Back in 2018, Therese Pritchard and Lisa Mayhew – then freshly appointed co-chairs of the first significant financially integrated transatlantic merger in more than a decade – sat down with Legal Business to talk about Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner’s ‘prize’ $900m, 1,600 lawyer union.
You must be logged in to view full premium content.
Lawyers and
Team Quality
Quality of partners 84.52
Quality of associates 74.14
Partner availability and engagement 83.99
What do clients really think about the service they receive from law firms? At Legal 500, we hear from hundreds of thousands of clients every year, rating firms on key metrics such as lawyer quality and availability, billing, and levels of communication and expertise.
The answers we receive allow us to evaluate firms using a set of client service data scores, covering Lawyers and Team Quality, Value: Billing and Efficiency, and Sector and Industry Knowledge – all of which combine to produce an overall Client Service Score.
This article focuses on Lawyers and Team Quality, for which Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner scores 81.93. (The rest of this article is available to logged-in users only. If you are unable to log in above right, please click ‘Forgot your password?’ below to gain access to the full article).
You must be logged in to view full premium content.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) announced this week that Jinal Shah will become the firm’s UK managing partner from 1 January 2024.
He is taking over from Segun Osuntokun, who served in this role since 2018, with Osuntokun now appointed as BCLP’s first global senior partner, also effective from 1 January.
Shah joined BCLP as a partner in 2021, from Orrick, where he spent almost a decade as partner.
On the firm’s strategy, he told LB: ‘Since our combination in 2018, we are a fully integrated international firm and continue to follow our strategy that is centred around our clients and priority sectors. This strategy continues to be to further develop as a leading international firm, with strong local and regional practices as well. It is a combination, a hybrid of that, with balance across our three main departments.’
Recognised by The Legal 500 as a leading individual for corporate work, Shah advises public and private companies, funds and investors on high-value cross-border M&A, private equity, joint ventures and strategic investments.
On his new appointment, he commented: ‘I’m not going to be making big changes from day one, that’s not the way we do things. Things are consensus based, and we do things with long-term objectives. We will have a continued focus on getting the message out to clients about our strengths and our successes.’
Shah represents clients on a broad spectrum of commercial agreements and assisting multinational corporations in navigating the intricate regulatory frameworks of diverse jurisdictions. His client portfolio spans across various sectors, including infrastructure, food and agriculture, retail, technology, media, entertainment, manufacturing, and financial services.
Throughout this year, the firm has disclosed numerous changes in its leadership. In July, BCLP revealed a shift to a single leadership structure, with Steve Baumer set to assume the role of the firm’s inaugural global CEO at the beginning of next year.
Commenting on the changes, Shah said: ‘In terms of single leadership, we have a CEO and global senior partner, and they will work very closely together in shepherding the firm. The team of Steve and Segun is incredibly strong and has widespread support throughout the partnership, so again, I don’t see it as a material change but, as a fully merged international organisation, this is very much part of that.’
He added: ‘It makes it easier to have a single CEO, it is more efficient and practical. It is the normal way of operating for large businesses and we are consistent with that. This marks that the transition is over and we’re now a fully merged firm.’
Baumer, alongside Lisa Mayhew since 2018, both currently serve as the firm’s co-chairs. However, Mayhew will step down from the position when the firm adopts a single leadership structure. Mayhew previously served as the firm’s managing partner from 2015 to 2018.
‘This is business as usual. This is in our constitution, and it was always planned that our co-chairs’ functions were coming to an end with the CEO and senior partner going to replace the co-chairs. This was envisaged at the time of our combination,’ added Shah.
He continued: ‘Lisa has been instrumental in helping to steer us in the early years after the combination and will continue to play a significant role in the firm.’
Earlier this month, BCLP added two new partners, Vishal Mawkin and Russell Van Praagh to its London debt capital markets and corporate finance transactions groups respectively. Mawkin joined from Norton Rose Fulbright, where he was counsel while Van Praagh left his role as a partner at Osborne Clarke after nine years.
However, in September, the firm lost real estate partners Stephen Kelly and Sarah Mahood who joined Greenberg Traurig to launch its UAE office with the hires of real estate partners Stephen Kelly and Sarah Mahood from BCLP.
Cleary Gottlieb has made up nine new partners in its latest round of promotions, two of which are in London, while Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has included five UK lawyers in its latest cohort.
The promotion of Chrishan Raja and Naomi Tarawali to partner in Cleary’s London office is indicative of firm’s steady approach. Raja, a capital markets lawyer, has experience representing Barclays, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and UBS, while the disputes-focused Tarawali specialises in representing financial institutions, funds and sovereigns. The 2022 round matches last year’s efforts in the City, which saw Henry Mostyn and Gareth Kristensen welcomed into the equity, though in total, the latest class falls short of the 11 partners made up across the firm in 2021.
Speaking to Legal Business, Cleary M&A partner Tihir Sarkar (pictured) said: ‘In the UK we’re 23 partners so we’ve increased by 10%, which is significant. For us to do two is slightly unusual. It’s a reflection of practice groups where we’ve identified the right candidates. The UK-focused disputes practice started from scratch about 10 years ago, and Naomi is our second home-bred associate-to-partner candidate [James Brady-Banzet was made partner in 2019]. That shows the growth and continued importance of the disputes practice. On the capital markets side, we haven’t made up somebody for quite some time. Historically, it’s been a very important practice for Cleary Gottlieb, so we’ve bolstered our English law capabilities with Chrishan.’
Globally, the firm promoted a further three partners in New York, as well as two in Paris and one each in Hong Kong and Frankfurt.
On Europe, Sarkar added: ‘Europe is a big part of our DNA. We opened in Paris soon after we opened in New York, so we’ve been in continental Europe for a long time. If you look at the standard of our lawyers and matters in Paris, Brussels and Rome, we feel we have got one of the strongest European franchises. We need to continue to keep replenishing those areas.’
Meanwhile, BCLP has announced 21 new partners. The new cohort, which is spread across 13 offices, will take up their new positions on 1 January 2023.
Seven of the class are based in the UK, including five in the capital. Corporate and M&A lawyer Tom Bacon, real estate specialist James Banks, commercial litigator Benjamin Blacklock, construction-focused Kimberly Roberts, and tax lawyer Andy West have all made the grade this year. They are joined by a further two new partners in the Southampton office: Eleanor Penton, who focuses on real estate finance; and Emma Sadler, who advises on non-contentious real estate issues.
Though sizeable by the firm’s standards, this year’s class did not surpass the cohort of 2021, where the firm unveiled 25 new additions to the equity in November last year, the largest promotion round in its history.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) promoted 20 lawyers as part of its latest global promotion round, the firm announced today (6 November), with London and St Louis again getting the majority of the spoils.
The figure is an increase of three on last year’s promotion push, though the City figure is one shy of last year’s five lawyers minted in London.
The round was particularly strong for the firm’s litigation practice. The new City partners are: Rebecca Campbell (litigation); Adam Jamieson (litigation and corporate risk); Marie Johnson (corporate finance); and Sarah McAtominey (commercial disputes and high net worth individuals).
St Louis, the home of the firm’s American half of the business, again received an equal amount of investment to London, with four new partners minted compared to last year’s five. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Denver all saw two lawyers promoted. Moscow, Chicago, Irvine, New York, Kansas City, and Phoenix all saw one additional partner.
Regarding the hires, firm co-chairs Steve Baumer and Lisa Mayhew commented in a joint statement: ‘The firm continues to grow across a more focused platform, led by our transformative aspirations under Project Advance to build scale around existing core areas of practice strength. At the same time, we are transforming the firm’s operational infrastructure to help drive growth and client experience in the coming years. We are excited to see where the talents and energy of these new partners will take us and we congratulate them all.’ The promotions will be effective as of 1 January 2021 and will see BCLP’s partnership ranks increase to 545.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) endured a challenging debut year as a fully-merged entity, as the cost of integration weighed on growth.
Turnover was down 2% to $874.1m from the $899.4m the firm posted for 2018, the year legacy Berwin Leighton Paisner and Bryan Cave finalised their transatlantic union. Net income was also down almost 4% to $228m.
‘It’s relevant to put it in the context of the first 21 months since the merger,’ BCLP co-chair Lisa Mayhew (pictured) told Legal Business. ‘At the end of 2018 we saw a 5% profit boost and a 1% increase in revenue and that was impressive. Inevitably when you integrate two large firms there’s a distraction element, there’s inevitably a bit of a cost to that integration. But I’d take that 5% increase in profit and a slight dip in revenue.’
Profit per equity partner (PEP), however, also saw a modest falls, edging down 1% to $833,000 from $844,000 over 2019 while revenue per lawyer was likewise down, dropping 2% to $621,000 from $631,000. Lawyer headcount at the firm, meanwhile, remained largely stable, dropping a 2% to 1,399. The decline in PEP comes despite an almost 3% fall in the number of equity partners, but, more positively, the Anglo American firm recorded a net positive cash balance of $86m.
Last summer, Mayhew was elected to serve another four years as co-head of the firm, while St Louis transactional partner Steven Baumer was elected to succeed Therese Pritchard after she became ineligible to serve another stint. Later in December, St Louis and London evenly shared the spoils of a 17-strong global promotion round. The firm has also recently engaged with management consultancy McKinsey as the firm undertakes a strategic review.
Despite the subdued financials, BCLP started 2020 with a splash, recruiting a 21-strong team of lawyers in Paris, including seven partners, with more having joined since. The move was the firm’s largest addition since its merger went live, though further expansion on the continent in 2020 is not expected, with the firm currently having 31 offices across the globe.
Despite the increasing global uncertainty, Mayhew remained sanguine about 2020: ‘We are going to be served well by the fact we’re four months into a strategy exercise with McKinsey. We have intellectual momentum behind us so we will continue to be a bit ahead on that side.’
Real estate leader taps Franklin for eight partners with more to come in France
‘It’s great to get to the moment where our first big move has happened.’
Lisa Mayhew, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Since the 2018 tie-up between Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Bryan Cave, the merged entity of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has experienced a period of relative calm. But while the last 18 months have been defined by neither convulsion nor dramatic moves, the firm’s recent play in Paris could mark a new phase in BCLP’s post-merger ambitions.
You must be logged in to view full premium content.
Starting the New Year with a bang, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has recruited a 21-strong team of lawyers in Paris, including seven partners.
The hires mark the largest addition to the firm since its transatlantic merger in 2018, with expansion on the continent high on the agenda for the firm’s leadership. Two partners have joined in the Paris offices’ real estate, taxation and financing teams respectively, while one partner was added in public law.
‘[Legacy] BLP (Berwin Leighton Paisner) didn’t have an office in Paris, but clients would still turn to us to do transactional work,’ BCLP co-chair Lisa Mayhew told Legal Business. ‘It was a hole in our capability and we would have to turn to other firms to do work in Paris, so it’s something we’ve been strategizing for a long time. Bryan Cave did have a good but small Paris office, so it’s also an opportunity to add to that capability.’
Real estate duo Henry Ranchon and Laurent Schittenhelm will be joined by taxation partners Christine Daric and Olivier Mesmin. Meanwhile, in financing the firm adds David Blondel and Olivier Borenstejn. Jean-Pierre Delvigne joins the firm’s public law practice, with all the partners joining from French independent firm Franklin.
The additions increase BCLP’s Paris headcount to 37, more than doubling the firm’s presence. Paris – which will remain led by managing partner Rémy Blain – will now be third only to London and Germany in Europe in terms of size, despite BCLP losing 10 lawyers to Addleshaw Goddard in Hamburg last year. In December, the firm also lost partners in London, with DLA Piper recruiting Bob Maynard and Caroline Pope to its litigation and regulatory practice in the City.
Meanwhile, Mayhew insists further growth on the continent is likely: ‘We definitely want to grow in Germany, we already have over 60 lawyers there so it is bigger than France. We want to grow in part in our corporate and finance practices, as we already have a huge real estate bench in Berlin. So that is definitely high on the growth agenda, but there has to be a strategic reason.’
However, no offices on the continent featured in the firm’s latest promotion round, with the legacy firms’ respective hubs receiving the lion’s share of new partners. Of the 17 partners promoted globally, five were minted in London, matching the St Louis figure, while the remaining 12 partners spanned Kansas, Atlanta, Washington, Denver and Los Angeles. All but one of the City promotions were made to the firm’s traditionally strong real estate practice.
I was born in Nigeria as one of five children. My parents were medical doctors. My father was one of Nigeria’s pre-eminent neurologists, and quickly became globally renowned. A typical aspirational father, he built himself up through effort and excellence and thought all his children should be equally excellent. By the age of 15 I was sent to a boarding school in England to do my A levels. After that I did an economics degree at Queen Mary London.
I went back to Nigeria and did national service. Not as exciting as it sounds, more community service than military service. Did that for a year and part of it was working in a bank. It was not for me.
You must be logged in to view full premium content.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has promoted five partners in London, the same number as in St Louis, in its second promotion round since becoming a merged entity last year.
The firm promoted 17 globally, six fewer than last year, although London saw an increased investment on the three promoted in 2018.
The round was also strong for female representation, with women making up 60% of the new partner cohort. The promotions spanned London, St Louis, Kansas, Atlanta, Washington, Denver and Los Angeles.
The promotions in the City will be a boon to legacy BLP’s traditionally strong real estate practice, with all but one of the new partners a lawyer in the sector. The new City partners are: Ciarán Londra (real estate); Giles Pink (real estate); Matthew Pomfret (commercial real estate); Payam Yoseflavi (real estate finance); and Claire Morel de Westgaver (arbitration). Last year the City promotions spanned the corporate, contentious construction and asset finance practices.
St Louis – the firm’s largest US office – received an additional partner on last year, across a wider range of practice groups. Kansas and Atlanta saw two additional partners while Washington, Denver and Los Angeles received one apiece. The firm now counts 561 partners across the globe with 1,400 in total across 31 offices.
However, last week BCLP lost partners in the City, with DLA Piper recruiting Bob Maynard and Caroline Pope to its litigation and regulatory practice in London. Meanwhile over the summer, co-chair Lisa Mayhew was elected to serve another four years in the role, while Therese Pritchard was ineligible to serve another term and is to be succeeded by St Louis transactional partner Steven Baumer.
The promotions will be effective as of 1 January 2020.
