Legal Business

Q&A: Latham’s Sophie Lamb on life in chambers, practice and the danger of post-Brexit immigration policy

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Profile Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins’ global co-head of international arbitration Sophie Lamb (pictured) discusses Lord Goldsmith, Latham and the impact of Brexit with Georgiana Tudor.

Why Latham, and how did you find the transition from Debevoise?

I started as a barrister at One Essex Court and made the move to law firm practice relatively early on, so that I could focus on international arbitration. I made partner in 2006 – I was the youngest partner of my then firm – and moved to Debevoise in 2008 where I spent eight happy years working in particular with Lord Goldsmith and David Rivkin. I have an enormous amount of respect for them and that practice.

But Latham was an opportunity for me to put my own stamp on an international arbitration practice. Latham has everything you could want for an international arbitration practice: it is a truly global platform with a clear sense of purpose and ambition.

What were your early years like as a lawyer? How did you get into it?

I was the first person in my family to go to university never mind pursue a career in law. I didn’t know anyone at the Bar but wanted to be an advocate and so I went for it. With hindsight I’m rather glad that I didn’t know at the outset how difficult it can be to get a tenancy: I might have chosen a very different path and then missed out on this whole adventure.

Standout matters in your career?

I often get involved in novel cases which seek to push the boundaries in some way or which involve wider public interests. No two cases have really been the same.

Going to the Supreme Court for the first time in 2013 – acting on a novel point of arbitration law – was definitely a career highlight. Acting for Exxon in its NAFTA arbitration against Canada was a key case for me. Significant because of the interests involved, but also as representatives of other governments were also present following the proceedings – so it was quite the audience.

How much of a risk are US firms to UK firms do you think?

There will continue to be movement in the legal market. Some firms are struggling with strategy and identity, others with financial performance. Having a very strong US component is also key to many practice areas.

You only need to look at the list of people joining Latham and where they’ve come from to get a sense of what is going on in the market. When I joined, I only got to be the new partner for about a week before the next one arrived!

What impact do you think Brexit will have on the legal market?

Among other things I do hope we don’t end up closing the door on the incredible intellectual capital we have enjoyed from across Europe, and especially on young people seeking to join the profession. We have been very lucky to benefit from that. And of course to send our own young people across Europe in return.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘Another major milestone’: Latham returns to the Magic Circle again in City regulatory push

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Strategic recruitment Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins announced today (9 March) that it has continued bolstering its financial services offering in the City with the hire of Linklaters financial regulation partner Daniel Csefalvay.

Csefalvay – who made partner at Linklaters in 2015 – will join Latham’s corporate department and financial institutions group. His practice focuses on investment banks, fund managers and market infrastructure providers. He has been at Linklaters since 2008 when he joined as managing associate, having previously worked at Middletons (now K&L Gates) in Australia.

‘Daniel’s arrival will mark another major milestone as we look to establish one of the leading financial regulatory practices in the City. We are excited about the growth potential we see in London and globally for a wide range of UK, EU and transatlantic regulatory work,’ said Latham’s London managing partner Jay Sadanandan.

Witold Balaban, global co-chair of Latham’s financial institutions group, also added: ‘We are committed to building the practice with strength that can handle the most complex regulatory, transactional and litigation matters for global financial institutions. Daniel’s arrival is another exciting step toward achieving that goal.’

Csefalvay’s arrival follows other key financial regulation hires for the firm, particularly Ashurst’s head of financial services regulation Rob Moulton and partner Nicola Higgs in July and September 2016 respectively, both seen as leading City financial regulatory practitioners.

The new hire is also the latest in a prolonged period of City recruitment for Latham. The US firm recruited Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan litigator Martin Davies in January this year, Slaughter and May structured finance partner Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya and Allen & Overy’s prominent banking lawyer Stephen Kensell, all in August last year.

Also last year, the firm landed rising arbitration star Sophie Lamb from Debevoise & Plimpton and restructuring partner Simon Baskerville from Ashurst, among other high-profile hires.

In its latest global financials, Latham announced a 7% growth in turnover and broke the $3m mark for profit per equity partner (PEP) for the first time.

georgiana.tudor@legealease.co.uk

Legal Business

More leadership in London: Latham elects Trobman as vice-chair

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Leadership Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins announced today (27 February) that capital markets partner Richard Trobman has won a contested election to become one of two vice-chairs of the firm, to succeed New York-based David Gordon who has been vice chair since 2011.

Gordon sat alongside Ora Fisher who is the firm’s other vice chair based in Silicon Valley. Trobman takes on a four year term as vice chair at the firm having already been on the firm’s nine person executive committee alongside London partner Martin Saywell.

Trobman (pictured) will also continue his capital markets practice, where he focuses on public and private offerings of securities, restructurings, bridge loans and mergers & acquisitions (M&A). Trobman’s clients include Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. He joined Latham in 1991 in the firm’s Los Angeles office, transferred to New York in 1993 and has been in London since 2000, the year when he was made partner.

Latham chair Bill Voge said: ‘With more than 25 years at Latham, having started as a summer associate in 1990, Rich has a deep understanding of our strengths and an impeccable sense of our culture and values. He is a dynamic leader who brings many talents to the role among them incredible drive, intuition and focus.’

Gordon will transition back to client work, as a project finance partner advising banks, financial institutions and private equity funds. He previously served as the managing partner of Latham’s New York office for 10 years.

The news comes as Latham reported its full-year 2016 financials, which show the firm boosted its revenue by 7% last year, and broke the $3m mark for profit per equity partner for the first time.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘The firm most likely – can anything halt Latham’s global rise?’

Legal Business

‘All cylinders running’: Latham breaks the $3m PEP mark and adds $1bn to its post-crisis top line

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Financial results 2016/17 Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is the latest US firm to boost its revenue, announcing 7% growth and breaking the $3m mark for profit per equity partner (PEP) for the first time.

After seeing its slowest growth since the height of the financial crisis in 2015, when revenues grew just 2% to $2.65bn, Latham is back on a faster upward trajectory. Overall revenue last year rose to $2.8bn as the firm added $173m to its top line, while revenue per lawyer also rose by 2% from $1.21m to $1.23m as 103 lawyers joined the firm throughout 2016.

Latham made 26 lateral hires in 2016, including nine in the US, 13 in Europe (10 in London) and four in Asia.

According to Latham global chair and managing partner Bill Voge, the firm was ‘cautious’ going into 2016 given its significant exposure to capital markets.

Voge (pictured) said: ‘Though capital markets were slower in Q1 2016, we have 28 practice areas here and most of them were quite busy. Litigation and the environmental practice were both red hot throughout the year, and from Q2 in 2016 it was quite epic on transactional side,’ he said.

While in 2015 Latham’s project finance practice suffered due to falling oil prices, 2016 brought two big changes.

‘Energy development kicked up again and we started seeing new mandates, and we also saw tremendous activity in debt restructuring. Oil and gas was also up 300% in production,’ Voge added.

In his second year as global chair, PEP grew by $154,000 from 2015. But he argues he simply inherited a well-run firm.

‘Bob [Dell] invested 20 years in the firm, and my job is just cashing in dividends from his hard work. I could not have been more fortunate to step into his shoes,’ he says.

‘However profitability, whichever way you measure it, is all down to high-end complex cross-border transactions and staying with the current issues that are affecting global clients, on a mission to deliver the expertise they demand,’ he adds.

As US capital markets recover from a bruising 2016, Latham has added more than $1bn in revenue since the downturn in 2009, entering its seventh year of consecutive growth.

As chief operating officer LeeAnn Black says: ‘When you increase your revenue by $1bn, you have to have all cylinders running. We spent the last 10 years building the platform and making sure we have diverse capability to keep the engine running no matter what.’

Looking ahead, the firm continues its focus on London and continental Europe, following on from a series of high-profile hires in London in 2016, including Ashurst’s head of financial regulation Rob Moulton and restructuring partner Simon Baskerville, Slaughter and May’s former head of structured finance Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya and one of London’s most high-profile banking lawyers, Allen & Overy’s former head of finance Stephen Kensell.

The latest moves in Latham’s hiring spree were announced yesterday (22 February) as two new lateral hires joined its southern California Los Angeles and Century City offices. Former federal prosecutor and bar leader Thomas Nolan joins Latham from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and securities litigator Joshua Hamilton joins from Paul Hastings in Los Angeles. Both will join Latham’s litigation and trial department.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘The firm most likely – can anything halt Latham’s global rise?’

Legal Business

Latham continues City expansion taking Quinn litigator Martin Davies

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Litigation Latham & WatkinsQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

In a rare exit, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has lost partner Martin Davies to Latham & Watkins. It is understood Davies (pictured) has taken on a leadership role in Latham’s London dispute resolution group.

Davies joined Quinn in late 2010 from Olswang where he headed up its litigation practice. He is the first lateral hire to leave the London office in around nine years.

Most recently Davies acted on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s £4bn rights issue litigation advising a group of claimants who settled late last year. Thousands of claimants represented by Signature Litigation will press ahead for trial next spring.

Quinn’s London co-head Richard East told Legal Business: ‘It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Martin Davies will be leaving us to join Latham & Watkins to head up Latham’s dispute resolution group. Martin, who was one of our founding fathers, will be sorely missed. He has had a fantastic career here at Quinn and we have no doubt that he will make a huge success of his move to Latham. We are certain that we will remain friends and will look forward to working with him in the future.’

Earlier this month Latham lost its London litigation chair Simon Bushell to boutique disputes outfit Signature Litigation. Prior to his move in 2013, Bushell spent more than 16 years as a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, the firm he joined in 1987.

Latham London office head Jay Sadanandan said: ‘We are committed to building a leading disputes practice in the City to complement our formidable strength in the United States and other markets around the world.  Martin will help us do just that.’

But Quinn expects to continue its expansion. Last week Legal Business revealed the US firm will increase its office space by half with a move into a floor of Olswang’s 90 High Holborn premises as the TMT player heads toward its merger.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Stewarts Law LLPs show top earner takes home £1.7m as overseas revenues exceed 20% of turnover

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Financial results 2016/17 Latham & WatkinsQuinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan

The highest paid member at Stewarts Law pocketed £1.7m over the 2015/16 financial year, according to the firm’s filings at Companies House.

This marks a 20% climb from the year prior when the highest paid member took home £1.4m. The average remuneration per member also saw a hike from £547,000 in 2015 to £624,000 in 2016, a 12% increase, while the firm’s executive committee took home £15.7m from £13.5m the year before.

The average number of members at Stewarts Law also increased from 51 to 55, with overall staff headcount rising from 243 to 263 over the year. Staff costs rose to £13.7m from £11.6m.

The report also reveals work from oversees clients generated £13.5m or about 22% of total turnover. This an improvement from £9m or about 17% of revenue the year before.

The litigation specialist saw a second consecutive year of double digit revenue growth. The firm saw revenue jump to £61.3m, a 17% increase from 2015.

With last year’s figure standing at £51m, revenue has increased by approximately £10m. This upsurge has been accompanied by an incline in operating profit, rising from £27.5m in 2015 to £32.7m in 2016.

The strong financial year for the firm follows an initiative to boost pay and incentives for junior lawyers, paralegals and business services staff. The strategy, announced in May 2016, saw the firm improve the salaries of all members of staff, but Stewarts Law declined to confirm exact figures.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Read more on litigation boutiques in:‘Focal points – Law boutiques and the art of focus’


Legal Business

‘A great tactician’: Latham City disputes chair exits for boutique

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Litigation Latham & WatkinsSignature Litigation

Boutique disputes outfit Signature Litigation has landed top commercial litigation and arbitration lawyer Simon Bushell from Latham & Watkins.

Bushell (pictured) joined the US giant in 2013 and has acted as chair of the firm’s London litigation department since 2014.

Prior to his move in 2013, Bushell spent more than 16 years as a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, the firm he joined in 1987. Bushell is rated in the Legal 500 for his work on civil fraud, banking litigation, commercial litigation and international arbitration.

Signature founding partner Graham Huntley said: ‘Simon’s strong reputation, especially in civil fraud, speaks for itself. We have grown substantially and Signature is a strong platform for another senior litigator such as him. He is highly commercial, imaginative and a great tactician.’

Bushell’s hire brings Signature’s team to ten partners and 30 fee earners. The boutique recently saw its revenues increase by 36% for the 2015/16 financial year to £10.2m. The addition of Bushell continues the firm’s investment in lateral hiring after it recruited of Bryan Cave litigation partner Ioannis Alexopoulos in September last year.

Signature currently has a number of key cases on its books, including the ongoing £4bn shareholder group action against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), a major dispute against Credit Suisse on behalf of the investment fund of Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and his family for losses over mismanagement of his portfolio in Switzerland, which have led to criminal proceedings against the bank’s fund managers, and representing energy major ENRC in its high profile costs and privacy dispute with its former legal adviser Dechert.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Latham acts for Baxter on latest pharma acquisition as HSF picks up new client Claris

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Corporate Herbert Smith FreehillsLatham & Watkins
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Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Latham & Watkins won lead roles on Baxter International’s acquisition of Claris Injectables for $625m, in a bid by Baxter to expand its portfolio of essential generic injectable medicines. HSF represented Claris, while Latham acted for Baxter.

Baxter manufactures a broad range of essential generic injectable medications while Claris is based in India and has a 15 year history in the global injectables market. The acquisition is expected to deliver annual global revenues in excess of $100m.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2017 subject to regulatory approvals.

HSF led with London-based M&A partners Alan Montgomery and Nick Moore, while Latham was represented by M&A partners Ted Keim in Chicago and Robbie McLaren in London, alongside Chicago partner Diana Doyle and London partner Sean Finn advising on tax matters, intellectual property (IP) partner Steven Chinowsky in San Diego and Washington DC partner Ben Haas on healthcare regulatory matters, among others.

Among other big pharma deals of the year, Pinsent Masons and Linklaters advised on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ sale of UK and Ireland business Activas Generics for £603m, whilst Slaughter and May, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Bowman Gilfillan advised GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on the sale of its remaining 6.2% stake in Aspen Pharmacare, both back in October.

Earlier in the year Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Kirkland & Ellis won mandates advising on the $5.8bn purchase of diagnostic testing company Alere by Abbott Laboratories.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

CC and Latham take lead roles as Electra sells Parkdean Resorts

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Corporate Clifford ChanceLatham & Watkins
legal-business-default

Clifford Chance (CC) and Latham & Watkins are among a raft of firms which advised on the £1.35bn acquisition by Onex of Parkdean Resorts from Electra Partners.

The holiday firm was created through the 2015 merger of Parkdean Holidays and Park Resorts to make a business with 73 holiday parks across England. Onex’s purchase of the holiday company is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

CC advised long-time client Electra with a team led by partner Melissa Fogarty. Fogarty’s work for Electra included guiding the private equity firm through its recent refinancing and its $1.1bn disposal of Capital Safety to KKR in 2011.

The Magic Circle firm has had a strong run of late in the private equity space, having acted for funds trio Cinven, Permira, and Mid Europa on its purchase of Allegro Group. The deal was the firm’s second high-profile club deal in a week as it acted for Cinven and CVC Capital Partners on their purchase of consumer finance provider NewDay.

Fogarty said: ‘The sale of Parkdean follows a string of successful private equity deals our team has advised on in the last week. We see opportunities in the market and are pleased to be supporting clients like Electra to take advantage of them.’

Parkdean Resorts was advised by Macfarlanes with a team including partners Simon Perry and Tom Pedder. Travers Smith advised management with a team led by Adam Orr.

King & Spalding took a role on the deal acting for Polygon Recovery Fund, which had a smaller stake in Parkdean. London-based William Charnley and Elisabeth Baltay led K&S’s team on the deal.

Latham acted for the purchaser, Canadian fund Onex. Other recent deals Latham has acted on for the private equity house included its 2015 purchase of Survitec Group for $680m. Latham’s team on the deal include London corporate partner Mike Bond and finance partners Jay Sadanandan and Dominic Newcomb. Recent recruit Jeremy Trinder acted on real estate matters, while Sean Finn acted on tax aspects.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Latham continues City hiring spree with HSF energy head Balsdon

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Strategic recruitment Herbert Smith FreehillsLatham & Watkins
legal-business-default

Latham & Watkins announced today (13 December) that it has hired Herbert Smith Freehills’s (HSF) global energy co-head John Balsdon, who will join its finance team in the City.

A HSF partner since 2002, having joined from Clifford Chance, Basildon has 20 years’ experience and specialises in energy finance with an emphasis on the oil and gas sector, one of HSF’s signature practice areas globally. Recent work highlights for Balsdon include advising three financing banks for Blue Stream’s $3.2bn eastern European pipeline, and Vitol on the project finance aspects of its $7bn oil and gas project in Ghana.

A spokesperson for HSF said: ‘We can confirm that John Balsdon has decided to retire from the partnership. We thank him for his contribution over the past 14 years and wish him well for the future. Anna Howell and Rob Merrick will continue to lead our top-tier global energy practice.’

Commenting on Balsdon’s appointment, Latham’s vice-chair of the executive committee David Gordon said: ‘John’s arrival will bolster our standing as one of the elite global energy and power firms…He is a strong practice builder and he will play a key role in the continued expansion of our energy capability in London and globally.’

Latham’s City hiring spree in 2016 has shown little sign of abating, with the world’s largest firm by revenue taking on a number of high-profile partners from strong UK players, including Rob Moulton and Simon Baskerville from Ashurst; a rare lateral hire from Slaughter and May, taking its head of structured finance Sanjev Warna-kula-suriya; as well as Allen & Overy leadership contender and respected banking partner Stephen Kensell, among others.

Meanwhile, HSF has seen a number of exits this year, losing Ian Gatt QC to Stewarts Law, financial regulation partner Nick Bradbury, who is to join A&O and London head of private equity James MacArthur, who left for Weil, Gotshal & Manges back in May.

City figures reveal that Latham posted a 12% turnover rise in London for 2015, bringing in £183m, second only to White & Case for London revenue for a non-UK firm.

georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk

For more from another recent Latham high-profile recruit, read our interview with former Freshfields executive partner, Michael Lacovara