Legal Business

Building momentum: Dentons boosts City corporate team again with Nabarro hire

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Strategic recruitment Dentons
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The ever-growing Dentons has made its fifth London corporate hire in less than 12 months, bringing in partner Jonathan Cantor from Nabarro.

Cantor (pictured) joins from Nabarro with 17 years’ experience working on corporate transactions. He was made partner in 2007, specialising in real estate indirect investment and funds, as well as advising on sovereign wealth funds and co-investment structures.

He has previously worked on domestic and international corporate real estate acquisitions, fund investments and joint ventures. He advised Brockton Capital on its joint venture, Urban Market Company, which purchased Camden Lock Market in 2012. He also advised the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia on funds and indirect investment during the £181m purchase of 40 Portman Square in 2010.

Dentons UK head of corporate David Collins said Cantor’s arrival would ‘boost our long-term sector strategy for the real estate sector and for the strategic growth of our corporate practice’.

Cantor is the latest arrival to the Dentons corporate team, the fifth to join since September 2015.

Cantor’s arrival comes after Collins joined the firm from Berwin Leighton Paisner in January as head of corporate and co-chair of global M&A, with further hires including Stephen Levy from Pinsent Masons, Nikolas Colbridge from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Martin Mankabady from Clyde & Co.

The hiring spree comes after a year of mergers made Dentons the largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount, including high profile tie-ups with Chinese law firm Dacheng and US-based McKenna Long.

Dentons UKMEA chief executive Jeremy Cohen said: ‘We have made several key lateral hires over the last few months and Jonathan’s arrival builds on this momentum as we continue to strengthen our corporate platform and brand in the market and take advantage of new opportunities for multi-jurisdictional M&A and investment arising from the firm’s international expansion.’

The firm praised growth in its corporate practice last week when it posted a 7% turnover rise for its UK, Middle East and Africa offices for financial year 2015/16 to £165m.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Building momentum: Dentons boosts City corporate team again with Nabarro hire

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Strategic recruitment Dentons
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The ever-growing Dentons has made its fifth London corporate hire in less than 12 months, bringing in partner Jonathan Cantor from Nabarro.

Cantor (pictured) joins from Nabarro with 17 years’ experience working on corporate transactions. He was made partner in 2007, specialising in real estate indirect investment and funds, as well as advising on sovereign wealth funds and co-investment structures.

He has previously worked on domestic and international corporate real estate acquisitions, fund investments and joint ventures. He advised Brockton Capital on its joint venture, Urban Market Company, which purchased Camden Lock Market in 2012. He also advised the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia on funds and indirect investment during the £181m purchase of 40 Portman Square in 2010.

Dentons UK head of corporate David Collins said Cantor’s arrival would ‘boost our long-term sector strategy for the real estate sector and for the strategic growth of our corporate practice’.

Cantor is the latest arrival to the Dentons corporate team, the fifth to join since September 2015.

Cantor’s arrival comes after Collins joined the firm from Berwin Leighton Paisner in January as head of corporate and co-chair of global M&A, with further hires including Stephen Levy from Pinsent Masons, Nikolas Colbridge from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Martin Mankabady from Clyde & Co.

The hiring spree comes after a year of mergers made Dentons the largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount, including high profile tie-ups with Chinese law firm Dacheng and US-based McKenna Long.

Dentons UKMEA chief executive Jeremy Cohen said: ‘We have made several key lateral hires over the last few months and Jonathan’s arrival builds on this momentum as we continue to strengthen our corporate platform and brand in the market and take advantage of new opportunities for multi-jurisdictional M&A and investment arising from the firm’s international expansion.’

The firm praised growth in its corporate practice last week when it posted a 7% turnover rise for its UK, Middle East and Africa offices for financial year 2015/16 to £165m.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

After a year of rapid expansion Dentons posts 7% UKMEA revenue rise to £165m

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Financial results 2015/16 Dentons
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Following a year of intense global expansion, turnover across the UK, the Middle East and Africa at Dentons rose 7% in 2015/16 to £165m.

The region made £10m more than in 2014/15 following strong growth in the firm’s corporate and commercial groups. The firm put this down to a combination of recent lateral hires, with David Collins’ arrival from Berwin Leighton Paisner as co-chair of global M&A the most prominent, and increasing amounts of cross-border work following its global merger spree that saw Dentons combine McKenna Long & Aldridge in the US and Dacheng in China to become the largest law firm in the world by headcount. The strong increase in revenue last year means turnover across the region is up 23% over the last three years.

