In what amounts to a break-up of one of the City’s most storied private equity partner duos, Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom has hired White & Case’s global and EMEA PE co-head Richard Youle, along with recently promoted PE partner Katja Butler.
Continue reading “‘Move makes sense’: Skadden breaks up White & Case City PE duo with Youle hire”
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan announced today (19 May) that it has hired Shearman & Sterling’s global antitrust head and managing partner of its Brussels office, Stephen Mavroghenis, as well as competition partner Miguel Rato – after first approaching the team last autumn.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett‘s London managing partner Gregory Conway has stepped down from his role after 10 years of leading the practice in favour of private funds partner Jason Glover, while litigator Sally Davies has been named Sean Connolly’s replacement as senior partner at the City office of Mayer Brown.
MAGIC CIRCLE ADVISE ON VODAFONE’S INDIA MERGER
Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and local advisers S&R Associates, Vaish Associates Advocates and Bharucha & Partners all gained mandates as Vodafone struck a deal to acquire Indian rival Idea Cellular. The merger will create India’s largest communications business by revenue, valued at more than $23bn. Slaughters and S&R represented Vodafone and Vodafone India, while A&O, Vaish and Bharucha advised Idea.
Continue reading “Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2017”
Insurance specialist Kennedys is merging with US firm Carroll McNulty & Kull to add 43 partners to its offering. Continue reading “Joining forces: Kennedys lands US merger with Carroll McNulty deal”
The London outposts of leading international firms reported mixed results for 2016, with White & Case and Baker McKenzie reporting income growth while Reed Smith and Debevoise & Plimpton both struggled.
The vultures have been circling. Partner hires hit new heights among the 50 firms that comprise our Global London table this year, but overall the City’s US shops have remained steady after a period that saw the UK economy rocked by last year’s Brexit vote and the legal market witness its largest European firm collapse.
Continue reading “Swoop to conquer – a turbulent year for US firms in London but no retreat”
Firms retreat as funds raised through IPOs in the region fall 26%
Davis Polk & Wardwell and Kirkland & Ellis are the latest US firms to lose corporate partners from their Hong Kong offices as public listings in the region decline.
As it stands, foreign advisers continued to aggressively invest in London through 2016. The number of London-based lawyers employed at the 50 largest foreign firms, now numbers 6,033, an increase of 22% over the last two years despite a generally subdued UK legal services market. The elimination of King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) from our tables this year understates the growth through the last 12 months but in underlying terms, headcount probably grew at least 4% even allowing for the re-allocation of legacy SJ Berwin lawyers to US rivals. Given the KWM implosion, it was unsurprisingly a record year for partner recruitment, with nearly 200 laterals within the group. The overall pace of growth, however, slowed somewhat on 2015.
Continue reading “Global London: Has the City reached the end of its curious post-Lehman boom?”
‘We will continue to hire lawyers we see as adding something. That continues to be the mantra: hire great lawyers and your practice will grow.’
Richard East, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
As our Global London report hits desks, the leadership at US law firms in the City weigh up the challenges ahead
‘The firm has a clearly defined strategy for where and how we will grow. We will continue to build our top-ranked transactional, regulatory, litigation and trial practices and focus on the industries that are driving the global economy. Mission drift can happen if you take your eye off the strategy. The investments we make are for the long term and are key to ensuring we stay focused on what we need to do to serve our clients’ needs today, and in the future.’
Richard Trobman, vice chair, Latham & Watkins
