next stage of its development.’
Collis was appointed as the firm’s head in May 2012 when he was 41 years old. He trained at Ashurst and became a partner in 2005 and was a banking partner in Paris before taking on the management role
He succeeded Simon Bromwich who stepped down to become head of the firm’s dispute practice.
Collis will continue in his role as managing partner until the end of his term and will support the board in their search for his replacement.
The board, which includes Tidswell, vice chairman Mary Padbury, chief financial officer Brian Dunlop, partners Cristina Calvo, Mark Vickers, Jennie Mansfield, Roger Davies and Angela Pearson; as well as independent board members Robert Gillespie and David Turner – will select the successor.
Many partners have cited Simon Beddow, the firm’s global co-head of its corporate, competition and tax division, as a likely forerunner, although some have argued a finance partner would be a better option given the firm’s changing direction.
One partner told Legal Business: ‘The next head will have to accept the direction is changing from corporate to finance. The firm is moving towards a focus on investment banks so you query whether the next managing partner should come from corporate or finance.’
Another added: ‘The managing partner role is effectively the executive arm of the board so its members will pick a person whose ideas are in line with the board.’
Another partner indicated that the role could be offered to a partner not based in the City and said: ‘The firm has gone through a lot of change these past few years. This role is not about covering London but a global firm. It could well fall into the hands of a partner not based here.’
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
After a slow churn of lateral partner hires in Ashurst‘s London office, the Anglo-Australian firm has kick-started 2016 by recruiting DLA Piper‘s high-profile international arbitration head Matthew Saunders.
Saunders resigned from DLA Piper this week after 15 years at the firm, and is replaced by Paris-based Michael Ostrove, who will become global head of international arbitration.
He will join Ashurst’s 15-partner disputes team in the City, which includes the well-regarded international arbitration head Ronnie King.
His arrival gives the firm’s arbitration practice a serious boost, particularly its London-based offering, which aside from King has only two other partners covering arbitration as part of their wider practice.
Ashurst global head of dispute resolution Simon Bromwich said: ‘We have ambitious plans to grow our international arbitration practice in priority sectors and regions for the firm and Matthew’s appointment is a further step in pursuit of that strategy. We are continuing to see a high number of disputes arising from, for example, major infrastructure projects and Matthew’s knowledge and expertise will help us to capitalise further on that.’
Saunders joined DLA Piper as a partner in 2001 and helped found the arbitration practice. Before that he worked at Stephenson Harwood where he trained and qualified in 1991 and became a partner in 1998.
Saunders’ practice focuses on international projects, including proceedings under bilateral investment treaties. He has experience advising sovereign and federal governments, international energy businesses, multinational corporations and financial institutions, and has worked in Russia and the CIS, Africa and central Asia advising both investors and governments on investment protection frameworks.
Recent mandates include acting for Gazprom in SCC arbitrations with claims in excess of $23bn relating to the supply and pricing of gas from Gazprom to Ukrainian state-owned enterprise Naftogaz; and advising the government of Kyrgyzstan on arbitration strategies in relation to OJSC Kyrgyzaltyn.
Saunders commented: ‘Given the strength of the firm’s existing capability, both in international arbitration and in key sectors for arbitration such as energy and mining, there is an ideal platform on which I look forward to helping strengthen Ashurst’s client offering.’
Having lost a string of London-based corporate stars in the last two years, Ashurst made efforts to enhance its offering with the hire of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s former global private equity co-head Shaun Lascelles, in August last year.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
Linklaters and Ashurst have landed roles advising UK property developer Countryside Properties as it prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange, in a float likely to value the housebuilder at around £1bn.
Countryside, which is owned by private-equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) to raise £114m.
Linklaters is advising Countryside and its main shareholder Oaktree Capital, led by corporate partner James Wootton, alongside corporate partner John Lane and US capital markets partner Patrick Sheil. This is the second IPO the Magic Circle firm has advised on this month, having represented online spread-betting company CMC Markets on its plans to float in what will be the first IPO of 2016.
Ashurst is advising the underwriting banks JP Morgan, Barclays, Numis and Peel Hunt, with a team led by ECM head Nicholas Holmes, and partner Jennifer Schneck advising on the US securities side.
Countryside aims to use around £64m made from the IPO to reduce its debts by repaying amounts drawn on its revolving credit facilities. The remaining £50m raised will be used to speed up development in the group’s other sites.
The listing is expected in February and follows a strong year for the nation’s housebuilders that have benefited from a steady rise in property prices and increasing demand.
After completion of the offer the free float is expected to be a minimum of 25% of the issued share capital of the company and that the group will be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK indices.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
Having first signalled intentions to set up a base in South Korea back in 2011, Ashurst has put plans to launch in Seoul on ice.
While plans were already stagnated, they were understood to come to a halt last year after a team of Ashurst partners led by its then Tokyo managing partner John McClenahan exited to spearhead US firm King & Spalding’s launch in Tokyo.
At present, Ashurst’s Tokyo 12-head office comprises five partners, with two Korea focused partners – commercial specialist John Kim and banking partner Peter Kwon – based in Hong Kong. The firm hired Kim in 2013 from Korean firm Yulchon as it built its Korean-focused practice.
Ashurst first showed its interest in Seoul alongside plans to launch a second office in China shortly after it merged with Australian firm Blake Dawson in 2011, and went ahead with its Beijing office plans the following year.
A spokesperson at Ashurst said: ‘The firm has an extensive and growing Korea practice. We have very strong relationships with a broad range of Korea clients and local law firm partners.
‘It is important to distinguish that from an assessment about opening a local office, which is something we keep under review and will only do when the time is right.’
The firm is understood to have applied last year for its application to receive regulatory approval to launch in Seoul.
Last year saw a host of Global 100 firms continue to pile into South Korea, with Allen & Overy (A&O) and White & Case launching in Seoul in September, while disputes boutique Kobre & Kim has also opened a base in the Korean capital.
Other firms that also showed interest in the region last year included Latham & Watkins, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and EY Law.
From July 2016, for EU-based firms and in 2017 for US firms, liberalisation of the legal market will enter its final stage, allowing firms to invest in local outfits and hire Korean lawyers.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
Ashurst and RPC are among a quartet of firms that have won places on Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE)’s UK legal panel, with the drinks company also selecting Devereux Chambers as its preferred barristers’ set ahead of a review of its internal legal function.
CCE vice president for legal Paul van Reesch said after conducting a ‘deep review’ of its external counsel, Ashurst, RPC, Lewis Silkin and Shoosmiths have been allocated spots, following a competitive tender process between an estimated 35 law firms.
Van Reesch, who predicts CCE’s legal budget, ranging between £500,000 and £1m, will reduce by 10% over the next year, said: ‘We wanted a strong offering in three or four key areas. We tried to get a sense of how firms are thinking about our industry and the business, as well as the best fees they could offer, without it being a race to the bottom.’
Notably van Reesch also awarded commercial set Devereux Chambers a spot as its preferred legal provider at the Bar, after inviting several sets to tender, in a bid ‘to drive value through direct access to the Bar’. The drinks brand also recently finalised its three-year plan for the legal function in Europe in October, in an exercise led by van Reesch.
Part of that plan will see van Reesch conduct a strategic review of its legal function in a bid to bring its team closer to the business. He also plans to scope ‘how best to take advantage of technology changes in the marketplace’ as well as the potential for legal process outsourcing to allow the team to focus on more complex matters.
Commencement of the strategic review has been delayed by CCE’s $31bn proposed merger in September to create the world’s largest independent bottler for the soft-drink maker in what will be one of the region’s largest ever consumer products deals.
For an in-depth interview with Coke’s vice president for legal Paul van Reesch, subscribers can read this month’s Client Profile here.
Ashurst and RPC are among a quartet of firms that have won places on Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE)’s UK legal panel, with the drinks company also selecting Devereux Chambers as its preferred barristers’ set ahead of a review of its internal legal function.
CCE vice president for legal, Paul van Reesch, said after conducting a ‘deep review’ of its external counsel, Ashurst, RPC, Lewis Silkin and Shoosmiths have been allocated spots, following a competitive tender process between an estimated 35 law firms.
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US firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius continues its firm wide hiring spree with Covington & Burling corporate partner Simon Currie being the latest to join the firm’s City ranks. Meanwhile Ashurst is continuing efforts to bulk up its New York collateralised loan obligations (CLO) practice with the hire of partner Lawrence Berkovich from Mayer Brown.
Currie will join Morgan Lewis’ London investment management team and will strengthen the firm’s services to clients across the continent, as well as in the US, the Middle East, and Asia. Currie has experience of representing financial sector clients on investment funds and financial services regulatory matters.
Morgan Lewis investment management head Louis Singer said: ‘Simon is a leader in advising clients on the management and operation of private equity funds and he has counselled numerous private equity funds on the development of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive throughout the EU legislative process. That experience and his background in successfully representing clients before the EU legislative bodies and the UK Treasury on issues of concern to them make him an ideal addition to our London team.’
Separately, Ashurst’s finance practice, which suffered a mass-partner exit earlier this year, is rebuilding, with Berkovich joining from Mayer Brown where he helped build the firm’s CLO practice.
Berkovich specialises in complex structured finance transactions, with a particular focus on broadly syndicated and middle-market CLOs, first mortgage and mezzanine commercial real estate loan securitisations and rated and unrated leveraged loan and commercial real estate loan warehouse facilities.
Ashurst US head William Gray said: ‘Larry’s appointment is an important further expansion of the firm’s CLO team, and will go a long way to further strengthening our banking/arranger CLO client base. In addition, his experience in the private equity, M&A and real estate sectors will help us to deliver significant assistance to network clients that need US expertise in these areas.’
The hire comes after Ashurst recently expanded its structured finance team in New York and Washington DC after Scott Pierpont joined from Jones Day and Lee Ann Anderson moved from Sullivan & Cromwell in October.
This followed Ashurst’s recruitment of former UBS Securities managing director Eric Bothwell to boost the CLO practice in July.
The firm said it was ‘determined to rebuild’ after US managing partner and finance partner Eugene Ferrer and global co-head of the securities and derivatives group, Scott Faga, alongside three counsel and four associates, left the firm for Paul Hastings.
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
