Simmons & Simmons’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 8 per cent to £686,000 over 2017/18, just two years after the firm reported a 10 per cent slump in its profits. In its 2017/2018 financials, Simmons’ turnover grew 12 per cent from £316.1m to £354m, following on from a more modest 7 per cent rise in […]
UK-headquartered firms have been piling in to release their 2017/18 financial results. Which firms have reported so far?
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has advised Allianz Real Estate on its largest equity investment into the UK, agreeing a £350m deal with Greystar and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). The deal sees German investor Allianz Real Estate acquire a 40 per cent stake in UK student accommodation platform Chapter from Greystar and PSP. HSF […]
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has underlined its commitment to London as one of its key offices worldwide with the appointment of office head Sebastian Rice as chair of the firm’s global partnership admissions committee. M&A partner Rice has been a member of the committee, which is responsible for laterals and promotions, since 2014, […]
Italian heavyweight Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners is launching an office in Shanghai in its first international expansion for four years. The Shanghai office is Gianni Origoni’s eleventh office globally, and its second in Asia. It launched in Hong Kong in 2014 and signed a formal alliance agreement with Chinese firm Han Kun Law […]
Turnover at Pinsent Masons rose by 6 per cent over 2017/18, putting it behind the pace of CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, Eversheds Sutherland and Taylor Wessing, which have all reported double-digit growth. Turnover rose 11 per cent in the 2015/16 financial year to £423.1m, though that slowed this year giving it a total of […]
Linklaters and Baker McKenzie have led in the €1.2 billion sale of the world’s largest air cargo handler, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), to New York based private equity company Cerberus Capital Management. Linklaters corporate partners Ben Rodham and Christopher Boycott acted for Cerberus, which from 2015 has been owned by Platinum Equity. They were supported by finance partners Daniel […]
Nearly a year after advising on Hellman & Friedman’s takeover of Nets, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has strengthened its relationship with the private equity house by acting on a further deal for its payments portfolio company. The deal sees Nordic payments company Nets agree a tie-up with Concardis Payment Group, a rival provider in the German-speaking […]
Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have led on the sale of UBS’ UK headquarters in the latest billion-pound sale of prime real estate in the City. The magic circle firm advised a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Asset on the £1bn purchase of 5 Broadgate from British Land and GIC. The building was […]
After successfully advising client Barclays on the UK Government’s banking ring-fencing scheme, Slaughter and May has led for Santander as its becomes the fourth major bank to be accepted. The bank was accepted into the scheme following a High Court hearing on 12 June and has committed to transferring all relevant accounts into the ring-fenced […]
DAC Beachcroft looks set to launch a challenge against the Department for Transport (DfT) after submitting a 21-page document highlighting “serious errors” in the DfT’s plans to build a third runway at Heathrow airport. DAC partner and head of planning Christopher Stanwell is representing Heathrow Hub, which proposes an extension to the existing Northern runway […]
Linklaters has successfully defended the Bank of New York Mellon from an appeal launched by the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) against the freezing of assets. A judgment permitting BNY Mellon to freeze $23bn worth of assets belonging to the NBK’s National Fund of Kazakhstan was passed down in Belgian and Dutch courts, and was […]
The Criminal Bar Association (CBA)’s feud with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has ended with 51.55 per cent of members voting to accept the £15m offer that was put to them two weeks ago. The offer was accepted through a slim majority voting in favour of the reforms with an 85 per cent turnout from […]
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has offered the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) £15m as the government entity seeks to end the increasingly tense standoff between the two bodies. The deal is said to be an entirely new investment and will include an £8m cash injection for barristers who have lost money through a change in […]
3 Verulam Buildings (3VB) has taken Hodge Malek QC and four junior barristers from 39 Essex Chambers, along with three international lawyers who join as associate members. Malek – who acted for Alexandra Tolstoy and her children during the mammoth case against Russian oligarch Sergei Pugachev last year – will join the set today bringing barristers […]
Ashurst has been given the go-ahead to open in Luxembourg after receiving approval from the local bar association. The new office, focusing on finance and funds, will open in October this year, with corporate partner Isabelle Lentz at the helm. Lentz is currently the head of Ashurst’s Luxembourg desk in London, which was set up […]
HFW has announced a new formal association with Brazilian firm CAL, while also hiring aviation partner Julio Costa from Mayer Brown‘s associate firm in the South American country. Costa left Tauil & Chequer Advogados to set up CAL alongside insurance partner Gustavo Lasalvia and six fee-earners. The new firm is expected to gain regulatory approval […]
Benelux firm Wildgen has opened its first overseas office with the hire of former hedge fund in-house lawyer Mark Shaw to head up its UK operations. The firm has set up a small one-partner office in Mayfair, though will look to move into space in the City once it begins to expand. Speaking to The Lawyer, […]
Clifford Chance has advised on one of the largest IPOs in Continental Europe this year, tapping into a trend of tech companies pursuing public listings. The magic circle firm won the mandate from Dutch fintech company Adyen, which hosts payment platforms for companies such as eBay, Uber and Netflix. Adyen turned to magic circle partner […]
Dentons former Beijing head Sarah Zeng is leaving the firm after six years to join Orrick, in a move that is set to bolster the latter’s Asia M&A and private equity practice. Before working at Dentons, Zeng was general counsel of Hong Kong-listed Weichai Power, China’s largest engine manufacturer; and vice president and country manager […]
Slaughter and May and Iberian firm Pérez-Llorca have advised DS Smith in a deal to take over European packaging business Europac for nearly £1.5bn. DS Smith general counsel and company secretary Iain Simm turned to Slaughters corporate partners Andy Ryde and Filippo de Falco, who led a team on the deal. The lineup also included […]
With growth in London far from reliable for law firms, is it time for Europe to take more of a leading role?
Business confidence and investor interest have been on the rise in South Africa since the election of a new president.
Automotive and energy developments are joining technology as drivers of the Israeli economy.
Allen & Overy (A&O) has rehired its former head of non-contentious financial services regulation, two years after he left the magic circle firm for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Bob Penn spent nearly a decade in the A&O partnership and was a member of its financial services regulation team before leaving to join the US firm in September […]
White & Case has gone in-house for its next hire in London, recruiting Lone Star lawyer Shane McDonald as a partner in its banking team. McDonald has been senior vice president at Lone Star-affiliated company Hudson Advisors since 2013, when he moved in-house from Ropes & Gray. He started out his legal career at Gadens […]
Eversheds Sutherland North West private equity head Andy Phillips has exited after a year in the role to join DLA Piper. Phillips, who joined Eversheds to lead the firm’s Manchester corporate practice from early 2017, joined from Pinsent Masons, where he was a partner for a year. Prior to that, he was a senior associate […]
Building on its sustained London hiring spree in recent weeks, Paul Hastings has brought in Baker McKenzie head of financial services Arun Srivastava to lead the firm’s regulatory, fintech and payments practice in the City. Srivastava began his career as a trainee at Herbert Smith Freehills in 1990 before moving to Bakers in December 1995. […]
Mayer Brown has made its first significant lateral partner hire in the City, hiring Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson London finance head Stuart Brinkworth, The Lawyer understands. Brinkworth is set to join the firm to lead the European leveraged finance team. His last day is understood to have been today. Brinkworth is joining the firm […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer former global infrastructure and transport group co-head Martin Nelson-Jones has exited the firm to join DLA Piper. These last few months have proven eventful for Freshfields; starting with David Higgins’ high-profile departure to Kirkland & Ellis earlier this year, then a corporate restructure with the retirement of Simon Marchant, and most recently a revamp […]
After weeks of delays, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that former FBI in-house star Lisa Osofsky will be its next director. Osofsky, who is currently the managing director and European head of investigations at Exiger, will replace interim director Mark Thompson on 3 September. Osofsky, who The Lawyer tipped to replace the outgoing David […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has joined the growing number of firms making hires in IP, making its first patent team hire since partner Justin Watts exited for WilmerHale last year. Arnold & Porter patent litigation partner Christopher Stothers is joining with a team of four lawyers made up of counsel Laura Whiting and associates Paul Abbott and Ammina […]
White & Case is to hire its second litigation lateral of the year, recruiting from Addleshaw Goddard’s regulatory team in London. The US powerhouse has taken on Addleshaws City partner Chris Brennan, who joined the UK firm over six years ago from Lloyds Bank. He is a litigation partner specialising in regulatory investigations and enforcement. This […]
Ashurst has bulked up its global markets offering with the hire of global securitisation head Jonathan Walsh from Baker McKenzie, who is set to join the firm next week. Walsh’s hire comes a month after Ashurst snapped up another securitisation partner from Clifford Chance, Thomas Picton. Last August, Bakers also lost the head of its German […]
Linklaters heavyweight M&A partner Roger Barron is exiting the firm after 17 years to join Paul Hastings in London. This move comes exactly a week after Paul Hastings announced the hire of DLA Piper partner Anu Balasubramanian. Barron featured in The Lawyer Hot 100 2018, sealing his place in this year’s Hot 100 following his work closing […]
A team of 15 lawyers across four different Norton Rose Fulbright offices in the US have decamped to join Reed Smith. The team includes global head of life sciences and healthcare Rick Robinson, Washington partner Lesley Reynolds, Austin partners Jeff Layne and Ben Koplin and New York partner Cori Goldberg. Two Norton Rose associates, Washington […]
By Alex Towers and Leo Moore The Spanish Data Protection watchdog (AEPD) has begun a preliminary probe into the official app for Spanish football league, La Liga, which allows them access to the microphones and GPS of users’ smartphones with the aim of potentially identifying showings of football games in the vicinity of the user […]
By Leo Moore and Ella Woolfson Toy giant Hasbro has become the latest company to join the small group of brands with a registered scent mark in the United States Patent and Trademark Office…
By Helen Burgess With 3.8 million EU citizens in the UK, according to ONS figures, employers have rightly been concerned about maintaining a stable workforce in the lead up to and post-Brexit. Good news is however afoot. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced that EU citizens will have to answer three ‘simple’ questions online (or […]
By Télio Murrure and Nacita Chirindza The Central Bank has approved the Regulations on Advertising of Financial Products and Services (Regulamento sobre a Publicidade de Produtos e Serviços Financeiros – “RPPSF”), which is an integral part of Notice no. 3/GBM/2018 of 18 April. This is the first instrument addressing this matter in the Mozambican legal system. […]
Terra Firma has successfully obtained rectification of the terms of a private equity financing transaction completed in 2012, concerning the Four Seasons care homes business [FSHC Group Holdings Limited v Barclays Bank Plc]. The transaction required the Parent company to provide security over a particular shareholder loan which was part of the overall funding package. […]
By Krista Schofer The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) recently announced highly anticipated changes to its permanent residency program. Effective June 14, 2018, the Alberta Opportunity Stream (AOS) is available as a potential path to permanent residency in the province. The AOS replaces the Employer-Driven Stream and Strategic Recruitment Stream under the AINP. The AOS […]
By Lesley A Love The Global Skills Strategy is a pilot project launched by IRCC in June 2017. The program is designed to give Canadian employers quicker access to highly qualified global talent. Changes were recently announced to one part of the GSS, as outlined below. Employers using the program should be aware of these changes…
By Tom Pemberton Efforts to tackle the issue so far have been little more than “nudging” techniques to pay more promptly. Is the government ready to ramp up the campaign?
By Jonathan Haydn-Williams The traditional position under the contract law of England and Wales (which I shall, with no disrespect to Wales, refer to as ‘English’ law) has been that, save for contracts giving rise to a fiduciary relationship (eg a contract between agent and principal), a duty of good faith in the performance of […]
This regulatory round-up newsletter includes: Consumer and retail finance Data protection Health and safety
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd v Worthington (1) and Parkin (2) alerts landlords to the risk of their dealings with tenants amounting to unlawful harassment. Housing Management and Litigation experts Karl Anders and Lucie Bryan explain and offer practical advice, which will be of particular interest for social housing providers […]
Walker Morris partner Rob Aberdein explains an appeal allowed by the Sheriff Appeal Court which clarifies that the “interventionist and problem-solving approach” required of sheriffs under the new Simple Procedure Rules Simple Procedure Rules (SPR) for low value claims does not extend to undefended claims. The appeal concerned a number of test cases and will […]
