Legal Business

Freshfields mourns death of veteran US litigator Tim Coleman

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US Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Tim Coleman, a Washington DC-based disputes partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, died suddenly yesterday (3 November), after almost six years at the firm.

It is understood that an internal email to partners at the law firm said Coleman fell from a building in the US capital, although Freshfields declined to comment on the circumstances.

Coleman joined the Magic Circle law firm in March 2010 when Freshfields was expanding its US litigation team. He joined after spending four years at the now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf where he co-chaired the firm’s white-collar defence and investigations practice group.

Before this, he was a senior counsel to the deputy attorney general at the US Department of Justice for a year, and assistant US attorney at the US attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York from 1997 until 2005. He was also a litigation associate at Wall Street leader Cravath, Swaine & Moore for seven years.

His practice at Freshfields included advising on government investigations, where he regularly represented financial institutions and corporates in investigations of securities and commodities fraud, tax violations, corruption and other violations.

He was particularly experienced in managing complex multijurisdictional matters, having handled cases across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and having studied at the European University Institute in Florence and the French National School for the Judiciary in Paris.

Freshfields said in a statement: ‘It is with deep sadness we report that our colleague and friend Tim Coleman passed away in Washington, DC. Tim’s enthusiasm for his family and friends touched everyone around him. His death is a profound loss to all of us personally and to Freshfields. We will do all we can to support his wife and family, who are very much in our thoughts and prayers.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Moving on: homebuilder McCarthy & Stone turns to A&O for its November listing

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Corporate Allen & OveryFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Regular counsel Freshfields advises lead arrangers on £1bn IPO

Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone has selected Allen & Overy (A&O) to advise on its £1bn initial public offering (IPO) as it prepares this month to return to public ownership almost a decade after the developer was taken private.

McCarthy & Stone’s appointment of A&O is a move away from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which was listed as the developer’s solicitor in its most recent annual report in 2014. However, Freshfields already has a lead role on the float, acting for underwriters Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Jefferies International, with partner Mark Austin leading the team.

Legal Business

Brodies hires Freshfields partner Fountain amid double corporate hire

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Strategic recruitment BrodiesFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Scottish firm Brodies is taking its private equity offering up a gear by hiring Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Karen Fountain as part of a double lateral hire into its corporate group.

Brodies has hired fund specialist Fountain and CMS Cameron McKenna private equity partner Douglas Crawford to increase the number of partners at the firm to 94.

Fountain, who recently finished advising Barclays on the spin-off of its natural resources private equity fund, retired from Freshfields in April after 15 years at the firm, having joined from Slaughter and May in 1999. She was a partner for 12 of those years, becoming a key part of the firm’s City funds group.

Intent on returning to Scotland upon her retirement, Fountain joins Brodies’ Edinburgh office, bringing with her expertise in fund formation, joint ventures, investor and management arrangements and regulatory issues.

Crawford, already a senior name in the Scottish legal market, leave CMS just 18 months after the firm’s rescue deal for Dundas & Wilson.

Crawford, who spent five of his 17 years at Dundas & Wilson heading the former Scottish elite firm’s corporate department, joins Brodies as head of private equity.

The energy specialist, who is particularly active in the oil and gas space, will join the firm’s Aberdeen office. Graphite Capital and Bank of Scotland are among his clients. 

The appointments will boost the firm at a time – according to managing partner Bill Drummond – when private equity work is buoyant in Scotland, filling holes left by the relocation of banking work to the City post-Lehman.

Drummond said: ‘At a time when the role of private equity and funds in stimulating a return to economic growth in Scotland and the wider UK is ever-more important, we are very pleased to be looking forward to welcoming Doug and Helen to Brodies. Their expertise will be of value to many clients looking to make investments and establish new vehicles to take advantage of that growth and help stimulate more economic activity.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Omani sovereign wealth fund calls in Freshfields to sue Bulgaria

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Disputes Arnold & Porter Kaye ScholerFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Oman’s largest sovereign wealth fund has hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to take Bulgaria to arbitration over its role in the collapse in Balkan bank KTB, while the Bulgarian government has instructed Arnold & Porter to defend the claim ahead of preferred law firm White & Case.

Freshfields partners Boris Kasolowsky in Frankfurt and Willibald Plesser in Vienna have been handed the task of recouping losses suffered by the State General Reserve Fund of Oman after KTB closed in June 2014. The arbitration claim, understood to be valued at more than $100m including interest, has been filed at the World Bank’s arbitration court, the International Centre for Settlement of Investor Disputes (ICSID).

The fund held a 30% stake in KTB, which was placed under the supervision of Bulgaria’s central bank last year amid the country’s worst banking crisis in two decades. A bank run began, with customers rushing to withdraw their deposits following allegations that the bank’s main shareholder, Tsvetan Vassilev was embezzling its funds. Vassilev has denied the charges in a case yet to go to trial.

The claim is the sixth time that Bulgaria has been sued at the ICSID, with the Balkan country instructing Arnold & Porter for the first time.

Four Arnold & Porter partners are working on the case, with Washington DC duo Jean Kalicki and Paolo Di Rosa handling the claim stateside, with support from David Reed and Dmitri Evseev in London.

White & Case has acted on four of Bulgaria’s six investor-state cases at the ICSID and is currently counsel on a €600m claim from Austrian energy group EVN over regulatory decisions that reduced its profits in the region.

Kasolowsky and Plesser are representing EVN in that case, which makes the KTB claim Freshfields’ second active case against Bulgaria.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields and Latham act on creation of new PE house as Barclays spins-off another venture

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Dealwatch Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLatham & Watkins
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Private equity heavyweights Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Latham & Watkins have acted on the spin-off of Barclays’ natural resources private equity arm through a management buyout.

Barclays Natural Resources Investment has been bought by its managers, led by chief executive Mark Brown, after being placed into Barclays’ non-core asset pile following a restructuring of its investment bank last year.

The profitable unit, which has 14 staff operating out of London, New York and Doha, has an existing $1.7bn under management, including investments by the Qatar Investment Authority and by Barclays itself.

The renamed Global Natural Resource Investments (GNRI) instructed Latham & Watkins’ global co-head of private equity David Walker to lead on the spin-out and is already planning to raise a standalone fund of over $1bn.

Walker picked up the deal following his work back in 2011 on an earlier Barclays spin-off, Barclays Private Equity, which became buyout firm Equistone, while he was at Clifford Chance. For the GNRI transaction, Walker led a team comprising funds partners Nick Benson and Tom Alabaster, tax partner Sean Finn and employment partner Catherine Drinnan. 

Freshfields partner Karen Fountain, who has since retired, led the legal advice to Barclays. She was supported by corporate partner Philip Richards.

The management buyout ends another legacy of Barclays’ former chief executive Bob Diamond who encouraged the launch of the unit in 2006, shortly after becoming chief executive, to aggressively expand Barclays’ investment banking arm.

Brown said: ‘As an independent manager, we believe there is a demand for a private equity business that is focused on global natural resources, excluding upstream oil and gas in the US. In addition, we believe that the requirement for private equity capital in the global natural resources sector is stronger than ever and the current volatility in commodity prices is creating a positive back-drop for patient private equity.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields to double office space in Manchester as low-cost services site in Salford confirmed

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Having taken its first step toward offering alternative legal services to clients earlier this year, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has selected a long-term base for its low-cost services hub in Manchester, double the size of its current office.

The Magic Circle firm will move from its temporary base in Manchester’s city centre to permanently occupy One New Bailey, located by Spinningfields in Salford. Staff are expected to move into the new premises from early 2017.

The firm has leased 80,000 sq ft with the flexibility of adapting ‘the amount of space that [Freshfields] would occupy to reflect the evolving needs of [its] clients and business’.

The legal and business services centre, called the Global Centre, opened its doors in the northwest in July this year after it announced it was to move the majority of its support services team out of its London office for a cheaper and more efficient alternative.

The office will accommodate legal services staff, as well as human resources, IT, marketing and business development, office management, document specialists and change management. It is currently based in Arndale House where the firm has a 40,000 sq ft lease.

The transfer from London remains ongoing and is expected to create a number of redundancies within the support services team, although many are expected to relocate in phases starting next year, with back office staff being the first to relocate. Alongside business services, repetitive legal work is also being shifted to the new centre.

In May, Freshfields appointed Anup Kollanethu as centre director for the combined services after it signed a lease for space in Arndale House. ‘One New Bailey gives us both the high quality and attractive location we want for our staff,’ said Kollanethu.

Salford mayor Ian Stewart added: ‘It’s exciting news that Freshfields has selected Salford as the long term location for its global services centre. We welcome the creation of new jobs in Salford and the city council is ready to work with the firm to make their staff welcome and to assist with recruitment support.’

Knight Frank Manchester advised Freshfields throughout the selection process for its long term Manchester premises.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields, Allen & Overy lay foundations for McCarthy & Stone’s £1bn flotation

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Corporate Allen & OveryFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
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Magic circle firms Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have taken lead roles on retirement homebuilder McCarthy & Stone’s plans to float on the London stock exchange.

An Allen & Overy team led by corporate partner Richard Browne with support from equity capital markets partner James Roe and US securities partner Adam Wells is advising McCarthy & Stone, which wants to return to the stock market almost a decade after it was taken private.

McCarthy & Stone wants to sell at least a quarter of its business to raise £70m for land business, which would value the company at about £1bn.

Underwriters Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs and Jefferies International are being advised by Freshfields, with partner Mark Austin leading a team.

McCarthy & Stone chief executive Clive Fenton said: ‘There is a structural under-supply of specialist retirement housing in the UK and McCarthy & Stone has the expertise, track record and financial strength to address this need.’

‘Listing on the London Stock Exchange will provide the ideal foundation for the Group to move to the next stage of its development and the Board and I will continue to work hard to deliver on our ambitious growth plans,’ he added.

For Allen & Overy, the appointment is the latest in a string of IPO mandates for the firm which last month picked up new client Ibstock, advising on the brick maker’s plans £1bn listing. Allen & Overy as well as Freshfields also acted on the London stock exchange’s biggest float this year, of payments company Worldpay.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Weil Gotshal, A&O and Freshfields advise on Worldpay float

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Finance Allen & OveryFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerWeil, Gotshal & Manges
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Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Allen & Overy and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have all picked up work advising card payment services provider Worldpay Group as it sells shares on the London stock exchange.

Worldpay’s owners Advent International and Bain Capital opted for an initial public offering (IPO) over a bid from its French rival Ingenico.

The private-equity owners aim to raise around £890m in an offering which Worldpay will use to reduce debt. The company’s publicly traded shares are expected to be at least 25% of outstanding stock.

The float could value the payments processing company at more than £6bn in what is expected to be one of the largest London IPOs this year.

Weil advised Advent International and Bain Capital, led by London partner Marco Compagnoni with Peter King leading on the IPO. Other members of the Weil team included corporate partners Samantha McGonigle and Simon Lyell.

The firm advised longstanding clients Advent International and Bain Capital on their original investment in Worldpay in 2010, and on a number of bolt-on acquisitions since then. The team also represented both private equity houses on the acquisition of RBS’s remaining stake in Worldpay.

A&O advised Worldpay on its prospective IPO and its admission to float, with a team led by corporate partner Duncan Bellamy alongside corporate partner David Broadley, and US securities partner Jeff Hendrickson.

Freshfields advised underwriter Goldman Sachs with capital markets partner Mark Austin leading.

Worldpay’s admission to the London Stock Exchange is expected to take place in October 2015.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Freshfields head of Islamic finance to leave for Morgan Lewis

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Strategic recruitment Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerMorgan, Lewis & Bockius
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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer global head of Islamic finance Tarek El-Assra has quit the firm to join Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as a partner, as the Morgan Lewis targets the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia

The departure is Freshfields’ second exit in recent weeks after Shearman & Sterling hired its co-head of telecoms, media and technology, Frank Miller, as the latter firm bids to pull in a greater array of M&A in the City.

El-Assra joins Morgan Lewis’ Dubai office in a bid to build its cross-border Islamic finance and investment offering specifically targeting the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The hire comes as Morgan Lewis moves to bulk its international finance team with a focus on the Middle East. Ayman Khaleq, managing partner of the firm’s Dubai office and a partner in the finance and investment management practices, said: ‘Tarek will further strengthen our Gulf Cooperation Council and international transactional practices while greatly enhancing our already leading cross-border Islamic finance and investment capabilities.’

El-Assra has worked at Freshfields for the last four years, having joined from rival firm Allen & Overy (A&O) as counsel in 2011. At Freshfields, El-Assra headed the firm’s Islamic finance group and specialised in leveraged and acquisition finance, asset finance, real estate finance, trade finance, infrastructure and project finance, and restructurings.

He handled matters for clients in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and worked closely with the firm’s global finance, debt capital markets, and restructuring teams in Dubai, New York, London, Frankfurt, and Singapore.

He joined A&O in 2000 and later became a senior associate, after spending a year at Goldman Sachs’ acquisition finance group.

The move forms part of Morgan Lewis’ wider investment strategy and comes shortly after the firm recruited structured finance partner Theresa Kradjian and corporate tax partner Paul Beausang – a further two further partners from K&L Gates, adding to the three already to have made the move in July – as its expands its City securitisation offering. 

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘A hole in the market’: Scott + Scott opens in the City with plans to exploit conflicts and cash in on competition class actions

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US firms Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerScott + Scott
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In anticipation of a boom in competition-based disputes as the Consumer Rights Act comes into force, US firm Scott+Scott is planning to kick-start its City offering by pursuing banks found guilty of manipulating the foreign exchange market in a multi-million pound lawsuit.

The Connecticut-based litigation boutique hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer competition litigation lawyer Belinda Hollway to head up its first City office and European base, which will officially open on Chancery Lane once authorisation is granted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Hollway, who officially joined the US firm earlier this week [7 September], is already preparing the practice’s first City-based forex-case. ‘We can’t commence litigation until authorisation, but we are doing the preliminary work and setting up the office. The first case will be the forex manipulation. We are speaking to lots of businesses that were trading and suffered losses, and the number of businesses that have had exposure will be in the hundreds and thousands. This litigation is very wide-reaching,’ Hollway told Legal Business.

The class action is aimed at banks including The Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and JP Morgan, as part of follow up litigation from a recent $2bn forex antitrust settlement in the US, where Scott+Scott led a proposed class action that accused 16 banks of widespread manipulation in the $5.3trn-per-day foreign exchange rate market.

‘Most of the UK’s domestic firms [with an antitrust component] traditionally work on the defence side so there is conflict that leaves a hole in the market,’ said Hollway. ‘Scott+Scott also has the advantage of its experience in the US where we already have systems like class actions in place.’

With the Consumer Rights Act set to come into force on 1 October this year, which will make it easier for private parties, in particular SMEs and consumers, to bring actions for breach of competition law, the London market is becoming an increasingly attractive platform for antitrust-litigation focused firms.

In addition, the European Commission last year adopted the directive on antitrust damages actions aimed at helping citizens and companies claim damages if they are victims of infringements of EU antitrust rules, such as cartel behaviour or abuse of dominant market positions.

Scott+Scott managing partner David Scott (pictured) said: ‘The Consumer Rights Act is going to provide class remedy. It will go a long way towards allowing consumers that have been harmed as a result of violation in competition laws to seek redress. It will provide opportunity for those with smaller losses to get their money back and that is a good thing.’

But Scott+Scott is not the only firm eyeing up this opportunity. Specialist claimant competition shop Hausfeld & Co, which led alongside Scott+Scott in the recent US Forex class action, hired antitrust lawyer Anna Morfey, also from Freshfields, to strengthen its European practice and opened its second European office in Brussels last year with the hire of former Michelin-Europe general counsel Laurent Geelhand.

However, Hausfeld did lose competition litigation partner Boris Bronfentrinker – who also worked at Freshfields for seven years – who quit to join Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan as it launched its City-based antitrust practice last year.

Hollway added: ‘This is a very exciting time to practise competition litigation in Europe as the European Commission adopts the competition damages directive and with the consumers act coming into force in October. There is a real interest from lawyers on the defence side to move onto the claimants side.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk