Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). Movers & Shakers 

Panel Watch

Santander Refreshes UK Legal Roster

Pinsent Masons and DWF Among Line Up On £60m Legal Services Panel

Appointments

CMS Consultant Joins Pensions Company as GC

TLT Replaces Longstanding Managing Partner

Moves

Addleshaws beefs up City restructuring with Dechert hire

Addleshaw Goddard has hired a restructuring partner Paul Fleming from Dechert, its first London lateral recruit in months

Paul Hastings Takes Second Paris Partner from Dechert

Corporate lawyer Charles Cardon’s jump follows that of tax specialist Bruno Leroy in May

Taylor Wessing replenishes Cambridge office after Goodwin raid

Taylor Wessing has reacted to the loss of a life sciences and technology partner duo taken away by Goodwin Procter from its Cambridge office with a new partner hire Adrian Toutoungi from Eversheds Sutherland.

Hogan Lovells Global Private Equity Head Quits for US Firm

Hogan Lovells global head of private equity Tom Whelan has resigned from the firm and is set to join McDermott Will & Emery

Heavyweight London Ashurst Corporate Partner Quits

Longstanding corporate partner Nick Bryans is set to join Baker McKenzie. Bryans has been at Ashurst since 1994, and was managing partner of the firm’s Middle East operations from 2007-9

TLT Expands Financial Services Offering With Two New Partner Hires

TLT has hired two lawyers to its London office, including King & Spalding partner Angela Hayes and legal director at Addleshaw Goddard Robin Penfold

Heavyweight K&L Gates Paris Quartet Decamps For Winston & Strawn

Four heavyweight partners have left K&L Gates’ Paris office to join U.S. rival Winston & Strawn. The quartet consists of M&A and private equity partner Nicola Di Giovanni, head of French tax Bertrand Dussert, M&A partner Jean-Patrice Labautiere and head of Paris finance Mounir Letayf

Orrick Recruits Paris Jones Day Veteran as Arbitration Leader

Partner Michael Buhler has joined Orrick as its international arbitration practice co-leader, while counsel Nicole Dolenz has joined the U.S. firm as a partner

Dentons Hires Partner in Bucharest from Allen & Overy

Dentons has continued its hiring spree in Europe, recruiting Loredana Chitu from Allen & Overy as a partner in its office in Bucharest, Romania

Reed Smith Partner Advising on Thomas Cook Repatriation Quits for US Rival

Reed Smith London restructuring partner Charlotte Moller, who is currently acting on the standout mandate of the collapse of Thomas Cook, has quit the firm to join U.S. rival Brown Rudnick

King & Spalding Bulks Out in Brussels With Latest Hire

King & Spalding has hired Mayer Brown life sciences partner Geneviève Michaux to join the firm’s Brussels office

Gibson Dunn Expands In London with Latest Macfarlanes Exit

Macfarlanes financial regulation partner Michelle Kirschner has left the firm to join U.S. firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s London office

EY swipes Squires partner for growing legal arm

Corporate M&A partner Claire Scott-Priestley joins EY in November as its fifth equity partner in London

Office Openings & Closings

Clyde & Co’s US Breakaway Group Launches 35-Strong Firm across Three Offices

Goodwin Procter Launches in Luxembourg

Partner Promotions

Kirkland Makes Up 16 in London in Bumper Promotions Round

Goodwin Promotes London Trio to Partner in Expanded Round

Financials

Hogan Lovells International LLP sees Profits and Revenues Rise

Dechert Smashes £100M UK Revenue Mark but Profits Drop

Inclusion and Diversity

Senior Silicon Valley DLA Piper Partner Accused of Sexual Assault in Open Letter

Technology and Innovation

BCLP Becomes 18th Top 50 Firm to be used in Email Scam This Year

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). BCLP launches new legal services arm to fulfil high volume legal work

In a week marked by the Supreme Court’s decision on the illegal proroguing of parliament, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner launched its legal services arm BCLP Cubed.

Jody Jansen, former head of architecture and innovation at Gowling WLG, will serve as the chief technology officer for the enterprise, which focuses on high volume legal work.

BCLP Cubed brings together 150 people on the firm’s volume delivery teams in Manchester and St. Louis, with the goal of handling clients’ business-as-usual needs.

“BCLP Cubed gives clients the option of a one-stop shop for their high-volume work in a way that integrates complex advice and legal operations support, all within the framework of a major law firm” said Neville Eisenberg, senior partner at the firm and CEO of the initiative.

The service is initially focused on four discrete areas of work: supporting real estate asset management, delivering commercial contract services, streamlining loan agreement generation and management, and fielding European data access requests.

This is the latest venture for the firm, which last year sold its remaining stake in Lawyers on Demand to private equity firm Bowmark Capital.

2).  Movers & Shakers 

Panel Watch

Lloyds Refreshes Bank Panel, Drops CMS From Main Roster

Appointments

Baker McKenzie Elects Hong Kong Head as Global Chair

Airbnb appoints Rich Baer to Serve as Chief Legal Officer

Norton Rose Lawyer Bags GC Role at Boutique Private Equity Firm Deutsche Finance International

Moves

BCLP Launches High-Volume Legal Services Arm, Adds CTO for Venture

Jody Jansen, former head of architecture and innovation at Gowling WLG, joins BCLP to help build out the technology for its new enterprise, BCLP Cubed

Reed Smith Recruits Disputes Duo in Hong Kong and London

Peter Glover and Nick Austin join from Norton Rose Fulbright in Hong Kong and Clyde & Co in London, respectively

Dentons takes second swipe at Simmons’ banking practice

Simmons & Simmons has lost another partner to Dentons, with banking and finance lawyer Richard Pallot-Cook rejoining the firm after six years

Mergers & Alliances

Clyde & Co Cuts Loose Aberdeen Estate Agency Practice Four Years On From Merger

Weil Gotshal’s Warsaw office in talks to join Bakers

Eversheds Sutherland is latest firm to sign litigation funder deal

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1).  Eversheds Sutherland becomes first UK law firm to set BAME ethnicity targets

Eversheds Sutherland has introduced targets to improve black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) representation in its UK workforce.

By 2025, the firm wants BAME lawyers to make up 10% its UK partnership, doubling the amount of BAME partners currently at 5%.

Across its entire UK workforce, the firm is aiming for 14% BAME representation by 2022, up from 12% currently.

Eversheds has also committed to the voluntary reporting of its ethnicity pay gap data alongside the annual publication of its gender pay gap report, as done by a handful of UK firms this year.

Research by Legal Business in June showed that across the partnerships of the UK’s top 12 firms, just under 7% identified as BAME, reflecting the industry’s attrition problem on BAME talent as firms struggle to reconcile diverse trainee intakes.

This also reflects in lawyer renumeration, with an independent analysis by Fides on finding a median ethnicity pay gap of 16.7%. This jumped to 23.7% when partner pay figures were included.

Being the first in the UK legal sector to set targets for BAME representation represents a strong commitment from Eversheds Sutherland to increase diversity at senior levels. Earlier this year, Baker McKenzie announced its intention to increase the proportion of BAME employees in its London office to 14%. However, the firm did not set a date to reach this target, nor considered BAME representation amongst its partnership.

2). Movers & Shakers 

Appointments

PayPal UK Legal Head Quits For Rival

Slaughters’ Cooke among four senior lawyers on Luminance’s new board

Moves

Revolut hires from Schillings and Linklaters to boost in-house team

Reputation protection specialist Sam Ahuja, previously a legal director at Schillings, and corporate lawyer Tim Miller, who was a managing associate at Linklaters join the Fintech firm

Ince hires from shipping rival to fill senior partner vacancy

Ince has hired the former head of Hill Dickinson’s global shipping practice Julian Clark as its new senior partner

A&O Confirms US Ambitions with New York Litigation Boost

Allen & Overy has restated its U.S. ambitions with a boost to its litigation capabilities in New York with the hire of senior managing director Julian Moore from investigative and advisory service firm K2 Intelligence

Orrick Makes Second Hire From U.S. Rival This Week

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has further bolstered its London ranks with the hire of a Ropes & Gray finance counsel Rick Hanson. He joins alongside Cooley corporate partner Ed Lukins who announced he was joining the firm earlier this week

Squire Patton Boggs Continues Adding to London Banking Team with HSF Partner

Herbert Smith Freehills Banking partner Ian Yeo makes the move to Squire Patton Boggs

Former RBS in-houser leaves White & Case after a year

RBS’ former litigation head Laura Durrant, who joined White & Case last year, leaves the firm to establish own boutique

Freshfields Hires Goldman Sachs Managing Director as Hong Kong Partner

Matthew O’Callaghan returns to the Magic Circle firm after 14 years with the Wall Street bank. He will co-head Freshfields Asia financial services practice with Hong Kong partner Royce Miller

Freshfields Takes Linklaters Financial Regulation Head for Paris Office

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has made another addition to its Paris office, with the hire of Linklaters partner Marc Perrone

Cleary London Counsel Joins Bob Penn at Allen & Overy

Allen & Overy has boosted its London financial services regulatory practice with a hire from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s base in the city

Eversheds Sutherland Loses Project Finance Team in Paris

Paris-based project finance partner Boris Martor to launch Bird & Bird’s base in the city with his team of one counsel and two associates

CMS hires three-strong Lisbon team to capture Africa work

CMS Rui Pena & Arnaut, the Portuguese branch of CMS, has bolstered its African efforts with the arrival of a senior partner Galhardo Simões from local firm Miranda e Associado

Ashurst Continues Projects Push With New York Hire

Senior counsel Betty Cerini from U.S. outfit Hunton Andrews Kurth joins as a partner and co-chair of infrastructure in the Americas

Addleshaw Goddard Adds Former Simmons M&A Partner in Hong Kong

Former Simmons & Simmons partner Vivien Yang joins the U.K. firm, which is in growth mode in Asia

Mergers & Alliances

Gowling WLG makes first foray in South America with firm tie-up

Listed Law Firm Rosenblatt Acquires Manchester Corporate Finance Boutique Convex Capital

Office Openings & Closings

US Firm Alston & Bird Launches London Office With K&L Gates Hire

Alston & Bird becomes one of the last major US firms to launch a London office, with the hire of former K&L Gates London finance head Andrew Petersen and a team of six other lawyers. The office will be focused on the firm’s established finance and payments practices.

Dentons Launches Europe-South Korea Practice With New Hire in Milan

Dentons has hired Soo-Youn Kim as a partner to head its Europe South Korea desk, in order to cater to Korean clients that have become increasingly active in Europe

Financials

DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells join the £1m PEP club

Inclusion and Diversity

Eversheds Sutherland Rolls Out Ambitious Diversity Targets

Simmons favours performance over hours in new associate bonus scheme

Innovation and Technology

Scammers Target Mid-Market as Four Firms Impersonated in One Week

Other

Closing the Gap: Second Tier UK Firms Post Strong PEP Rises

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). Retention and cybercrime the biggest business priorities for law firms in 2019, says research  

Retention and cybercrime were viewed as the top business critical risks by city and regional firms in the annual Law Benchmarking report by leading advisory firm Crowe.

The report revealed that more than 70% of firms have a positive outlook for the next 12 to 18 months, despite the impact a possible no-deal Brexit could have on the sector (estimated by the Law Society to cost a possible £3.5 billon).

Despite firms being mindful about the wider economic and political conditions, the focus on managing current operational risks and adapting how teams deliver their work have led firms to be optimistic about their futures.

Retention of key people was considered the highest business critical risk by firms (52%), with retaining key talent not just critical in the completion of work, but also shaping culture, defining client service and providing innovation for future improvement projects. As a result, almost two-thirds of firms plan to increase their level of remote, agile and virtual working in the coming 18 months.

This was followed by the increased threat of cybercrime and fraud (43%), with investment in live, continuous monitoring systems likely to become the norm for law firms in the near future. Visible, robust information and transactional security is now considered a must for the purchasers of legal services, with the impact of a serious fraud or data breach being both financially and reputationally damaging for firms.

On the other hand, despite much commentary on the potential for emerging tech-based and ‘new law’ firms to disrupt the market, the survey revealed that most firms considered this to be a lower priority risk, along with the availability of funding and impact of Brexit.

In terms of finances, one in five participants reported a fall in revenue this year, including 17% of city firms up from 8% in 2017. Whilst a third of firms decreased their profit pool (by an average of 7%), of those who managed to increase their profits, two-thirds did so by over 10%. As with revenue, the biggest improvements generally came from those firms in the sub £20 million revenue band, most of whom are based outside of the City.

Average PEP figures remained a static 8% for city firms, with further analysis showing 40% of the city firms and just under 30% of regional firms experiencing a fall in PEP this year. That said, average City PEP of £413,000 continues to run at a level which is more than double that of the regional firms of £201,000.

2). Movers & Shakers 

Appointments

Dentons Names Netherlands Partner Wendela Raas to its Global Board

Three Partners in Running for Baker McKenzie Global Chair Role

Moves

Clydes hit by further losses as eight US partners leave firm

After a team of UK partners resigned from the firm earlier this week, another group of eight partners are set to leave Clyde & Co and set up their own venture in the US, taking a team of 30 with them. The partners are to leave Clydes’ San Francisco office to set up a legal boutique called Atheria Law focused on insurance coverage and monitoring work

Simmons suffers second defection as ECM head joins Latham

Latham & Watkins has hired Simmons & Simmons’ head of equity capital markets Chris Horton to its London office

Skadden nabs A&O duo to secure long-sought corporate strength

George Knighton and Simon Toms will make the move to the US firm after resigning from A&O this week

Clifford Chance Corporate Group Boosted By Norton Rose Hire

Clifford Chance has bolstered its London corporate practice with the hire of Richard Crosby, HSBC relationship partner at Norton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose Corporate Heavyweight Relocates to New York

Chris Pearson now listed as foreign legal consultant in New York office

Kirkland London Litigation Partner Defects to US Rival

International arbitration and litigation partner Chiraag Shah becomes fourth partner defection to Morrison & Foerster’s London office this year

Mayer Brown Recruits Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier’s Emilie Vasseur as a Litigation Partner

Mayer Brown has recruited senior litigation lawyer Emilie Vasseur from French firm Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier as a partner

Six-Partner Clyde & Co Team Resigns to Launch Shipping Boutique

Five partners in the firm’s global marine group resign to launch shipping boutique Preston Turnbull. This includes partners Andrew Preston, Elizabeth Turnbull, Ed Mills-Webb, Fanos Theophani and Rob Collins. Partner Andrew Bicknell is also believed to have handed in his resignation

Ashurst Bolsters London Disputes Team With Freshfields Counsel

Ashurst has strengthened its London dispute resolution bench with the hire of counsel Ruby Hamid from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Fieldfisher Starts French Public Law Practice With Gowling Partner and Three Other Hires

Fieldfisher has launched a French public law practice with the hire of four lawyers, including Gowling partner Emmanuel Paillard.

Mergers & Alliances

Dentons’ Latest Merger Feat: Five Firms in One Day in ‘Pan-African’ Bonanza

Office Openings & Closings

Ince Launches In Scotland With Accountancy Hire

Diversity & Inclusion

Stress and Depression Rife as Almost One in Two Lawyers Experience Work-Related Mental Illness

Most Female Lawyers Have Experienced or Seen Workplace Sexual Harassment

Other

Baker McKenzie Launches Latin America Practice from Miami

Deloitte Legal Launches Graduate Training Contract

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers call time on their merger talks after 18 months

18 months into negotiations about a possible transatlantic merger, Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers have called time on their merger talks.

Although an agreement had been close, with some key terms such as name and governance structure being agreed by management, adverse macroeconomic conditions – foreign exchange rate volatility, and the reduction of US interest rates – were cited as the final nail in the coffin for the discussions. Such market conditions make it difficult to agree a valuation for each firm, and how financial integration and pay would work as a result.

Questions were also raised over whether O’Melveny was the right fit for the firm, with some observers believing the contrast between A&O’s lockstep pay arrangement and O’Melveny’s merit-based compensation system were too much of a hurdle to overcome. Either way, having partners sit on a lockstep ladder would require an agreed exchange rate, at least initially, which could easily upset one group of partners.

Another factor cited as a cause of the talk’s demise was the time it took to get core conditions of the deal agreed. In contrast to the majority of law firm mergers, which usually happen fairly quickly and have the backing of a lot of people, the A&O and O’Melveny talks dragged on for two years, with many partners on both sides complaining about being left in the dark or receiving conflicting messages about how talks were progressing.

Despite the success of management in getting a number of things agreed, securing enough support for them is another issue. Despite A&O’s senior and managing partners Wim Dejonghe and Andrew Ballheimer spending recent months discussing the merger with partners to shore up positive opinion (even suggesting an open ballot), a faction of corporate partners at A&O’s London office were said to be unhappy about the proposed merger, fearing a dilution of brand and divestment of power from the city base.

With the failure of the talks, eyes will be on both firm’s transatlantic strategy.

In a statement released on Monday, A&O confirmed that growing in the U.S. remains “the highest priority” for the firm, stating it will “significantly increase” its focus on lateral individual and team hires. The statement added that the firm “remains open to considering opportunities for larger combinations”. Whatever route the firm takes next – finding another suitable merger partner or building a US practice organically – no UK firm has cracked this strategy yet.

For O’Melveny, the series of departures from its London office leave it with a huge rebuilding exercise ahead. Many partners are likely to be disheartened by Monday’s announcement, with Legal Week reporting that some partners were encouraged to stay throughout the merger, anticipating more business as a result of the combination. Others were believed to have actually turned away work due to potential conflicts under a combined firm, showing that the progress of talks on the O’Melveny side were opaque to the partnership right until the very end.

The merger failure also holds implications for other top U.K. firms, particularly Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters, which will now have to accept that even the second tier of U.S. firms are all but out of reach when attempting a full-blown, financially integrated combination.

2). Movers & Shakers

Panel Watch

WeWork announces firms listed on its first ever panel

Siemens awards three firms spots on its legal panel

Cabinet office makes plans for refresh of legal panel

Appointments

Shell Appoints New General Counsel

Moves

Digital platform makes GC hire from private practice

Digital workplace platform Smart Pension has hired Mark Howard from Clyde & Co, where he previously served as the firm’s head of pensions. Howard joins Smart Pension as its first ever general counsel

Thomson Reuters GC joins cosmetics company

The Estée Lauder Companies hires Deirdre Stanley as executive vice-president and general counsel. She was previously EVP and GC at Thomson Reuters

Covington expands Middle East offering with corporate hire

Corporate partner Rupert Harper has left Clifford Chance to join Covington & Burling in its Dubai office

CC faces another blow to its Australian offering following latest departure

Banking and finance partner Alastair Gourlay has joined Baker McKenzie in its Sydney office. Gourlay is the fourth partner to CC in Australia in the last 12 months

Publicly listed firm DWF strengthens Sydney corporate team

Kim O’Reilly is set to join DWF from Mills Oakley as a principal lawyer (partner equivalent) in Sydney

Former ITV and Reuters legal head joins engineering firm

Andrew Garard has joined engineering company Meggitt as its group general counsel and director of corporate affairs. He was the former head of legal for ITV for over a decade and previously headed up Reuters’ legal team globally for five years

Greenberg Traurig Continues Expansion in Amsterdam

The firm has hired Bas Vletter and Herald Jongen, two veteran corporate lawyers from Loyens & Loeff and Allen & Overy respectively

Dentons Expands Amsterdam IP Offering With Local Hire

The firm has hired Alexander Odle, co-founder of Dutch outfit Nineyards Law

Mergers & Alliances

A&O and O’Melveny & Myers merger talks break down

Dentons confirms mergers with Argentinian firm Rattagan Macchiavello Arocena and Uruguay-based firm Jiménez de Aréchaga, Viana & Brause

Financials

UK Top 50 Results: Why PEP Has Slowed and What Firms Should Do About It

McDermott London Progress Under Scrutiny as LLP Accounts Show Slower Growth

Ropes & Gray Boosts Trainee Salaries In Line With US Competitor

Other

Axiom Scraps IPO as PE Firm Permira Takes Majority Stake

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1).  Mischon de Reya and Herbert Smith Freehills enlisted in campaign to halt government shutdown

Mischon de Reya and Herbert Smith Freehills have been enlisted by campaigner Gina Miller and ex-PM John Major in an attempt to block a parliament shutdown announced by Boris Johnson earlier this week.

The prorogation will significantly reduce the time available for MPs to debate Brexit and block a no-deal Brexit, with the UK due to leave the EU on 31 October.

A five-week prorogation would be the longest suspension of British legislature since 1945, losing MPs up to seven days in parliament.

Partners James Libson and Rob Murray from Mishcon de Reya have lodged an immediate legal injunction to prevent the shutdown of parliament, with support of Blackstone’s Lord Pannick QC and Tom Hickman.

The line-up is a repeat of the team’s successful Article 50 battle advising Gina Miller in 2016, when they challenged the authority of the Government to invoke Article 50 using prerogative powers.

John Major, who today announced his support for the campaign, has engaged HSF partner and London public law practice head Andrew Lidbetter, The Rt Hon The Lord Garnier QC of 4 Pump Court Chambers and barrister Tom Cleaver of Blackstone Chambers.

Meanwhile, the UK Government will be relying upon Landmark’s David Blundell and Blackstone’s James Eadie QC.

This morning, Scottish judge Lord Doherty refused to grant an interim interdict (similar to an injunction) against the decision to shut down parliament ahead of a full emergency court hearing due to take place on Tuesday. This will determine the legality of the PM’s decision to prorogue Parliament.

2). Movers & Shakers 

Appointments

Six Nations Rugby hires RFU legal head as first GC

Moves

BCLP swoops for five-partner Paris team

BCLP has raided a local French boutique Franklin to boost its real estate, tax and banking offering. Five partners and an unspecified number of associates are set to make the move. Partner’s relocating include real estate partners Henry Ranchon and Laurent Schittenhelm, tax partner Oliver Mesmin and Christine Daric, and banking and finance partner Davide Blondel

Linklaters’ Private Client Team Decamps to Fieldfisher

A five-lawyer Linklaters private client team is leaving to join Fieldfisher, just three years after the Magic Circle firm started rebuilding the practice, led by head of trusts Peter Golden

KPMG Continues UK Legal Expansion with BCLP Partner Hire

BCLP technology partner Usman Wahid joins the ‘big four’

KWM Expands London M&A Offering with US Firm Hire

King & Wood Mallesons has bolstered its London cross-border M&A practice with the addition of Partner Stewart Worthy from U.S. firm Winston & Strawn.

A&O Litigation Partner Latest to Quit London Office

Allen & Overy litigation partner Marc Florent has left the Magic Circle firm’s London office to join Baker McKenzie

Bird & Bird brings in top-rated employment partner from Stewarts

Bird & Bird has hired Stewarts Law heavyweight partner and head of employment Tim Spillane.

Gide secures corporate duo from Mayer Brown in latest Paris raid

Mayer Brown has lost a corporate team to French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel in the latest Paris recruitment coup, including partners Jean-François Louit and Caroline Lan

Macfarlanes loses digital advisory chief Rebeiro after only 18 months

Macfarlanes‘ digital and innovation business head Mike Rebeiro is leaving the firm after fewer than two years.

Office Openings & Closings

Squires seeks local partners for first Italian foray

Financials

Baker McKenzie Records Slower Revenue Growth in ‘Challenging’ Global Market

Inclusion & Diversity

Gender Pay Gap for General Counsel Has Grown, Study Says

Technology and Innovation

Eversheds debuts “Techtember” training month to dispel lawyers’ fear of IT

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). Movers & Shakers

Panel Watch

Eleven Firms Win Spots On £64M Government Legal Panel

Appointments

Kennedys Appoints Woman As First Global Managing Partner

Former Skyscanner Legal Head Lands New Role

Moves

Clydes Loses Five-Strong Private Client Team to Edinburgh Firm

Led by partner Nikki Dundas, five members of Clyde & Co’s Edinburgh-based private client team are set to leave the firm for local outfit Gillespie Macandrew

Baker McKenzie Takes Skadden’s Corporate Leader in Silicon Valley

Leif King, who led Skadden’s corporate practice in Silicon Valley, has decamped the New York firm to join Baker McKenzie

Latham & Watkins London Finance Partner Quits for U.S. Rival

Latham & Watkins London-based finance partner Ayesha Waheed has left the firm to join U.S. rival Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

A&O Head of Fraud Defects to Milbank

A&O partner Mona Vaswani is leaving the firm to join U.S. rival Milbank in London

Goodwin Creates New Client Development Role, Hiring From Allen & Overy

Lee Garfinkle joins Goodwin in the newly created role of chief client development and relationship officer

Financials

Clydes Hands Out £5k Salary Boost to NQs

HSF Reduces Debt by More Than £80M in One Year

Weil Latest Firm to Bump London Trainee Pay

White & Case LLP Profits and Turnover Fall

Inclusion & Diversity

Dentons Appoints European ‘Mindfulness’ Chief and Mulls Global Rollout

SRA drops sexual harassment inquiry into former Reed Smith partner

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). Burford calls in disputes heavyweights in aftermath of Muddy Waters attack

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Morrison & Foester have all been enlisted by litigation funder Burford Capital to pursue claims of illegal market manipulation by short-seller Muddy Waters.

This follows the publication of a report by Muddy Waters last week which sent the shares of the funder crashing more than 50%, wiping £1bn off the company’s value.

On August 7, the US hedge fund, which is headed by Carson Black, described the Burford as a “poor business masquerading as a great one” and “the perfect storm for an accounting fiasco”. It accused the firm of operating a lottery ticket model, relying on big, but rare, success, rather than consistent returns for shareholders.

Fellow short-seller Gotham City Research – which notoriously helped sink technology provider Quindell in 2014 – has since added pressure by suggesting Burford was ‘inappropriately financed.’

On Monday, Burford announced that a preliminary finding of its analysis of trading shares last week displayed ‘evidence consistent with illegal market manipulation’, with The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) further investigating the matter.

Burford has retained Freshfields, Quinn Emanuel and Morrison & Foerster on the matter. Freshfields corporate partner Christopher Mort is working with colleague Ali Sallaway in the investigations team. Quinn Emanuel is fielding a transatlantic team comprised of partners John Quinn, Andrew Rossman amd Corey Worcester in the US, and Richard East in London, who is involved in investment fund litigation. Morrison & Foerster investigations partner Michael Birnbaum is also working on the matter for Burford.

The controversy falls against a backdrop of considerable growth in third-party litigation funding over the last decade, with low interest rates and investor demand to gain access to professional services both accelerating the industry. However, the circling of short-sellers around Burford will fuel many critics who believe the industry requires greater oversight and transparency, while a prolonged legal dispute between Burford and Muddy Waters looks increasingly likely.

2). Movers & Shakers 

Panel Watch

Aviva Appoints 10 Firms Across Two Refreshed Panels

Shell gears up for shake-up of next legal panel

Appointments

Skyscanner Appoints ex-Deliveroo Chief Legal Officer as GC

Spanish Bank Appoints Baker McKenzie Partner as General Counsel

Burford names new CFO and governance shake-up amid activist investor row

Moves

Eversheds Sutherland raids HSF and Luminance for new legal tech hires

Eversheds has hired two legal technologists, Mark Collins from HSF and Kate Perevoshchikova from artificial intelligence platform Luminance, to work alongside lawyers on automation and technology projects applied to real estate matters.

Goodwin Procter Continues London Tech Growth with Orrick Hire

Goodwin Procter has further bolstered its London technology and life sciences group with a hire of partner Ali Ramadan from U.S. rival Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe

Kirkland London Corporate Partner Jumps to Private Equity Client

Partner Joel Arnell is leaving Kirkland’s London office to join investment firm Triton Partners, one of their key clients

Dechert Poaches Private Equity Partner for Dubai Office

Philip Dowsett has spent over a decade in the Middle East, most recently at Morgan, Lewis and Bockius

Quinn Hits U.S. Rival’s London Office for Arbitration Boost

London partner Mark McNeill will join litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel’s New York office after 12 years at Shearman.

Financials

Creditors Set to Lose Millions on Ince & Co Administration

Irwin Mitchell Profits Rocket 76%

Inclusion and Diversity

Clerks Accuse Jones Day of Anti-Male Bias

Technology and Innovation

More than 90 tech providers due to sign up to Reynen Court’s new platform

Linklaters debuts new tech to trawl through historical data

CMS seeks multimillion-pound revenue stream from disputes tech arm

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). Reed Smith looks to move to an ABS as Dentons launches new risk consultancy offering

US firm Reed Smith has confirmed that it will look to transfer its UK limited liability partnership (LLP) to an alternative business structure (ABS) by the end of the year, making it one of the largest firms to operate under such a structure.

The move was initially expected to take place earlier this year, although gaining regulatory approval across multiple jurisdictions has delayed the process. The firm’s U.K. LLP consists of operations in London, France, the UAE, Greece, the PRC and Singapore.

Operating as an ABS offers Reed Smith a number of acquisition and investment opportunities without which it would not be able to realise. The conversion would allow it to bring non-lawyers into the equity and share profits, opening up potential closer integration with non-lawyer teams or businesses in the consulting and technology spheres that could offer something different to the firm’s clients.

To the same end, Dentons announced the launch of its risk consulting practice this week led by managing directors John Davison and Christian Blackwell formerly of Norton Rose Fulbright

Dentons Risk Consulting will be run as a separate LLP business under the Dentons name, within the same office, but will be able to pull in legal services where required.

“Legal will offer companies the expertise on what they should and shouldn’t be doing. We will help implement and operationalise that advice, aligning legal and non-legal services into an overall offering” explains Davison, who was the former head of NRF’s regulatory compliance consulting practice for the past three years.

2). Movers & Shakers 

Appointments

American Airlines Appoints New General Counsel

Former Worldpay GC takes up new role at FTSE 100

Ince Appoints Duo as Joint London Managing Partners

Moves

Willkie Farr Hires Frankfurt Heavyweight as European Growth Continues

Finance partner Ralf Defren joins the firm’s Frankfurt office from Hengler Muller

Proskauer Continues London Funds Expansion with Hire from US Rival

Proskauer Rose has hired funds partner Leith Moghli from U.S. rival Reed Smith, in a boost for its London office

Ince Gordon Dadds Monaco Team Quits to Launch HFW’s Offering 

The seven-strong group, led by former Ince partners Ian Cranston, Andrew Charlier and Marco Crusafio will launch HFW’s office

Mergers & Alliances

Herbert Smith Freehills Forms China Association, Adds Local Law Ability

Dentons to Combine With South Korean Firm

Dentons to Combine With Honduras Firm

Inclusion and Diversity

Workplace #MeToo Legal Advice Line Launches, Backed by Actress Emma Watson

Lloyd’s of London Calls In DWF For Conduct Training

Industry Heavyweights Respond as SDT Lowers Standard of Proof for Misconduct

Technology and Innovation

Reed Smith prepares to bring in lawyers to Leeds tech hub

Taylor Wessing seals first tech deal under Wilson Sonsini partnership

Clifford Chance invests in Continental European “brainstorming platform”

News

Reed Smith Closes In On Move to Alternative Business Structure

Former Co-op Group GC and A&O Partner Dies

Dentons sets up separate consulting business with Norton Rose Fulbright duo

Independent Portuguese firm PLMJ loses 10% of partnership following management shake-up

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at this week’s key trends, moves and developments in the UK legal sector.

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1). No-deal Brexit to cost the UK legal sector £3.5bn according to The Law Society

As part of the UK-EU future partnership and legal services report released on Thursday, the cost of a no-deal Brexit on the UK’s legal sector would be £3.5bn according to The Law Society.

The findings estimate that the UK legal sector would see a 10% decrease in turnover, as well as 10,000 job cuts, if the UK leaves the European Union on 31 October without a deal.

This is due to a crackdown on the access provided by EU Lawyers Directives, impacting the trade surplus for legal services with the EU27 that exists currently.

At present, a UK qualified lawyer can provide legal advice on English law, EU law and local law to individual and business clients across the EU, and work without a visa or a residence permit in other member states on a temporary or permanent basis.

They can also re-qualify in another member state after 3 years of practicing there or after taking a qualifying exam in the local laws. However, these rights would be removed if no deal was retained.

Last year the UK legal sector brought £27.4bn into the economy, 1.4% of total GDP.

The total tax contribution of legal and accounting activities in 2018 was estimated to be £19.1bn, another reason as to why it is critical for the UK government to negotiate a future agreement to enable UK solicitors to maintain their right to practise in the EU.

Without this agreement, the UK will be negotiating legal services market access with 31 regulatory regimes, hampering its productivity according to the report.

2). Movers & Shakers 

Panel Watch

A&O Bags Trophy Freshfields Client Tesco on Multi-Billion Pound Banking Mandate

HS1 Railway Kicks Off Legal Panel Tender

Appointments

Sports Direct Appoints New Head of Legal Amid Financial Turmoil

Tom Piper has simultaneously been appointed company secretary and Head of Legal on July 1. He joined the company’s property arm in 2017, and prior to that was an associate at U.S. firm Faegre Baker Daniels

BT creates new legal transformation role

Dave Hart has been named BT’s Director of Transformation, in charge of delivering the technology vision for the function and managing its operations globally

Moves

Clifford Chance Investigations Director Jumps to US Firm

CC’s investigations director Zoe Osborne has left the Magic Circle firm to join U.S. outfit Steptoe & Johnson, following the departure of white-collar star Judith Seddon to Ropes & Gray last year

Former magic circle duo join new City boutique Avonhurst

Founded last month by ex-Jones Day partner Jonathan Bloom, leveraged finance partner Ian Frost and project finance partner James Wyatt join from Vinson & Elkins and Linklaters respectively

Six-Strong Norton Rose Team Defects to DAC Beachcroft

The team of insurance lawyers includes partner Kirsty Hick, legal directors Rebecca Bailey and Sarah O’Connell, and senior associates Jack Holling, Natasha Marshall and Cathryn Teverson

Funds Heavyweight Among Further London O’Melveny Defections

Jonathan Blake is among the latest to have resigned from the firm, which remains in merger talks with A&O. He becomes the fifth O’Melveny lawyer to join Akin Gump this year

Latham’s chair Trobman heads Stateside after spearheading City growth

After nearly 20 years at the forefront of Latham & Watkins’ expansion in London, firm chair Richard Trobman is set to relocate back to the US to focus on growth across the Atlantic.

Mergers & Alliances

Dentons Continues Global Expansion with New Zealand Merger

Office Openings & Closings

Hogan Lovells Restructures South African Arm

Financials

Hill Dickinson PEP Rockets 27%, But Insurance Disposal Shrinks Revenue

DWF Grows Revenue 15% as IPO Cost Revealed

HFW PEP Drops to 11-Year Low As Profits Slide 9%

Inclusion and Diversity

Baker McKenzie and Gary Senior Referred to SDT Over Historical Allegations

Other

Wedlake Bell Launches Redundancy Consultation for Senior Associate in Disputes and Real Estate

SRA could drop skills test from super-exam Part One after first pilot