Tag: allen & overy

Posted on

Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling announce merger

In what the firms describe as ‘the first fully integrated global elite law firm’ Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling have announced a planned merger to create a ‘unique global law firm’ named Allen Overy Shearman Sterling – A&O Shearman for short.

In a statement, the firms said: ‘This merger will combine two of the world’s most prestigious law firms, leaders in their respective markets, to create an integrated global elite firm.

‘Together A&O Shearman will have  3,900 lawyers and 800 Partners across 49 offices. Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling have 250 years of combined experience and some of the greatest legal talent in the world. A&O Shearman will be the only global firm with US law, English law, and local law capabilities in equal measure. This merger is driven by clients’ needs for a seamless global offering of the highest quality and depth to support them in navigating an increasingly complex legal, regulatory, and geopolitical environment.

‘Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling are complementary with distinct market leadership, and between them they have huge strength in the US, UK, and markets all across the globe. This merger will transform their offering to clients: Shearman & Sterling will gain access to a dramatically expanded ‘rest of the world’ offering across practice areas, and Allen & Overy will benefit from increased board-level recognition and expanded access to a corporate client base in the US. The combined firm will be perfectly positioned to capitalise on global macro trends including energy transition, technology, and private capital.’

Wim Dejonghe, senior partner at Allen & Overy, said: ‘This combination of two great firms is such an exciting step for us. Both firms have a history of excellence, and together we think A&O Shearman will be a firm unlike any other in the world. We have listened to our clients and their requests for the highest quality advice to help navigate the demands they face, and to do so in an integrated and globally consistent way. We, A&O Shearman, will do this by accelerating our ability to bring the best of both firms, regardless of geography.

‘Shearman & Sterling is an incredible group of legal minds; a firm built on integrity and excellence, founded like us in a premier global financial capital and with an extraordinary group of longstanding clients. What excites me about this merger is the complementary cultures of our two firms. We have striking similarities across the board, and I believe we are going to be wonderful partners to one another on this journey.’

Adam Hakki, senior partner at Shearman & Sterling, said: ‘Client need for global elite firms has never been greater. They are calling for integrated global legal solutions and advice: merging with Allen & Overy will dramatically accelerate our ability to meet their needs in an increasingly complex environment. Allen & Overy is an outstanding firm whose work we have long admired and thought of as a kindred spirit. We have both always placed great emphasis on attracting and retaining top talent, were early to globalise, and are relentlessly focused on quality, excellence, and collaboration.

‘This is truly a game-changing moment for both firms that will create an unparalleled offering for our clients. It is also a fantastic opportunity for our people to be part of a transformative transaction and an institution of such significance, and we look forward to recruiting even more stellar talent in the coming years.’

Lazard is serving as financial adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is serving as legal counsel to A&O,  while Davis Polk & Wardwell is advising Shearman.

The proposed merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including a vote of the partners of each of the respective firms.

More detail can be found on www.announcingaoss.com, a site set up by the firms.

mark.mcateer@legalbusiness.co.uk

This article first appeared on Legal Business

Posted on

A&O opens in Boston as Simmons launches in Silicon Valley

UK firms have made significant moves stateside, with Allen & Overy and Simmons & Simmons announcing the opening of new US offices.

Allen & Overy’s US expansion project appears set to continue. With a new office in Boston set to open following the arrival of a five-partner group from Goodwin. The firm, which has been recruiting across numerous US practice areas since the collapse of the planned merger with O’Melveny & Myers, welcomed the new partners into its intellectual property litigation practice, significantly bolstering its offering in the life sciences industry. Elizabeth Holland will join the New York office and is set to become the head of the US life sciences practice, with Bill James joining the firm in Washington.

The new Boston office is set to be established by the additions of John Bennett, Nick Mitrokostas and Daniel Margolis, all of whom bring experience of litigation in life sciences.

US senior partner Tim House said: ‘Our sustained expansion across the US speaks to our strategy to become the only elite global law firm to offer scaled, coordinated, top tier intellectual property litigation capabilities to life sciences businesses across the US, UK, continental Europe and Asia-Pacific. The ability to develop coordinated, cross-border IP protection strategies from within a single firm with a uniform commitment to quality and client service is something that is requested by more and more of our global clients.’

The new arrivals are the latest in a string of hires in the contentious life sciences space and follow the addition of Sapna Palla and Stephen Neuhaus, who joined the New York and Germany groups in July and May 2021 respectively.

Elsewhere, Simmons & Simmons announced the opening of its first US office, with the new Silicon Valley practice poised to open in May.

The new office, which will not practise US law, follows the introduction of a Shenzhen practice in 2019 and signifies the overarching strategy of the firm to establish itself as a significant presence on the international tech market. Commenting on the development, head of TMT Alex Brown said: ‘This is a globally significant move for the firm’s TMT sector service. Silicon Valley is the epicentre of the global technology sector and is home to many of the world’s largest technology companies. With Simmons’ existing TMT sector expertise and its new on-the-ground presence, the firm is poised to win new work and forge stronger relationships with our existing US TMT sector clients. Together with firm’s office in Shenzhen, this will give us a presence in the two largest tech hubs in the world.’

Situated in San Francisco, the office is to be headed by new recruit Emily Jones. Having spent the previous five years leading Osborne Clarke’s practice in the area, Jones specialises in technology and data privacy and will oversee a practice focused on serving US TMT clients.

Jones said: ‘Having spent the last five years building my client base and reputation in Silicon Valley, working closely with companies as they expand outside the US and gaining valuable experience and understanding of the issues and challenges that are most important to them, I am ideally placed to represent Simmons on the US West Coast. It’s a time of tremendous growth and innovation in the technology market and Silicon Valley remains the focal point of this activity.’

Charles.avery@legalbusiness.co.uk

This story first appeared on Legal Business.

Posted on

Revolving doors: A&O launches Silicon Valley tech team as Linklaters hires litigation star

In a major expansion of its US operations, Allen & Overy (A&O) has made an eye-catching move for seven White & Case technology partners to establish a new Silicon Valley presence.

Making the switch are partners Shamita Etienne-Cummings, Bijal Vakil, David Tennant, Eric Lancaster, Adam Chernichaw, Daren Orzechowski and Alex Touma. The new multidisciplinary team will be headed by Orzechowski and Vakil, with all of the arriving partners operating from the current locations in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York and Washington DC.

The team will offer a combined strength in technology disputes, transactions, patent litigation and intellectual property. As well as a new Silicon Valley hub, the team transfer will also provide A&O with a new San Francisco office.

A&O senior partner Wim Dejonghe said: ‘All businesses are technology businesses now. Our clients have been asking us when we will have a presence in Silicon Valley and now we are adding an offering that we will grow to serve as the firm’s centre of excellence in a range of technology areas. This is truly a top team and integrating them into our existing practice will be game-changing for us, not just in the US, but in our capabilities to serve clients in the key markets of Europe and Asia as well.’

Continuing the Magic Circle’s US push this week, Linklaters has appointed litigation heavyweight Richard Smith as a partner in Washington DC, a rare exit from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. With over 30 years’ experience, Smith has an established reputation in litigation, particularly in white-collar defence.

Prior to private practice, Smith spent 15 years as a senior government prosecutor and was the former principal deputy chief for litigation of the fraud section of the US Department of Justice, Criminal Division.

Adam Lurie, head of Linklaters’ dispute resolution practice in the US, commented: ‘I’ve worked across from Richard on high-profile cases and our clients will benefit from his extensive experience, outstanding judgement and exceptional advocacy skills.’

In the UK, Walker Morris has made a significant addition to its real estate group, hiring partner George Bacon from Eversheds Sutherland. Ranked by The Legal 500 as a ‘leading individual’ for real estate in Yorkshire and the Humber, Bacon was previously head of real estate for Eversheds’ Leeds office.

Bacon said: ‘As a unique one-site firm located in Leeds, Walker Morris’ entrepreneurial philosophy, excellent reputation and breadth of expertise give it a distinctive edge and I am looking forward to being a part of one of the strongest specialist real estate teams in the country.’

Bird & Bird has expanded in London with the addition of experienced corporate finance partner Nick O’Donnell, who joins from Baker McKenzie. O’Donnell has spent 20 years advising clients across the technology, healthcare, energy, retail, media and financial services sectors on M&A, equity capital markets and ESG matters.

He has significant pedigree, having worked at Allen & Overy for over a decade with secondments at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

Matt Bonass, head of Bird & Bird’s corporate group in London, said: ‘He has an excellent track record of advising on upper mid-market, cross-border deals; and his reputation is outstanding. We’re looking forward to having him onboard!’

Finally, in New York, Squire Patton Boggs has hired tax partner Jeffrey Koppele from Ashurst. Koppele has a wide practice advising clients on both domestic and international transactions, as well as dispositions, bankruptcy and restructurings, funds and investments, capital markets transactions and real estate investments.

Mitch Thompson, global head of the tax strategy and benefits practice group, said: ‘The expansion of our US tax team is an important part of our global growth strategy and Jeff will be significant boost our US and international tax offering to clients.’

Tom.baker@legalbusiness.co.uk

This article first appeared on Legal Business.

Posted on

Keeping pace with change: A&O becomes latest City firm to usher in parental leave reforms

Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the latest City firm to update its policies for working families, ushering in extensions to parental leave allowances.

The move will be a fillip for an industry still beset by out-dated policies and the ongoing battle to retain women into senior partnership.

The new policies include increased paternity leave from two to 12 weeks’ paid leave and new provisions for maternity and shared parental leave (SPL), including a phased return from maternity leave and SPL using accrued annual leave over an 8-week period.

They will take effect on 1 March 2020 and will initially be rolled out in the UK and UAE region, after the Magic Circle firm undertook a review and consultations.

The policies also allow for additional time off work for families whose baby is born prematurely or requires neonatal unit care, as well as a fertility treatment leave policy which provides five days’ paid leave over a 12-month rolling period for fertility treatment.

In addition, the firm has rebooted its adoption leave policies for both prospective parents to attend meetings and appointments in addition to eligibility for all parental leave entitlements.

After the rollout in the UK and UAE, other regions of the A&O network are expected to follow suit.

Sasha Hardman, A&O’s global HR director, said: ‘The face of family life is changing so we have listened to what’s important to our people to make sure we’re keeping pace with change. We want to make it clear that you can have a family and build a successful career at A&O.  There is more support, flexibility and encouragement to do this than ever.’

Ashurst last November took steps to modernise its parental leave models and the following month Linklaters announced that parental leave extended to 12 months would come into play in January.

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk

This article first appeared on Legal Business.