Legal Business

Belt and road: HSF secures China projects team from Pinsent Masons for huge infra push

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Asia Herbert Smith FreehillsPinsent Masons

China remains one of the most challenging markets to operate in profitably but the lure of its huge economy continues to lure investment from leading law firms with Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) this week announcing the recruitment of three projects partners from Pinsent Masons.

The move – touted as positioning HSF for the Asian giant’s huge infra plans – sees the firm recruit Pinsents head of China Hew Kian Heong, who leaves Pinsents after 22 years. The Beijing-based construction and engineering specialist has advised China’s National Development and Reform Commission and is also an experienced arbitrator.

He is joined by fellow partner Ellen Zhang, who joins HSF after 14 years at Pinsents. She worked in the UK law firm’s London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing offices, before becoming leading partner of the project and finance Asia-Pacific team. Construction law expert Michelle Li also transfers with all three joining as partners. She spent 15 years at Pinsents and has been based in China since 2005, mainly advising Chinese state-owned enterprises.

HSF now has 27 partners and over 170 lawyers across its Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai offices. The Anglo Australian law firm is seeking to take advantage of projects generated by China’s so-called ‘Belt and Road’ initiative to boost trade by improving connections and infrastructure through Europe and Asia.

‘Our firm has already captured a healthy amount of Chinese project and investment work generated by China’s $900bn “Belt and Road” initiative,’ said HSF chief executive Mark Rigotti (pictured). ‘Adding the transactional and disputes experience on complex projects offered by Hew, Ellen and Michelle will complement our existing team perfectly.’

The announcement that HSF is hiring in China comes one day after the news that it has lost a 12-lawyer real estate team in Paris to CMS.

A spokesperson for Pinsents confirmed that three partners will be leaving the firm, adding: ‘While we’re always sorry to see colleagues move on, our platform in Asia-Pacific and strategic focus on Chinese outbound investment has never been stronger. That gives us significant scope for further investment in what remains a key market.’ The top 25 UK law firm also pointed to the fact that its revenue in Asia-Pacific has grown by around 87% in the past three years, and it retains a team of 55 staff in China.

marco.cillario@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

‘Real estate up the agenda’: CMS brings across Paris team from Herbert Smith

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Strategic recruitment CMSHerbert Smith Freehills

CMS is continuing its global expansion with news that its French member firm has hired a two-partner real estate team from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) in Paris.

With the acquisition of Nabarro and Olswang in the UK having moved real estate up the agenda at CMS, 12 lawyers will join CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre at the start of 2018.

Well-cited Paris head of real estate Pierre Popesco and urban planning and public law expert Florence Chérel will leave HSF after 12 years. Counsel Benjamin Bill will also join CMS as a partner. The office has also recruited counsel Jean-Marc Peyron and eight other lawyers.

‘The UK merger on 1 May provided an input to the international expansion and opportunities for the real estate practice,’ Ciaran Carvalho, head of the CMS UK real estate team, told Legal Business. ‘Real estate has moved up the agenda with Nabarro coming in, and Olswang added a lot of capability. Nabarro didn’t have international breadth but a big client list, and this can provide a platform for the future expansion of CMS.’

Popesco and Chérel both joined HSF in 2005 and started their careers at Lefèvre Pelletier & associés. Popesco also headed the legal department at Espace Promotion, a subsidiary of Unibail, specialising in shopping centres development before joining HSF. His clients included Amundi Immobilier and Apsys, which he advised on a €1bn and a $1bn deals respectively. He also acted for Eiffage Immobilier, Allianz Real Estate and China Huayou.

Chérel made partner in 2009 and has advised companies including UBS Real Estate, Bouygues Immobilier and Carlyle.

CMS real estate practice now counts more than 800 lawyers, over 40 of them in France, while CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre has 420 fee earners including 108 partners.

HSF confirmed that Popesco and Chérel had retired from the partnership in a statement, which added: ‘Last year, we recruited David Lacaze to drive forward the growth of our Paris real estate practice. He and his team are delivering on this strategy further strengthening our client relationships.’

The team hire is the latest chapter in CMS’ recent international expansion story.  Last week, the firm signed a partnership with Saudi practice Feras Al Shawaf to expand its network in the Middle East and North Africa region.

And earlier this year, CMS expanded in Latin America adding three new member firms from Chile, Peru and Colombia to its network.

marco.cillario@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

Deal Watch: Third time lucky for Links and Ashurst on software bid as HSF puts PR shop into the headlines

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Corporate AshurstHerbert Smith FreehillsLinklaters

Given the steady hum of deal activity over the summer, the crucial September period has yet to take off with a flurry of big ticket M&A, but Linklaters, Ashurst and DLA Piper are among firms handling prominent work this week.

The largest deal to hit Europe’s market this week has seen Linklaters and Ashurst advising on the combination between British company Aveva and France’s Schneider Software to create a £3bn tech group. Linklaters’ corporate partner Aisling Zarraga and capital markets partner Richard Good are heading the team for Schneider, a long-time client of the firm with the City giant advising parent group Schneider Electric in 2013 on its £3.3bn takeover of UK engineering group Invensys. Ashurst, meanwhile, fielded a contingent under corporate partners Karen Davies and James Fletcher for the Cambridge-based Aveva. The deal is expected to complete by the end of the year.

Schneider will take a 60% stake in Aveva, injecting £550m in cash into the British company, which will go to shareholders, and £100m on its balance sheet. The remaining 40% of the listed company will stay in the hands of public shareholders.

This is the third combination attempt between the two companies. Linklaters and Ashurst previously worked on a possible deal in the summer of 2015, but talks were called off in December. Negotiations held the following year also led to nothing. The parties involved cited a complex combination, which required extracting Schneider Software from parent group Schneider Electric to combine the business with Aveva.

Linklaters’ Good told Legal Business: ‘We are very proud to be part of this deal, which will create a global leader in the industrial technology sector.’

Ashurst’s Davies added: ‘It is fantastic to achieve after three attempts. It is a great deal for the industry and a great deal for Ashurst. It represents the culmination of a great deal of hard work and collaboration between the Aveva and Ashurst teams over a number of years.’

Elsewhere, DLA Piper is working with supermarket chain Nisa on its possible sale to the Co-op for a reported £140m. Co-op has not instructed any external legal adviser yet, but has confirmed it has entered exclusive talks with the convenience store chain and is carrying out the due diligence for the acquisition.

Aside from transactional work, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has acted on the most high profile contentious mandate to hit the headlines this week, after writing a critical report on the activity of leading City PR shop Bell Pottinger. Published a day after Bell Pottinger chief executive James Henderson resigned, the report was critical of the PR firm’s handling of controversial campaign in South Africa on behalf of Oakbay, a holding company owned by the Gupta family. The report, which was published on Monday (4 September), found the campaign had created potentially racially divisive material targeted towards ‘wealthy white South African individuals or corporates’. Henderson himself had commissioned HSF to produce the report over the summer.

marco.cillario@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

HSF’s qualifying trainee retention rate falls as Stephenson Harwood keeps 90% of intake

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Trainee retention Herbert Smith FreehillsStephenson Harwood

Herbert Smith Freehills‘ (HSF) qualified trainee retention score has dipped to 80% while City-headquartered firm Stephenson Harwood recorded a significant increase in its autumn 2017 trainee retention rates for this autumn.

At the same time last year, in contrast, HSF retained 94% of its autumn qualifying trainees.

The firm offered 28 out of 35 final-year trainees a qualified role this autumn, which all 28 accepted. Four of those NQs will be based overseas, two in Paris, one in Singapore and one in Dubai.

HSF training principal and dispute resolution partner James Baily said: ‘We are very pleased that four of our London trainees in this round are qualifying into overseas offices, which demonstrates the global opportunities that are available for our trainee solicitors.

Meanwhile, nine out of City-headquartered firm Stephenson Harwood’s ten (90%) qualifying trainees have been offered and accepted positions at its London office, marking an improvement over last autumn when 77% of trainees were retained.

The shipping and insurance-focused international firm said newly-qualified lawyers (NQs) will take up roles in the firm’s corporate, marine and international trade, commercial litigation and finance practices.

Stephenson Harwood finance partner and trainee principal Neil Noble told Legal Business that the increased retention was due to demand: ‘We have to look at which practice areas of the business were in need of recruitment. Luckily there was widespread demand across the firm so we had spaces for everyone.’

Noble also stated that commercial litigation was the main practice area at the firm that was in need of added depth.

Stephenson Harwood posted a mixed financial year, with revenues up 11% to £176m but profit per equity partner falling 9% to £708,000. HSF similarly reported unusual results 2016/17, as its revenue grew also by 11% to £920.5m but profit per equity partner fell 3% to £760,000.

In comparison, autumn trainee retention rates at Trowers & Hamlinswere 70%, while Withers kept 73% of its final-year group.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

The Iran debate – The long, long game

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Middle East and Africa Herbert Smith Freehills

Hopes that Iran’s economy is opening up to foreign business have been raised and dashed in recent years. Will this year’s election change the dynamic?

On 19 May, Iran went to the polls for what many believed would be a tightly-fought election. By the next morning it was clear that the analysts’ predictions had been wide of the mark. Incumbent president Hassan Rouhani, leader of the Moderation and Development Party, secured a landslide victory over his nearest rival, Ebrahim Raisi, chair of the Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces. Shortly after the results were announced, Rouhani appeared on state television to say the election had shown Iran was committed to improving relations with the rest of the world. To investors and businesses that have been eyeing the country for years, it was a positive sign, but hopes of an open market have been dashed before. Sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programme were lifted in early 2016, but business has so far been frustrated in the ongoing difficulties they face in the market.

Legal Business

Financials 2017: HSF reports ‘volatile’ year with 11% turnover hike as profit dips

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Financial results 2017 Herbert Smith Freehills

It has been a mixed financial year for Anglo-Australian firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), which recorded double-digit revenue growth bolstered by a strong run of disputes work, while profit per equity partner (PEP) fell slightly in what the firm attributed to the ‘volatile global economy.’

With revenues rising 11% from £832.2m to £920.5m, the firm’s chief executive officer Mark Rigotti told Legal Business that it had been a ‘mixed to good period for the firm’.

Rigotti attributed this growth to the firm’s ‘stellar’ increase in EMEA, reflecting contributions from recent new offices in Germany, Johannesburg and Riyadh. Equally, the firm posted double-digit growth in its Paris, Moscow and Madrid offices. Paris revenue grew 10%, while Moscow rose by16%.

HSF’s PEP fell, however, 3% from £779,000 to £760,000. Total profit at HSF also dropped marginally from £258.8m to £256.1m, in what Rigotti described as its fifth consecutive year of investment.

This year, the firm’s unaudited revenue and profit figures are actual as opposed to currency-adjusted, unlike reporting in previous years.

Rigotti said: ‘we have made lots of progress on our strategy and had successes but there are external headwinds out there which make markets difficult and there has been a high level of internal investment needs for us.’

‘Over the last couple of years we have opened ten offices, shut two.’ During the last financial year, the firm opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur and expanded its Alternative Legal Services business with new centres in Johannesburg, Melbourne and Shanghai.

In terms of practice areas, Rigotti highlighted the outstanding performance of HSF’s global disputes practice, which posted a 7% global revenue increase in what the firm described as its strongest year to date. It contributed around 40% of the firm’s global turnover.

Disputes in which the firm has led this year include the global insolvency of the Nortel Networks group, and representing RBS in its defence of the landmark 2008 rights issue claim brought by nearly 40,000 shareholder claimants, which settled in June.

Rigotti also emphasised the performance of the firm’s projects practice and its corporate practice, which advised on over 120 cross-border deals totalling in excess of $160bn. Some of the largest deals the firm acted on included advising Sky on its proposed £18bn acquisition by 21st Century Fox, as well as British American Tobacco on its $49.4bn recommended offer for Reynolds.

‘This is our fifth consecutive year of revenue growth. We have had a marginal decrease in profit. Part of that is due to external headwinds, part of it is due to planned internal investment cycle we are in. The net result – I would have liked it to have been better but I am still pleased.’

HSF was also appointed to a number of panels in the last financial year including British Land, Standard Life, Société Générale, BNP Paribas and Tata Global Beverages.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Jury O’Shea expands in London, Simmons in Frankfurt, HSF hires in Dubai

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Strategic recruitment Herbert Smith FreehillsJury O'SheaSimmons & Simmons

With a broad set of hires towards the end of June, Jury O’Shea hired a former Stewarts commercial litigation partner, Simmons & Simmons added to its Frankfurt financial markets team and Herbert Smith Freehills bolstered its Dubai corporate group.

Daniel Loblowitz has left Stewarts Law to join property firm Jury O’Shea as a commercial litigation partner. Loblowitz told Legal Business that the move was instigated by a desire to build his own commercial litigation practice, and described Jury O’Shea as ‘the perfect platform.’

Loblowitz’ expertise covers a broad range of commercial litigation, often on cross-border disputes involving banks, shareholders and private clients, and on significant fraud cases.

Simmons & Simmons hired financial markets partner Benedikt Weiser from Dechert, splitting his time between its Luxembourg and Frankfurt offices.

Weiser specialises in structuring private equity, real estate, infrastructure and debt funds for institutional investors, with particular expertise in German investment law and insurance regulatory law.

Simmons’ head of financial markets in Germany Heiko Stoll said: ‘Our sector focus means we are constantly thinking about what changes are going to affect our clients, and how we can innovate to respond to these client needs. The arrival of Benedikt [Weiser] reinforces this commitment to our clients and I look forward to working with him’.

Simmons’ global head of financial markets Jonathan Hammond also said that ‘despite uncertainty surrounding Brexit, our global financial markets practice has had a strong year’.

Meanwhile, HSF hired corporate partner Haitham Hawashin from Simmons in Dubai. Hawashin is experienced in joint ventures, private equity, cross-border M&A and debt & equity capital markets transactions. His experience includes sectors including asset management & investment funds, financial institutions, TMT, real estate, energy/infrastructure and utilities.

Hawashin’s has recently advised Abu Dhabi Financial Group, Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Company and lenders such as International Finance Corporation, European Investment Bank and Eksport Kredit Fonden.

HSF global corporate head Scott Cochrane said the firm is committed to deepening its relationship with key clients and targets in the region. ‘Bringing Haitham on board will help greatly with this. Building our capability to service clients both in local markets and internationally is a key element of our strategy and Haitham’s recruitment will strengthen this capability further,’ he added.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Gibson Dunn appoints HSF global energy co-head to bolster London energy practice after Houston launch

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Strategic recruitment Gibson, Dunn & CrutcherHerbert Smith Freehills

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s London office has appointed Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) global energy co-head Anna Howell as a partner, bolstering the firm’s fast-growing global energy practice.

Howell has advised corporate and sponsor clients including Carlyle International Energy Partners – part of the Carlyle Group, BP, Singaporean national wealth fund Temasek Holdings, electric services company E.On and Chinese oil and gas companies CNOOC and CNPC.

She is dual-qualified in both England and Wales and Hong Kong, having worked in HSF’s Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and London offices.

The hire comes straight after Gibson Dunn last week took on a four-partner team from Ashurst’s Paris arm, led by litigation and restructuring partner Jean-Pierre Farges.

Howell’s appointment as energy partner also compliments the firm’s new office launch in Houston this May, after the US firm brought in a six-partner energy team from Baker Botts in April in preparation for the opening.

Gibson Dunn has already hired two oil and gas transactional partners from Latham & Watkins earlier this year, as it developed its energy offering

The Los Angeles’ head-quartered firm’s London corporate head Charlie Geffen, told Legal Business that ‘Anna’s strategic fit for our ambitious plans in London is obvious. She brings deep sector experience alongside our new Houston office and excellent relationships with both sponsors and corporate clients’.

The firm is delighted she has decided to join, he added.

Michael Darden, the firm’s oil and gas practice group chair and partner in charge of the Houston office, said that ‘Houston and London are the capitals of the global oil and gas industry. With Anna’s arrival, we will enhance our offerings to clients operating both in and outside the US.’

In December 2016, Latham & Watkins hired HSF’s global energy co-head John Balsdon, who joined its finance team in the City.

HSF recently settled a case with White & Case following the exit of a ten-partner project finance team from its Australian offices to the US firm.

Court documents revealed that the decision to classify White & Case as a ‘specified competitor’ was taken by the HSF Australia board on 31 August 2016, one day before the eight partners resigned en masse, within half anhour of each other.

Madeleine.Farman@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

HSF appoints Spiro to strengthen corporate crime practice

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Corporate BCL SolicitorsHerbert Smith Freehills

Herbert Smith Freehills has hired veteran corporate crime partner Brian Spiro from London litigation boutique BCL Solicitors, as it bolsters its growing global corporate crime and investigations practice (CC&I).

The appointment expands on HSF’s previous hires last April of two former CC&I partners in Germany, Helmut Gorling and Dirk Seiler, alongside a team of seven lawyers. Those hires more than doubled the firm’s disputes practice in Germany and gave HSF its first formal corporate crime offering in the country.

HSF’s global head of disputes and joint managing partner for Asia and Australia, Justin D’Agostino told Legal Business: ‘We’ve identified the CC&I practice as a key area for growth within disputes.’

‘We’re seeing more and more clients exposed to investigations both internal and external, so there is more and more demand across the globe. For me this is a real global practice area priority to grow in the future,’ he added.

‘We’re also seeing growth in the UK, US, Asia Pacific and even across mainland Europe so this area has significant attention for me globally,’ D’Agostino said.

The disputes practice at HSF is currently immersed in RBS’s shareholder rights issue High Court claim, which is expected to settle ahead of a deadline tomorrow.

D’Agostino said this year has been ‘incredible’ for the practice all-around.

However, there are areas which he has identified for further expansion, ‘such as CC&I, arbitration, financial services, regulatory, contentious construction and infrastructure, and we are looking for ways to ‘further globalise those areas,’ he added.

Spiro was made up to partner in 1986 at Simons Muirhead & Burton, joining BCL as a partner in 2001. He specialises in ‘high loss’ business crime litigation, fraud and regulatory matters including Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Crown Prosecution Service and HM Revenue & Customs prosecutions and investigations.

Earlier this month, HSF also opened an office in Kuala Lumpur, as part of its South East Asia expansion strategy. The firm has obtained a Qualified Foreign Law Firm licence from the Malaysian Bar Council, allowing it to practice without an association.

In January, HSF hired Hogan Lovells’ head of litigation in Paris – Antoine Juaristi – in a boost for its Paris practice. In August 2016, the firm also appointed M&A partner and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s head of global power and utilities, Christoph Nawroth, in Dusseldorf.

Conversely, in March, US litigation specialist Boies, Schiller & Flexner hired HSF’s head of public international law, Dominic Roughton, while in September 2016 Jones Day hired HSF’s Middle East finance head, Nadim Khan.

HSF’s ten-partner project finance team left to join White & Case’s planned launch in Australia in November. A trial of the move concluded this month, but its full opening was delayed as the remaining 187 HSF partners took legal action against eight of the former partners in respect of their leaving provisions.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

The quality of life report: Perspectives – Samantha Brown, Herbert Smith Freehills

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Profile Herbert Smith Freehills

‘Being open about my experience has not held back my career. If anything, it’s enhanced my relationship with my colleagues and clients.’

 

In 2015 Herbert Smith Freehills pension partner Samantha Brown suffered a depressive episode. She returned to work after three months, but found herself off again because she had not fully recovered. Brown eventually returned to practise as a partner at the firm.