Net profit was up 15% to from £34m in 2014/15 to £39m last year. But given large investments in lateral hires and technology, profits per equity partner (PEP) were up by 6% to £530,000. This means the average partner across the region earned an extra £28,000 last year. PEP has been rising sharply across the region in recent years, after something of a tumultuous start for a business group based on Denton Wilde Sapte following its breakthrough merger with US firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in 2010 that would lead to the creation of Dentons. PEP is up 61% over the last three years.

The firm made over 20 lateral hires across the region last year, most notably with the arrival of a 75-strong banking and finance litigation team from Matthew Arnold & Baldwin that saw the firm launch in Watford. The firm cited strong growth in its disputes revenue, and secured a string of high-profile legal panel appointments including Nokia, John Lewis, Royal Mail and Network Rail.

Net cash in the bank as at year end 15/16 was £13.2m, representing a substantial improvement in the firm’s cashflow position during the last couple of years. Net cash at the end of 2014/15 stood at £4.2m.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

For more on Dentons’ rapid growth see: ‘The pitch – A new kind of global law firm emerges but can Dentons live up to the hype?’

Legal Business

Dentons opens in Munich and looks to Warsaw for back-office

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Europe Dentons
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Three NRF laterals boost German practice

Dentons has targeted two more regions for European growth, launching an office in Munich alongside plans for a back office in Poland.

In a bid to boost its corporate offering in Europe, Dentons is launching its Munich office this summer with the recruit of three partners from Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF). Alexander von Bergwelt will serve as managing partner for the Munich office, and will be responsible for building and leading the new team. He specialises in corporate, private equity, restructuring and litigation.

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Dentons hires in the City while Global 100 rivals focus on international appointments

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Dentons and DAC Beachcroft announced lateral hires to their City offices last week, while K&L Gates and Clyde & Co have boosted their ranks overseas.

Predicting significant growth in transport and infrastructure in the UK, Dentons has hired David Moore to its London energy, transport and infrastructure practice. Moore joins from Clyde & Co and has experience advising both private and public sector clients in the rail, roads and ports industries, with a particular focus on the UK, Middle East and Africa markets.

Dentons CEO for the UK, Middle East and Africa region Jeremy Cohen described Moore’s hire as ‘the right time for us to enhance yet further our practice’, with the transport sector a key focus of the firm’s UK strategy.

DAC Beachcroft, meanwhile has appointed former Nabarro planning partner Christopher Stanwell to lead its 10-strong national planning and environmental team. Stanwell has a focus on infrastructure and high-profile development schemes with particular expertise in judicial review. Head of DAC Beachcroft’s real estate group, Robert Lee, said he had ‘every confidence [Stanwell] will continue to develop our planning practice into a UK market leader’.

Internationally, K&L Gates has made one lateral hire to its international practice, acquiring Stephen Tan from Baker & McKenzie as a corporate and transactional partner in its Taipei office. On home soil, former Vinson & Elkins energy partner Michael Murphy joins the K&L Gates’ Houston office as part of its energy and commercial disputes practice, while labour and employment partner Sang-yul Lee joins the Chicago office from Locke Lord.

Clyde & Co has also made an international lateral hire, recruiting Hong Kong marine partner Anthony Woo who joins from Hill Dickinson where he was made partner in 2014. Woo, whose practice has a strong focus in advising on mainland China-related disputes, advises on all aspects of charterparty disputes, defending bill of lading claims, regulatory summonses, as well as claims arising from collision and salvage. Managing partner of the Hong Kong office, Simon McConnell, noted the firm had ‘ambitious plans for the firm both in Hong Kong and in particular the marine practice in the Asia-Pacific region’.

In terms of in-house appointments, professional service consultancy WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff has brought in former Addleshaw Goddard finance and projects partner Karen Sewell as the company’s new general counsel (GC) and UK head of legal. With experience representing banks, financial institutions and corporate borrowers on all aspects of financing transactions, UK chief operating officer Mark Naysmith believes Sewell will bring ‘great value and experience both legally and across a number of our strategic growth plans’. Her departure from Addleshaw Goddard comes in the same week as head of insurance Mark Pring left to join Reed Smith.

