Legal Business

Ranson eyes Eversheds’ chief exec role as he leads growth drive

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Leadership Eversheds Sutherland
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In a move which sets him in a strong position to run for chief executive when incumbent Bryan Hughes steps down in 2017, Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson (pictured) has been tasked with leading a ‘Growth Agenda’ following the firm’s subdued performance in this year’s Legal Business 100, which saw growth flatline, and profit per equity partner (PEP) edge up by 2%.

The strategy revamp was announced during a practice group conference this summer as the firm’s three-year plan came to an end. Ranson told Legal Business the agenda was about making sure junior lawyers coming through the business have the skillsets and opportunities to sell.

‘Quite often in this profession it is thought that only a select number of partners sell. We want to change that so all our people are looking at how they can grow the client relationship.’

Hughes, who is limited to serving two terms, is stepping down from his role as chief executive in May 2017, with the election for his successor expected to take place by the end of next year. Ranson added that he was keen to build on the platform he and Hughes had created: ‘I’m sure there will be a number of people who have a vision for the firm. Where I am at the moment, the next logical step for me would be to seek election as chief executive. All things being equal in 18 months’ time.’

In the meantime, the new growth drive that Ranson is leading will see senior partners spend more time mentoring associates and junior partners to be more commercial, as well as sales training and investment into budgeting and available resources. Hughes said: ‘We would like revenue to be a little more aggressive on the top line. Our three-year plan came to an end, we have tweaked the measures but will continue to drive our 2020 game plan along the same lines – the same channels of our client strategy, our people strategy.’

The 2014/15 financial year saw Eversheds post flat results, with revenue at £380.7m compared with £379.1m last year, while PEP increased from £731,000 to £749,000.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Ranson eyes Eversheds’ chief exec role as he leads growth drive

Posted on |
Leadership Eversheds Sutherland
legal-business-default

In a move which sets him in a strong position to run for chief executive when incumbent Bryan Hughes steps down in 2017, Eversheds managing partner Lee Ranson has been tasked with leading a ‘Growth Agenda’ following the firm’s subdued performance in this year’s Legal Business 100, which saw growth flatline, and profit per equity partner (PEP) edge up by 2%.

The strategy revamp was announced during a practice group conference this summer as the firm’s three-year plan came to an end. Ranson told Legal Business the agenda was about making sure junior lawyers coming through the business have the skillsets and opportunities to sell.

Legal Business

Eversheds’ Manchester office loses partner trio to DLA Piper as firm builds up in construction

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Strategic recruitment DLA PiperEversheds Sutherland
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DLA Piper has targeted Eversheds‘ Manchester base, hiring three of the firm’s partners from the office, as its bulks up it infrastructure and construction practice.

David Moss and Paul Giles join DLA as partners while Nigel Proctor comes in as a consultant in the global firm’s infrastructure, construction and transport sector, though a start date is still to be confirmed.

Moss and Giles are both contentious construction lawyers with 25 and 15 years’ experience respectively. Moss specialises in project management, administering contracts and resolving claims in the civil, oil and gas heavy engineering, and building industries, while Giles is specialised in dispute avoidance and resolution in a number of industries including road, rail and nuclear.

Chartered civil engineer Proctor is a non-contentious construction lawyer with 20 years’ experience advising on both client funded and project financed infrastructure projects in the UK and internationally.

Commenting on the hires David Gray, UK head of DLA’s litigation and regulatory group, said the group would help to develop the UK construction disputes team as well as the firm’s infrastructure, construction & transport sector globally.

Liam Cowell, managing partner of the firm’s Manchester office and a finance and projects partner added: ‘David, Paul and Nigel are a dynamic team who have worked together for a number of years at different firms and have built a significant practice together. Their appointment will increase our breadth of experience in the infrastructure sector not only in the North West but across the UK and internationally.’

The team first worked together at Hammonds before splitting up as Proctor joined Addleshaw Goddard and both Moss and Giles joined McGrigors. All three joined Eversheds in 2012.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Mishcon loses City funds chief to OMM as firms bulk up in Asia

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Strategic recruitment Eversheds SutherlandMishcon de ReyaO'Melveny & Myers
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O’Melveny & Myers (OMM) made a strategic move last week as it continues to ramp up its City office with the hire of Mishcon de Reya’s co-head of funds and financial services while Eversheds also looked to bolster its London presence. In Asia, Morrison & Foerster made a high-profile hire when it recruited Winston & Strawn’s Asia head of litigation.

Eve Ellis re-joins OMM, having previously been counsel in the firm’s investment funds group. She left the firm in 2010 to make partner at Charles Russell and then moved to Mishcon in May last year. Focused on UK and EU regulatory matters affecting funds and financial institutions, Ellis’ client base revolves around private equity but also covers real estate, hedge and emerging market funds, and institutional investors.

The second recruit to the firm’s London office, she will join new European corporate head and private placement specialist Andrew Weiler, who also starts today (3 August), from White & Case.

Eversheds, after having seen a swathe of real estate partners exit to King & Wood Mallesons following William Naunton and Clive Jones, has also expanded in London, improving its planning offering with the hire of a partner and three associates.

Morag Thomson, who was senior partner at Marrons before its merger with Shakespeares in 2013, joins the firm as partner along with a senior associate. Eversheds has also recruited a principal associate from Bircham Dyson Bell, Richard Marsh, and a senior associate from Forsters, Matt Nixon. Thomson covers both contentious and non-contentious work and specialises in major projects and infrastructure developments.

Meanwhile, MoFo boosted its Asia practice with Winston & Strawn’s regional head of litigation Adrian Yip.

Yip, who had been with the Chicago-bred firm for five years, has a broad range of experience in Hong Kong and Greater China, covering arbitration, criminal prosecutions, competition law and corporate investigations. He joins with 3 associates as the US firm looks to build up its Hong Kong disputes team – to that end it has also relocated Craig Celniker, chair of its disputes practice from Tokyo in 2013.

The move mirrors Yip’s arrival at Winston & Strawn, which he joined in 2010, also with three associates, after five years at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Ashurst joined MoFo in building up its Asia offering with the addition of Andrew Digges in its Singapore office. Digges, who makes partner in the move, joins from Allen & Overy where he was a foreign legal consultant at the Magic Circle firm’s associated office in Jakarta, Ginting & Reksodiputro.

Digges will join the firm’s resources and infrastructure team with 15 years’ experience garnered on South East Asian project work, in particular advising on Indonesian power deals.

The firm’s head of resources and infrastructure, Mark Elsey, commented: ‘Resources and infrastructure is an area of key strategic focus for the firm. Andrew is a seasoned and highly regarded practitioner who will add significant depth to our offering in this area in the Asia region as well as further enhancing our market leading global platform.’

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

News in brief – July 2015

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Salaries Baker McKenzieDWFEversheds SutherlandFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerWeightmans
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FRESHFIELDS BREAKS CITY LOCKSTEP TO BRING IN KIRKLAND’S McKIMM

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s hire of Kirkland & Ellis high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm made waves in the City in June. Joining as co-head of European leveraged finance, McKimm’s salary is understood to be well above the firm’s City top of equity.

 

Legal Business

Financials 2014/15: subdued performance from Eversheds with revenue and profits flat

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Financial results 2014/15 Eversheds Sutherland
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Eversheds has posted essentially flat results for the last financial year, with revenues flat at £380.7m compared with £379.1m in 2013/14, while profit per equity partner (PEP) has nudged up just 2% from £731,000 to £749,000.

The majority of the firm’s income came from its corporate practice, followed by disputes and real estate. Last year results saw the firm grow marginally, with turnover up 2% however this was contrasted by a double-digit increase in PEP of 14%.

Turnover at the firm has grown by a total of 7% over the last five years, with the firm posting revenues of £355.2m for the financial year 2009/10. PEP in the same period is up 45% from £515,000. However, the firm’s equity partner ranks have decreased 14% over that period, from 136 to 117, pointing to slower underlying growth in profitability – net income has grown by 25% over five years.

The 2014/15 financial year saw Eversheds continue to invest in its ongoing expansion strategy, with the firm last month merging with its German partner Heisse Kursawe following a full year of advanced negotiations. June also saw the firm enter the Northern Irish legal market with the launch of an outpost in Belfast covering general commercial and public sector legal work. In February, Eversheds further extended its presence in South Africa, establishing a new formal alliance with Cape Town firm Walkers, while also creating two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America towards the end of last year.

Eversheds’ year-on-year results stand in sharp contrast to the growth of national rival Pinsent Masons, which saw PEP soar 33% from £403,000 to £538,000, while turnover was up 12% from £323m to £362m. Managing partner John Cleland, who took over the role on 1 May, said the firm’s performance was a result of strategic investments Pinsents had made in recent years, including its 2012 merger with Scottish law firm McGrigors.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Eversheds enters Northern Irish legal market with Belfast launch

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Commercial Eversheds Sutherland
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Eversheds has become the latest firm to enter the Northern Irish legal market with the launch of an outpost in Belfast covering general commercial and public sector legal work.

The office, headed up by projects partner Peter Curran and based next to Belfast City Hall, is not currently full-service but will carry out legal work as part of Eversheds’ international network. The work will be serviced initially by lawyers from Eversheds’ existing offices in the UK and Dublin, but the firm is also looking to hire locally as well.

The launch is seen as ‘plugging a gap’ in Eversheds’ current offering across the UK and Ireland which includes offices in most of the main commercial centres and regional capitals including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The firm announced today (22 June) that it is also launching a new branch of its consulting service, Eversheds Ignite. The offering will be focused on helping in-house teams outsource high volume, low risk work such as statements of work and non-disclosure agreements.

The new office follows Eversheds’ merger earlier this month with its German partner Heisse Kursawe Eversheds following a full year of advanced negotiations. Eversheds will trade in Germany as Eversheds Deutschland and primarily practice in areas including corporate M&A, real estate and human resources. Around 30% of clients are currently shared between the firms, mainly US multinationals with operations in Germany.

Eversheds’ ongoing expansion strategy also saw the firm announce the creation of two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America, initiatives intended to further formalise relationships with local firms, but remain non-exclusive.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Eversheds merges with Heisse Kursawe after ‘a very long courtship’ as it plans greater German investment

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Legal mergers Eversheds SutherlandFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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After a full year of advanced negotiations, Eversheds has merged with its German partner Heisse Kursawe Eversheds, allowing the duo to financially integrate and make investments in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.

Following the merger, Eversheds will trade in Germany as Eversheds Deutschland and primarily practice in areas including corporate M&A, real estate and human resources. Around 30% of clients are currently shared between the firms, mainly US multinationals with operations in Germany.

Negotiations were led by Lee Ranson, managing partner of Eversheds LLP, and Keith Froud, head Eversheds’ UK company commercial team. The union with the 28-partner firm was also overseen by partner Ian Gray, who was appointed to the role of international managing partner in early May and is tasked with developing German operations and other non-UK relationships.

Eversheds has been actively looking to boost its German piece for some time and last April the firm confirmed it was in talks over a full merger with Heisse Kursawe and at the same time opened a third German office in Berlin. 

Gray told Legal Business: ‘Heisse Kursawe has been part of Eversheds international network for 10 years – the plan was always to develop and financially integrate. The discussions developed over a number of years but became serious last year.

‘We are looking to grow aggressively in Germany and that requires investment. We we want to do that through the larger Eversheds LLP structure so we moved them into new offices in Munich and they’re being financially integrated so we can drive investment in the Munich, Berlin and Hamburg offices. It’s part of a wider strategy to develop bigger operations in key places around the world. We’re also focused on further developing in Paris, Hong Kong and Dubai.’

Managing partner of Heisse Kursawe Eversheds, which was founded in 1974, Matthias Heisse said: ‘Being a part of Eversheds International for so long has given us a very long courtship in which we have got to know each other very well. We share a common strategy with Eversheds to continuously strengthen our position in our domestic market whilst expanding our reach internationally, both across Western Europe and globally. We have thought long and hard about agreeing to this marriage. Ultimately the decision has been made by reference to what is best for our clients as well as for us.

‘Through merging with Eversheds we believe we can improve and extend our services for both our German and our many international clients for whom our partners will remain the trusted and highly committed advisers they have known for many years. We are very excited about the future as part of Eversheds LLP.’

Eversheds’ ongoing expansion strategy saw the firm announce the creation of two new alliance networks covering Asia Pacific and Latin America, initiatives intended to further formalise relationships with local firms, but remain non-exclusive.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

For in-depth analysis of Eversheds see: The ideal law firm for 2013? Eversheds hunts for its breakthrough

Legal Business

Enyo hires Eversheds partner and intelligence duo to tackle business in ‘unusual jurisdictions’

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Strategic recruitment Enyo LawEversheds Sutherland
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In a sign of the travails facing law firms doing business in ‘unusual jurisdictions’, Enyo Law has established an in-house business intelligence unit to help conduct due diligence and build business while it has also bolstered its ranks after partner Annabel Thomas exited for Mishcon de Reya earlier this week, hiring Eversheds partner Jonathan Brook.

Brook is joining Enyo in early July after just a year at Eversheds, having joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2014. Experienced in domestic and international disputes, and investigations by regulatory and law enforcement authorities, his most recent work includes advising London reinsurers in connection with losses in Ukraine.

The firm also broadened its offering with the hire of Paul Austin, former operations director of business intelligence and corporate investigations outfit Pelican Worldwide, who has been recruited to spearhead the firm’s new in-house business intelligence unit.

Having joined London-based Pelican as a partner in 2011, Austin has previously worked as a consultant to KPMG and served in government as a deployed civilian expert for the Department of International Development. He joins alongside Pelican research analyst Jan Daniel Grozdanovic.

Austin will act as an internal resource to conduct due diligence on clients, often from unconventional background and locations, before the firm engages with them and supervise, where appropriate, third-party investigatory services that the firm currently uses. Speaking to Legal Business, Enyo Law co-founder Simon Twigden (pictured) said: ‘It struck me this is something no one else really does at a law firm. We have clients in odd jurisdictions at times and do high profile disputes – it’s sometimes difficult to know who your client is – is it the person in front of you or is there a person behind them? So before we take on a client in an unusual jurisdiction, we have someone to help defend us from something we may not want to get into.’

‘We all deal with the Krolls of this world – and they have a lot of experience in the private investigator realm dealing with governments, informants and so on, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand the limits of what they can and cannot do. So we’ve someone in-house to control that process.’

The new unit is also being designed to help win pitches and clients through intelligence gathering. Twigden said: ‘When you’re pitching to people in different jurisdictions we can offer to do private investigator work on their opponent, find out where their assets are – so before you press the trigger, whether it’s a worldwide freezing injunction or simply issuing proceedings and before incurring massive costs, we can do the work confidentially in-house.

The firm is in good stead to invest, having enjoyed substantial financial growth for the 2013/14 year with revenue jumping 61% to over £14m from £8.8m while profits effectively doubled to £9.6m from £4.8m. The news also follows the departure of Enyo partner Annabel Thomas who is set to return to full service firm Mishcon de Reya.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

For more on the rise of boutiques, see: Go your own way – legal boutiques and the seductive appeal of being your own boss

Legal Business

Strike action: Network Rail turns to Eversheds for legal challenge over rail workers’ looming walkout

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Commercial Eversheds SutherlandNetwork Rail
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Eversheds has been instructed by Network Rail on its legal challenge to the TSSA union in an attempt to limit disruption should talks regarding a planned rail strike this bank holiday weekend fail.

With members of the TSSA voting to join RMT union workers in a 24-hour walkout from 5pm on Monday over pay and jobs, Network Rail alleges there were ‘numerous defects’ in the union’s ballot information. An interim injunction application hearing against the TSSA is set for tomorrow (21 May) at the High Court unless parties resolve the issue before then.

Network Rail are represented by a team from Eversheds led by partner and head of industrial relations in the London office Marc Meryon. The firm has instructed Fountain Court Chambers’ Paul Gott QC and Devereux Chambers’ Bruce Carr QC. The TSSA is represented by trade union and personal injury firm Morrish Solicitors with senior partner Paul Scholey leading. The Leeds-based firm has instructed Old Square Chambers’ John Hendy QC alongside barrister Betsan Criddle.

In total the dispute affects around 25,000 of Network Rail’s 35,000 staff.

A Network Rail spokesperson said yesterday (19 May): ‘We have asked the TSSA to withdraw notice of their industrial action as we believe there are numerous defects in their ballot information. Network Rail has a responsibility to passengers, freight users and to the country as a whole to do everything we can to avert a strike. Talks with the unions continue and we hope to reach a settlement, but we must explore all avenues at our disposal and that includes legal ones.’

TSSA’s general secretary Manuel Cortes said: ‘Our members are clearly very angry over the four year pay offer and particularly the one off £500 payment for this year which would mean them falling behind the cost of living. The last three years with RPI increases mean they would keep ahead with the cost of living. That is also what we want to see for this year as well. We are involved in talks to avert a dispute and we hope those talks succeed. No one wants to see a Bank Holiday weekend disrupted for millions of passengers.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk