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In-house: RPC and DWF among four new firms on Dixons Carphone’s expanded roster

Retailer Dixons Carphone has added four firms to a revised legal roster, with DWF, RPC, Bristows and Carson McDowell winning spots.

The panel will run for four years following the expiration of its previous arrangement in March, which was the result of a 2016 review. The new additions join ten firms Dixons Carphone has kept panel relationships with, including Addleshaw Goddard, Clyde & Co, DAC Beachcroft, DLA Piper, Doyle Clayton, Fieldfisher, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pinsent Masons, Shoosmiths, and Worthingtons.

The 14 firms will work across commercial, corporate, employment, litigation, regulatory, property and IP work. General counsel Nigel Paterson, who featured in the GC Powerlist 2019, told Legal Business the winning firms were assessed against technical expertise, financial value, retail market understanding and their abilities to offer added-value services.

‘We have maintained existing relationships with the firms we’ve worked with for many years, while also bringing on board the expertise of four firms,’ he added.

Paterson has responsibility for 47 lawyers across employment, corporate and commercial legal teams in London, Athens and Oslo.  He joined Dixons Carphone a year after the £3.8bn merger between Dixons and Carphone Warehouse in 2014, which brought household names including Currys and PC World under one umbrella. A former senior lawyer at BT for over 14 years, he replaced interim joint-GC team of Helen Grantham and Tim Morris.

Dixons Carphone has been riding a turbulent couple of years of poor trading on the high street, and in 2018 announced the closure of 92 of its 700 stores.

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Ashurst enters US West Coast with four-lawyer Santa Monica projects play

Ashurst has launched a four-lawyer transport and infrastructure-focused base in Santa Monica, its second US office after New York.

The firm announced today (25 February) that projects partner Anna Hermelin has relocated from the firm’s Tokyo office to become managing partner of the new West Coast operations in the Los Angeles County.

The new outpost, staffed by Hermelin and three California-qualified Ashurst associates, will focus on projects and project finance work in the transport and social infrastructure sectors. Ashurst aims to grow the team to between seven and ten lawyers within a year.

A spokesperson for Ashurst told Legal Business that the launch was a reflection of mandates on the West Coast having increased significantly and was ‘aligned to the firm’s ambitions in terms of its projects, project finance and infrastructure offering’.

California has gathered increasing attention from international law firms in the last few years, although interest has mainly been focused on the booming Bay Area tech scene rather than the Los Angeles surroundings.

Some point to a growing gap between the North and the South of the state, with fewer financial institutions and public companies based around Los Angeles compared to a decade ago and reverberations across the legal industry. New York royalty Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, for example, has reduced its LA headcount in recent years and is planning to move to smaller premises when its current lease expires in 2021.

Others however point to the growing strength of the media and entertainment scene around LA’s Century City district, with Latham & Watkins launching locally in 2014 and Paul Hastings following suit in March 2018. The burgeoning tech scene around the area ambitiously dubbed Silicon Beach, between LA and Santa Monica, is also getting more attention from investors, with Boston-bred Goodwin launching in Santa Monica last year.

Other firms to open Southern California bases recently include Baker McKenzie in March 2018 and Clyde & Co in July 2017.

The launch of Ashurst’s second US base after New York follows the firm posting robust financials in 2018/19, with revenue rising 14% to £641m and profits per equity partner soaring 31% to £972,000. The firm has made considerable headway in New York in recent years having built out a generative government-side infrastructure advisory offering.

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‘Healthy competition’: LOD comes full circle with launch of challenger UK law firm

Lawyers On Demand (LOD) is launching a ‘challenger’ law firm to compete with traditional firms on providing advice to in-house teams across the UK, three years after the business was first launched in Australia.

The business – LOD Legal – is staffed exclusively by lawyers from an in-house background, with the team currently in excess of 30 lawyers comprised of new full-time employees and existing lawyers from the core LOD team. Like LOD, the business operates under a corporate structure.

‘The joy of our model is we can respond in a speedy fashion to what clients want,’ LOD co-founder Simon Harper (pictured) told Legal Business. ‘In the UK it will be focused at the start on delivering services in an agile way. The Australian business is significantly more progressed, so that provides a blueprint.’

Since its origins at legacy Berwin Leighton Paisner, LOD has enjoyed close relationships with traditional firms for work. However, Harper believes the launch of LOD Legal should not step on the toes of LOD’s private practice clients, instead providing ‘healthy competition’ as a significant majority of LOD’s work comes from in-house clients.

‘There was always an overlap with private practice, even in the BLP days,’ Harper added. ‘But we’re not looking at big ticket litigation or multi-jurisdictional M&A. We’re targeting the everyday work for in-house teams.’

With outsourcing and day-to-day commercial contract work the initial aim of the firm, LOD Legal will be supported by the project management and technology service lines already provided by the wider LOD business. Currently, LOD Legal is providing commercial legal advice to in-house teams across the technology, pharmaceutical, professional services and retail sectors in the UK. According to Harper, the business expects to add employment law capability imminently.

Moving ahead LOD Legal will be pitted against large traditional firms who also provide such offerings through their managed legal services arms. Eversheds Sutherland’s Konexo business is one such example, while DWF and Addleshaw Goddard also have managed legal services capabilities.

The moves by LOD come after changes made by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in November 2019, which allowed for solicitors in England and Wales to provide services in new ways, outside the confines of traditional law firm structures.

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Russell-Cooke: Navigating the barriers: tips for aspiring BAME lawyers 17 March 2020

Russell-Cooke is hosting its first BAME legal conference which will be taking place in London. Paulette Mastin (chair of Black Solicitors Network (BSN)) and Stephanie Boyce (deputy vice president of the Law Society) will be sharing their personal experiences and advice on how to navigate the legal profession. Guest panellists will also be discussing the alternative paths to becoming a solicitor. Aspiring solicitors / attendees will have the chance to ask questions of the panel plus take away practical tips on how to nurture a successful career in the legal industry.

Tuesday 17 March 2020 – 7 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4BS

Register your free place at this seminar.

 

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Goodwin’s City arm hikes revenue 11% to $74m on the back of lateral bonanza

In another robust year for Boston’s Goodwin, its ever-expansive City arm has seen turnover lift 11% to $74m amid a year of aggressive investment.

The double-digit City turnover growth may not be as pacey as last year’s eye-catching 58% uptick to $66.8m, but it speaks of the benefits of investing heavily and sticking to the strategy in a year characterised by a slower rate of growth for many more mature practices of US firms in London.

Global revenue saw a comparable 11% increase to $1.33bn from $1.2bn in 2018, while profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 6% to $2.61m from $2.46m last year.

On the back of a sustained hiring spree, London lawyer headcount grew 23% to 86 fee-earners from 69 the previous year, outpacing 14% global headcount growth from 955 to 1,091. That growth resulted in a 3% dip in revenue per lawyer (RPL) from $1.255m to $1.219m for 2019.

Notably, the firm’s City lateral tally since the start of 2019 also stood at 11, chiefly in the tech practice, and mainly from rival in the space, Taylor Wessing.

The biggest haul came last summer with the team hire of Taylor Wessing’s head of life sciences Malcolm Bates, along with colleagues David Mardle, Tim Worden and Adrian Rainey.

The team followed the January 2019 addition of Taylor Wessing corporate partner Andrew Davis to its technology and life sciences practice and the March hire of Simon Thomas from Addleshaw Goddard as a partner in the financial restructuring practice.

More recently in August, tax partner Robert Young was hired from Taylor Wessing and Ali Ramadan joined from Orrick. Last November, private equity partner Carl Bradshaw went over from Kirkland & Ellis, while in January, Goodwin enlisted CMS’ private equity head James Grimwood and this month real estate partner Justin Cornelius joined from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.

The firm also last year threw its weight behind London, promoting three to partner – private equity lawyer Ravi Chopra, tax lawyer Katie Leah and real estate lawyer Martin Smith – in its 33-strong global round.

A relatively recent entrant into the London market, opening with a solitary partner (in the form of ex-Ashurst corporate real estate veteran and now Goodwin’s European chair, David Evans) in 2011, Goodwin’s success has been driven by a single-mindedness in sticking to and investing in the four core areas of real estate, private equity, life sciences and technology, mirroring the firm’s strongpoints in the US.

Goodwin had an impressive run of mandates during the financial year, acting for Medical Properties Trust on the acquisition of a corporate structure that owns a portfolio of 30 acute care hospital facilities, valued at roughly £1.5bn, with a team led by Evans, James Spence and Bradshaw.

The year also saw two $1bn mandates for Investcorp and a role advising Ares Management on the structuring and establishment of Ares European Real Estate Fund V, which closed last August having raised €1.78bn.

US firms to report more subdued financial performance out of London include Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, whose revenue remained broadly flat at $125.1m on the heels of a 28% surge in 2018, while Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft saw its London revenue drop for the second year in a row, falling 4% to $41.3 in 2019, in spite of global revenue growing 9% to $459m.

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This article first appeared on Legal Business.

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Dealwatch: Big-ticket M&A back on track as Cleary and NRF lead on Alstom’s €6.2bn rail acquisition

Amid a relative dearth of substantial European buyouts recently, the proposed €6.2bn acquisition by France’s Alstom of the rail business of Canadian counterpart Bombardier will come as a boon for the international offices of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Norton Rose Fulbright.

Alstom said on Monday (17 February) it had signed an agreement with Bombardier and its shareholder the Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to acquire 100% of the shares in Bombardier Transportation for between €5.8bn and €6.2bn.

As part of the deal, CDPQ will convert its current €2bn investment in Bombardier Transportation into shares in Alstom and will also invest another €700m in the French rail company, making it Alstom’s largest shareholder with 18%.

The extensive Cleary team advising Alstom was led by M&A partner Pierre-Yves Chabert with London partner Nallini Puri advised on UK corporate matters. Richard Sultman advised on tax from London.

Norton Rose advised Bombardier while Jones Day advised on the antitrust and competition aspects of the deal. Jones Day partner and co-head of antitrust and competition Bernard Amory led from the US. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised Bombardier’s financial advisor Citigroup.

Last year Alstom attempted a merger with German company Siemens with plans to create a European rail champion. The merger failed following a block from EU antitrust regulators. Bombardier has been disposing of several parts of its business recently and last year sold its regional jet business to Japanese engineering company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Meanwhile, Travers Smith advised TA Associates on the proposed sale of Merian Global Investors Limited to UK fund management group Jupiter Fund Management for £390m, paid through the issue of new Jupiter shares to Merian shareholders. The deal will create a combined portfolio of £65bn assets under management.

Merian provides investment expertise across major asset classes in fixed income, global emerging market equities, alternatives and global asset allocation. Jupiter Fund Management mainly manages investment trusts and private client portfolios as well as mutual funds, segregated mandates and investment trusts with investments worth £44.1bn for individuals and institutions across the UK and internationally. Jupiter’s fund covers equities, fixed income, multi-asset, multi-manager and alternatives asset classes.

The Travers team was led by head of private equity and financial sponsors and co-head of corporate Paul Dolman. Partner Tim Lewis provided financial regulatory advice, partner Simon Skinner advised on tax, Partner Philip Cheveley advised on equity capital markets and Partner Mahesh Varia advised on incentives and remuneration.

A Macfarlanes team led by M&A partner Luke Powell also advised Merian. Jupiter Fund was advised by Fenchurch Advisory Partners.

Speaking to Legal Business Dolman said that the deal brought together two market-leading asset managers and required a sizable Travers team, covering regulatory, public company, employment benefits and private equity specialisms.

‘We are seeing more and more trade buyers. Jupiter is a trade buyer, but quite unusual because it’s listed. The synergies that a trade buyer can bring gives them an advantage compared to a financial sponsor. It is consistent with what we are seeing in the market,’ said Dolman.

Finally, Travers also advised its long-term client Silverfleet Capital Partners on the acquisition of Danish-based credit management service provider Collectia.

The Travers team was led by private equity and financial sponsors partner Will Yates and worked alongside Danish firm Bruun & Hjejle on the cross-border transaction. Collectia was advised by Macfarlanes with a team led by partner Kirstie Hutchinson.

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Cooley’s City base passes $70m revenue mark as global growth slows

Cooley’s London outpost has outpaced the West Coast firm’s global revenue growth for the third consecutive year, rising 9% to $72.9m five years after its launch.

The results disclosed today (13 February) show a global revenue increase of 8% to $1.33bn while profits per equity partner (PEP) rose 6% to $2.54m in 2019.

The pace of growth slowed somewhat on last year, when both global and City turnover were up by double digit figures, 16% to $66.7m and 14% to $1.23bn respectively. Revenue per lawyer at the 1,000-strong firm grew by just 2% in 2019 to $1.32m compared to an 8% rise in 2018.

But overall the results signal another solid year for the Palo Alto-bred firm, fuelled by an ever busy Silicon Valley tech scene and faster-than-usual international expansion, with new offices launched in Brussels and Hong Kong in 2019, followed by Singapore this year. Cooley has grown its global turnover 157% since 2010.

The firm also continued growing its City base, which passed the 100-lawyer mark and is about to move into new premises at 22 Bishopsgate. The firm brought across capital markets partners Claire Keast-Butler and David Boles from US rival Latham & Watkins.

UK deals included advising biotech company Therachon on its $810m sale to Pfizer and manufacturer Bavarian Nordic on its €955m acquisition of manufacturing rights for two vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline.

Cooley was also active on the City contentious side, advising Allergy Therapeutics on a breach of contract claim against Canadian company Inflamax, and biopharma company IQVIA in a dispute with Swiss pharma company Cardiorentis.

In other financial results announced this week, revenue at the London base of US disputes heavyweight Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan rose 20% to £100.6m, while King & Spalding increased its UK turnover 15% to $55.7m. Wall Street firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, however, saw its London revenue drop for the second year in a row, falling 4% to $41.3 in 2019.

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Ropes ups the ante in the City talent war with £130k NQ pay package

In a bold play for the Boston-bred firm, Ropes & Gray has increased its London NQ salary by 8% to £130k plus bonus.

The move means a notable uptick on the previous City NQ rate of £120k and present a boon for Ropes’ appeal to young lawyers at a time of internal transition and increasing competition in the market.

The firm also said it would be retaining two out of three of its London trainees who are due to qualify into its litigation and enforcement and data privacy practices in March 2020.

Ropes’ hike gives the firm a competitive edge with peers, with the US competition last year upping the stakes considerably. Skadden gave its London NQs an extra £15k to £133k, Milbank paid £132k, Sidley Austin £130k, Weil Gotshal & Manges £130k and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton £120k.

Ropes’ training programme, which includes an international seat, has been running since 2011 and now hosts 14 trainees.

Mike Goetz, Ropes’ venerable London co-managing partner, retired at the end of last year, leaving corporate partner Will Rosen solely at the helm.

Since its London launch in 2010 the firm has promoted 15 lawyers to partner and 19 to counsel. Of its 124 London fee-earners, 46% are female and of its 23 partners, 48% are female.

Goetz had been a pivotal player in the establishment of the London office, along with the storied finance veteran Maurice Allen, with the pair defecting from White & Case in 2008 to spearhead the launch.

Last year Ropes promoted only one to partner in the form of private equity lawyer Elizabeth Todd, after a turbulent 2018 that saw four of its London real estate and restructuring partners axed in a refocus on its prized funds business.

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From Silk to Rope: Linklaters signs lease for Ropemaker Street move in 2026

Linklaters is moving its 1,200-lawyer City headquarters out of Silk Street after 30 years to take up 14 floors at 20 Ropemaker in Moorgate from 2026.

The firm’s move to new 300,000sq ft premises in the 27-storey building will reduce its floor space by about 25%, but managing partner Gideon Moore said Linklaters will be able to use the space more efficiently.

‘The building will provide us with the flexibility to accommodate any changes,’ Moore told Legal Business just after signing the lease this morning (13 February). ‘I’m not making the assumption that we’ll have fewer lawyers in London. We have enough space to accommodate not just what we think we’ll be in six but in 16 years’ time.’

The building is due for completion in the last quarter of 2022, and Linklaters will be running a series of pilots to ‘work out what working environment will be more suitable’ for its staff at the time of the move, ‘whether it’s the single office approach, open plan or a combination of the two’, said Moore.

One of the key items on Moore’s agenda since his appointment as managing partner in January 2016, Linklaters started searching for new premises around two years ago.

‘We had a wish list which included location, the developer and landlord, the quality of the product, most importantly the working environment that it would provide for our people and clients,’ said Moore. ‘As with all properties, you try to get as close to your wish list as you can anticipating that you will have to make some compromises. I can honestly say we didn’t have to make a single compromise.’

‘What’s really pleasing is the uniform support we have received from the firm, not just in London but around the network.’

Office moves have been high on the agenda of other City firms too in recent years. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer will this year bid farewell to Fleet Street after three decades and move to 100 Bishopsgate, while Ashurst relocated its London operations to Brushfield Street last year.

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HSF’s accounts show revenue hit £447m amid a 23% profit hike and a sharp fall in debt

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has increased profit and turnover, its latest LLP accounts reveal, while also bolstering its borrowing capacity and significantly reducing debt.

HSF increased revenue 6% to £447m in 2018/19 as operating profit at the Anglo-Australian giant increased 23% to £127.5m. The firm has also bolstered its borrowing capacity following the implementation of a new Revolving Credit Facility put in place in April 2019.

The new facility – which is funded by a syndicate of eight banks – allows HSF to borrow a maximum of £300m, an increase of £25m on the previous facility. Its implementation coincided with debt falling 55% at the firm from £146m to £65m.

The accounts also revealed partners were required to provide extra capital, with overall partner capital increasing by £13.4m over the last financial year. The LLPs state the firm has ‘historically operated with lower levels of direct partner capital than our competitors’ with the increase intending to place HSF more in line with its peers.

Revenue growth in its non-Australian business surpasses the firm’s global performance of a 4% increase to £966m. Moreover, the profit growth comes as the firm reported an 11% increase in profits globally to £307m in July 2019, while profit per equity partner likewise grew 11%.

In a change to it LLP structure, in January HSF finalised its plans to bring its German offices into the UK LLP as a means of mitigating Brexit concerns. The move was implemented last December as City firms in Germany faced a complex regulatory environment in light of the UK’s imminent departure from the European Union.

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This article first appeared on Legal Business.