Finally, National Express GC and group company secretary Sandra Forbes has left her role after two years in the job. Deputy company secretary Joy Baldry has replaced Forbes in her role as group company secretary but the coach operator has yet to provide details on who will fill its top legal position.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Just like buses – Dentons latest to relocate support jobs somewhere cheaper with Warsaw move

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With Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) this morning (19 May) announcing an offshoring move expected to hit 170 jobs, Dentons has revealed its own plans to open a services centre in Poland.

In a move expected to affect 50 back-office jobs in the UK, the new Dentons Business Services EMEA unit is a joint initiative of the firm’s practices in the UK, Middle East and Africa (UKMEA) and Europe. To launch in Warsaw later this year, the centre will be headed by director Piotr Macieja, who joins from professional services provider TMF.

The centre will provide support in finance, business development, marketing, human resources and IT for lawyers and professionals. The firm said certain tasks are due to transition over to Warsaw during the course of 2016/17 and will impact certain business services roles within the UK.

A consultation process will shortly kick off with affected teams. The firm’s initial proposals affect an estimated 50 roles in the UK, though some of those roles are currently fixed-term contracts or represent current vacancies.

Dentons added that the consultation will aim to identify ways to mitigate redundancies but otherwise ‘will be providing support to those affected during this period of uncertainty’.

Dentons UKMEA chief executive Jeremy Cohen (pictured) told Legal Business: ‘There’s a number of reasons behind this – it’s a very competitive market and we want to show our clients we can deliver cost-effectively. Global firm integration is critical for us. We did an exhaustive study for many of shared services and Warsaw scored very highly for value. It also has high graduate population and we have a lot of investment there.’

‘It will be business services functions only – we can do this to the best quality with a specialised office. We’ll be able to do this better if it has a dedicated centre. The whole way we set this up lends itself to different configuration. We’re starting off in Europe and UK – we will be looking at other regions.’

Cohen added it was ‘too early to say’ how many roles would be cut in London.

This morning NRF announced that it is kicking off a consultation process with staff in its business support teams whose roles may be affected for its upcoming business services centre launch in The Philippines. DLA Piper made a similar move last week and announced it is to slash 200 business support jobs in the UK.

While it will be a grim moment for Dentons staffers, the firm did incongruously take the opportunity to drum home its famously idiosyncratic global sales pitch with the firm’s statement, including a surprisingly upbeat quote from chief executive Elliott Portnoy: ‘As we have grown, it is important for us to build on this momentum, while recognising that as a polycentric firm we respect the legal traditions and cultures in all of our markets. By bringing together those service offerings that have the scope to be harmonised across the UKMEA and Europe regions, [this venture] represents a major step towards this objective.’

Hmmm. Amid what is shaping up to be a challenging year for major global law firms, many would frame such developments in a more gloomy light but it seems certain that more major law firms will follow suit in the weeks to come.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Gowling WLG boosts banking and projects ranks with appointments from Dentons and HSF

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Strategic recruitment DentonsGowling WLGHerbert Smith Freehills
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Gowling WLG has made a double partner hire, appointing Dentons’ Matthew Harvey in banking and finance and former Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Abu Dhabi head Andrew Newbery in projects. The appointments are the first UK lateral hires the firm has made since its merger went live earlier this year.

Newbery (pictured), who joined HSF in 2006, advises on significant EMEA infrastructure, energy, mining and project finance transactions. In 2008 he became managing partner of HSF’s Abu Dhabi office but left in 2013 to establish his own consultancy in London.

At Gowling WLG Newbery will work on projects to target priority infrastructure and energy work in the UK, Africa and the Middle East.

Newbery said he was impressed by the firm’s regulatory, funds and construction expertise.

He added: ‘This is going to be a great platform and I believe that my recent client-side experiences will benefit the firm and its clients. Lessons learned on major UK procurements such as interconnectors and the super sewer will be pertinent elsewhere, including in the international arena where my earlier experience of procuring and financing large-scale infrastructure projects in the Middle East and Africa will also be relevant.’

The firm has also appointed Harvey from Dentons, where he had been a partner since 2000. Harvey has over 20 years’ experience acting for corporates, banks and finance companies on structured, asset and export finance transactions with a particular focus on equipment leasing and the financing of corporate aircraft and helicopters.

Kirsty Barnes, head of the firm’s banking and finance practice said: ‘Matthew’s appointment is part of our drive to increase revenue and market share in sectors including financial institutions and aviation. His experience in asset finance is truly global. This will be another significant boost to our practice following the addition of the team in Canada with the launch of Gowling WLG.’

