Legal Business

Revolving doors: Global 100 firms expand in Europe as Hill Dickinson hires a captain

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Strategic recruitment Hill DickinsonWhite & Case
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Last week saw Global 100 firms building their presence in Europe, with White & Case bolstering its private equity (PE) practice and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton expanding its competition offering in Brussels. Meanwhile Hill Dickinson hired two partners for its Asia offering including Captain Joe Quain and K&L Gates benefitted from Dentons’ Singapore office closure.

Having hired nine partners into its PE practice since the start of 2014, White & Case expanded its footprint in Europe with the addition of partner Johan Steen in Stockholm. Steen joins from Nordic firm Vinge, where he advised both Nordic and international sponsors on M&A, fund raising and financial restructuring. He has also worked as associate general counsel at Altor Equity Partners – a Scandinavian private equity firm.

White & Case partner Richard Youle, co-head of the firm’s EMEA PE group said: ‘Johan is an entrepreneurial lawyer with a rounded practice as a proven advisor to private equity clients and to clients on restructurings, distressed investment situations and complex investment structures. His arrival is another important strategic step in the ongoing growth of the firm’s EMEA private equity practice.’

Also in Europe, Cleary recruited Bernd Langeheine, former deputy director-general for mergers at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition to its Brussels and Cologne offices. Joining as a senior consultant, Langeheine will help bolster the firm’s European competition practice having long served at the commission, first in its legal service then as head of trade in Washington and director for telecoms policy between 2002 and 2011.

Meanwhile Hill Dickinson made two appointments in Asia with Bryan O’Hare joining as a disputes partner in the Hong Kong office, having been senior counsel with Hogan Lovells in the city, and solicitor and master mariner Quain who joins in Singapore.

Quain’s arrival brings the total number of master mariners at Hill Dickinson to six. Tony Goldsmith, partner and master mariner who heads the Singapore office, commented: ‘As a solicitor and master mariner of 20 years experience, Joe’s expertise in all aspects of admiralty work can only strengthen our existing commitment to provide our clients with the highest standard of legal advice.’

K&L Gates also added to its ranks in Singapore by hiring banking and asset finance partner Markus Blenntoft from Dentons. Blenntoft joins from the Dentons UKMEA member of the Verein firm and brings experience covering Islamic finance and outbound work for Indian banks.

The move comes as Dentons closes down its legacy Singapore offering ahead of its merger with Dacheng which will see the Singapore market be serviced by the Dacheng Wong Alliance – a joint venture between Dacheng and Singapore firm Wong Alliance.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: Weil and White & Case lead on Ukraine’s $18bn debt restructure

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Restructuring Weil, Gotshal & MangesWhite & Case
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London teams at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and White & Case were selected as the lead advisers as Ukraine struck a debt-relief deal yesterday on its $18bn sovereign debt pile in a bid to rebuild its fragile economy.

The eastern European nation, home to 45 million people, has sealed an agreement with its creditors to cut up to 20% of its outstanding sovereign debt and extend its repayment period. The haircut on the 14 sovereign and sovereign-guaranteed Eurobonds could be worth up to $3.6bn, with creditors agreeing an upside if the country’s GDP growth recovers between 2021 and 2040.

The arrangement to lower its debt costs saw Weil advise the ad hoc creditors’ committee, which contains Franklin Advisers, BTG Pactual Europe, TCW Investment Management Company and T Rowe Price Associates, on the deal that will allow recession hit Ukraine to fulfil the terms of its International Monetary Fund bailout agreed in March.

The Weil team was led by former Goldman Sachs European head Andrew Wilkinson and restructuring partner Alex Wood in London. The pair fielded an 11-lawyer team on the deal, with City restructuring partner Paul Bromfield, disputes partner Jamie Maples, European high-yield head Patrick Bright and capital markets partner Todd Chandler all working on the restructuring.

One of the biggest debt restructurings carried out by a European government in the last decade, White & Case was selected as international legal counsel by the government with a team led by London-based capital markets partner Ian Clark. Support came from partner Michael Doran, who is well known for his work on the €206bn restructuring of Greek sovereign debt in 2012, and partner Francis Fitzherbert-Brockholes.

Ukraine’s finance minister, Natalie Jaresko, said: ‘This agreement is a very important milestone for Ukraine. It is the outcome of negotiations that were difficult but conducted in good faith. Ukraine gets a very immediate and very significant debt reduction worth up to $3.6bn while maintaining its status in capital markets, a significant plus for our economy and our banking system. We get some $11.5bn financing for our IMF-supported programme, giving us the necessary financial breathing space. Importantly, we align our interests with our creditors.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

On a roll: BPP picks up another client as White & Case switches from ULaw

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Education White & Case
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In a further blow to its client roster, White & Case has ended its training contract deal with The University of Law (ULaw) and switched to rival BPP Law School.

Under its previous contract, ULaw took on 30 trainee solicitors per year to earn a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC) over a period of two years.

Ulaw is undergoing a period of transition after being sold in June by Montagu Private Equity to Global University Systems (GUS), less than three years after the private equity house acquired it, and after ULaw’s chief executive John Latham departed the institution by ‘mutual consent’, with chief operating officer David Johnston stepping in as his replacement from 1 August.

The school is also trying to recover from losing several law firm clients including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Baker & McKenzie who switched to BPP at the end of last year.

On a more positive note, Linklaters – which acted for Montagu on the ULaw sale while Eversheds advised buyer GUS and Travers Smith represented ULaw management – renewed its partnership for five years with ULaw providing an increase in business management modules.

Mayer Brown also teamed up with ULaw to offer a ‘direct to solicitor’ apprenticeship in June, while the school also won Shearman & Sterling and Trowers & Hamlins this summer, and counts Ashurst as key clients.

ULaw now faces fierce competition from key rival BPP after it was revealed yesterday [25 August] that Kaplan Law School is set to close at the end of 2016 after several clients turned to other legal practice course providers.

White & Case declined to comment on the switch.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case follows project finance clients to launch in Seoul

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Asia White & Case
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South Korea is continuing to prove its attraction for Global 100 firms as White & Case launches an office in Seoul with plans to relocate three partners and build on relationships with project finance clients.

The office, which is the firm’s seventh in Asia and number 39 globally, will be headed by James Lee, who leads the Korea practice group and will relocate to Seoul from Los Angeles.

Lee specialises in cross-border commercial litigation and has been working with Korean clients for more than 15 years. He will be joined initially by Mark Goodrich, a construction partner in London who will also transfer to Seoul, and Hong Kong partner Kyungseok Kim, who recently joined the firm’s M&A practice from Linklaters where he was an associate.

‘We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new office in Seoul,’ said Eric Berg, head of Asia for White & Case. ‘This allows us to provide local support with UK and US law capability for our Korean clients, which include a broad spectrum of organizations and government agencies. It is a natural next step for the firm.’

The firm has serviced clients in Korea for the past 20 years but the new outpost will provide ‘on-the-ground support for our clients in their complex, cross-border work’, adds White & Case chairman Hugh Verrier. The aim is to advise existing project finance clients while broadening out into M&A, private equity, commercial litigation and international arbitration. 

Other firms interested in the Seoul market include, Latham & Watkins, which in June tasked a group of partners to review its Asia strategy ahead of a push in the region. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy opened in the city in February this year.

EY Law enhanced its Asia-Pacific presence in March after forming an alliance with South Korean firm Apex Legal, in a bid to align its advisory and legal businesses throughout the region.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

O’Melveny hires new European corporate head from White & Case as it makes moves in burgeoning private bond market

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Strategic recruitment O'Melveny & MyersWhite & Case
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With €31bn in debt having been issued through private placements (PP) in Europe in 2014, O’Melveny & Myers has made a strategic move in the sector by hiring White & Case PP specialist Andrew Weiler to heads up its European M&A and corporate finance practice. 

Weiler was a key part of White & Case’s PP offering in the City and joins O’Melveny with 15 years of experience in the cross-border market. He also advised both multinationals and private equity firms on M&A and joint venture deals.

Dual-qualified in New York and England and Wales, Weiler joined White & Case in 1993 and worked in the firm’s New York, Stockholm and Helsinki offices prior to moving to London. He was made partner in 2003 and comes recommended in debt capital markets by The Legal 500, for which White & Case is ranked second tier.

Some of his recent work includes advising Coca-Cola on its formation of a Nordic joint venture with Carlsberg and its restructuring of a global joint venture with Nestle; and acting for De’Longhi on its €214m perpetual licensing of the Braun household products brand from Procter & Gamble.

The hire comes as O’Melveny looks to boost its international M&A and finance offering – though the firm lost private equity partner Daniel Oates after less than a year in its City office to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in January. Weiler said: ‘O’Melveny is well known for its entrepreneurial and client-centred culture. I am excited to be part of the continued growth of the firm’s transactional practices, and I look forward to working with my new colleagues to serve our clients.’

A White & Case spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that Andrew Weiler has left White & Case. We wish him well in his future endeavours.’

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

For more on firms’ moves to position themselves in the growing PP market see: The Finance View: Private bonds – can Europe bring it home?

Legal Business

Re-elected Verrier shuffles the White & Case pack

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Leadership White & Case
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White & Case announced last month the re-election of executive chair Hugh Verrier, who takes on the role for a third time at the US firm.

First elected in 2007, Verrier will start another four-year term on 1 September. Having won re-election, the project finance partner also made appointments to the firm’s executive committee, gifting places to London managing partner Oliver Brettle, São Paulo-based Donald Baker, and banking partner David Koschik in New York. The body is responsible for decision making for the 38-office firm and will see the trio also take up their positions on 1 September 2015.

Legal Business

White & Case appoints management as Verrier re-elected while CMS hands Brandi a second term

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Leadership CMSWhite & Case
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Both White & Case and CMS announced yesterday the re-election of their executive chairmen with Hugh Verrier taking the role on for a third time at the US firm while CMS’ Cornelius Brandi was elected for a second term.

Verrier, who was elected to his first term as chairman in 2007, will start another four-year term on 1 September. Having won re-election, the project finance partner also made appointments to the firm’s executive committee, gifting places to London managing partner Oliver Brettle (pictured), São Paulo-based Donald Baker, and banking partner David Koschik in New York. The body is responsible for decision making for the 38-office firm and will see the trio take up their positions on 1 September 2015.

The firm also carried out elections for its other management body, the partnership committee. The eight partners elected to the body comprise: New York partners James Hayden, David Hille, Someera Khokhar and Heather McDevitt, Frankfurt’s Jochen Artzinger-Bolten, Paris-based M&A partner François Leloup, Jacquelyn MacLennan based in Brussels, and Jason Yardley in London. The eight partners will also serve on the Compensation Committee and the New Partners Committee.

Verrier said: ‘I am grateful for the opportunity to lead White & Case for the next four years. As we move forward, we are focused on smart growth and strengthening our capabilities in key markets, attracting and retaining the best talent, and building relationships with clients to support their evolving needs.’

Meanwhile, CMS re-elected executive chairman Cornelius Brandi for a second four-year term. The role is responsible for the firm’s growth and strategic direction, something which Brandi claimed was given backing by his re-election.

Brandi said: ‘Over the years, CMS has achieved a dominant position in transactional work. Our excellent 2014 financial results, with a year-on-year revenue increase of 11%, reflect this. The results show that we have substantially increased our market share in jurisdictions we want to be in. Additionally, the level and quality of mandates that we receive have continually improved. CMS is on the right track.’

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case’s City office wins first work from CVC as PE house leads on $2bn Alvogen acquisition

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Corporate Simpson Thacher & BartlettSlaughter and MayWhite & Case
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White & Case, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Slaughter and May have all won roles as CVC Capital Partners, Vatera Healthcare and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek teamed up to buy a controlling stake in pharmaceutical firm Alvogen.

Although White & Case has an historic relationship with CVC stateside, this is the first work led out of London for the European private equity fund that led on the deal for the consortium. The firm’s team was led by partners Ian Bagshaw (pictured) in London and Oliver Brahmst from New York and included New York partner Brian Smarsh, plus Justin Wagstaff and Marcus Booth, both in London.

Bagshaw told Legal Business the deal played to the firm’s strengths: ‘It was one of those deals where you needed to be strong in New York and strong in London to get the deal away as the M&A was done in the US while I could lead the deal and the investment work out of London.’

The deal, which reportedly values Alvogen at $2bn, saw a club of investors including CVC, Temasek and Vatera Healthcare purchase a controlling stake in the pharma company from Pamplona Capital Management. Simpson Thacher led for Alvogen and Pamplona with a team including Peter Martelli in New York and Clare Gaskell in London. Lowenstein Sandler provided additional advice to Pamplona, which only bought its stake in the company with operations in 35 countries last year.

Bagshaw added: ‘Ultimately, it was a complex deal because of the nature of the consortia and the different drivers within it meant there were a number of points of view to reconcile. The deal played to the strengths of the firm, as Alvogen’s revenues are US but the growth areas are Central Europe and Asia. We were able to look at the due diligence in the US, and then when it comes to looking at comparable issues in Romania or Korea or Taiwan, we had teams on the ground to apply local knowledge.’

Those other point of views saw Slaughters win a role acting for Temasek with a team led by Nigel Boardman while biotech/pharmaceutical investment specialist Vatera was advised by Wilkie Farr & Gallagher.

The company has over 200 projects in development and registrations plus 350 marketed products. Aztiq Pharma, an investment vehicle led by Alvogen’s chief executive Robert Wessman, is retaining a stake while Pamplona will also keep a small stake.

CVC has previously turned to a raft of firms for its corporate work including Clifford Chance and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case’s NQs get 20% salary bump to £90,000 – firm extends pay gap over Magic Circle

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Salaries White & Case
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White & Case has announced it is making significant increases in salaries across its associate pay scale with newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers set to receive 20% more in 2015 and take home £90,000.

Effective form 1 May, the move sees the firm paying more than those Magic Circle firms that have announced across trainees and junior lawyers pay bands. The NQ rise from £75,000 is the largest percentage increase but lawyers with one year post-qualified experience (PQE) will also receive a £15,000 boost taking wages from £80,000 to £95,000.

Those with two years PQE will now be paid £101,000, an £8,500 increase to last year’s £92,500 while lawyers with a further year’s experience will be paid £5,000 more, taking home £110,000.

Trainees are also seeing their incomes rise with first years having a £1,000 extra with a salary of £44,000 while year 2 trainees will get £48,000 – up from £46,000.

Both Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance have revealed their salary bands for this year, taking NQ pay to £70,000 and, while Linklaters gave a more modest boost to NQs, its three year PQEs salaries neared £100,000 at £98,500. The move also follows Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer decision to freeze salaries for junior lawyers at 2014’s levels.

White & Case’s pay bands comprise:

Trainee Year 1: £44,000

Trainee Year 2: £48,000

NQ: £90,000

PQE 1: £95,000

PQE 2: £101,000

PQE 3: £110,000

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: White & Case, CC and Debevoise among raft of firms on SPIE’s €700m revived float

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Corporate Allen & OveryClifford ChanceDebevoise & PlimptonWhite & Case
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White & Case capital markets duo Thomas Le Vert and Philippe Herbelin, alongside corporate partner François Leloup, have resurrected the listing of electrical engineering group SPIE after an eight-month postponement.

The Euronext Paris Stock Exchange initial public offering sees White & Case’s client issue €700m worth of new shares and sell 6.3 million of existing shares owned by management. Trading is expected to begin on 12 June.

Clifford Chance was instructed by SPIE’s consortium of owners, private equity houses Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Ardian, as well as the state-backed investment fund of Québec, with a team comprising Gilles Lebreton, Alexandre Lagarrigue, Thibaut Cambuzat, Katia Gruzdova, Stéphanie Giuliani and Marion Finzi.

Meanwhile, Mayer Brown’s Paris-based corporate and securities partner Jean-François Louit is advising SPIE’s management, which own a minority stake in the company. Allen & Overy is representing the underwriters on the deal.

Longstanding adviser Debevoise & Plimpton also secured a senior role on the deal, advising SPIE on the €1.53bn worth of new senior loans. The seven-lawyer Debevoise team was headed up by London-based partners Alan Davies and Raman Bet-Mansour, who executed a €2.16bn refinancing of SPIE’s debt earlier this year, with City partner Matthew Saronson providing tax advice. Latham & Watkins has been instructed by the banks.

Debevoise has advised SPIE since handling the Clayton, Dubilier & Rice-led consortium’s €2.1bn acquisition of SPIE in 2011 from PAI Partners.

Founded 115 years ago to engineer parts of the Paris Metro, SPIE’s revenue climbed by 15% to €5.22bn last year, boosted by a string of acquisitions and international growth.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk