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

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

Latest forex fine goes to BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas has been fined a further $246m this week by the US central bank that relates back to the manipulation of foreign exchange rates that took place between 2007 and 2013.

The Federal Reserve announced the penalty on Monday this week, arguing that the bank executed “unsafe and unsound practices in the foreign exchange markets”. This takes the total amount of fines they’ve delivered for forex manipulation to over $2bn, with the potential of more to come as a number of the central banks cases remain ongoing.

The bank also agreed to pay $350m to the New York Department of Financial Services in May to settle allegations of currency rigging.

The misconduct was carried out by numerous institutions, where traders from multiple global banks used electronic chat rooms to discuss and rig currency rates.

BNP Paribas is just the latest firm to be penalised for this scandal. Bank of America has also received a fine by the Federal Reserve and in May 2015, Barclays, RBS, Citi, JP Morgan and UBS were fined $5.7bn by the Department of Justice in New York. Barclays, RBS, Citigroup and JP Morgan all plead guilty, whilst UBS was granted immunity for being the first to report the rate rigging.

Meanwhile, three former London-based traders appeared in New York federal court on Monday to plead not guilty to charges connected with the manipulation of the foreign exchange market. Chris Ashton was Barclays’ global head of spot currency trading, Rohan Ramchandani was Citigroup’s head of G-10 spot currency trading, and Richard Usher was the chief currency spot trader for JP Morgan. All three face charges which could involve 10 years imprisonment and $1 million fine.

Investigations into rate rigging are still being run by US regulators, whereas the Serious Fraud Office closed its criminal investigation into allegations of price-rigging in March last year.

SRA hands out record-breaking fine  

This week saw the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) hand down the largest-ever sanction imposed against a law firm, as it fined White & Case £250,000 for failures to identify conflicts of interest and protect confidential client information.

The case in question relates to a $2bn Ukrainian commercial dispute, where the firm represented Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuck in suing Ukrainian tycoons Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov.

In January 2014, Mr Justice Field barred the firm from acting on the case after the failure to identify the conflict of interest was uncovered.

Three years on, the SDT found that the firm had allowed instructions to be accepted to undertake further work for clients without taking adequate steps to ensure that no conflict of interest existed or ensure the confidentiality of information provided to the firm by clients was protected, in such breaching the SRA code of conduct and principals.

It also fined lead partner David Goldberg £50,000 for his role in the case, and providing confidential information concerning the work undertaken to another partner in the firm involved in acting on a conflicting matter.

The SDT, however, did not allege that the firm or Goldberg had acted dishonestly, and did not pursue allegations of lack of integrity against either him or the firm.

White & Case, who assisted the SDT in this matter, agreed that it acted ‘recklessly’ regarding checks for client conflicts and ensuring the confidentiality of client information.

Prior to this, the SRA’s previous highest sanction of a law firm was against Clyde & Co. in March, when the SDT fined the firm and three of its partners £80,000 for breaching accounting and anti-money laundering rules

Movers & Shakers of the Week

Appointments

BLM names new managing partner after surprise exit of former chief

Vivienne Williams succeeds Gary Allison who departs eight months into a three-year term as head of the firm.

Partner Moves

Former Clifford Chance German private equity chief set for Linklaters move

Christopher Kellett is set to join magic circle rival Linklaters after 20 years at CC

Gibson Dunn hires fifth European Ashurst partner since June

German finance partner Sebastian Schoon joins the Munich office of Gibson Dunn.

Clyde & Co boost IP practice with five-strong team in China

Elliot Papageorgiou joins the Shanghai office of Clyde & Co from IP specialist firm Rouse, and is to be joined by four other Chinese-licensed lawyers.

Enyo Law founder leaves for new role at litigation activist group

Michael Green has left Enyo Law to join RGL Management Limited, an entity comprised of lawyers who are pursuing RBS on behalf of shareholders suing the bank over its role in the financial crisis.

Freshfields competition litigation head leaves for pupillage

Jon Lawrence is departing the Magic Circle firm to take up a pupillage at Brick Court Chambers

Office Openings & Closings 

Lawyers on Demand set to enter the Middle East

PwC launches Indonesian legal practice as Jakarta firm joins network

Linklaters launches low cost legal centre in Italy

Mergers & Alliances 

DLA Piper acquires Los Angeles boutique firm Liner, boosting its capability by 60 lawyers

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

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts.

This week:

1. London makes a play to attract colossal Aramco listing

With the biggest ever IPO in history preparing to float, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) looks to amend regulations for stock market listings in an attempt to lure Saudi Aramco’s listing to London.

On Thursday, the FCA released its proposal to introduce a separate listing category for companies controlled by sovereign countries, which lowers certain requirements necessary to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) compared to other premium listings.

Currently, in order to qualify as a premium listing, companies must float a minimum of 25% of its shares on the exchange, and has to gain prior approval from independent shareholders for transactions between the state and the company, i.e. the purchase of other state owned assets, in Aramco’s case. Under the new proposed rules, sovereign-owned companies would forgo these requirements.

FCA chief exec Andrew Bailey has commented that: “Refining the listing regime in this way would make UK markets more accessible whilst ensuring that the protections afforded by our premium listing regime are focused and proportionate.

“Sovereign owners are different from private sector individuals or companies – both in their motivations and in their nature.”

Looser regulation will no doubt make the LSE more attractive for Aramco, but some experts argue that the new rules may cause damage to investor protection.

The changes would reverse some of the advancements made in 2013 on corporate governance and the protection of minority shareholders, where regulations were put in place after various LSE listed, overseas-headquartered companies were engaging in unethical practice. These problems caused investors to lose respect for the exchange as they argued there was an over-liberalisation of the listing regime, with the London Stock Exchange and Financial Services Authority concentrating too heavily on attracting major foreign investors which brought in lower quality companies.

Despite this, the proposed new listing regime offer major benefits for London as it would not only help entice Saudi Aramco to float, but also extend these benefits to other state-controlled companies looking to list, which particularly concerns various Gulf countries who have been considering a flotation for their respective state-owned oil assets.

Saudi Aramco’s IPO is expected to take place in late 2018/early 2019 is valued at approximately $2 trillion.

2. Financials round-up: Analysis of law firm earnings for 2016-17

With the financial results season well underway, we take a look at the results posted so far as law firms reveal their headline figures for 2016-17.

The first round of results to reveal the true extent of last June’s Brexit vote, and slow down of transactional activity, it will be interesting to see the extent to which this has been offset by post-Brexit currency fluctuations.

Allen & Overy emerged as one of the strongest performers in this year’s round of results, posting double-digit growth across all metrics with revenue and profit per equity partner figures (PEP) rising to record levels. Revenue rose to £1.52bn, whilst PEP reached £1.51m, a 26% increase on last year’s results.

Managing partner Andrew Ballheimer cited multijurisdictional work behind the firms growth, with 74% of total revenue derived from matters involving two or more countries, with A&O’s alternative delivery models (Peerpoint, aosphere and MarginMatrix) having their strongest performing year yet.

Not to be outdone, Clifford Chance also posted record-breaking financial results, with turnover climbing 11% to £1.54bn and PEP increasing 12% to £1.38m against a consistent equity partner count.

Buoyed by strong performances in London and Asia, the UK brought in £507m in turnover, an increase of 4%, which equated to 33% of total revenue. Local currency gains in Asia also translated to 18% of total sterling revenue. Despite this turnover in the US remained flat, whilst the firm made losses in Europe and the Middle East.

Linklaters on the other hand made more modest gains, posting a 7.8% hike in PEP alongside a revenue rise of almost 10% to £1.44bn.

Of the Magic Circle, Freshfields posted the most disappointing set of results with a flat turnover and shrinking net profit for 2016-17. The firm posted revenue of £1.33bn, a marginal increase of just 0.3% on last year, while net profit fell by just under 1% to £612m.

Outside of the Magic Circle firms experienced mixed results, with Herbert Smith Freehills, Eversheds Sutherland, Travers Smith and Berwin Leighton Paisner all posting revenue increases in the face of falling PEP.

Pinsent Masons performed well reporting double digit PEP and revenue growth, with Macfarlanes, Ashurst and Simmons & Simmons all rebounding after a challenging 2015-16.

Meanwhile, litigation boutique Stewarts Law entered the UK top 50 for the first time, posting a 25% increase in revenue and 30% jump in PEP.

Firms most heavily impacted by political conditions include RPC and CMS, who experienced a dip in net profit and revenue respectively.

Movers & Shakers of the week 

Panel Watch

Santander’s UK legal roster to include Slaughters and Ashurst after Spanish banking giant increases its host of firms
The Spanish banking giant has increased its legal roster which now includes Ashurst and Slaughter and May.

Appointments

Three new board members for Ashurst after having a mixed year
After a mixed year of increased revenue but the loss of three partners, Ashurst has decided to promote three new board members to stabilise the firm.

Daily Mail’s GC has stepped down
Claire Chapman, the Daily Mail’s general counsel and company secretary has left the company after almost five years.

Leung retires after 26 long years at Slaughter and May
Slaughter and May partner Miranda Leung, has decided to retire from the firm for personal reasons after 26 years.

Moves

Baker McKenzie’s London office to be headed by former Linklaters global COO
Baker McKenzie will be introducing a new COO, Simon Thompson who formally worked as Linklaters global COO, as of August.

GC Cordon exits for new role in venture capital
General counsel Christine Cordon has decided to leave her role at Secret Escapes to try her abilities as the new head of legal at venture capital business Arts Alliance Ventures.

Mishcon boosts fledgling cyber security consultancy service
Mike Owen from PwC has joined Mishcon de Reya as it expands their cyber security consultancy service.

Scott Southgate has taken up a new role at the Hampshire Trust Bank after leaving his job as Former Investec private bank general counsel.
After nine years at the bank, Scott Southgate has decided to make a move to the Hampshire Trust Bank.

Cooley hires team from Wilson Sonsini to boost their American Offices
Cooley hopes to boost offices in New York and Washington after hiring team from Wilson Sonsini.

Office Openings & Closings

Matheson decides to open a third office in the US but this time in San Francisco
Irish firm Matheson has decided to expand its international footprint, after launching a third US office but this time in San Francisco.

Peters & Peters lawyers leave to start up their own business crime firm
Former Peters & Peters lawyers Anand Doobay and Christina Russell have opened a business crime firm to be called Boutique Law.

Welcome back to the Fides Weekly Update. Take a look at some of the key news stories of the week for legal and compliance and don’t forget to scroll down to see the Movers & Shakers of the week!

This week:

1. Lloyds overhauls senior management ahead of new strategy launch 

Some shock departures and appointments were made this week as Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio announced a management shake-up, preparing the bank for its new slim line strategic plan for 2018 to 2020.

Amongst a number of changes, Lloyds risk officer Juan Colombas will be taking on the new role as COO for the bank, whilst Simon Davies, who only joined two years ago to become chief people, legal and strategy officer, is set to depart, with finance chief George Culmer taking over responsibility for the legal and strategy departments.

With the key objective of privatisation completed, and a new senior management in place, investors and experts are expecting Horta-Osorio to step down as chief and take on a new challenge. Market speculation suggests that he is likely to replace Stuart Gulliver as head of HSBC, who announced his departure will take place next year, but the Lloyds boss has remained adamant of his plans to stick with the bank, and has demonstrated his commitment by purchasing £36,000 of Lloyds shares.

The management changes seem to have been received well within the ranks at Lloyds, and employees and investors alike are backing the overhaul of the lender. Shares remained stable after the news was released, with a steady increase of 0.19%.

The above changes will come into effect in September this year.

2. Hogan Lovells diversifies its offering as competition continues to rise

Global firm Hogan Lovells has hired a former PwC director to launch a new financial services regulatory consulting practice, aimed to assist the firm’s financial institutions clients on a host of regulatory issues, including any upcoming Brexit-related challenges.

Steve Murphy previously led PwC’s regulatory consulting practice since 2008, and has obtained 25 years of experience in the field. He will take the lead at new business Hogan Lovell Financial Services Regulatory Consulting, which will be advising asset managers, banks, building societies, wealth management firms, payment services providers and insurance companies.

Financial services partner Emily Reid has claimed that Brexit will likely bring about “significant upheaval and change for the sector” and the aim of this business will be to help Hogan Lovells’ clients “successfully navigate the challenges ahead”.

This enterprise marks a recent trend in the legal sector in which law firms have been diversifying their offerings and servicing their clients outside of pure legal work. With significant levels of competition entering from all corners of the market, firms are both consolidating and diversifying to remain successful.

Similar to Hogan Lovells’ new venture, Eversheds Sutherland also runs a consulting arm made up of lawyers and non-lawyers. The key components include advisory services, interim resources (through Eversheds Sutherland Agile) and managed services (through Eversheds Sutherland Ignite). Additionally, Addleshaw Goddard and RPC now offer consultancy services that extend beyond core legal advice.

Pinsent Masons has also recently sought to diversify its talents. This year the firm acquired Brook Graham, a diversity consultancy that boasts an expansive client base and international network, as well as New Law start-up Yuzu, which offers an innovative take on legal outsourcing. Meanwhile, Slaughter and May have also taken advantage of the new technology initiatives in the legal market as they acquired a 5% stake in AI provider Luminance.

Movers & Shakers of the week 

Panel Watch

The Co-op Group begins first panel review after seven years, whilst A&O remain its primary legal adviser

Moves

Heathrow hires a head of legal for its third runway

Senior associate Anita Kasseean will leave Stephenson Harwood to accept the new role of head of legal at Heathrow Airport Holdings for planning its third runway

NRF sees Middle East departure swiftly after Chadbourne merger goes live

TMT partner Dino Wilkinson has joined Clyde & Co in Abu Dhabi from Norton Rose Fulbright

Simmons hires US capital markets veteran

Simmons & Simmons has expanded its corporate team with the hire of US capital markets partner Chris Walton from Clifford Chance in London

WFW adds two partners to its London ranks

Asset finance partner Louise Mor and energy specialist Colin Graham both join Watson Farley & Williams from White & Case and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe respectively.

Withers makes a 12-strong corporate play in Hong Kong

Withers has hired three corporate partners, along with four associate, three paralegals and two support staff from Winston & Strawn in Asia. The team is headed by former Winston & Strawn Asia corporate head Mabel Lui, with the other two corporate partners Polly Chu and Daniel Tang.

Lloyds’ chief people, legal and strategy officer departs

Simon Davies steps down from his role as chief people, legal and strategy officer at Lloyds Banking Group only two years after his shock departure at Linklaters and appointment with the bank

Office Openings & Closings

Charles Russell Speechlys open in Hong Kong with double partner hire

Jonathan Mok and Richard Grasby exit Mayer Brown JSM in Hong Kong to launch Charles Russell Speechlys’ first office in Hong Kong, to be headed up by Mok

Former Fieldfisher team opens corporate boutique in Manchester

Ex-senior Fieldfisher corporate partners Matt Fleetwood and Jim Truscott, along with several other Fieldfisher Manchester lawyers are set to launch Beyond Professional Services Group, a corporate boutique. They have also acquired Atticus Legal, a fellow Manchester corporate boutique led by Kevin Philbin

Fieldfisher sets up fifth Italian office

Fieldfisher has hired a team of 18 fee earners from boutique Lucchini Gattamorta & Associates (LGA) to launch an office in Bologna. It will be led by LGA founder and corporate partner Gianvincenzo Lucchini

After DLA employees lost access to computer and phone systems in a ransomware attack that affected organisations worldwide, we’ve spoken with cybersecurity experts to take an in-depth look into what this means for the global law firm and how it will affect the sector as a whole.

The latest ransomware outbreak, labelled Petya, comes only a month after the high-profile WannaCry attack let loose on the NHS. Originating in Ukraine, the virus attacked the country’s state power company and Kiev’s main airport, spreading out to numerous multinational companies across the globe, with some of the biggest names including Cadbury owners Mondelez, advertising giant WPP and pharmaceutical company Merck.

As one of the ransomware’s victims, DLA Piper are under serious scrutiny within the legal industry, particularly given that the firm recently published a nine-step cybersecurity guide following the WannaCry attack last month. Managing director at Crossword Cybersecurity Stuart Jubb has told us that: “In the longer term, this could really implicate the firm’s brand. Questions will asked on how secure their networks are and clients will reconsider whether they want their confidential data stored with their law firm advisers.” To make matters worse, DLA is also the first law firm to have made public a ransomware virus within its systems. However, speaking with an FBI Agent, Bloomberg’s Big Law Business discovered that DLA isn’t the only law firm to suffer a ransomware attack, and that “other law firms have avoided such publicity from such attacks by paying a ransom to hackers.”

This isn’t the first major cyber scandal to surface in the legal sector – Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca experienced a massive data breach that led to the Panama Papers scandal and a subsequent investigation into the firm. The type of attack however differed to Petya, and as it was likely carried out by insider with knowledge of its systems, this didn’t offer enough concern for firms to revaluate their strategy for data security. “This week’s attack will certainly have more of an impact to law firm attitudes than the Panama Papers did,” says Jubb. “And the more of these incidents that take place can only help firms take notice and realise that changes need to be made.”

This attack brings to a light a major issue that almost all global law firms face today. Peter Wright, the founder and managing director of DigitalLawUK, describes how office mergers and acquisitions have put firms at risk: “DLA were at risk because they operate under an awful lot of legacy systems, and contrasting infrastructure.” These legacy systems exist because firms are rapidly absorbing new offices, without effectively integrating their IT. “Problems arise because individual parts of the network are more vulnerable than others. You could find a whole city’s offices operating in an entirely different way to another”.

“It’s easier for a law firm to grow through acquisition rather than organically. And this issue isn’t just faced by law firms, Mondelez was also attacked, most likely because they also operate under a patchwork of different systems” Wright explains.

So what are the next steps?

It seems in order to remain protected firms must change their attitude towards security measures. Wright states: “You can’t just throw money at it. Firms change and evolve constantly so it needs be an ongoing effort and strategy rather than a quick fix.”

“There needs to be a shift in internal culture and mindset towards cybersecurity,” says Jubb. “And this can only come from the top down. It’s something that needs to feature on a board’s agenda.”

As cyber attacks continue to target and infiltrate global organisations, law firms must place more importance on their cybersecurity measures. An industry that relies so heavily on confidentiality and data, firms need to ensure that not only are senior management up to speed with the threats they face, but that there is a firm-wide understanding of these risks.

Crossword Cybersecurity is a technology commercialisation company focusing exclusively on the cyber security sector.

DigitalLawUK is a UK Law firm specialising in online, data and cyber law.

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update, your guide to this week’s key trends, moves and developments in legal and compliance.

This week features a special report on the cyber attack effecting law firm DLA Piper, and a look into the key findings and recommendations of the FCA’s Asset Management Market Study.

Don’t forget to follow us on Linkedin and Twitter for regular market updates

Enjoy!

1. Expert Insight: The answers behind DLA’s cyber attack

After DLA employees lost access to computer and phone systems in a ransomware attack that affected organisations worldwide, we’ve spoken with cybersecurity experts to take an in-depth look into what this means for the global law firm and how it will affect the sector as a whole.

The latest ransomware outbreak, labelled Petya, comes only a month after the high-profile WannaCry attack let loose on the NHS. Originating in Ukraine, the virus attacked the country’s state power company and Kiev’s main airport, spreading out to numerous multinational companies across the globe, with some of the biggest names including Cadbury owners Mondelez, advertising giant WPP and pharmaceutical company Merck.

As one of the ransomware’s victims, DLA Piper are under serious scrutiny within the legal industry, particularly given that the firm recently published a nine-step cybersecurity guide following the WannaCry attack last month. Managing director at Crossword Cybersecurity Stuart Jubb has told us that: “In the longer term, this could really implicate the firm’s brand. Questions will asked on how secure their networks are and clients will reconsider whether they want their confidential data stored with their law firm advisers.” To make matters worse, DLA is also the first law firm to have made public a ransomware virus within its systems. However, speaking with an FBI Agent, Bloomberg’s Big Law Business discovered that DLA isn’t the only law firm to suffer a ransomware attack, and that “other law firms have avoided such publicity from such attacks by paying a ransom to hackers.”

This isn’t the first major cyber scandal to surface in the legal sector – Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca experienced a massive data breach that led to the Panama Papers scandal and a subsequent investigation into the firm. The type of attack however differed to Petya, and as it was likely carried out by insider with knowledge of its systems, this didn’t offer enough concern for firms to revaluate their strategy for data security. “This week’s attack will certainly have more of an impact to law firm attitudes than the Panama Papers did,” says Jubb. “And the more of these incidents that take place can only help firms take notice and realise that changes need to be made.”

This attack brings to a light a major issue that almost all global law firms face today. Peter Wright, the founder and managing director of DigitalLawUK, describes how office mergers and acquisitions have put firms at risk: “DLA were at risk because they operate under an awful lot of legacy systems, and contrasting infrastructure.” These legacy systems exist because firms are rapidly absorbing new offices, without effectively integrating their IT. “Problems arise because individual parts of the network are more vulnerable than others. You could find a whole city’s offices operating in an entirely different way to another”.

“It’s easier for a law firm to grow through acquisition rather than organically. And this issue isn’t just faced by law firms, Mondelez was also attacked, most likely because they also operate under a patchwork of different systems” Wright explains.

So what are the next steps?

It seems in order to remain protected firms must change their attitude towards security measures. Wright states: “You can’t just throw money at it. Firms change and evolve constantly so it needs be an ongoing effort and strategy rather than a quick fix.”

“There needs to be a shift in internal culture and mindset towards cybersecurity,” says Jubb. “And this can only come from the top down. It’s something that needs to feature on a board’s agenda.”

As cyber attacks continue to target and infiltrate global organisations, law firms must place more importance on their cybersecurity measures. An industry that relies so heavily on confidentiality and data, firms need to ensure that not only are senior management up to speed with the threats they face, but that there is a firm-wide understanding of these risks.

Crossword Cybersecurity is a technology commercialisation company focusing exclusively on the cyber security sector.

DigitalLawUK is a UK Law firm specialising in online, data and cyber law.

2. Findings of the FCA’s Asset Management Study Revealed

Greater transparency on costs, increased competition and greater scrutiny of further investment platforms were the main findings of the Financial Conduct Authority’s final report into the UK asset management sector, released on Wednesday.

The shake-up of the UK’s £7tn investment market was ordered by Britain’s financial regulator in an attempt to stamp out conflicts of interest and restore savers’ trust in the asset management industry, following a two-year investigation into competition issues in asset management.

The set of measures, many of which are yet to be finalised, would make the UK one of the toughest regimes in the world for asset managers to operate as London considers its post-Brexit future

The introduction of an ‘all-in’ fee for retail investors was one of the more controversial reform ideas recommended by the report. This would allow investors to make the best available investment choices (and get best value for money) by including an estimation of trading costs in the final price given to them.

An ‘all-in’ price also addresses concern over weak price competition in the sector, especially amongst active funds who do not necessarily compete on price and can carry hidden costs not always visible.

The FCA are also considering tightening rules around performance fees, which will ensure that portfolio managers are only entitled to additional fees if a fund exceeds its most ambitious performance target. The regulator is also considering penalties for funds that charge performance fees but underperform their benchmarks, better linking fees charged to a fund’s performance.

This sits alongside recommendations to improve governance standards across the sector, with asset management firms ordered to appoint two independent members to their boards. The FCA have also introduced the responsibility for asset managers to consider the value for money that they deliver to investors under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime – due to be applied to investment managers in 2018 – but have stopped short of making this a fiduciary duty.

However, despite concerns about the way the asset management sector operates, the FCA has stopped short of referring the industry to the Competition and Markets Authority, which has the power to enforce business change even without a technical breach of competition law. This has led many commentators to brand the report as ‘too soft’.

Despite this, the regulator is also considering whether any new rules should apply to private equity firms or hedge funds as a result of its investigation. The watchdog has also requested that the government allows it to regulate the powerful investment-consulting industry dominated by Aon Hewitt, Mercer and Willis Towers Watson. These consultants determine how the vast majority of UK pension schemes invest their money, and currently remain largely unregulated.

ICI Global, one of the leading trade bodies for the industry and main lobbying representative in the run up to the final report, responded with overall satisfaction to the final findings encouraging transparency and competition within the fund industry. However, they remain concerned with the analysis and tone of the final report around price clustering and the representation of active funds.

It is needless to say that the findings of the FCA’s asset management study come at a pivotal moment for the investment management industry. Britain quitting the EU has introduced fresh challenges for asset managers, including higher compliance costs, changes to how funds can be sold to non-UK investors and the future rights of foreign workers remaining in the country. At the same time, European countries have stepped up efforts to lure UK-based fund companies to relocate staff to the continent.

ESMA is focused on “Substance” and “Delegation” in a post Brexit European investment market, which will naturally draw fund managers with a large European client base away from the London market. So perhaps it is natural for the FCA to impose changes that will create a more competitive market place but not force Asset Managers to turn their backs on London as their main investment centre just yet.

It will be interesting to see the nature and scope of recommendations, whatever they may be, and the impact this has on the asset management industry through this period of change.

3. Movers & Shakers

Panel watch

SRA announces first ever spots on its new general advisory panel

Appointments

CC appoints German PE head

Co-head of corporate Anselm Raddatz will serve as the new head of private equity in Germany

Baker McKenzie selects new German and Austrian managing partner

Matthias Scholz has been elected the upcoming managing partner for Germany and Austria

Moves

W&C PE restructuring post-Youle departure

A total of six private equity lawyers are set to depart White & Case after co-head of private equity Richard Youle left the firm to Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

PwC bolsters Singapore practice

Finance and restructuring partner Carl Dunton and technology partner Henry Goodwin have both joined PwC Legal in Singapore from Ashurst and Taylor Vinters, respectively.

HSF strengthens Middle East corporate offering

Corporate partner Haitham Hawashin exits Simmons & Simmons to join Herbert Smith Freehills in its Dubai office

Office openings & Closings

DLA further expands in Africa

DLA Piper has acquired Tunisian law firm El Ajjeri Laywers and Senegalese law firm GENI & KEBE, which brings its African coverage up to 19 countries.

Ropes & Gray spin-off firm prepares to launch in London

A 100-lawyer patent prosecution practice spun-out off Ropes & Gray in New York is set to launch in August and looks to open in London afterwards

Mergers & Alliances

Kennedy expands Manchester capability through acquisition

Kennedys has acquired Manchester-based Berg & Co, introducing 50 new members to its Manchester office

Partner Promotions

Baker McKenzie announces 85 partner promotions, with 40% female representation

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

Follow us on Linkedin and Twitter for regular market updates

This week:

1. SFO’s five year probe catches up with Barclays and it senior execs

Barclays is the first bank to face criminal charges in connection with steps taken during the 2008 financial crisis.

The Serious Fraud Office’s allegations, which are also directed at four former Barclays executives, concern funds raised from Qatari investors whilst the bank was attempting to stave off a government bailout.

In 2008, Barclays carried out two rounds of emergency fundraising in June and October, securing a total of £6.1bn of Qatari investment. The bank also made advisory services agreements (ASA) with Qatar in the same period, for which Barclays paid £322m for assistance in developing its services in the region. Following this, the bank gave out a loan to Qatar’s ministry of finance that amounted to $3bn just before the end of the second cash call.

Firstly, the SFO argues there was a lack of disclosure with some of the above exchanges, which led to charges on the conspiracy to commit fraud. In addition to this, the amount loaned back to Qatar seemed to match the total that the region initially invested into Barclays, which could indicate the bank was dealing in unlawful financial assistance.

The four executives involved in the allegations are: John Varley, former Barclays chief executive; Roger Jenkins, previously executive chairman of MENA investment banking and investment management; Thomas Kalaris, former head of the bank’s wealth and investment management arm, and Richard Boath, ex- European head of financial institutions group.

All four men have been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation relating to the first cash call in June 2008. Moreover, Varley and Jenkins face a further count involving the second capital raising in October 2008.

These charges are announced following a five year-long probe by the SFO, whilst the Financial Conduct Authority has also been investigating the improper disclosure of the ASAs with Qatar since 2013. Barclays is yet to announce its position in the case as it remains to be seen whether the SFO will also charge the bank’s subsidiary Barclays Bank Plc.

This comes at an interesting time after the conservative manifesto promised the abolition of the SFO and absorption into the National Crime Agency. With such a high profile case being brought by the agency, it can only add to the controversy of this consolidation, as it is labelled as “crazy” and a “backwards step”, and fears it could impede the fight against complex fraud, bribery and corruption.

Movers & Shakers of the week 

Panel Watch

Department for Transport releases two year roster, consisting of two tiers, for panel appointments

QBE reappoint eight firms to UK claims panel

Appointments

Irwin Mitchell seeks new GC following the announced retirement of Kevin Cunningham

Moves

Arsenal Football Club makes an addition to in-house legal team

Former Team Sky lawyer Huss Fahmy has joined Arsenal Football Club, who will specialise in player contracts

Fried Frank makes real estate play in the City

Fried Frank obtains first London real estate offering having hired partners Darren Rogers and Patrick Williams from Ashurst

Latham sees Paris partner departure

Taylor Wessing has hired partner François Mary from Latham & Watkins’ Paris office to join its French corporate practice

Clyde & Co strengthens shipping practice

Five-strong marine team is set to join Clyde & Co from Eversheds Sutherland. The team includes head of shipping Stephen Mackin and shipping litigation partner Jessica Maitra.

CC expands New York office with two senior appointments

Clifford Chance has hired New York corporate veterans Joseph Consentino and Alice Kane from Greenberg Traurig and Duane Morris respectively.

Pinsents boosts FS capability with Maclays practice head

David Young departs his role as head of financial services for Maclay, Murray & Spens to join Pinsent Masons in its Edinburgh and London offices.

Office Openings & Closings

DWF launches first office in Singapore with three partner team including former Eversheds Sutherland managing partner Oommen Matthew

Partner Promotions

Gateley promotes six to partnership

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

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for regular market updates.

This week:

1. IBM delivers AI for regulatory compliance 

IBM’s Artificial Intelligence arm has extended its offering to begin servicing regulatory compliance teams in financial institutions.

IBM Watson launched three software solutions on Wednesday to help monitor regulations and assist with financial crime responsibilities. One tool will examine regulatory text to identify a company’s regulatory requirements, the second uses analytics to highlight any suspicious transactions or customers and one tool that harnesses ‘big data’, which can be used in making informed business decisions and managing business risk.

These solutions sit under the new financial services offering at IBM Watson, which was built after the tech company’s acquisition of Promontory Financial Group, a regulatory compliance advisory service.

Gene Ludwig, founder and chief executive officer of Promontory Financial Group, commented: “The speed and volume of information that financial institutions must manage is already daunting and yet still growing rapidly. The answer to this problem is cognitive technology taught by industry experts, like those at Promontory. Essentially, we’re embedding our deep regulatory experience into Watson so that a broader group of professionals can benefit from this knowledge and help their organizations operate more effectively and efficiently.”

Watson has seen success in industries such as healthcare and cybersecurity, and also offers a legal research tool, ROSS Intelligence, one of earlier products to be released in the legal AI market.

Cognitive computing, i.e. the ability for a computer to simulate human thought processes and perform self-learning, could be a serious disruptor to financial services, an industry which is particularly data intensive and fast-paced. Software such as Watson can streamline processes as well as minimise human error and time spent on tasks, whilst also reducing operational spending budgets for regulatory compliance.

As machine learning, data analytics and automation tools become widespread in the regulatory environment, regtech can be considered as a key growth area this year. And with the ever-expanding regulatory challenges faced by financial institutions, these solutions will likely become a vital component to an institutions regulatory framework.

2. Chadbourne-Norton Rose merger on hold 

The US merger between Norton Rose Fulbright and New York firm Chadbourne & Parke, due to be completed this quarter was put on hold this week due to a number of client conflicts. Revealed as part of an in-depth review process between the two firms, client conflicts were found in the project finance and energy groups, as well as between offices in the Middle East region.

If the firms are able to come together this would be NRF’s second transatlantic merger, adding to NRF’s $1.7bn annual revenue and taking the firm up to almost $2bn in total revenue worldwide.

However, a number of Chadbourne lawyers have opted against the merger, with Covington & Burling announcing the additional hire of 15 Chadbourne lawyers this week, including two London international partners, following the four-partner project finance team it recruited from the firm in April.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday partners at NRF and Australian law firm Henry Davis York formally agreed to merge, less than a week after it was confirmed they were in late-stage discussions. The merger will give the combined firm 160 partners in Australia with offices in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It is expected the merger will go live later this year.

Movers & Shakers of the week 

Moves

Five-lawyer Private Equity team follows ex-co head Youle from White & Case to Skadden

Five London associates are leaving White & Case to join private equity partner Richard Youle at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, after the announcement of his move last month.

Ashurst responds to Paris team exits with PwC tax hire

PwC tax specialist Emmanuelle Pontnau-Faure joins Ashurst in the French capital

Herbert Smith Freehills loses second energy co-head

HSF’s co-head of energy Anna Howell joins Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, marking the US firm’s first oil and gas hire in London.

Covington take an additional 15 lawyers from Chadbourne ahead of Norton Rose Fulbright merger

Covington & Burling has added a further team of 15 Chadbourne counsels and associates to the firm’s offices in London, Dubai and Johannesburg.

Office Openings & Closings

Pinsent Masons to launch a new base in Dublin with a trio of Partner hires

Pinsent’s becomes the first international law firm to launch in the Irish capital since last year’s Brexit vote, with partner hires from Walkers, Mathesons and Byrne Morris.

Hogan Lovells launches in Boston with local tie up

Hogan Lovells is set to combine with Boston-based litigation and investigations firm Collora to strengthen the firm’s life sciences offering in the US.

Mergers & Alliances

Norton Rose Fulbright votes through second merger this year with Australian firm Henry Davis York

German firm Luther calls off Addleshaws merger talks

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

Tweet us @Fides_Search to let us know your thoughts. 

This week: 

1. HSBC faces fresh forex legal battle 

HSBC is facing a fresh legal battle over allegations that its traders manipulated foreign exchange markets for their own profit at the expense of their clients.

The claim comes from ECU Group, a UK-based currency investment firm, which has filed an application to London’s commercial court asking for HSBC to be required to hand over records relating to three large foreign exchange orders it executed in 2006.The firm’s three “stop-loss” trades — each worth over $100m — were designed to limit its downside by committing to sell one currency and to buy another if the exchange rate passed a pre-determined threshold. However, each time ECU placed an order, the rate quickly dropped after rising high enough for the trade to be executed.

Although the firm suspected it was being defrauded by HSBC traders “front running” its forex orders at the time, it was told that no wrongdoing had been found after a full internal inquiry had taken place.    

ECU are now contesting these findings after the US Department of Justice (DoJ) charged two of HSBC’s top forex traders with “front running” a client’s trade last year, the first people to face U.S. criminal charges arising from an investigation of foreign-exchange rigging at banks. This came after the bank hired US firm Cleary Gottlieb to carry out a review of its forex trades — including the deal the two traders were accused of cheating on — and found no breaches of its code of conduct.

As such, ECU are asking for HSBC’s interbank dealing tickets, deal log entries, any relevant Bloomberg instant messages for the trades as well as all documents relating to the internal inquiry carried out by the bank as part of a pre-action disclosure, which often precedes a full scale law suit. If the court finds evidence that there was concealment by HSBC it can waive the statute of limitations, which would normally prevent a legal action more than six years after an instance of wrongdoing.

This comes after regulators uncovered systematic rigging of the $5tn-a-day foreign exchange market by several global banks, which were fined $4.3bn three years ago. Although HSBC did not plead guilty to conspiring to manipulate currency prices, in 2014 it paid a $618m fine to US, UK and Swiss regulators to resolve related probes, and continues to be investigated by the DoJ.

2. Law firms taking steps to attract and retain star female lawyers

Law firms have been making a further push towards improving diversity & inclusion (D&I) in their organisations, as three firms have released innovative takes on how they plan to improve workplace culture.

Pinsent Masons this week announced its acquisition of diversity consultancy Brook Graham. The consultancy, although wholly owned by Pinsents, will continue to operate as its own brand, whilst bringing in managing partner John Cleland and senior partner Richard Foley as board members.

Brook Graham advises on the creation and implementation of D&I policies, working with all levels and stakeholders of an organisation to bring about culture change. The business has built an impressive client list, including Shell, HSBC and BAE Systems.

Foley has commented that this acquisition is “a chance to turbocharge our diversity offering”, whilst also presenting a further opportunity for Pinsents to extend their brand beyond traditional legal services. The firm recently purchased a 20% stake in New Law startup Yuzu, which offers an alternative business model to managed legal services.

Also in the news this week, it was reported that Travers Smith are considering allowing lawyers to take long-term career breaks after childbirth in an attempt to retain its female lawyers and improve equality and diversity amongst the firm. The proposal would allow lawyers time off during the early years of childcare and provide training and support during this time to keep their expertise relevant and up to date.

Travers are one firm to have recently been making headway in its aims to increase gender balance. The firm released an all-female promotions round this year, with four women joining the partnership. Although its partnership still remains at 20% female, senior partner Chris Hale comments: “We want to ensure that a higher proportion of our good women lawyers who join as trainees or associates stay with us for longer.” “The trend has been one of gradual improvement, and we think that trend will continue.”

Meanwhile, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is also making changes to its maternity leave provisions as part of a broader overhaul to its benefits package in London. The firm carried out an exercise, benchmarking its policies against law firms, banks and auditors, and have decided to increase maternity leave provisions to 30 weeks full pay from the previously given 20 weeks.

There are some interesting developments being made in this space, with numerous firms beginning to take advantage of the opportunities available for retaining and attracting some of the City’s top female talent. If you would like to learn more about gender equality in the legal sector or law firm D&I policies, please get in touch with Researcher Emily Clews at eclews@fidessearch.com or on +44 (0) 20 3642 1870.

Movers & Shakers of the week 

Panel Watch

Thames Water begins panel overhaul as its sole adviser BLP is up for review

SocGen starts global panel review, expected to be finalised by September

Appointments

New appointments made at Norton Rose amidst pre-merger management shake-up

Moves

Channel 4 appoints new GC

Amali de Silva joins Channel 4 as its head of legal and compliance from media litigation firm Wiggin, after long-standing GC Prash Naik left in April

Ropes & Gray loses two finance partners

Finance partners Mark Wesseldine and Fergus Wheeler have left the City office of Ropes & Gray to join King & Spalding

Lewis Silkin appoints COO

Graeme Wood has joined Lewis Silkin as its chief operating officer, having previously worked at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang as director of change

HSF alliance in Singapore adds to its office

Corporate partner Eugene Lee has departed Latham & Watkins to join Herbert Smith Freehills’ formal law alliance firm Prolegis in Singapore

Gibson Dunn makes play for four-partner Ashurst team in Paris

Dispute resolution partners Jean-Pierre Farges, Eric Bouffard and Pierre-Emmanuel Fender leave Ashurst to set up a litigation offering for Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Paris. Also joining the move to Gibson Dunn Bertrand Delaunay, the former Ashurst managing partner

Litigation boutique hires fraud specialist

Stewarts Law has hired Dechert litigation partner David Hughes to its commercial litigation practice

Office Openings & Closings

Andersen Tax & Legal sets up third German office in Cologne

Six Osborne Clarke lawyers depart the firm and prepare to launch procurement boutique in Cologne

Mergers & Alliances

Pinsent Masons increases diversity offering through acquisition of diversity consultancy Brook Graham

Norton Rose Fulbright prepares to vote on merger with Australian firm Henry Davis York

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update.  Here we provide analysis on the key news stories in legal and compliance this week. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for more insights!

1) Ireland restructures regulatory landscape

The Central Bank of Ireland Commission (CBI) has approved the restructuring of the bank’s financial-regulation structures to match the twin peaks regulatory model of the UK.

Announced on Tuesday, regulatory functions are to be split under the two headings of prudential regulation and financial conduct, to ensure the CBI is ‘suitably equipped’ to meet its expanding regulatory mandate.

Mirroring the move the Bank of England made in April 2013 to move to a ‘twin peaks’ model of regulation, the prudential regulation pillar will look after credit institutions, insurance and asset-management supervision, while the financial-conduct pillar will regulate consumer protection, securities and markets supervision, and enforcement.

This will also lead to a change in structure to the bank’s senior management team, with prudential regulation being led by a Deputy Governor and the Financial Conduct pillar being led by a newly-created role of Director General, who will also be responsible for the Bank’s representation at European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Both role holders will report to the Governor and will be members of the Central Bank’s most senior management committee, with competition for these roles set to open next week.

Stricter regulation in the wake of the financial crisis, together with the growth of new types of financial business in Ireland, have led to sharp increases in the CBI’s regulation activity in recent years.

In April it told all banks operating in the country to review their reporting standards after an investigation found many breaches of rules. Earlier this month the central bank called for greater scrutiny of the exchange traded fund industry. Ireland is the largest European domicile for ETFs.

This, combined with a higher level of engagement with the European Central Bank through the SSM, and potential influx of new businesses interested in relocating from the UK after Brexit, has piled further pressure on the Central Bank.

This comes amid legitimate concerns that regulatory standards will drop as member states vie to win new business from the UK, with ESMA publishing guidance on Wednesday to prevent entities from setting up ‘letterbox entities’ in an EU country that in reality outsource or delegate significant business to London.

According to Bloomberg, Bank of America Corp., Standard Chartered Plc and Barclays Plc are amongst the biggest banks considering Dublin for their EU base to retain access to the single market.

2) IPO Watch 2017: Which firms come out on top?

Following the announcement this week that Linklaters, Allen & Overy and Herbert Smith Freehills will be advising on the upcoming Allied Irish Bank IPO, we’ve taken a look back to see which firms have gained the most from 2017’s UK initial public offerings (IPOs).

Globally, $34.6bn has been raised in IPOs so far this year, compared to $13.8bn over the same period last year. Q1 2017 in London however has been fairly stagnant, with the volume of listings increasing by only 6 per cent from this time last year. Although London has only seen a small share of the global total listing on its exchange (6.4%), the region has regained its leading position as the most active European exchange, outnumbering the likes of Deutsche Börse and Spanish exchange Bolsa de Madrid.

Here is a list of this year’s main market floats on the LSE as well as the law firms that acted on the deal:

It shows that deals are being won by a number of different firms, ranging from the UK’s top tier through to smaller UK outfits.

The largest IPO this year, Alpha Financial Software, was only one of two deals on which a US firm has been instructed. White & Case’s Jonathan Parry advised the financial software company whilst actuarial business Xafinity was advised by Reed Smith, led by corporate partner Philip Taylor in February this year.

Charles Russell Speechlys is one firm in particular to have taken advantage of market activity, securing instructions on three IPOs already this year. Having acted on the listing of property services company Dukemount Capital, the firm also advised the management teams instructed on the IPOs for Ten Entertainment Group and TOC Property Backed Lending Trust.

Although political uncertainty has yet again caused apprehension for new market entrants, and we aren’t experiencing the mass deluge of tech companies listing as they did last year, many have still indicated that there is a healthy pipeline of deals preparing to enter the UK IPO this summer. As companies such Uber, Airbnb and Lyft become the most anticipated IPOs of 2017, it is expected the IPO could pick up towards the latter part of this year.

3) Movers & Shakers

Moves

Herbert Smith Freehills strengthens corporate crime practice with boutique litigation hire

Corporate crime and investigations partner Brian Spiro makes the move from BCL Solicitors to HSF

Freshfields IP partner exits for WilmerHale

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer IP partner Justin Watts is set to leave the firm for WilmerHale, taking a senior associate along with him

Office Openings & Closings

Dentons takes seven-strong team to launch Myanmar office

Mergers & Alliances

Bond Dickinson combines with US alliance partner Womble Carlyle

Merger between HBJ Gately and Addleshaw Goddard goes live

Panel Watch

Insurance giant AIG names UK panel with Clifford Chance and Macfarlanes among winners

Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update.  Here we provide analysis on the key news stories in legal and compliance this week. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for more insights!

This week Consultant Max Alfano brings some of the main themes discussed in Tuesday’s London conference hosted by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, which focused the landscape of the Asset management industry in a European context.

From UK to Luxembourg: Asset management landscape in the wider European market  

This week we attended the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) London Conference. There were a number of topics raised that centred around Luxembourg and wider European market, as well as the regulatory and macro-economic challenges for asset managers at present and in the future.

There was a clear agenda for marketing and drawing investment to Luxemburg, which was highlighted by the Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna’s initial address, drawing on the special relationship Luxembourg has with the UK and how they are in a prime position to maintain this in a post Brexit EU.

Luxembourg is clearly a desirable destination for the funds and asset management as funds have been domiciled predominately in the region (as well as in Ireland) and utilise passporting rules to ensure management of the funds remains in another larger European hub.

CSSF: A regulators view 

Jean-Marc Goy, counsel for international Affairs at the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), spoke at length around “substance” requirements and perhaps more crucially provided some insight into how the CSSF approaches the question of substance.

He goes on to discuss their focus around Substance requiring a minimum of operations, IT, People, Oversight and Monitoring. There is no one size fits all model, they look on a case by case basis and are able to utilise an Onsite team to act as there market surveillance function.

Goy was interviewed by a compatriot Freddy Brausch (Partner and co-head of the investment management sector at Linklaters), where they discussed ESMA’s views on the UK in a post-Brexit environment, in regards to management of funds from a non-member states.

ESMA’s standpoint lies with a hard Brexit in terms of funds, which would mean significant collateral change for many funds and asset managers, whilst Luxembourg and Jean-Marc’s view is slightly more cautious as to what would actually be feasible in shifting significant “substance” away from the UK.

Distribution landscape

Predictably the Passive vs Active argument arose and we saw Vanguard jostling with Aberdeen over the best ways to draw investors to the most favourable product offering.

Richard Withers (Head of Government Relations at Vanguard) argued that the common perception is that Vanguard are the leaders in the passive investment market; however, they view themselves at cost leaders driving competitiveness within the market.

A clear theme for all firms and for the industry as a whole was the need for the industry to remain at the head of innovation utilising technology as the market sees further consolidation and competition; to remain competitive firms can no longer rely on reputation alone.

Campbell Fleming (Head of Distribution, Aberdeen) commented that it is the most challenging time he has been in the investment management industry however there is still significant investment opportunity for firms willing to move with the times.

Macro trends

Naim Abou-Jaoude (CEO Candriam Investors Group) echoed Campbell’s words, commenting that structural drivers make it the hardest time for the asset management industry, namely low interest rates cost pressures, regulation, client senses, passive management, globalization and concentration on bonuses. However, margins are still high if you can generate the alpha.

In the EU 41% of wealth across the region is currently sitting in 0% or negative interest accounts whereas in the United States that number is 17%, meaning that there is a distinct lack of education or trust, with potential investors in the EU. This is also influenced by trends on a national level, that is Brexit, Le Pen, elections and Populist movements for example.

The future for the EU

Frieden Luc (Partner at Elvinger Hoss, Prussen) commented on the future of the European Union and regulation. He believes that for the EU to come out in a stronger position after Brexit there needs to be further consolidation and consistency of regulation between the major economies. He also iterated the need for harmonizing economies and creating a more centralised model which would lead to greater success.

Although this seems like a logical step, in reality creating centralisation and handing further control to Brussels whilst facilitating 27 member states to agree, might be slightly more challenging. Was it not for this very reason that Brexit campaigners built there argument in the first instance?

To find out more about this topic, contact Consultant Max Alfano at malfano@fidessearch.com or +44 (0) 20 3011 0698

Movers & Shakers of the week 

Panel Watch

AIG confirms the 29 firms on its new UK panel

10 law firms are named providers on the London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) panel

Appointments

Uber kicks off search for next GC

General counsel Salle Yoo has been promoted to chief legal officer for Uber technologies, with the company awaiting to fill her former position

Moves

Dentons nabs second magic circle practice head this month

Dentons has hired Louis Skyner as a partner from Clifford Chance, where he served as the head of its Russia and CIS energy practice

W&C star PE duo split as one heads to rival US firm

Co-head of private equity at White & Case Richard Youle departs the firm to join Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom with fellow private equity partner Katja Butler

Quinn Emanuel continues to build out Brussels practice

Sherman & Sterling competition partners Stephen Mavroghenis and Miguel Rato quit the firm to join Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in Brussels

Linklaters makes addition to London restructuring team

Restructuring partner James Douglas has exited his current firm Ropes & Gray to join Linklaters in London

Office Openings & Closings

Winston & Strawn is the next US firm to slim down Asia operations as it faces office closures in Beijing and Taipei

Sullivan and Cromwell launch Brussels office after hiring competition partner Michael Rosenthal from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Mergers & Alliances

Dentons plan to launch Peru offering through local tie-up with Gallo Barrios Pickmann

Partner Promotions

Kennedys promotes four women to partnership