The recently-merged Gowling WLG completed its first round of partner promotions this week, appointing Chris Towle and Michael Twining to its partnership and taking the total number of partners in the UK to 141.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

For extensive coverage of the Wragge Lawrence Graham merger with Gowlings see the feature: ‘The road to Ottawa – why WLG believes Gowlings can put it on the global map.’

Legal Business

Dentons expands again, opening Munich office with Norton Rose team

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Strategic recruitment DentonsNorton Rose Fulbright
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Dentons will launch an office in Munich this summer in a bid to strengthen its corporate offering with the recruit of three partners from Norton Rose Fulbright.

Alexander von Bergwelt will serve as managing partner for the Munich office and will be responsible for building and leading the new team. He specialises in corporate M&A, joint ventures, private equity, business restructuring, and litigation.

He joins along with corporate M&A partner Michael Malterer, and corporate and tax partner Igsaan Varachia.

With more than 100 fee earners in Germany, the Munich office is the firm’s latest investment into the German market having hired 12 new partners in Berlin and Frankfurt since the start of 2015.

Dentons Europe chief executive Tomasz Dąbrowski said: ‘This reputable team will complement our strong capabilities across Germany to meet the growing needs of our clients. Our new office in Munich is an important milestone in our strategy for Germany and Europe and will provide a solid platform for future growth.’

Germany managing partner Andreas Ziegenhagen told Legal Business: ‘Our growth strategy for Germany meant Munich was the natural next step. We had no office in the south with links to Stuttgart’.

He added: ‘Where you’ve seen firms expand in the country or downsize isn’t so much an indication of the domestic legal market but depends on the strategy of the law firm – whether it has the full service approach. Germany is more centralised than France – you have some firms with only the strategic view to do corporate M&A or banking and finance work – they don’t need many offices.’

It follows the firm’s announcement on Monday (9 May) that it has established a free-to-use law firm referral network, dubbed ‘Nextlaw Global Referral Network’, which uses a technology-focused platform allowing member law firms to ‘easily connect and track referrals.’

Other firms making strategic investment in Germany include US firm Sidley Austin which is in the process of launching a Munich office, a move which will be the firm’s first base in Germany since axing its Frankfurt office in 2014 following a spate of partner exits.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Subscribers can read more about Dentons in the feature ‘The pitch – A new kind of global law firm emerges but can Dentons live up to the hype?’

Legal Business

‘We want to be the game changer’: Dentons launches free technology platform for referrals

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Dentons has established a free-to-use law firm referral network, which uses a technology-focused platform which allows member law firms to ‘easily connect and track referrals.’

Dubbed ‘Nextlaw Global Referral Network’, the venture allows members within the network to search for firms with differing strengths in any city so clients can get the best lawyers for their needs. Dentons said its technology platform providing the service will promote reciprocal repeat referrals.

It aims to avoid ‘the problems of existing referral networks’ by operating a free membership model and by not being territorially exclusive.

Dentons has appointed senior counsel Jeff Modisett as chief executive of the global referral network and is expected to officially launch in mid-2016. While Dentons’ 7,400 lawyers are already using the platform, invitations to firms with which it has an existing relationship will be posted today.

Any firm in the world can apply to be considered for membership where applicants will be vetted by a panel comprising Dentons partners, partners of other member firms, and general counsel. Applicants are then evaluated based on multiple criteria including client feedback, third-party quality rankings, awards and accolades and unique practice and/or sector focus. Last year Dentons referred work to just under 1,000 law firms and received more than 500 inbound referrals.

Currently the biggest global providers of law firm referral networks are Lex Mundi, World Services Group, and Terra Lex – which all charge membership fees.

Dentons chairman Joe Andrews (pictured right) told Legal Business: ‘We are paying for all of this because we want to be the game changer that changes the marketplace. The level of investment will depends on how many sign up – whatever it takes. We will refer work even where Dentons might miss out.’

He added: ‘Rather than invest infrastructure we recognise there are high quality law firms all over the world and despite the fact we’re the largest, we won’t be in all 1,263 cities with 900 sector groups. We’re being honest about it where other firms are exaggerating what they can do for their client. We’re changing the perception of our place in the industry.’

Chief executive Elliott Portnoy (pictured left) said: ‘Joe and I have been intensely focused on our clients all around the world – he, together with our global board, had the opportunity to do something no other law firm has done. This is the ability not to exaggerate your expertise – our competitors have to prove their ability.’

Recent infrastructural change by the firm of late includes an overhaul of legacy Dacheng – which combined with Dentons in early 2016 – by reducing its number of profit pools from 15 to five.

With Dentons striving to integrate what is now the world’s largest law firm by employee headcount, the China arm of the firm, headed by senior partner Jinquan Xiao, carried out a reorganisation to create increased profit-sharing between the firm’s 44 Chinese offices.

Dentons is one of a raft of firms investing in technology to improve services for clients. Earlier this week, LOD launched an online platform to match lawyers with clients called Spoke.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Freshfields, Dentons and Pinsents make key hires as Uber and Callcredit build in-house teams

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Strategic recruitment DentonsFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerPinsent Masons
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Following a string of seven recent hires to its Advanced Manufacturing and Technology (AMT) sector, Pinsent Masons has boosted its corporate team with the appointment of TMT specialist Andrew McMillan to its AMT sector. Previously head of Simmons & Simmons TMT practice, McMillan brings experience in advising TMT corporates, investment banks and private equity houses on in-sector mergers and acquisitions and high-value commercial contracts.

In bar news, 39 Essex Chambers has welcomed Sian Davies and Edmund Townsend to the set. Called to the bar in 1999, Davies joins the set from Cornerstone Barristers. She specialises in a full range of public law matters including adult social service, children services, housing, immigration & asylum, EU law and Court of Protection. Civil law barrister Townsend joins 39 Essex from Farrar’s Building Chambers. Although he specialises in personal injury and insurance, Townsend undertakes work for both claimants and defendants across the spectrum of chambers’ practice areas.

In-house teams are not exempt from this week’s round up of hires. Callcredit Information Group has announced Colin Rutter as its chief risk officer and general counsel (GC). Previously GC at Experian Rutter said he was looking forward to joining the credit reference agency and consumer data management specialist which he believes will provide him with a new leadership challenge. Callcredit CEO Mike Gordon described Rutter as a ‘valuable asset’ to its leadership team. ‘With a distinguished legal career that includes extensive commercial, legal, compliance, risk, government affairs and regulatory experience working in the credit reference industry both in the UK and overseas markets, Colin will provide critical guidance as we look to double the business over the next five years and expand into international markets.’

Meanwhile, Uber has hired former DLA Piper commercial litigator Helen Fletcher to its team as its senior compliance and litigation counsel. With over ten years’ experience at the firm, Fletcher will bring her experience in complex IT disputes, with significant experience in high value public sector IT contracts.

In international appointments, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired one of the US Department of Justice’s (USDoJ) leading international white-collar prosecutors, Daniel Braun, who was most recently the deputy chief of the USDoJ’s fraud section of the criminal division. Braun will focus on the defense of investigations into alleged market misconduct and collusion, foreign bribery and corruption and economic sanctions and related issues for public companies and financial institutions for the firm. Freshfields global head of dispute resolution David Scott said: ‘Dan’s arrival is a wonderful addition to the leading regulatory enforcement team we have been building across the US, London, Europe and Asia. Our outstanding range of recent assignments that straddle multiple jurisdictions reflects our global clients’ demand for an integrated one-firm approach to handling their biggest and most complex challenges.’

Still in the US, Dentons has added former Pinsent Masons partner Meriam Alrashid to its New York office. The international arbitration lawyer will expand Dentons’ capabilities to counsel clients in complex disputes across key geographic markets. Alrashid has served as counsel in international disputes and transactions involving parties from nearly 20 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America. Dentons US managing partner Mike McNamara said: ‘Meriam’s experience in guiding clients through international investment disputes expands our capabilities as a leading international arbitration firm and builds upon our goal to strategically grow our exceptional team of award-winning international arbitrators in key regions.’

Fladgate has appointed Russia specialist and dispute resolution partner Eugene Matveichuk. Joining from Osborne Clarke, Matveichuk specialises in advising entrepreneurs, high net wealth individuals and corporates from Russia and the CIS on their international interests. The firm’s chairman Charles Wander said: ‘His extensive experience of advising businesses and individuals from Russia and the CIS will add gravitas to our growing capability in this field while his considerable expertise in dispute resolution will enhance our existing high profile in this area.’

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk