Legal Business

‘A key integration initiative’: Dentons to cut 25 UK roles as Warsaw service centre finalised

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Dentons will cut around 25 UK roles as part of the launch of a new shared services centre in Warsaw.

The service centre opening this week is a joint initiative between the UK, Middle East and Africa and Europe businesses of the firm.

Dentons Business Services EMEA will be based close to Dentons’ Warsaw office, employing more than 70 people in development, marketing, human resources and IT. The firm plans to grow the office in the next two years.

The firm has seen the transition of a number of roles from the UK to the new centre in Poland. Under the consultation the firm had initially indicated around 50 roles could be affected when the move in May, but the final outcome is set to affect ‘approximately half this number’.

Dentons global chair Joe Andrew (pictured) said the launch was the first step in the firm’s global shared services strategy as ‘a key integration initiative that aims to improve the quality of business services provided to lawyers across the firm’.

According to Dentons, the firm has a presence in 58 countries with more offices planned over the coming months as part of its expansion into Australia and Central America.

Dentons global chief executive Elliot Portnoy said: ‘This represents a major step forward toward achieving our goal of offering clients the highest quality of legal work better, faster and more economically than any of our competitors’.

The firm is to continue its global growth with a merger with Central American law firm Muñoz Global announced last week. The proposed combination will give Dentons a presence in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.

In Europe, the firm’s latest launches have included a new association in Iran as well as a new office launch in Milan in the summer.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Read more in: ‘The Pitch – A new kind of global law firm emerges but can Dentons live up to the hype?’

Legal Business

Olswang’s patent prosecution co-head exits amid merger talks

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Strategic recruitment DentonsOlswang
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Olswang has lost the co-chair of its patent prosecution group to Dentons as the TMT firm prepares its mega merger with CMS Cameron McKenna and Nabarro.

Described by the Legal 500 as ‘one of the pre-eminent patent prosecution attorneys in the EU’, Justin Hill specialises in advising on the preparation and prosecution of UK, European and international patent applications, designs, trademarks, know-how and copyright issues.

He also founded Olswang’s EquIP programme, providing legal advice to UK scale-ups and entrepreneurs with a focus on IP, corporate and commercial advice.

Hill will join Dentons as its head of its European patent prosecution and opposition practices.

Dentons’ UK managing partner Brandon Ransley said: ‘Justin brings heavyweight patent filing experience to the UK team, adding to the patent litigation experience of Campbell Forsyth who joined the firm earlier this year. Clients from the US and Asia increasingly require patent advice in Europe, and Justin’s arrival enhances our capacity to meet this demand, while also representing a further step towards achieving our objective of building a leading global patent capability.’

In August Dentons picked up a four-partner team from Irwin Mitchell. London real estate head Rob Thompson joined Dentons with partners Lewis Myers, Rupert Dowdell and head of corporate real estate Jayne Schnider. In June, Dentons also hired Nabarro corporate partner Jonathan Cantor.

Hill joins more than 30 partners who have left Olswang in the last 20 months as the firm prepared itself for a merger, which was voted through by the three partnerships in October.

The latest exits from the troubled tech player include co-head of life sciences and intellectual property partner Stephen Reese departing the firm in favour of Clifford Chance, the firm’s Spanish managing partner, Pablo Bieger Morales, who left for Broseta Abogados, and in Paris, experienced corporate partner Christophe Gaschin joined Groupe Bertrand as general counsel.

These latest departures add to those of Brussels partner Sylvie Rousseau, a former head of TMT for Linklaters in Paris, who quit the firm to become a consultant in July. Reading real estate partner Carol Phillips left the practice earlier this year to become head of real estate at Virgin Media.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

The big get bigger: Dentons to enter Central America with local tie-up

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Legal mergers Dentons
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Dentons announced today (16 November) that it will merge with Costa Rica-based Muñoz Global to become the second major law firm with a Central American presence. If approved by partners of both firms by the end of the year, this will give Dentons a presence in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.

The proposed combination marks the next step in Dentons’ strategy to grow in Latin America and the Caribbean and follows the launch of Dentons López Velarde in Mexico and Dentons Cardenas & Cardenas in Colombia earlier this year.

Muñoz Global is a newly-created law firm with more than 75 lawyers specialising in corporate legal services across multiple industries, shaped from the separation of Arias & Muñoz founders Jose Antonio Muñoz and Pedro Muñoz yesterday ‘on amicable terms’ to create Muñoz Global and merge with Dentons.

The Costa Rica office will be managed by partner José Antonio Muñoz, while the Panama office will be led by Gisela Alvarez de Porras. While the leadership of the Nicaragua office is yet to be announced, the formation of it will be led by Pedro Muñoz.

Dentons said the combination would allow both firms to enhance their capabilities in key practices including banking and finance, corporate, dispute resolution and real estate.

Dentons global chief executive Elliott Portnoy (pictured) said: ‘Since our launch in Mexico and Colombia earlier this year, cross-border work into and out of the region has grown rapidly, demonstrating that clients see a great advantage to being served by a global firm.’

He added: ‘Given the interconnectedness of the economies of Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, we see real opportunities to serve clients further through more intra-region work as well.’

Meanwhile Dentons’ European arm has also been focused on extending its reach of late, expanding its presence in Italy through two new offices in the last 12 months in Milan and Rome.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Clifford Chance and RPC bulk out in Asia as Dentons expands in Europe

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In this week’s round-up of lateral appointments, Clifford Chance (CC) and RPC have added to the benches in Hong Kong, while Dentons has hired in Europe and Lawyers on Demand’s (LOD) Jonathan Brenner has taken on a new part-time role at Keystone Law.

CC has strengthened its corporate practice in Hong Kong with the appointment of partner Frank Yuen from local firm Woo Kwan Lee & Lo.

Yuen, who will join in early 2017, leaves one of Hong Kong’s heavyweight independent law firms, known for its real estate work. CC Asia corporate head Mark Shipman said Yuen had one of the strongest profiles for M&A and equity capital markets in the region and his knowledge would reinforce the firm’s reputation in high-value transactions. Following Yuen’s arrival, CC will have 34 corporate partners in Asia-Pacific.

Also in Hong Kong, RPC has bolstered its own corporate practice with the hire of Jeremy Cunningham from Mayer Brown. The M&A and private equity specialist made partner in 2011 and recently acted for Redwood Investment Company on its all-stock merger with Shang Cayman, to create one of the largest logistics real estate platforms in Asia.

In Europe, Dentons has deepened its real estate bench with the hire of Solera Holdings’ general counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa David Dixon. Dixon has more than 25 years’ experience advising on real estate transactions and has previously been head of Norton Rose’s corporate finance team in Warsaw.

Dentons’ Europe real estate chair, Pawel Debowski, said: ‘Set against a backdrop of the growing number of cross-border portfolio transactions involving Poland that we’re currently seeing, his experience in leading international deals will certainly be appreciated by our clients.’

Finally, co-founder of Lawyers On Demand (LOD) Brenner has taken on a part-time role driving recruitment at alternative provider Keystone Law. He will remain with LOD spending two days at the contract lawyer service. Brenner launched LOD with former Berwin Leighton Paisner partner Simon Harper in 2007 as part of the firm. It was later announced it would spin off in 2012.

LOD has also promoted its key account manager Rachel Murphy who will take on the role of head of client solutions. The promotion follows Tim Bratton’s resignation following his decision to move to Euromoney Institutional Investor.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dentons Nextlaw becomes largest global referral network of more than 290 firms

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Dentons has officially launched its free-to-use Nextlaw Global Referral Network, signing up 291 firms to make the largest referral network by firm count in the world.

The network now has access to more than 19,000 lawyers in more than 160 countries. Scottish firms MacRoberts and Lindsays both joined, as well as offshore firms Ogier, Appleby, Carey Olsen and Walkers and more than 70 US firms.

Legal Business

‘Each market is different’: Dentons’ Australian tie-up delayed

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Melbourne office unlikely following Singapore closure

Dentons’ tie-up with Australian firm Gadens, announced a year ago, has been delayed, with Dentons confirming Gadens’ Melbourne office is now unlikely to join.

Legal Business

‘Important growth markets’: Dentons leads on Liberty Global’s $760m acquisition of Polish cable operator

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Dealwatch DentonsRadzikowski, Szubielska & Partners
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Dentons has advised opposite new Warsaw firm Radzikowski, Szubielska & Partners on Liberty Global’s purchase of Poland’s number three cable operator, Multimedia Polska for $760m. Radzikowski was formed earlier this year after Chadbourne & Parke’s Warsaw office slpit from the US firm in May.

US media group Liberty Global moved to improve its share of the Polish cable market to 50% by purchasing Multimedia Polska through its Polish unit UPC Polska. The cable operator passes through 1.6m homes in Poland.

Dentons fielded a team including technology, media and telecommunications Europe practice leader Igor Ostrowski in Warsaw and co-chair of the Dentons global private equity group Rob Irving in Budapest. The pair were supported by partners Pawel Grabowski in Warsaw, and Chris Watkinson based in Budapest and Prague.

Radzikowski’s team on the deal was led by former Chadbourne & Parke Warsaw managing partner Gabriel Wujek, who had acted for Multimedia Polska’s $269m share offering back in 2006.

Irving said: ‘This deal represents a strategic move in CEE by one of the top multinational players in the sector. Such significant transactions showcase our strengths in cross-border M&A, as well as our capabilities to help international businesses expand in these important growth markets.’

The deal follows several recent purchases by Liberty Global including last year’s $7.4bn acquisition of Cable & Wireless Communications. Liberty Global had used Shearman & Sterling European M&A head Laurence Levy and City partner Jeremy Kutner on the Cable & Wireless deal.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dentons Australia tie-up delayed as Melbourne office expected to break off

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Dentons is still working to finalise its tie-up with Australian firm Gadens almost a year after announcing the merger, and has confirmed Gadens’ Melbourne office is now unlikely to join.

IT issues, intellectual property considerations and the Australian firm’s structure have slowed the process, which was announced in November last year.

At the time, Dentons said it had completed votes on a three-way tie up with Singaporean firm Rodyk & Davidson and Gadens in a move the firms said would ‘create the Pacific Rim’s leading global law firm’.

The Rodyk combination was completed after five months, as the 200-lawyer Singaporean firm joined as Dentons Rodyk in April. However, the Gadens merger has yet to be completed although the tie-up is expected go through before the end of the year without the firm’s Singapore and Melbourne offices.

In May, Nabarro hired the firm’s Singapore managing partner Marc Rathbone, causing Gadens to close the office.

Gadens is a 500-lawyer firm with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. However the federalised structure of the firm with separate partnerships at the different offices has made it difficult to bring them all on board.

Dentons global chair Joe Andrew told Legal Business the firm’s Melbourne office was also unlikely to come on board as the deal finalised. ‘The firm has a federated system. One office we identified that would not join in the same way was Melbourne.’

Gadens has since joined Dentons’ Nextlaw Global Referral Network, which could give any spin-off offices access to the network.

Andrew (pictured) added combining the two firms’ technology and IP had also slowed the process: ‘We had to make all this work using our and their tech teams. It has taken longer than we anticipated.’

A spokesperson added: ‘Dentons recognises that each market is different and that local offices are best positioned to determine the approach that is best for them and their clients. Those approaches, and their benefits to clients, will be clear when Dentons Australia launches in the fourth quarter of this year.’

Last year, Dentons combined with Chinese giant Dacheng in January and US firm McKenna Long & Aldridge in April. The Singaporean and Australian mergers will give the firm more than 7,300 lawyers worldwide.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

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

 

 

Legal Business

‘Unprecedented applications in the legal industry’: Dentons’ Nextlaw backs two legal tech startups with funding and training

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Nextlaw Labs, the legal tech platform launched by Dentons last year, has invested in two legal startups, alongside venture funding company Seedcamp.

The pair are backing two startups, Libryo and Clause, as part of an initial co-investment worth around €200,000. The partnership will also offer future training and mentoring from lawyers at Dentons to develop the products.

The investment comes after Nextlaw teamed up with Seedcamp in June this year. More than 80 start-ups from five continents applied for the funding and training programme and were selected by a panel of judges from Seedcamp, Nextlaw and Dentons.

Libryo is a London-based software-as-a-service platform that provides solutions to regulatory issues, using a dashboard that explains the legal obligations of its users in a variety of scenarios.

Clause is a New York-based startup contract-building platform ‘for the next generation of automated and data-integrated contracts for enterprise’. The company claims its platform will manage its first ‘autonomous contracts’ later this year, and the platform can automatically update contract variables, such as pricing, in response to changing conditions and data.

The initial investments from the Nextlaw and Seedcamp partnership will offer up to €100,000 to each company for 9% of equity, with Nextlaw and Seedcamp contributing half the investment each.

Nextlaw global chair and Dentons partner John Fernandez said: ‘Both Libryo and Clause have unprecedented applications in the legal industry that can be unlocked within Dentons as a global testing ground.’

Recent investments from Dentons’ tech venture have included funding in Apperio, a tool that enables clients to monitor the amount of partner/associate time spent on each transaction or case. The company also worked with artificial intelligence company RAVN for a Brexit contracts system this summer.

Dentons launched Palo Alto-based Nextlaw Labs in May last year, led by chief executive Dan Jansen. The firm also finalised its new free-to-use legal referral network earlier this month. The Nextlaw Global Referral Network signed up 283 member firms and 18,600 lawyers, with 13 UK firms joining.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Revolving doors: European expansion all-around as Simmons and Dentons make key hires

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Strategic recruitment DentonsSimmons & Simmons
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The first week of October brought with it several continental appointments at Simmons & Simmons, Dentons and Bird & Bird, while Clyde & Co and Trowers & Hamlins expanded in London.

Simmons announced two lateral hires in Milan from White & Case in capital markets lawyers Paola Leocani and Nicholas Lasagna. This comes just a year after Simmons closed its Rome office, relocating staff to Milan.

A top-tier capital markets lawyer in Italy, Leocani’s practice focuses on debt and securitized derivatives and joined White & Case in June 2013 from Allen & Overy. Lasagna joined White & Case in 2011 from Latham & Watkins and he is also admitted to practice law in England & Wales.

Simmons’ international financial markets head Jonathan Hammond said: ‘Their arrival emphasises our continued commitment to developing our international capital markets offering and brings the number of partners who have joined our international financial markets practice so far this year to 10.’

Dentons has also strengthened its ranks in Europe by hiring a team of three lawyers from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Munich. Thomas Strassner, alongside counsel Christopher Mayston and associate Michael Rebholz joined Dentons as of 1 October in the newly-opened Munich office.

Joining the firm as partner, Strassner specialises in company restructuring, private equity, venture capital, financing and M&A transactions and related litigation and dispute resolution. Mayston specialises in banking and finance, and advised Capita Group as part of the merger of TUI AG and TUI Travel merger.

Meanwhile, Clydes fortified its real estate practice in London by appointing planning lawyers Brian Greenwood and Stephen Webb. Greenwood is a planning, infrastructure and environmental lawyer and joins Clydes from Winckworth Sherwood. His environmental expertise includes the constructions of the Millenium Dome and the regeneration of the Spitalfields Market.

Webb joins from King & Wood Mallesons with over 25 years’ experience, and his recent work includes the redevelopment of the Filton Airfield Bristol.

Trowers & Hamlins also expanded its banking and finance team in London this week, by recruiting Richard Hathaway from Osborne Clarke. Hathaway has over 12 years of legal experience in corporate banking, real estate finance and acquisition and leveraged finance.

And finally, Bird & Bird added IP attorneys Felix Landry and Felix Harbsmeier to its Hamburg office. Both Landry and Harbsmeier specialise in electronics, physics and engineering and have been at Uexküll & Stolberg since 2001 and 2004 respectively.

Co-head of Germany Michael Alt said: ‘We will be expanding our Hamburg office in the patent sector even further, and we are delighted to have achieved this first step with such an experienced team.’

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk