Freshfields parachutes IP ace into NY transactional practice
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has moved to diversify its New York transactional practice, adding an IP capability for the first time with the relocation of London counsel Lindsey Canning.
Julian Pritchard
The move is designed to give the magic circle firm increased scope in the business integration and separation field - an increasingly important adjunct to mainstream M&A deals.
US managing partner Julian Pritchard commented: “Wall Street firms have not traditionally seen detailed business separation and integration issues as a distinct specialty, but there’s now a real demand for this type of expertise, as businesses are more IP and IT dependent.”
On major M&A deals in the US Freshfields has previously referred work to local firms, although it stressed that those relationships will be maintained.
The relocation of Canning gives Freshfields’ New York office an IP/IT presence to match what the firm already has in London, where Richard Lister leads the group, and Hong Kong, where the team is led by Connie Carnabuci.
Pritchard added: “It’s another example of wanting to do something that’s aligned with what we do elsewhere in the world. When we do big business separations or global outsourcing deals we have a team that can do them across the world’s major financial centres.
“We have a sizeable team in Europe and Asia doing this type of work already and saw a real opportunity here to add to the same sort of expertise that we have in the US and leverage contacts and clients into new business.”
Canning’s recent deal experience includes taking the lead role on business separation issues for Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on the Chinese company’s $1.8bn (£1.1bn) purchase of Volvo last year.
