Legal Business

NRF to incentivise cross-border work with formalised global management committee

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Leadership Norton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has today (24 September) formalised its leadership structure, with interim global managing partners Jeff Cody and Peter Scott to head a global management committee to coordinate regional leadership.

Under the new structure, US managing partner Cody and Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) managing partner Scott will formally lead the firm, following almost 12 months as interim leaders.

They will continue to lead the global management committee established in their time as interim heads. Members of the committee include Australia chief executive Alison Deitz, Canada managing partner Jennifer Teskey, and South Africa chief executive office Brent Botha. All committee members including Cody and Scott will also retain their regional leadership positions.

Speaking with Legal Business, Scott emphasised the significance of this global interconnectivity for the global platform: ‘Bringing our regional leaders together through the global management committee enables us to assess our operations in a way that empowers local teams while aligning with our global ambitions. It’s about understanding market realities and directly connecting our regional leaders.’

Scott highlighted connectivity as a core strategic focus for the firm, alongside four other objectives: financial, brand, clients and diversity and engagements. ‘We want to ensure each region is focused on setting strategies and designing client initiatives that strengthen connections across our global network,’ he explained.

Cody added: ‘We’ve identified two key elements: cross-border work and multi-jurisdictional work. Our focus is on incentivising and encouraging our partners in that direction. We aim to foster deeper collaboration among our partners and lawyers across regions, all of that comes back to client service and meeting their global needs – that’s at the heart of it all.’

This formalisation clarifies leadership after the unexpected appointment of the US managing partner and EMEA head as interim co-chairs, following Gerry Pecht’s sudden resignation as global chief executive and partner last September, after 43 years with the firm.

Pecht succeeded Peter Martyr, who played a crucial role in guiding Norton Rose through its 2013 merger with US firm Fulbright & Jaworski, and left his position earlier than anticipated after nearly two decades of leadership. The interim tenure of Cody and Scott marked the first period of uncertainty in NRF’s global leadership since the merger.

While this formal appointment brings clarity and direction to the firm, it also introduces a new strategy of split leadership. Scott explained: ‘Having both myself and Jeff as co-heads reflects the reality of our business. Our different markets across regions mean that this structure better represents how we operate.’ He emphasised their close collaboration, stating, ‘We’re working together closely. While our regional responsibilities are distinct, we collaborate globally to ensure we’re as well set up as we can be.’

The firm highlighted energy and infrastructure, financial institutions, transport, technology, and healthcare and life sciences as key global growth sectors for the year ahead.

Meanwhile, Cody emphasised the firm’s growth initiative: ‘We are approaching each market aggressively, identifying talent that aligns with our culture to enhance our client offerings. Over the next 2-5 years, we will continue to grow and attract high-quality talent.’

anna.huntley@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

Norton Rose and DLA post rising revenues as global footprint drives growth

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Financial results 2023/24 DLA PiperNorton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose has reported an 8.7% increase in global revenue, marking a turnaround from two years of declining revenue.

Profit per equity partner (PEP) jumped almost 33% from $1.05m to $1.4m in 2023, as the number of equity partners declined by 21% from 644 to 506.

This follows a stagnant 2022 for the firm, which saw a 1% drop in global revenue, with PEP remaining static. It is understood that the drop in total equity partner numbers came as a result of the firm standardising its definition of an equity partner across all regions.

The firm credited its growth during 2023 to expansion across various regions and practices, especially in the US, where revenue rose by nearly 13% due to increased demand for disputes advice, as well as work for clients in the banking, finance, projects and energy sectors.

The firm’s EMEA region also experienced a 6.5% rise in revenue, driven by a strong year for banking, litigation and regulatory work, offsetting lower demand in corporate and real estate.

Recent work of note has included advising battery materials company Euro Manganese on its $100m funding agreement with Orion for an innovative waste recycling initiative in the Czech Republic, fielding a team led by Legal 500 project finance Hall of Famer Martin McCann.

Meanwhile, in the US, a team of projects lawyers headed by Chicago-based partner Sameer Ghaznavi recently advised IRG Acquisition Holdings on the acquisition of a 1365-megawatt renewables portfolio from American Electric Power for $1.5bn, comprising wind and solar projects across 11 states.

Elsewhere, global co-head of energy Noam Ayali and partner Rebecca Abou-Chedid in Washington DC, and Charles Hord in New York, led a US team representing debt providers to Houston-based energy company NextDecade Corporation’s Rio Grande LNG export terminal. The project financing, valued at $18.4bn, is the largest in US LNG history.

During the past year, the firm made over 40 lateral partner hires and announced 36 partner promotions, resulting in a marginal partner growth rate of just over 1%.

In London, recent hires have included disputes lawyer Alison Kellett, who joined from BNP Paribas in November where she spent 15 years as head of global dispute resolution for the UK, Channel Islands and Nordics, as well as banking and finance specialist Christopher Akinrele who joined as a partner from Eversheds Sutherland, both based in London.

Conversely, the firm also experienced a series of partner departures throughout 2023, particularly within its litigation practices following the unexpected resignation of global chief executive Gerry Pecht in September.

Six additional global leaders followed Pecht in leaving the firm, including global COO and CFO Robert Otty, global CIO Ann-Michele Bowlin, global head of risk advisory and chief talent office Jane Caskey, global head of digital Sean Pratap, global co-head of information governance, privacy and cybersecurity Ffion Flockhart and global chief strategy alignment, innovation, and people officer Wayne Spanner.

Elsewhere, DLA has announced its eighth consecutive year of revenue growth, posting an increase of almost 4% on 2022 to reach $3.7bn, marking a near 35% increase since 2019.

PEP rose by 11.7% to reach $3.1m, while the number of equity partners decreased by nearly 10.5% from 373 to 334.

The firm has been actively recruiting laterals this year, with a notable influx of partners from Norton Rose. Five partners joined DLA from Norton Rose’s Frankfurt, Sydney, Vancouver, and Washington DC offices.

Among the recent additions to DLA Piper’s London office are energy and infrastructure M&A specialists Steven Bryan and Paul Doris, who joined from Paul Hastings and Brown Rudnick respectively. Andrew Sackney also joined from Pinsent Masons where he where he led the global investigations practice.

In 2023, DLA Piper elevated 73 lawyers to partnership across its 42 offices. Corporate saw the largest intake of new partners, comprising 25% of the promotions, including Laura Marcelli and Sam Whittaker in London.

The firm attributed its overall revenue growth to its diversified practice areas and global footprint, with strong transactional demand in certain areas of Western Europe and the Middle East compensating for reduced corporate activity elsewhere.

As part of the firm’s strategy to expand in key markets including New York, Chicago, California, Texas and Washington, the Americas region reported a 5% increase in revenue. This growth spanned various transactional areas including private equity, investment funds, M&A and venture capital.

Recent standout matters led by the firm’s London lawyers have included M&A partners Bob Bishop and Jon Kenworthy advising Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global, joint owners of leading television production and distribution company ALL3Media, on its agreed £1.15bn sale to RedBird IMI in March.

In December, the firm’s teams in New York and Washington advised Ooredoo Group, a Qatari multinational telecommunications company, in entering into definitive agreements with Mobile Telecommunications Company and TASC Towers Holding to create the largest independent tower company in the MENA region, valued at $2.2bn.

Anna.huntley@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Business and human rights laws: CS3D and other important developments

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Human rights Norton Rose Fulbright

After a protracted and hotly contested legislative process, the forthcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) is set to become law having been formally approved by the EU Parliament during its plenary session on 24 April. It will represent the latest, and arguably the most significant, business and human rights law to emerge since the UN Human Rights Council adopted the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011. CS3D is by no means alone, however, as various other stringent laws continue to emerge incorporating human rights related requirements into broader due diligence obligations concerning a range of issues such as conflict minerals, deforestation and battery supply chains.

Legal Business

Leadership round-up: Shebson wins second term at HFW as Norton Rose Fulbright names new global chair

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Leadership HFWNorton Rose Fulbright

HFW has re-elected managing partner Jeremy Shebson for a second four-year term, effective 1 April 2023.

Shebson, who was originally elected in 2019 to replace the veteran Marcus Bowman, will continue to work alongside HFW’s senior partner Giles Kavanagh, who succeeded veteran Richard Crump this year.

Shebson (pictured), who ran unopposed, said: ‘This is an exciting time for HFW – having invested significantly in expanding internationally and broadening our practices, we now have outstanding lawyers and business services professionals across five continents, and we are seeing that clients increasingly value the fact that, as a sector-focused law firm, we understand their business and their industry, as well as the law.

‘We are now seeking to really ramp things up across our sectors, services, and global network, and will continue to actively target partners, teams and bolt-ons that align with our strategy and that can deliver sustainable, profitable growth.’

During the year, HFW launched a new office in the British Virgin Islands via the acquisition of a disputes business and welcomed 17 new partners and directors across the firm.

In the firm’s last set of financial results, where revenue and PEP dipped 1% each, Shebson revealed he wanted to ‘spread our revenue out internationally’. According to HFW, total international revenue has increased by 75% since 2015.

Kavanagh added: ‘In his first term Jeremy has driven profitability, professionalism, and a collegiate culture at all levels and locations in the firm. His achievements enable us now to embark upon a period of sustained and significant growth. I am looking forward to continuing to work with him to drive the firm forward.’

Elsewhere, Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has appointed Australian chair Scott Atkins as its new global chair, effective 1 January 2023.

NRF’s global chair is appointed on an annual basis, and as such Atkins will be replacing the incumbent Farmida Bi, who will stay on as the firm’s EMEA chair.

Atkins will retain his Australian chair role, as well as his responsibilities as global co-head of NRF’s restructuring division and head of risk advisory for Australia.

Gerry Pecht, NRF’s chief executive, commented: ‘Scott is a true firm citizen who never stops prioritising what is best for our clients and our people. His impressive history of leadership roles and experience advising business and governments on international matters will be a tremendous support to our global leadership team.’

Atkins concluded: ‘I am honored and humbled to serve in this global role. My focus will be to support the firm’s leadership to implement our strategy; support our clients as they pursue new frontiers, such as the burgeoning commercial space industry; and above all, to continue to deliver our exceptional standards of client service. Norton Rose Fulbright has tremendous potential leading into 2023, and I look forward to helping the firm seize market opportunities for the benefit of our clients.’

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

NRF called to Qualcomm’s £480m class action defence as Quinn’s London team drops out

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Commercial litigation Norton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has been called up to a new-look legal team for Qualcomm as it defends itself from a class action brought by UK consumer charity Which?.

The dispute hinges on a Which? claim that wireless technology company Qualcomm breached competition law, and in doing so inflated the royalties paid by smartphone manufacturers for Qualcomm’s technology, which in turn led to increased prices for customers.

In May this year, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) certified the collective action, worth £480m. Which? will represent roughly 29 million consumers who purchased certain Apple and Samsung smartphones since October 2015.

Qualcomm had previously been represented by a London-based competition litigation team from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, namely department head Kate Vernon and of counsel Maria Campbell. However, recent filings from the CAT show that Qualcomm is now being advised by NRF and a Brussels-based Quinn Emanuel team.

NRF’s team is comprised of head of antitrust and competition Mark Simpson, partners Caroline Thomas and Helen Fairhead, as well as a team of ten associates and trainees.

The new Quinn Emanuel team consists of Brussels EU competition partner Miguel Rato, counsel Mark English, counsel Marixenia Davilla, of counsel Athena Kontosakou, associate Hyunseok Doh and associate Maria Belen Gravano.

Quinn Emanuel and NRF instructed Brick Court Chambers’ Nicholas Saunders KC, Mark Howard KC, Tony Singla KC, and David Bailey, Alexandra Littlewood of Monckton Chambers and Tom Foxton of One Essex Court.

Which? meanwhile is being advised by Hausfeld, with a team made up of partners Nicola Boyle, Wessen Jazwari, Lucy Rigby, four associates and a legal intern. Hausfeld instructed Jon Turner KC, Anneli Howard KC, Michael Armitage and Ciar McAndrew, all of Monckton Chambers.

Quinn Emanuel declined to comment. NRF has been approached for comment.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Guest post: COP26 heats up and global temperature pledges spur optimism

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ESG Norton Rose Fulbright

As the 2021 United Nations Climate Change conference gathers momentum, Tim Baines, counsel in Mayer Brown’s environmental team, finds optimism beyond the platitudes.

Now that heads of state have left the building, the COP gets into full business mode with delegates moving between meeting rooms and many having to juggle competing demands on their time. We are only nearing the mid-point of an exhausting couple of weeks.

The University of Melbourne’s research has offered the conference a glimmer of hope by suggesting that countries’ emission pledges would limit global temperature rises to below 2C, with India’s recent announcement making all the difference. This remains a long way from the 1.5C that many are aiming for, and which is targeted in the Paris Agreement. Advocates of 1.5C include members of the High Ambition Coalition, which the US has re-joined.

Further optimism had arisen over an announcement by the British government that more than 100 leaders had committed to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, in a pledge backed by almost £14bn ($19.2bn) in public and private funding. However, on Thursday (4 November) this appeared to unravel somewhat, as Indonesia reportedly said it only agreed to keep its forest cover steady over the period and Brazil said it would only target ‘illegal’ deforestation.

Many had also vaunted the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement, which notes that coal power generation is the single biggest cause of global temperature increases and recognises the imperative to scale-up the deployment of clean power to accelerate the energy transition. However, it became apparent that this initiative might be less of a game-changer than had been hoped. Indonesia, the world’s biggest coal exporter, didn’t sign up to a clause calling for an end to building and financing new unabated coal. Poland, another signatory, won’t phase out coal until the 2040s, which does not change its current transition path. Australia, China, India and the US do not appear to have signed up at all.

Both of these initiatives sit alongside or outside of the formal COP negotiations.

Discussions rumbled on, for example, in respect of market mechanisms, with ‘big picture’ items such as whether some of the rules should be agreed at Glasgow or rolled into a future work programme. More detailed discussions included the inter-relationship between guidance for art 6.2 and 6.4, setting baselines and additionally. These are all matters that, although not easy to resolve, have been on the table for some time. A further bust-up is reported to have occurred on Thursday in respect of ‘share of proceeds’ language being insisted on by some developing countries.

All eyes will remain on the conference for another week, so watch this space for more updates.

 

Legal Business

Sponsored briefing: German interlocutory injunction proceedings in patent matters under review of CJEU

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Intellectual property Norton Rose Fulbright

Clemens Rübel discusses patent matters under review by the CJEU in Germany

The requirements of granting interlocutory injunctions in patent infringement proceedings developed over many years by the German Higher Regional Courts will be subject to review by the CJEU. The legal question referred by the Munich judges in a decision on 19 January 2021¹ is, whether it is in line with art 9 (1) of Directive 2004/48/EC (Enforcement Directive) that in interlocutory infringement proceedings provisional measures should be denied if the asserted patent has not survived first instance opposition or nullity proceedings.

Legal Business

Sponsored briefing: Corporate criminal liability in Germany

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Fraud Norton Rose Fulbright

Alexander Cappel discusses how the German legal landscape is going to change based on the future Corporate Criminal Liability Act

Over the past few years, we have noticed a large number of multi-jurisdictional enforcement actions against large corporate and financial institutions and US and UK authorities in particular have imposed significant fines, not only against the responsible individuals, but also against the legal entities involved. Compared to criminal penalties imposed by foreign authorities, administrative sanctions against legal entities in Germany have been rather moderate given German law does not provide for strict corporate criminal liability yet.

Legal Business

Legal Business Awards 2020 – Real Estate Team of the Year

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Legal Business Awards 2020 Addleshaw GoddardCMSLinklatersNorton Rose Fulbright

After much back-and-forth between the judges in a keenly contested category, we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Real Estate Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.

For this award, judges looked for a standout example of real estate-related work, including financing, development or construction, or cases and transactions in planning, environment and regeneration.

 

 

 

Sponsored by

Edwards Gibson

Winners – Addleshaw Goddard/Linklaters/Norton Rose Fulbright

These three firms collaborated to advise the joint venture between Permodalan Nasional Berhad and the Employees Provident Fund on its £1.58bn acquisition of the commercial assets within Phase 2 of the Battersea redevelopment project.

Once redeveloped, the iconic art deco power station building will house Apple’s new European HQ and a private members’ club, a 2,000 capacity events venue and over 250 residential homes along with luxury retail, food and beverage and leisure accommodation.

The deal focuses on one of London’s largest, most hotly-anticipated regeneration sites. Over the years, the site has been subject to a number of unsuccessful redevelopment attempts due to the significant challenges posed by the site – so much so that it has been described as being the ‘Everest of real estate’ on the basis that it is considered to be one of the toughest redevelopment projects in the world, with a number of developers having tried and failed to conquer it.

The transaction is anticipated to comprise one of the UK’s largest-ever single-asset real estate transactions. Linklaters, led by Patrick Plant, advised the joint venture purchaser; the seller (the owners of Battersea Power Station Development Company) was advised by an Addleshaw Goddard team headed by Leona Ahmed; with Norton Rose Fulbright (Dan Wagerfield and Dan Kennedy) acting for the seller on the financing aspects.

No individual firm stood out as contributing to the overall success of this deal: there were a number of different and complex parallel workstreams, which demanded fluid co-ordination between all three firms.

This truly collaborative process meant this entry stood apart. Christopher Gilchrist Fisher, senior director of CBRE Global Investors, said: ‘Without the co-operation and shared objectives of all involved, this transaction would not have happened. Deals of this level of complexity involve managing the multi-layered requirements of various stakeholders. They demand a new type of lawyer – one who works with their respective clients for the future success of the project, above individual requirements, and in the face of short-term gains.’

Highly commended – CMS

Acting for longstanding client Vita on its landmark £600m portfolio sale of Vita Student assets to DWS’s real estate funds. The portfolio comprises a total of 3,198 beds in Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle.

CMS fielded a multi-disciplinary team, led by partners Gareth Saynor and Peter Winnard, comprising over 35 advisers in Sheffield, Manchester, London and Edinburgh, to deliver this deal for Vita. This was a complex transaction requiring significant strategic advice at every stage and was of huge significance for the client, allowing it to scale up its growth and bring more innovative brands to market while continuing to deliver high-quality student accommodation. CMS played a pivotal role in helping the client to achieve its goals.

Other nominations

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Advising Grange Hotels on the sale of part of the reorganised group to Queensgate Investments for some £1bn, a portfolio comprising four upscale hotels offering around 930,000 sq ft of real estate.

Davitt Jones Bould

Advising The Royal Parks on a novel contract for events held at London’s major parks. With government funding diminishing, TRP was faced with raising over £30m annually and events are seen as key to its long-term financial viability.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Continuing work on key client Blackstone’s real estate acquisitions and financings, including a joint venture with Telereal Trillium to acquire Network Rail’s £1.46bn commercial real estate portfolio, as well as on its acquisition of Dream Global REIT’s assets.

Womble Bond Dickinson

Advising South Tees Development Corporation on the acquisition and regeneration of TATA Steel’s former steel works on Teesside; this was the first transaction involving a mayoral development corporation outside of London.

Legal Business

Legal Business Awards 2020 – Insurance Team of the Year

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Legal Business Awards 2020 Norton Rose FulbrightPinsent Masons

The entries have been assessed, the shortlists have been drawn up and our panel of general counsel judges have had their say: we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Insurance Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.

This award recognises the team that has handled innovative work and has attracted the most impressive instructions of 2019 in this constantly changing sector. Judges were looking for one example of standout work – either a transaction, a dispute or even regulatory advice.

 

 

 

Sponsored by

Winner – Pinsent Masons

Pinsent Masons is a worthy winner for developing a successful solution to a crucial, post-EU referendum, regulatory challenge faced by the insurance industry.

Since the referendum, regulators have been calling on the insurance industry to devise a strategy to protect life insurance policies sold in other European countries if, as is expected, there is a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, passporting rights for UK insurers are removed. In response to this, to lawfully service and pay claims post-Brexit, Royal London formed a new Irish subsidiary, Royal London DAC (RLDAC).

The challenge was that there was no legal framework in Ireland for the ‘with-profits’ products that Royal London needed to transfer. With no legal precedent to follow, the Pinsent Masons team, led by insurance partner Hammad Akhtar and including regulatory partner Iain Sawers and banking partner Nick Gavin-Brown, developed a structure and reinsurance arrangement that gained regulatory approval and enabled with-profits and other business to be transferred to Ireland. Crucially, this included a framework of protection and governance to help ensure that the transferring policyholders did not suffer any material adverse loss of protection. The strategy enabled the transfer of c. £1bn of legacy Irish and German business to RLDAC.

The proposal needed to satisfy the High Court and UK and Irish regulators that it would stand up against any Brexit eventuality, provide the policyholders with appropriate protection and avoid imposing an unacceptable level of risk on RLDAC.

So complex and unprecedented was this structure, that the regulators instructed two top Irish and UK law firms to scrutinise it. Their review confirmed its robustness.

In February 2019, the £1bn asset transfer completed. Not only was this in advance of the 29 March deadline, but it was also ahead of many other major UK life insurers.

As a result, Richard Gordon, deputy group general counsel of Royal London, commented: ‘This was an important project for Royal London and for our Irish and German policyholders in particular. The Brexit context and the nature of some of the transferring business meant that there were a number of challenges and complications, but these were overcome and we achieved our desired outcome. The collaboration between the Royal London team and Pinsent Masons contributed hugely to this.’

Highly Commended – Norton Rose Fulbright

A NRF team, led by corporate partner Nicholas Berry, advised Arch, the Lloyd’s underwriter, on the launch of BlueVault, an insurance protection solution for secure storage of private keys for digital assets and cryptocurrencies, providing coverage of up to $150m on losses of cryptocurrency and other digital assets in ‘cold storage’.

The Blue Vault solution, which was launched publicly in September 2019, was developed in collaboration with broker and risk adviser Marsh. In groundbreaking work for a law firm, NRF provided both legal and technology consulting advice in relation to BlueVault, which included developing a bespoke solution for the relevant risk and the drafting of a new policy form, which – together with various endorsements – had to accommodate the underlying features of the distributed ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Other nominations

Clyde & Co

Representing Aviva in launching a private prosecution against a fraudulent public liability claim, believed to be the first such prosecution in the UK by an insurance company against a ‘slip-and-trip’ fraudster.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Advising Equitable Life Assurance Society on its extensive restructuring and subsequent sale of the entire business to Utmost Life and Pensions, which combined a solvent scheme of arrangement and a parallel insurance business transfer.

Marsh & McLennan

The Marsh legal team took a lead role in making sure the company’s landmark £4.9bn takeover of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group completed on schedule, in what was the largest acquisition in its 148-year history.

Sullivan & Cromwell

Advising client Assicurazioni Generali on its €600m acquisition of Seguradoras Unidas and its associated service company, AdvanceCare, from companies that were majority owned by Apollo Global Management.