Legal Business

KWM wins disclosure argument in £2m professional negligence battle

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Litigation King & Wood Mallesons
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King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has won a key argument over document disclosure in an ongoing £2m professional negligence claim against it taken by Commodities Research Unit International (CRUI) at London’s High Court.

KWM was accused of professional negligence by its former client after giving advice on the departure of the company’s chief executive. CRUI blamed KWM for subsequent exposure to an underlying suit brought by the former chief executive that it settled for £1.35m. CRUI is now seeking that amount plus more than £800,000 in costs which it incurred in defending the underlying proceedings, as well as additional claim to compensate it for management time devoted to the case.

11 King’s Bench Walk barrister Nigel Porter was instructed by RPC for the defendant while 4 New Square silk Nicholas Davidson QC was instructed by City firm Fox for the claimants.

KWM sought an order for specific disclosure in December 2015 and the matter was heard last month. 

In a decision passed down by Justice Nicol, KWM has now won access to certain communications between CRUI and its counsel Norton Rose Fulbright in the underlying suit. The judge said: ‘In the circumstances, disclosure is necessary for the fair disposal of the present proceedings and would not be disproportionate. The defendants are entitled to inspect [the documents].’

Justice Nicol did not however waive privilege for disclosure of documents regarding work undertaken for CRUI by consultancy firm Monk or KPMG for the dispute. The trial is due to start on Monday (8 February).

A spokesperson from the firm said: ‘This was an SJ Berwin matter that dates back to 2008. We are strenuously defending the case.’

Other recent professional negligence news of late includes Clifford Chance settling a claim against it over the high-profile Excalibur dispute brought by the case’s funders and Greek shipping tycoons, the Lemos family, for an undisclosed sum.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

King & Wood Mallesons opens Cambridge near-shoring office

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King & Wood Mallesons
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King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is to launch an office in Cambridge which will initially house a real estate team, as part of a cost-efficiency drive for clients.

KWM signed a five year lease at the start of this year to open an office in the historic city, which has emerged as a UK tech hub over the past decade. The space will initially fit 25 lawyers, though there is an option to expand if the firm decides to introduce other practice areas.

The office, which is set to open in March, will be headed by real estate partner Simon Burson. It will become KWM’s first UK office outside of London, and will service national and international clients rather than the Cambridge market.

Burson is one of 12 Eversheds lawyers to move to KWM in the past year in a raid kick-started by the arrival of former real estate head William Naunton. Naunton joined alongside Clive Jones, Eversheds’ former London head of tax, and its former senior partner Cornelius Medvei. Burson previously worked out of Eversheds’ Cambridge office.

Naunton told Legal Business: ‘The idea is to offer our clients different types of service in different locations. The Cambridge office gives us the flexibility to offer our clients high quality legal services at a cost efficient price from a dedicated team of sector specialist lawyers. It’s also about us investing in additional ways for us to service the needs of our clients and to provide them with options.’

KWM is currently running an election process to find a new managing partner for the Europe and Middle East region, the legacy SJ Berwin practice, after William Boss resigned just nine months into the role. An efficiency drive took place last year, which Boss implemented, to manage out underperforming partners and sub-let office space across Europe.

A strategy review of the firm’s capital contributions structure is also currently taking place as the firm seeks greater stability after years of low capitalisation.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Magic Circle trio and KWM advise on Clydesdale float as owner makes cut-price share offer

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Corporate King & Wood Mallesons
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Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters and King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) are advising on Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank’s proposed initial public offering (IPO) as its owner National Australia Bank (NAB) announced a cut-price share offer ahead of the float – a move which could impact other IPOs in the market.

NAB, which plans to demerge and float the UK business – also known as CYBG – in February, set the price for shares at between 175p and 235p a share, valuing the Scottish bank at between £1.5bn and £2bn ahead of the float, marking a discount from the bank’s book value of between £2bn and £2.5bn.

The Australian bank is expected to demerge 75% of CYBG to its shareholders, with the remaining shares set to be sold on the London stock exchange.

Clifford Chance is advising client NAB and CYBG with equity capital markets (ECM) partner Adrian Cartwright and corporate partner David Pudge leading, along with corporate partner Gareth Camp.

A&O is acting for the board of CYBG with capital markets partner James Roe leading.

KWM is advising NAB on Australian issues with Melbourne based partners Diana Nicholson and Peter Stirling leading.

A team from Linklaters is advising underwriting banks JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie Capital and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, led by partners John Lane and James Wootton, with Patrick Sheil advising on US matters.

The cut in share price could have an impact on the pricing of other IPO’s such as CMC Markets and Countryside Properties, which were announced earlier this month and are yet to publish their prospectus with their respective price ranges.

Trading in CYBG shares is expected to start on February 2 in London, while the Australia-listed depository receipts will trade from February 3.

NAB, which bought the business in 1987, previously planned to quit the Scottish bank after facing a consumer backlash over mis-selling loan insurance.

In July 2014, the British lender reduced its existing national law firm panel from 13 to seven, but confirmed it will continue to use NAB’s London Branch legal panel, which included firms like Linklaters, for specialist legal advice where appropriate.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

KWM reviews capital contributions ahead of refreshed global strategy

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Financial management King & Wood Mallesons
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Partners at King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) could be asked to inject more cash into the business as the firm considers alterations to its capital contributions structure.

KWM is reviewing options to increase capital in its European and Middle East business, the legacy SJ Berwin practice, following persistent cash flow problems. The review comes as part of the firm’s 2020 strategy review, which will plot a path towards greater integration between the verein members.

A spokesperson for the firm confirmed that ‘there are a range of options being discussed’ as the firm looks to increase the capitalisation of the firm. One partner told Legal Business: ‘It’s always been a lowly capitalised firm so this is positive.’

A crackdown on limited liability partnerships (LLPs) by the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs in 2014 resulted in higher capital contributions for non-equity and fixed-share partners. This has led to a raft of capital contributions to law firms over the past two years.

The move follows a string of senior exits from the firm and complaints about delayed payments to partners. The first quarterly payment of the 2015/16 financial year was expected to be made by the end of August last year but was delayed until December.

William Boss, who became managing partner for the region just nine months ago, resigned from the post earlier this month. The firm has lost a number of key management figures in the past six months, with chief operating officer Rachel Reid departing for Taylor Wessing and finance director Simon Gill exiting the firm.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Subscribers can read more about what’s going on at KWM in ‘Sum of its parts: can King & Wood Mallesons match the hype?

Legal Business

Taylor Wessing taps King & Wood for COO Reid following MP resignation

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Strategic recruitment King & Wood MallesonsTaylor Wessing
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Just days after the resignation of King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) European practice head William Boss, Taylor Wessing has announced it has hired KWM chief operating officer (COO) Rachel Reid.

One of the core team that led the merger negotiations between SJ Berwin and King & Wood Mallesons in 2013, Reid will join Taylor Wessing to take the COO post in early February. 

After five years at the firm, Reid officially stepped down at the end of October and has been succeeded on an interim basis by the KWM Australia COO, Tim Finlayson.

On Friday (15 January) it emerged that KWM is holding managing partner elections for Europe after Boss, who will officially step down from his role at the end of April, said he was leaving to concentrate on his real estate practice full time. The practice includes clients such as Marks & Spencer, The Crown Estate and Battersea Power Station.

Meanwhile, Taylor Wessing has also hired Liz Bunce-Grundy from Cushman & Wakefield, to join as international HR director. Bunce-Grundy had been international HR director at the surveying firm and a member of the global management committee and European board. The HR specialist returns to the legal sector having previously served as global and UK HR director at Clifford Chance for four years, and prior to this as head of global employment policy and systems at Allen & Overy.

Taylor Wessing managing partner Tim Eyles said: ‘It’s great to be welcoming two such heavy hitting professionals. Their combination of international experience and track record of delivering large scale innovation will be invaluable as we pursue our ambitious growth strategy in such a fast-paced market.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

KWM to hold elections as Europe managing partner Boss stands down after less than a year

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Leadership King & Wood Mallesons
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King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is to hold managing partner elections for its European practice as William Boss has resigned after less than a year in the post.

In a statement Boss, who will officially step down from his role at the end of April, said he was leaving to to concentrate on his real estate practice full time. The practice includes clients such as Marks & Spencer, The Crown Estate and Battersea Power Station.

Boss replaced M&A partner Rob Day who stood down in May 2015 after two terms, or six years in the managing partner role but stayed on at the firm.

One of the first projects under Boss’ term included a change to the partnership deed of the Europe and Middle East verein to incorporate aspects of legacy Mallesons Stephen Jaques’ deed in Australia which made it easier to manage out underperforming partners. 

In a statement, KWM European practice senior partner Stephen Kon said: ‘Our client relationships are fundamental to the success of our firm. In his management role, William has made a tremendous contribution to the development of our practice in Europe and the Middle East and his return to full time practice will allow him to focus on delivering first class client service to some of the firm’s key clients.’

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

To read more about the firm see: Sum of its parts: can King & Wood Mallesons match the hype?

Legal Business

King & Wood strengthens capital markets bench with Sidley hire

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Strategic recruitment King & Wood MallesonsSidley Austin
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Increased demand for US capital markets capability in recent times has seen King & Wood Mallesons dip into the laterals market, and appoint US securities partner Bart Capeci in London.

Capeci joins KWM from Sidley Austin, where he was a partner for six years. Qualified in the US he moved to Sidley from Allen & Overy to support its City push for IPOs, bond issues and high yield financings.

Seen as important part of the growth of A&Os capital markets practice during his 13 years at the firm, first as an associate and then partner, Capeci is an important appointment for KWM.

He joins the Hong Kong-based firm as it makes a concerted push for capital markets work, with US securities partner Christine Chen joining in Beijing from JP Morgan Chase, Gary Lock arriving from Herbert Smith Freehills in Hong Kong and Hao Zhou joining from Linklaters in the same city.

KWM’s capital markets practice secured roles as issuer’s counsel on Alibaba’s record-breaking $25bn IPO, National Australia Bank’s $5bn rights issue and China General Nuclear Power’s $500m bond issue.

Last week KWM advised on Hong Kong’s largest rights issue to date this year, with investment house Fosun International raising $1.5bn to fund a push into financial services. 

Capeci becomes the 20th partner to join KWM in Europe this year, with the majority of those hires occurring in real estate.

William Boss, KWM’s Europe and Middle East managing partner, said: ‘Attracting talent like Bart Capeci is a sign of the growing strength of our global capital markets practice as well as our international finance team in Europe. Bart will complement the firm’s growing capabilities in US securities.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Subscribers can read more about what’s going on at KWM in ‘Sum of its parts: can King & Wood Mallesons match the hype?

Legal Business

KWM’s Hong Kong office doubles up on prime capital markets deals

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Hong Kong King & Wood Mallesons
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King & Wood Mallesons has advised on Hong Kong’s largest rights issue to date this year, with investment house Fosun International raising $1.5bn to fund a push into financial services.

A key private equity player in China, Fosun is one of KWM’s biggest clients and returned to the firm for the issue of more than 800 million shares at HK$13.42 each.

A three-partner team at KWM led on the transaction, with the firm’s recent hire from Herbert Smith Freehills, Gary Lock, advising on Hong Kong law, while Beijing-based and New York-qualified Christine Chen handled US law and Richard Mazzochi provided bank financing advice.

Lock said: ‘We are delighted to have been able to support Fosun International on another major capital-raising transaction.’

Fosun, which is backed by Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, has increasingly looked to Europe to make investments over the past two years and will use the capital to repay loans and fund investments in the financial services area. The issue follows a push by US private equity houses to pick-up companies and loan books being spun-out of the big banks, with the likes of Blackstone and KKR now operating specialised funds to invest in financial services. 

The Fosun issue is one of two major capital markets mandates handled by KWM recently in Hong Kong, with the firm also advising Mercedes-maker Beijing Automotive Industry Group on a €500m bond issue. State-owned BAIG, which makes Hyundai and Mercedes-branded cars for the Chinese market, made its first-ever euro-denominated bond issue as Chinese firms increase their use of foreign cash pools.

Hong Kong-based partner Hao Zhou led KWM’s advice to BAIG, with support from Mazzochi. Zhou said: ‘We have observed that eurobond offerings by Chinese companies are gathering pace – the total amount of bonds sold in euros so far this year was around seven times more than last year’s total, according to Dealogic data. We are well placed to capture future opportunities given our track record in representing Chinese clients in their offshore bond offerings, strong execution capability and broad China network.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

To read more about KWM, see ‘Sum of its parts: can King & Wood Mallesons match the hype?’

Legal Business

Dealwatch: KWM, A&O and Dentons advise as China and Germany sign historic stock exchange JV

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Corporate Allen & OveryDentonsKing & Wood Mallesons
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King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) and Dentons have leveraged their considerable Asia platforms to secure roles as lead advisers on a landmark agreement between Germany and China to create the first dedicated platform for yuan-denominated trading outside China.

The two firms, along with Allen & Overy, executed a first-of-its-kind deal between two Chinese exchanges to establish a new trading venture with Germany’s Deutsche Börse.

KWM’s Frankfurt-based Christian Cornett and Beijing-based Xu Ping teamed up to advise the Shanghai Stock Exchange on its agreement with both Deutsche Börse and the China Financial Futures Exchange. The agreement has created the China Europe International Exchange (CEINEX), which will become the first dedicated trading platform for renminbi transactions outside of China and marks an important milestone in the internationalisation of the renminbi and for China’s capital markets.

Dentons was instructed by China Financial Futures Exchange on the deal, with corporate partner Hermann Meller – who splits his time between Berlin and Shanghai – leading the team.

Frankfurt-based M&A partner Hartmut Krause led Allen & Overy’s legal advice to Deutsche Börse, which leaned heavily on its own in-house team of Tobias Gressinger and Holger Klafs to pull off the new venture.

CEINEX will offer Chinese investment products, including exchange-traded funds and bonds to international investors. The first of these bonds and exchange traded funds in renminbi will be traded on the new platform from 18 November. The agreement comes just one week after Chinese president Xi Jinping’s state visit to the UK, with Frankfurt having stolen a march on the City in connecting its exchanges to China.

KWM’s Cornett said: ‘The China-Europe stock market deal opens significant new opportunities for investment in China, which is a trend that we in Germany have seen rapidly evolve over recent years. This new platform will help to develop key offshore RMB products, which is crucial to further capital flows between the two countries.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: King & Wood Mallesons, Ropes & Gray, Trethowans make strategic hires

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Strategic recruitment King & Wood MallesonsRopes & GrayTrethowans
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On the move this week are partners from Clifford Chance, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Trethowans, who are joining King & Wood Mallesons, Ropes & Gray and Trethowans respectively.

King & Wood Mallesons has added Lorraine Vaz to join as partner, to start in London on November 2. Vaz joins from Clifford Chance where she was the director of leveraged and acquisition finance in the general banking group.

Ropes & Gray has appointed Jieni Gu to join as a partner in its Shanghai office from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The firm said her addition to the M&A practice will help it’s ability to serve corporate clients in China as they pursue opportunities on a global scale.

Dorsey & Whitney has signed up Rajan Shori to join its London Real Estate group. Shori, who has 20 years’ experience in commercial real estate, joins from Howard Kennedy where he was a partner.

Kilian Helmreich joins Munich firm Gütt Olk Feldhaus as partner. He was a partner in the corporate department at Latham & Watkins and specialises in domestic and cross border mergers & acquisitions.

11KBW has hired Jonathan Auburn of 39 Essex Street to strengthen its public law team. Auburn is recognised as a leader in public law, community care, education and local government in the Legal 500, and has written the textbook ‘Judicial Review: Principles and Procedure’.

In the Channel Islands, First Names Group has named Malcolm Macleod head of corporate services. A qualified chartered accountant, Macleod joins from Capital Asset Services where he was head of corporate solutions in Jersey.

Regional firm Trethowans has hired Sophie Eales, who leaves Bond Dickinson after more than a decade. Eales, who has significant experience advising major UK lenders and significant corporates has been appointed as partner in the firm’s banking team.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk