Legal Business

Ashurst to retain 95% of autumn trainees as newly-qualifieds as junior pay boosted

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Salaries Ashurst

Ashurst has retained 95% of its 20-strong second year trainee cohort, with 19 of those in London accepting permanent newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor contracts at the firm.

All offers the firm made were accepted by the candidates, with 13 heading to NQ positions in the firm’s corporate division, while three moving to roles in finance and the disputes practice.

The firm’s latest figures reflect a considerable jump for the firm, which in March successfully retained 85%, or 17 of its group of 20 trainees. In September, 14 Ashurst second-year trainees agreed to join the firm out of a group of 20, taking retention to 70%.

Ashurst’s graduate recruitment partner Nick Wong said the firm was pleased with its latest round: ‘Attracting, developing and retaining the best people is critical to the success of our business and we are confident that these talented young lawyers will make a significant contribution to Ashurst over the course of their careers.’

Ashurst has also increased its pay for its NQ associates by 3% with a rise to £72,000.

Junior Ashurst lawyers with one and two year’s post qualified experience will receive an extra £1,000, boosting their pay to £76,000 and £86,000 respectively.

First year trainees have also received a £1,000 rise this financial year, with pay increasing to £42,000.

Late in June, the firm revealed improved financial results for the 2016/17 financial year. Ashurst’s revenues rose 7% to £541m, up from £505m the previous year when profits fell 10%.

Profits per equity partner for the financial year rose 11% to £672,000 following a 19% drop in 2015/16, when numbers plummeted from £747,000 to £603,000.

Madeleine.Farman@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

Ashurst loses second Paris team this year as four partners quit for Gibson Dunn

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France AshurstGibson, Dunn & Crutcher

In a second blow to Ashurst’s Paris office this year, the firm last month lost a four-partner team to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, led by litigation and restructuring partner Jean-Pierre Farges.

Tasked with launching a new French litigation and finance practice at the US firm in Paris, Farges is joined by fellow disputes partners Pierre-Emmanuel Fender and Eric Bouffard, corporate partner Bertrand Delaunay and finance counsel Amanda Bevan, who will be made up to partner in the move.

Legal Business

Financials 2017: Ashurst boosts revenues 7% after year of departures and disappointing financial results

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Financial results 2016/17 Ashurst

Ashurst has improved its revenues by 7%, following last year’s disappointing financial results, with an 11% boost to its profits per equity partner (PEP).

The firm’s revenues for the 2016/17 year were £541m, up from £505m the year previous when the firm saw a 10% decrease. That dip was the second on record for the firm following its merger with Australian firm Blake Dawson in 2013, when revenues fell4% to £561m from £568m. 2017 PEP rose to £672,000 after a 19% drop in 2015/16, when numbers plummeted from £747,000 to £603,000.

Ashurst managing partner Paul Jenkins and chief financial and operations officer Jan Gooze-Zijl, told Legal Business that the firm had been working on driving profitable revenue, improving financial discipline and restructuring Rome and Stockholm offices. It had been consolidating client contracts to operate for the global business and focusing on the firm’s innovation platform, Ashurst Advance, to improve its financial results.

Jenkins added: ‘I’ve been in the role now since 1 June 2016. I set myself, the management team and the partnership some clear targets that we wanted to achieve over the financial year. I have been constantly communicating those to the partnership and driving those goals to create a higher performance culture and ensuring our remuneration is aligned to that culture.’

Asked whether the firm expected to reach its revenue levels before it merged with Blake Dawson in 2013 again, Jenkins said: ‘We’re a smaller firm than we were back in 2013/14 prior to the consolidation of the two firms. It did lead to some significant integration costs.’

‘We saw what the consequences were of those in the financial year prior to FY 17. We’ve now got through that period and we’re starting to reap the benefits of a stronger firm.’

‘Partners are working well together globally and there is higher engagement and a real positive momentum in the firm which is reflected by our results,’ Jenkins said.

The firm saw a number of partner exits across its international network during the 2016/17 financial year. The firm’s partner headcount dropped by 23 over that period to 386, a 6% dip.

In June, Ashurst lost a five-lawyer team from its Paris arm to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, led by litigation and restructuring partner Jean-Pierre Farges. The move came only four months after the departure of a five-partner team from the firm’s Paris office to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Last August, Ashurst partners voted through changes to its remuneration system in a bid to retain star partners.

The shake up added an extra 10 points, worth around £150,000, to the top of the equity ladder, which starts at 25 points. The top of the ladder now plateaus at 75 points, while the bottom remains unchanged.

The firm also introduced a performance-based bonus pool for both equity and non-equity partners.

Madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

 

 

 

Legal Business

Ex-KWM real estate duo exits Ashurst for Fried Frank after one year

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Strategic recruitment AshurstFried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & JacobsonKing & Wood Mallesons

Real estate duo Darren Rogers and Patrick Williams has resigned from Ashurst to join Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s London office just over a year after joining the City firm from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM).

Rogers was made up to partner at legacy SJ Berwin in 2010, where he started as an associate 16 years ago. Ashurst announced he was set to join the real estate team as a partner in April last year together with Williams, who was promoted to partner in 2015 when KWM made up only two London lawyers as part of a 36-strong round.

The pair counts British Land as a longstanding client, alongside Invesco Real Estate, CBRE Global Investors and Battersea Power Station Development Company among others.

The hire is the first Fried Frank’s London office has made for over a year, with the US firm bringing in Mayer Brown co-head of restructuring Ashley Katz in February 2016.

Fried Frank’s corporate real estate co-head Fiona Kelly said Rogers and Williams ‘have a strong reputation, both within the UK and internationally, for providing preeminent counsel in this sector.’

She added that the duo’s broad experience in commercial real estate law and corporate law would add strength to the firm’s clients ‘in all facets of high value commercial real estate investment’.

An Ashurst spokesperson said the real estate group, which has 21 London based partners, will continue to focus on high end work: ‘We do not anticipate these departures as having any significant impact on the real estate practice and they are likely to increase our profitability.’

Earlier this June, Ashurst lost a four-partner team from its Paris arm to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, which came just four months after it emerged a group of five Ashurst corporate partners in Paris to Freshfields, collectively responsible for a book of business worth £8m.

The firm’s London head of pensions Marcus Fink also departed to PwC earlier this year.

Conversely, in March Ashurst launched a European high-yield offering, bringing in Allen & Overy senior associate Tamer Bahgat, who was made up to partner at Ashurst, and Linklaters counsel Natalia Sokolova.

The firm has also hired Linklaters leveraged finance senior associate Pierre Roux and PwC tax director Emmanuelle Pontnau-Faure in Paris, who will both be made up to partner in the move.

In March, Fried Frank confirmed London managing partner and City veteran Graham White would leave private practice at the end of May. Asset management partner Mark Mifsud stepped into the role following his departure.

Georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk and Madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Brown Rudnick hires in UK, Hogan Lovells bolsters Madrid, Ashurst adds to Paris, HSF boosts Moscow

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Strategic recruitment AshurstBrown RudnickHogan Lovells

In a series of banking, finance and tax appointments across the globe, international firms are hiring to boost their financial capacities.

In London, Brown Rudnick has appointed partner Benjamin Klinger from Sidley Austin to expand its bankruptcy and corporate restructuring team. 

Klinger’s practice focuses on cross-border and domestic reorganisation, recovery and turnaround matters representing debtors, creditors and practitioners.

Brown Rudnick’s European bankruptcy and corporate restructuring head Louise Verrill said that Klinger’s hire ‘will add significant depth and breadth to our team, and enhance our ability to provide clients with creative ideas and analysis, and advice that is truly multi-jurisdictional’.

Hogan Lovells has hired DLA Piper’s Alfredo Barona as a banking partner to its Madrid finance practice. He has been a partner at DLA since 2012.

Barona’s practice focuses on advising lenders and borrowers on a wide variety of deals. He is already connected with a number of Hogan Lovells’ existing banking clients. Barona knows the firm well, ‘having been on the opposite side of the table’ to the firm in previous deals.

Hogan Lovells recently secured a 15 partner tie-up in Boston with life sciences and litigation firm Collora.

In Paris, Ashurst has appointed Emmanuelle Pontnau-Faure as a partner in its French tax group. She joined from PwC where she was a director since 2016, having practised as a lawyer at White & Case for 14 years.

Pontnau-Faure advises on a broad range of issues relating to corporate, finance, real estate, litigation and restructuring tax. In February, a five partner Ashurst tax team exited in Paris to Freshfields.

Ashurst’s Paris managing partner, Philippe None, said that Pontnau-Faure will work very closely with the Paris, EMEA and US tax teams.

In Moscow, HSF hired finance and banking partner Dmitry Gubarev from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where he was head of the Russian banking and finance practice.

Gubarev specialises in syndicated loans, real estate and infrastructure financings, pre-export financings and structured products. He is also experienced in securitisation transactions and debt restructuring in the Russian market.

His key credentials include acting for Sberbank of Russia and Bank VTB, including recently acting for Sberbank of Russia on RUB31.5 billion sale of distressed debt of a major Russian metals and mining conglomerate to Gazprombank.

HSF’s Moscow managing partner Alexei Roudiak, said the hire ‘builds on our success in the Russian market and the notable expertise Dmitry brings will significantly strengthen and expand the banking and finance capability and brand in Moscow and internationally’.

Legal Business

Gibson deals body blow to Ashurst’s European business as four-partner Paris team quits

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France AshurstGibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Ashurst’s hopes of stabilising its European practice have been dealt a body blow with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher today (8 June) recruiting a four-partner team from its Paris arm. The move – which comes just months after a five-partner corporate team quit Ashurst’s Paris outpost for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer  – sees a team led by litigation and restructuring partner Jean-Pierre Farges decamp to the US-based giant.

The new team will launch a French litigation and finance practice for Gibson Dunn. Farges is joined by fellow disputes partners Pierre-Emmanuel Fender and Eric Bouffard, corporate partner Bertrand Delaunay and finance counsel Amanda Bevan. The move leaves Ashurst with 10 partners in the French capital.

Ashurst’s French practice had billed roughly £25m in recent years, a figure that looks set to be substantially depleted by this year’s run of departures. The team that quit for Freshfields in February was believed to control around £8m a year in business.

Following the Freshfields exits, Ashurst recruited Linklaters’ leveraged finance senior associate Pierre Roux in Paris, promoting him to partner. Paris-based employment lawyer Nataline Fleury was also made up to partner in the firm’s promotion round this year. The departures come after a troubled period for Ashurst, which has been hit by internal discord and falling profits after a punishing 2015/16 financial year.

Ashurst managing partner Paul Jenkins told Legal Business that the firm is currently in the process of appointing another lateral to the office: ‘We are in the middle of a rebuild process for the office. This move has been expected for some time and we still have a very strong office led by Philippe None, who has been actively out in the market helping me with this process. We’ve already hired Pierre Roux from Linklaters and we’ve also brought through an internal candidate, with another announcement to be made shortly.’

Gibson Dunn in January added a four-lawyer French team from Allen & Overy led by partner Ahmed Baladi, who advises information technology, outsourcing, data privacy and cybersecurity.

Gibson Dunn chair and managing partner Ken Doran said the latest team recruitment was a ‘transformational step in the development of our Paris office by adding strong litigation, arbitration, restructuring and finance capabilities.’

Gibson Dunn Paris head Bernard Grinspan commented: ‘For about six years we’ve been looking to expand in litigation because that is our main strength in the US. We spoke to quite a few teams, we seriously spoke to three or four, and this was far the best. They’re very good, they have the added interest of wanting to combine restructuring and litigation, and they also have a superb finance lawyer [in] Amanda. We’re killing two birds with one stone.’

The top 20 US law firm also opened its Frankfurt office in June last year with the hire of corporate partners Dirk Oberbracht and Wilhelm Reinhardt from Latham & Watkins.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

For more on the Ashurst’s Paris practice click here

Legal Business

A new venture: Ashurst replenishes Singapore offering with alliance

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Singapore Ashurst

After losing three partners in Singapore last year, Ashurst has launched a formal alliance with local law firm ADTLaw following approval from regulators.

Last month Ashurst said it will now operate under the name Ashurst ADTLaw, advising on arbitration and civil litigation, corporate, and banking and finance, including derivatives and structured products.

Legal Business

Ashurst and A&O score roles on Saudi Aramco’s JV with Lamprell to develop $5.2bn maritime yard

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Corporate Allen & OveryAshurst

Ashurst and Allen & Overy (A&O) are acting on Saudi Aramco and oil rig construction business Lamprell’s new joint venture to develop a $5.2bn maritime yard in Saudi Arabia.

The development will create the largest maritime yard in the region, located at Ras Al-Khair on the east coast of the country.

Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company Bahri, and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, have also partnered with Saudi Aramco as part of the project.

Lamprell instructed Ashurst on the deal, with a team led by London-based corporate partner Nick Bryans. Europe and US banking head Martyn Rogers, London-based real estate partner Jamie Chapman and corporate partner Faisal Baassiri in Jeddah are also providing advice.

Saudi Aramco was advised by a joint team from A&O and its Saudi Arabia relationship firm Khoshaim & Associates (K&A) led by K&A structured finance partner Zeyad Khoshaim and A&O corporate finance partner Stephen Mathews.

Earlier this year, A&O and K&A advised the arrangers and dealers on the establishment of the SAR37.5bn sukuk issuance programme for Saudi Aramco. The two firms also advised on the debut issuance of SAR 11.25 billion sukuk due 2024.

A&O capital markets partner Bilal Ahmad led A&O’s team. K&A advised on the structuring and coordination with the banks. A separate team advised Riyad Capital as sukukholders’ agent, led by A&O partner Morgan Krone.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Ashurst’s London pensions head makes move to PwC legal

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Strategic recruitment AshurstPwC Legal

PwC Legal has hired Marcus Fink, London head of pensions in Ashurst‘s small pensions practice. Fink moved to Ashurst from Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 2008 as a senior associate, and was made up to partner in 2012.

Fink acts for pension scheme trustees and private and publicly listed UK and multinational employers. He will be replaced by counsel John Gordon who arrives from Linklaters in June.

Revenue at PwC Legal soared in the 2015/16 financial year from £48.5m to £59.9m, an increase of 25%. Led by PwC head of legal Shirley Brookes, the legal arm of the accounting giant also posted net income of £11m. Of the total revenue, £56m of that is UK fee income.

Notably in the past 12 months PwC Legal has taken on Ashurst corporate partner Keith McGuire in Singapore, and former Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy partner Laetitia Costa last June who was brought on to run its banking and finance team in London.

PwC head of legal Shirley Brookes said: ‘We are really pleased to welcome Marcus to our legal team when he joins next month as we continue to drive our growth plans. Marcus has a fantastic reputation in the market, particularly in pensions scheme investment matters. We have invested a lot in our pensions legal practice recently and the practice is going from strength to strength. Marcus’s expertise really complements that of the existing team, as well as further adds to PwC’s first class pensions multi-disciplinary advisory practice.’

However, the accounting giant is not exempt from exits. Going the other way, in December Norton Rose Fulbright hired former board member at PwC Legal John Berriman to join its board as its new global chief operating officer, replacing former operations head Mark Whitley. In February it also emerged Bird & Bird had boosted its London office, hiring a team from PwC Legal including partners Andy Brown and Julian Balson and three other fee earners.

In March Ashurst launched a European high-yield offering, picking up Allen & Overy senior associate Tamer Bahgat, who has been made up to partner at Ashurst, and Linklaters counsel Natalia Sokolova. The firm has also hired Linklaters leveraged finance senior associate Pierre Roux in Paris, who will be made up to partner in the move. Roux’s hire follows the departure of a group of five corporate partners in Paris – collectively responsible for a book of business worth £8m to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Ashurst launches formal alliance with Singapore firm ADTLaw

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Singapore Ashurst

Ashurst has launched a formal alliance with law firm ADTLaw following approval from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority of Singapore.

The firm will now operate under the name Ashurst ADTLaw, advising on complex arbitration and civil litigation, corporate and M&A transactions, and banking and finance, including derivatives and structured products.

Founding director and commercial lawyer Dawn Tan set up the nine lawyer firm in 2013 and is Singapore, England and Wales and New York qualified. She has previously worked as a lawyer at Singaporean firm Rajah & Tann, at the Supreme Court of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Ashurst Singapore was launched in 1996 and comprises of over 40 lawyers, including ten partners.

Ashurst managing partner Paul Jenkins said: ‘This is an exciting development and demonstrates our commitment to continuing our growth in Singapore. Singapore is a key regional and international hub for legal services and it is of strategic importance to Ashurst.

‘Entering into this alliance demonstrates our continuing commitment to and investment in Singapore and is an important step in broadening our existing client offering and driving forward our success in the market.’

Last year Ashurst lost its former Singapore head, private equity specialist Shaun Lascelles, to Vinson & Elkins. The firm also lost his predecessor, corporate partner Keith McGuire from the office following his decision to join PwC Legal.

Earlier this week Osborne Clarke (OC) announced it had formed its own association, opening in Shanghai under the name Zhang Yu & Partners. The firm brought on two partners and six other lawyers.

The office will initially focus on opportunities for clients in the digital business and consumer products sectors and will offer cross-border advisory services for OC’s sector clients with requirements in mainland China.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk