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Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 315
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‘The busiest two months I’ve had for a long time’ – interview with Sidley London team following recent private equity push
Following Sidley’s hire of private equity specialists Ramy Wahbeh and Kaisa Kuusk from Paul Weiss in June, Legal Business caught up with Wahbeh along with London managing partner Tom Thesing, and partner and management committee chair Yvette Ostolaza, to discuss the recent expansion in the City.
So far this year, the firm has made a push to hire in the private equity space, recruiting seven partners in London including Wahbeh and Kuusk who both brought with them experience acting for large private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on European and global deals. Continue reading “‘The busiest two months I’ve had for a long time’ – interview with Sidley London team following recent private equity push”
Revolving Doors: Kirkland, Shearman and Latham hire in New York
Despite the sluggish summer hiring season, it has been busy in New York. After losing several partners to Paul Weiss, Kirkland announced it had appointed partner Adam Shapiro to its debt finance group. He brings with him a wealth of experience in restructuring, leveraged finance and syndicated lending, having served at Simpson Thacher for 16 years.
Shearman & Sterling announced it has rehired Alejandro Gordano as a capital markets partner for its Latin America group also in New York. He joins from Linklaters, where he spent over three years as counsel, having previously served as counsel at Shearman for two years starting in 2016. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Kirkland, Shearman and Latham hire in New York”
Women deal stars prove you can have it all – but don’t worry men, you are Kenough
Chatting with a male managing partner recently about – what else – the hire of Kirkland’s debt superstar Neel Sachdev into Paul Weiss in London, talk eventually turned to the Barbie movie (obviously).
With the managing partner intending to see the film soon, I ask him to report back on whether he thinks its messaging is as anti-male as many critics have suggested. His reaction? ‘Isn’t it about time something was not all about how great men are, for a change?’ This is an interesting point, and segues us nicely into our cover feature this issue on the City’s standout women dealmakers, five years on from our influential ‘Alphas’ analysis. Continue reading “Women deal stars prove you can have it all – but don’t worry men, you are Kenough”
Paul Weiss’ hire of Kirkland rock star is the shake-up we didn’t know we needed
‘Paul Weiss hasn’t got enough partners in London for doubles ping pong!’ scoffed a senior source at the beginning of August when it emerged that the Wall Street powerhouse had lost its City managing partner, Alvaro Membrillera, to Kirkland & Ellis.
What a difference a few short weeks make. While the political skirmishes inside Kirkland that prompted the exit of private equity star Roger Johnson can only be guessed at – and, ringing around the market, there is no shortage of such rampant speculation – what followed has been nothing short of extraordinary. Continue reading “Paul Weiss’ hire of Kirkland rock star is the shake-up we didn’t know we needed”
Kirkland departures rack up as Paul Weiss makes major London and New York plays
August’s reputation as a slow month for lateral hires has been turned on its head in recent weeks, particularly considering the shock departure of debt finance rainmaker Neel Sachdev from Kirkland & Ellis. In what is one of the biggest City law moves in the last five years, Sachdev moves to Paul Weiss, taking with him a team made up of debt finance partner Kanesh Balasubramaniam and capital markets partners Matthew Merkle and Deirdre Jones.
The moves establish an English law offering at Paul Weiss for the first time, in a display of serious intent from the firm. Sachdev, previously a top earner at Kirkland and one of its longest-serving partners, has a book of top-tier financial sponsor clients including Apollo, Bain Capital and Strategic Value Partners. Continue reading “Kirkland departures rack up as Paul Weiss makes major London and New York plays”
Numbers unveiled: 2022/23 financial results show 8% average revenue growth
The annual flood of financial results has engulfed the market once again, with Legal Business 100 firms observing how the Magic Circle firms in particular have performed compared to City peers.
Financial performance reported among UK firms so far reveal an estimated average growth of 8% in revenue, only slightly down on the average revenue growth of 9% recorded in our 2022 LB100 report. However, the picture is different for profit per equity partner (PEP), where growth has been minimal or flat and falling short of average performance in 2022, where PEP also grew by 9%. Continue reading “Numbers unveiled: 2022/23 financial results show 8% average revenue growth”
The social mobility conundrum: a quantitative or qualitative approach?
Following Slaughter and May’s July announcement that it would be setting ambitious social mobility targets for 2033, Holly McKechnie spoke to Magic Circle peers to see how they are each approaching the issue
Slaughter and May has pledged to increase its representation of individuals with a lower socioeconomic background (LSEB) by 25% across its total workforce population from a baseline of 19% by 2033. This includes a target to increase its lawyer population from a LSEB to 15% from a baseline of 10% and its business services population to 40% from a baseline of 35%. The metric used by Slaughters to determine an individual’s socioeconomic background is parental occupation at the age of 14.
Continue reading “The social mobility conundrum: a quantitative or qualitative approach?”
‘The investment opportunity of a lifetime’: could a booming infrastructure sector offer firms a route into high-value transactional work?
According to Dealogic, 2023 saw the lowest Q1 global deal volume and value since 2012, with just 9,400 deals worth almost $591bn.
But the infrastructure, energy, and projects sector has remained resilient. Dealogic reports 1,953 utility and energy deals worth over $253m in 2022 – a drop in value of just over 16% on 2021, and still higher than all but one of the years 2013-19. Firms on both sides of the Atlantic have noted this, and have invested heavily in infrastructure in recent years, as evidenced by Clifford Chance (CC)’s recent Houston launch. UK-based firms argue that their full-service capabilities give them an edge in the sector. But opinion on this strategy remains split. Some question the importance of full-service capabilities – in the US market in particular. Continue reading “‘The investment opportunity of a lifetime’: could a booming infrastructure sector offer firms a route into high-value transactional work?”
Sponsored Q&A: Deloitte Legal
1. What are the main tax laws and regulations that businesses and individuals need to comply with in Uruguay?
Main Uruguayan tax laws are comprised within the Tax Law Code and the Tax Office Compilation, where are defined and regulated the main applicable taxes for businesses and individuals. In this sense, such compilation comprehends the corporate income tax, resident income tax, non-resident income tax, value added tax (VAT) and the net worth tax. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Deloitte Legal”
A shoo-in: Hogan Lovells partners prepare to back CEO Zaldivar for a second term
The board of Hogan Lovells has given its unanimous recommendation for Miguel Zaldivar (pictured) to be re-elected as the firm’s chief executive for another four-year term, starting on 1 July 2024. The move will be subject to a partner vote, which closes at the end of August.
Succeeding Steve Immelt, Zaldivar assumed the role of the firm’s CEO on 1 July 2020, after previously serving as the regional CEO for Asia Pacific-Middle East, based in Hong Kong. Continue reading “A shoo-in: Hogan Lovells partners prepare to back CEO Zaldivar for a second term”
DWF’s private equity buyout: Selling the family silver or the opportunity of a lifetime?
In July, the board of DWF Group Plc confirmed market reports that it was planning to delist from the London Stock Exchange in a buyout by private equity firm Inflexion. Having floated in 2019, the fanfare of a record £95m IPO and a valuation of £366m to make DWF the UK’s largest listed law firm has arguably not lived up to the hype.
In the four years since, the firm’s fortunes have been chequered, with its highest valuation recorded just before the pandemic hit at 141.4 pence per share in February 2020, with a drop to 90 pence per share in March 2020 and an all-time low in June 2020 of 53 pence per share. Continue reading “DWF’s private equity buyout: Selling the family silver or the opportunity of a lifetime?”
Sponsored Q&A: AndPartners
1. What is the core philosophy or guiding principle of your law firm?
We have six keywords governing the overall philosophy of our firm:
a. SUSTAINABILITY: What makes a business sustainable? In our opinion, respect and regard toward all the resources that contribute to it: the firm’s professionals, whose growth and appreciation we foster; the work environment, made up of environmentally sustainable materials; the taxpayer, with whom we want to build a trust-based relationship; the institutions, with whom we want to have transparent discussions.
b. NETWORKING: Dialogue and discussion are the basis of our ‘networking’. Earnest, transparent, and solid personal relationships to work well, fully respecting know-how and rules. We work as a team creating positive synergies to foster the growth of our profession, of the national, European, and worldwide context.
c. INNOVATION: We are on a path of continuous evolution. Keeping an open mind is the way to innovate and improve our personal and professional relationships. We keep up with technology to improve our work and our clients’.
d. GROWTH: 360-degree growth and understanding: growth for the client and for the economy around us, professional growth by focusing on continuing education and on appreciating our professionals.
e. ESG: Environmental social governance: we deal with internal relationships by appreciating from time to time whoever has the right skills for the best possible result; we support our clients’ propensity towards ESG criteria; we respect the environment with environmentally sustainable choices; we devote part of our time to socially useful endeavours.
f. COMMITMENT: It’s obvious for a tax and law firm to strive for utmost commitment. We’ve chosen this principle to remind us of this, to clearly see that commitment does not just consist in doing our job well, but in doing so by ensuring that all our inspiring principles are still valid.
Sponsored Q&A: JT&N
1. What are the most frequent tax-related problems (main types) encountered by foreign enterprises/individuals in Mainland China?
1.Chinese tax resident/non-resident identification
2.Tax treaty treatment
3.Transfer pricing
4.Cross-border business tax risks
5.Tax registration administration
6.Double taxation/special tax adjustment
Sponsored Q&A: Dentons (Bolivia)
1. Can you provide an overview of the current tax laws and regulations in Bolivia?
Bolivia operates a territorial tax system based on the principle of source taxing income generated by individuals and/or legal entities arising from goods and assets located or used economically within its territory and from any activity carried out in the country, regardless of the nationality and/or residence of the parties involved or where the contracts were entered into.
A corporate income tax taxes entities incorporated or carrying businesses in its territory, including subsidiaries/branches of foreign entities. No personal income tax exists as such for individuals; thus, they are subject to a complementary tax on the value added tax on any income obtained as employees and/or as direct taxpayers.
The tax legislation has not experienced significant changes and has not evolved since its last major reform in 1986. For that matter, an integral reform is essential not only to amend existing flaws and inconsistencies in the norms, but to adapt them to new realities of industrialisation, technology, digitalisation and entrepreneurship. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Dentons (Bolivia)”
Firm profile: KPMG
About KPMG’s dispute resolution team
Our KPMG dispute resolution team has extensive experience assisting organisations resolving tax disputes, while maintaining an effective working relationship with tax authorities.
Tax law can be complex and uncertain and with each new development in the tax environment, the context for resolving
tax disputes changes. For companies, this could result in a position of conflict that requires strategy and expertise
to navigate. Continue reading “Firm profile: KPMG”
Sponsored Q&A: Mulenga Mundashi
1. What are the key tax laws and regulations in Zambia that individuals and businesses need to be aware of?
a. The Customs and Excise Act;
b. The Income Tax Act;
c. The Value Added Tax Act;
d. The Property Transfer Tax Act;
e. The Mines and Minerals Development Act; and
f. The Skills Development Levy Act.
Tax perspectives: Dan Neidle
Why did you decide to become a lawyer and – why tax?
I studied physics at university because I thought I was brilliant at maths. Then I hit the wall of my maths ability about two weeks into the degree so I decided I wanted to be a crusading criminal barrister. I then made the mistake of doing a mini-pupillage and, seeing how the criminal law impacts people’s lives, decided it wasn’t for me. Complete respect to people who can do that, but I can’t. Continue reading “Tax perspectives: Dan Neidle”
Pillar to post
After an extended and often troubled development, the OECD’s new ‘global minimum tax’ is at last coming to fruition. With adoptees including South Korea and Japan, and the Council of the European Union in addition to the UK government announcing plans to follow suit by the end of 2023, the prospect of Pillar Two, long seen as distant and perhaps uncertain, is now ever more tangible. Continue reading “Pillar to post”