After a flurry of lateral hire announcements before the City broke for Christmas in 2013, yesterday (6 January) saw two noteworthy partner moves between international law firms as DLA Piper partner Martin Rees joins Squire Sanders regulatory practice group and private equity and investment funds partner Tom Cartwright joins Morgan Lewis & Bockius London office from Taylor Wessing. Continue reading “Hires for Squire Sanders and Morgan Lewis as 2014 lateral window opens”
Revolving doors: HSF loses Perth mining head to Australian rival
Having completed a crucial overhaul of its management and remuneration structures towards the end of 2013, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) would have hoped to get 2014 off to a positive start but has instead suffered another setback, with news that the head of the firm’s mining practice in Perth, Justin Little, will join independent Australian outfit Gilbert + Tobin.
Little will join the Perth office of Gilbert + Tobin in its energy and resources practice. He is a member of the Australian Mining and Petroleum Law Association and has extensive experience advising Australian publically listed mining and resources companies, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, on M&A transactions and equity fundraisings.
Continue reading “Revolving doors: HSF loses Perth mining head to Australian rival”
Revolving doors: Debevoise picks up second experienced HSF litigator
US firm Debevoise & Plimpton has announced that Tony Dymond, former co-head of Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Seoul office, will be joining its London office.
Contentious construction expert Dymond (pictured) is the second high-profile HSF litigator to join Debevoise this year, with Kevin Lloyd joining the firm in July after resigning from HSF in December 2012.
Like Lloyd, Dymond is a renowned litigator with 20 years of experience advising international clients on complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes.
Continue reading “Revolving doors: Debevoise picks up second experienced HSF litigator”
Comment: The battle for talent and other phoney wars
Since McKinsey & Co first coined the term in 1997, the ‘war for talent’ has been the focus of a stream of conferences, media articles and consulting assignments. It has spawned a new human resources specialism – talent management – and with that has come concepts such as ‘competency frameworks’ and ‘succession planning’.
One of the most hotly fought fronts in the war for talent is graduate recruitment. Professional service firms, including law firms, accountancy practices, banks and consultancies, pride themselves on battling with other firms, competing aggressively for a very limited number of ‘the brightest and the best’ graduates. Continue reading “Comment: The battle for talent and other phoney wars”
Revolving Doors: Strategic growth for A&O, Eversheds, Wiggin, Dentons, Field Fisher and Olswang
In the last major round of hires before 2013 draws to a close, Allen & Overy (A&O) has boosted its international competition capability while Eversheds has expanded its City tax team and firms including Wiggin, Dentons, Field Fisher Waterhouse and Olswang have this month made strategic lateral hires across the media, energy, real estate and insolvency space.
At the start of December, A&O hired Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) competition partner Peter McDonald to head its Australian antitrust and competition practice. Previously a senior officer at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), at HSF McDonald advised clients in the energy, mining, industrial, retail and financial services sectors. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Strategic growth for A&O, Eversheds, Wiggin, Dentons, Field Fisher and Olswang”
Ashurst delves into Magic Circle for Linklaters DCM partner as Beddow named corporate co-head
Ashurst has tapped into the magic circle in a bid to strengthen its finance practice, hiring Linklaters debt capital markets (DCM) partner Francis Kucera to its City-based securities and derivatives practice.
In his new role, Kucera will strengthen Ashurst’s DCM offering in the emerging markets. He joins a two-partner team – including former Linklaters’ colleague Stephen Edlmann who joined in 2010 and Clifford Chance senior associate Derwin Jenkinson, who joined as a partner in January this year. The team is led by Anna Delgado, who joined from Allen & Overy ten years ago.
Team hire: Pinsents boosts Paris practice with TMT hires from local boutique
Pinsent Masons has launched a Paris TMT practice with a six-strong team from Paris-based boutique technology firm Ichay & Mullenex Avocats (IMA).
Led by partners Diane Mullenex and Frédéric Ichay, along with Annabelle Richards who joins as a legal director, the team will bolster Pinsents’ around 25-strong French base, which opened in September 2012 and includes 10 partners.
Since forming in 2004, IMA has focused on technology, telecoms, e-commerce transactions and in regulated online businesses, including gaming and gambling and is recommended in The Legal 500.
Continue reading “Team hire: Pinsents boosts Paris practice with TMT hires from local boutique”
Germany: McDermott hires Ashurst Munich partner to head private equity
Ashurst has lost a second senior partner in Germany as Nikolaus von Jacobs leaves to head up McDermott Will & Emery’s Munich private equity practice, citing a growing interest among US private equity funds in European investment opportunities.
Von Jacobs, who previously headed Ashurst’s local private equity team, specialises in venture capital, public and private M&A as well as private equity. One of his main clients is independent Luxembourg-based fund Palero Capital. Continue reading “Germany: McDermott hires Ashurst Munich partner to head private equity”
Ashurst’s Lloyd set to join Allen & Overy subject to partner vote
Ashurst’s high profile global head of corporate Stephen Lloyd appears set to join Allen & Overy (A&O) after resigning from the newly-merged firm in November.
While Lloyd’s move is still subject to a vote by the Magic Circle firm’s partnership, one corporate partner at A&O told Legal Business: ‘It’s not final, but it’s very likely. We are pretty excited about him joining. He is a really good operational lawyer and a good cultural fit.’ Continue reading “Ashurst’s Lloyd set to join Allen & Overy subject to partner vote”
Revolving doors: Strategic growth for Mishcon, Hill Dickinson, Herbert Smith Freehills, Orrick Rambaud and Addleshaw Goddard
Mishcon de Reya this week (25 November) announced that it is to completely restructure its tax offering, consolidating its real estate, corporate tax, and private tax and wealth planning divisions and invest in the area with the hire King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin tax partner John Skoulding and solicitor Charlie Sosna from Berkeley Law.
Focusing on UK and international M&A, management buy-outs and corporate restructurings, among other issues, Skoulding has worked across sectors including betting and gaming, fashion, retail, intellectual property and financial services. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Strategic growth for Mishcon, Hill Dickinson, Herbert Smith Freehills, Orrick Rambaud and Addleshaw Goddard”