Month: May 2014

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HSF shakes off post-merger politics in favour of sole global corporate head as Ferraro takes over

Setting aside the notoriously difficult post-merger politics of selecting one partner to run a core practice area, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) in mid-April announced that joint global head of corporate Mike Ferraro will this month take over as sole head.

Fellow co-head Patrick Mitchell will, after four years as head of corporate, take up a new role as head of the firm’s infrastructure practice in both the UK and EMEA. Mitchell will work closely with Andrew Clark, head of projects for Australia and Asia, in the continued development of what the firm describes as ‘this strategically important practice’. Mitchell will also maintain his role in developing the firm’s presence in Germany.

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European deal wave anticipated amid growing market confidence

Holcim/Lafarge merger and Vivendi’s SFR acquisition lead the way

Corporate partners are forecasting the next big European M&A wave after deal values this quarter shot up, partly on the back of ready debt finance and growing market confidence. Such conditions have supported a run of lucrative mandates, including the €40bn merger in April of cement companies Holcim and Lafarge and the acquisition of Vivendi’s phone unit SFR by cable group Altice for a total value in excess of €17bn.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were among a host of firms advising on Holcim’s combination with Lafarge, a deal that, subject to regulatory approval, will create LafargeHolcim, the world’s biggest cement maker.

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Whose money making machine? Not all law firms will be richer in a bank-lite world

Cov-lite, cov-loose and even now cov-lame – in some pockets of the finance market we are back to the boom days. All we need is a couple of headstrong private equity partners to quit Linklaters for a more sponsor-facing platform and we’ll be right back to 2006. On second thoughts…

As our cover feature this month makes clear, the debt markets are going through not only a substantive revival but the non-investment sector is rapidly being dragged towards a US-style dynamic. This means European borrowers increasingly tapping capital markets and the role of banks reducing amid competition from other debt providers. The related vogue for upper mid-market and larger buyouts to be backed by high-yield bonds and US loans has obvious implications for City advisers since it tilts the playing field heavily in favour of New York law and US advisers.

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Behind the veil – Can Islamic finance live up to the sales pitch?

man walking through decorative archway

‘You can’t be a credible financial centre without having a credible Islamic finance programme,’ says Qudeer Latif, head of Clifford Chance’s global Islamic practice. With studies expecting the Muslim population to grow twice as fast as the non-Muslim demographic over the next 20 years global financial institutions and governments are falling over themselves to offer Islamic finance products.

According to EY’s latest study of the global Islamic finance market, the total amount of Islamic assets held by commercial banks was expected to have grown by around 40% from 2011 to 2013, from $1.3trn to $1.8trn. 78% of international Islamic assets are held in Qatar, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UAE and Turkey. In Qatar, for example, Georges Racine, director of Swiss firm Lalive’s Doha operation, says that Islamic banking has grown quicker than the banking sector as a whole over the past few years as a result of its government’s supportive measures.

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Hogan Lovells gives voice to partners under 45 with new board level role

Higson elected ahead of move to single global CEO

Hogan Lovells has taken a step towards giving its younger partners a high level representative voice with the announcement in April that it has created a position on its 12-strong board for an equity partner aged 45 and under.

London corporate partner Ben Higson has been elected to the role and the firm has also chosen German IP and technology partner Leopold von Gerlach to take over from José María Balañá as the representative for Continental Europe on the board, which has supervisory responsibility in overseeing the affairs of the firm but without executive responsibility for strategy, management, and operational decisions.

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Davenport Lyons goes into administration as Gordon Dadds takes on business

After two rounds of failed merger talks Davenport Lyons went into administration at the end of April, with Mayfair firm Gordon Dadds confirming that it had taken on the client database, the majority of assets and secured nearly all of the partners of the West End firm.

The terms of the sale were agreed the week before by joint administrator Baker Tilly. A spokesman from Davenport Lyons said: ‘As of close of business on Friday 25 April, the legal entity known as Davenport Lyons ceased trading and the majority of the company’s client balances, work in progress and client files have been transferred to Gordon Dadds, who will also be collecting debtor balances on behalf of the administrator.

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Heading to The Ivy: Legal Business and RPC team up for GC Power List Summer Reception

We’ve made it no secret that a major aim for Legal Business and its Legalease stablemates is to better engage with the general counsel (GC) community. As such, we’re taking another step in that direction with the launch of an exclusive debate and networking event in June, building on the success of our acclaimed Power List report.

The GC Power List Summer Reception will be held on the evening of 11 June, with RPC as lead sponsor. The event will comprise a relaxed debate chaired by veteran City columnist Anthony Hilton, followed by an evening of food and drink at the renowned private members’ club at The Ivy. The debate will include senior lawyers sharing their experiences from companies including Land Securities, ITV, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Shire and Vodafone.

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The last word – the state of law firm leadership

With a spate of executive elections taking place recently, we ask the c-suite at leading City firms how management has changed over the last five years


CONSENSUS APPROACH

‘The command and control structure doesn’t generally work in law firms. Nonetheless, the last five years have seen a greater acceptance from partners for the need to operate more tightly and collectively. Partnerships will always have mixed feelings about their leadership. Leading a law firm is about managing ambiguity, ambivalence and disparate viewpoints.

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GC appointments for EY, HarperCollins and BNY Mellon

Reshuffles see trio promoted to fill senior roles

Three high-profile in-house counsel appointments in the UK and US last month saw accountancy giant EY, publishing house HarperCollins and global investment bank BNY Mellon fill their senior general counsel (GC) roles.

EY promoted its Americas legal chief Michael Solender to global vice chair and GC, which will see him carry out a global reorganisation of the EY legal function and integrate EY’s internal legal operations worldwide.

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Not reached the bottom yet – sanctions on Russia begin to bite for law firms

Jaishree Kalia reports on the anticipated fall-off in deal work in the wake of Ukraine crisis

Russia’s volatile political environment has begun to impact the business of international and domestic law firms in Moscow as M&A activity falls, new capital markets work dries up and expanding sanctions cause increasing concern.

Western targeted sanctions imposed largely on individuals in Russia over its handling of the crisis in Ukraine have already had a crippling effect on corporate activity. However, it is the looming threat of yet tougher, broader-based sanctions as the situation escalates, with measures potentially targeting the Russian financial and energy sectors specifically, which could cause advisers even deeper problems.

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King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin hires A&O competition partner as globally KWM unveils promotions

King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin (KWMSJB) yesterday (30 April) announced the hire of former Allen & Overy antitrust and competition partner Martin Bechtold to its Frankfurt office, as globally the Sino-Pacific-UK giant promoted a total of 26 lawyers to partner, including nine in Europe. Continue reading “King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin hires A&O competition partner as globally KWM unveils promotions”

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Profile: Graeme Colquhoun, Heineken UK

Global brewer’s UK head of legal on his no-nonsense approach

It’s a terrible cliché to invoke the plain-speaking Scot, but Heineken’s UK head of legal Graeme Colquhoun does rather fit the bill. The intellectual property (IP) and antitrust specialist turned in-house counsel is certainly candid about his strengths and how a legal team in a major global company should operate.

‘My skills are broad but shallow. I am much better qualified to be the lawyer for a corporate than provide corporate/property/litigation advice in a law firm. I’m direct – I don’t like to flannel around the issue.’

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Great expectations – Neuberger speaks

Lauded as the outstanding jurist of his generation, Lord Neuberger carried huge weight of expectation on assuming the leadership of the Supreme Court. Eighteen months in, Legal Business caught up with the UK’s most high-profile judge

Given that the Bar has remained in mourning for the golden generation of the Bingham-era House of Lords, viewed by many advocates and academics as the UK’s finest post-War judicial line-up, Lord David Neuberger had a lot to live up to.

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Unleashing talent – highlights from The Legal 500’s Corporate Counsel 100: Latin America

bridge

As Latin America increasingly becomes a global economic force, the role of the in-house lawyer in the region has evolved to produce some of the most impressive names in the legal industry.

Below are selected highlights taken from the debut edition of The Legal 500’s Corporate Counsel 100: Latin America, which identifies an array of the region’s most influential in-house counsel.

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Unleashing talent – highlights from The Legal 500’s Corporate Counsel 100: Latin America

As Latin America increasingly becomes a global economic force, the role of the in-house lawyer in the region has evolved to produce some of the most impressive names in the legal industry.

Below are selected highlights taken from the debut edition of The Legal 500’s Corporate Counsel 100: Latin America, which identifies an array of the region’s most influential in-house counsel.

Continue reading “Unleashing talent – highlights from The Legal 500’s Corporate Counsel 100: Latin America”

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Risk and resilience – a booming insurance industry in Latin America

Christ the Redeemer silhouette with life ring

Bristol-based DAC Beachcroft insurance partner David Pollitt is a regular visitor to Miami. But while tourists may be lured by the tropical climate and art deco architecture, his frequent trips from West Country to East Coast are all about his practice. The emergence of Miami as an operational and service centre for Latin America means its importance to major international insurance players cannot be underestimated.

Miami is fast becoming a gateway to Latin America for the insurance and reinsurance industry, in the same way that Singapore operates as an insurance hub for Asia. Swiss Re established a Miami office in 2011 to service Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. Back in 2007, Zurich (a key client of DAC Beachcroft) moved its Latin American regional headquarters from Santiago, Chile, to Miami. The trend continues: Hiscox announced the expansion of its Miami branch in January this year. Continue reading “Risk and resilience – a booming insurance industry in Latin America”

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Taking the lead – the GCs striving for life without a law firm

A growing band of in-house counsel are taking on major projects with little or no support from outside advisers. How far can ambitious GCs push the envelope?

When asked why an in-house legal team would choose to handle the majority of its major projects in-house, head of legal at Marks & Spencer, Robert Ivens, turns the question on its head.

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