Tag: clifford chance

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‘An excellent foundation from which to build’: Clifford Chance appoints new office managing partner in New York

Less than two weeks after Clifford Chance revealed the opening of a new office in Houston, the firm has announced the appointment of long-time CC real estate lawyer Ness Cohen as managing partner for its New York office, while also continuing to serve as real estate practice leader of the Americas.

Speaking to Legal Business, Cohen said: ‘The firm decided that it would make sense to have a New York office manager generally, especially with New York being one of our largest offices and also with our growth ambitions in the US.’

Cohen said that regional managing partner for the Americas, Sharis Pozen, approached him and said many of his fellow partners put his name forward for the new role. Pozen is based in CC’s Washington office, although she will be in New York for one week a month.

‘We just had an offsite meeting in Philadelphia for the US partners, as well as our colleagues in São Paulo, mainly to talk about our overarching global strategy. The alignment between the two is very clear. The global strategy identifies, among other things, that the US is a focus area,’ Cohen explained.

Cohen started at New-York based Roger & Wells back in 1998. The following year, the firm merged with Clifford Chance and Pünder Volhard Weber & Axster in Germany in a three-way merger. ‘[It] was really ambitious. To do one merger is feat, imagine pulling off a three-way merger that brought together three best-in-class firms,’ he added.

He was promoted to CC partner in 2007 and his practice focuses on real estate private equity, joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions and financings involving real estate.

Earlier this month, the firm announced the opening of a new office in Houston, bolstering its global energy and infrastructure practice in the US.

‘Our entry into the Houston market is underway by an extremely appealing range of lateral candidates, which exemplifies the essence of our US strategy. The New York strategy is very similar, and we’ve brought in a fair number of laterals recently, integrating them into our office and the region,’ Cohen said.

‘There are some other ambitions that are underway with respect to potentially other locations. It’s safe to say that the firm as a whole sees the US as a region it can really achieve outsize growth.’

Cohen explained that the firm’s key focus areas are energy and infrastructure, technology, life sciences and healthcare, while it also seeks to build on other sectors.

‘We see our existing team as an excellent foundation from which to build further and grow out further. In other areas where the firm outside the US is extremely strong, we can use that and leverage it to build further. Houston is a good example of that.’

Cohen has also headed up the firm’s Personal Committee since 2011. He said ‘I really enjoy that role. It deals with everything, including our lawyers’ work-life balance. But that’s something that probably we’ll be looking to transition, since it wouldn’t make sense for me to keep that role with this.’

elisha.juttla@legalease.co.uk

This article first appeared on our sister publication Legal Business

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‘Our clients led us to Houston’: Clifford Chance launches energy-focused Texan office as part of US expansion plans

Clifford Chance has opened a new office in Houston, bolstering its global energy and infrastructure practice in the US.

The firm has hired seven Houston-based partners to join the office, including Jonathan Castelan and Trevor Lavelle, who both join from Latham & Watkins. However, at this stage, Clifford Chance was unable to confirm the names of the remaining five partners or the firms they are moving from.

The lateral hires will be joined by existing Clifford Chance partners Devika Kornbacher, Alexander Leff, and Anthony Giustini. Kornbacher is co-head of the firm’s technology group, while Leff is a renewable energy and infrastructure partner and Giustini is the senior partner for the firm’s worldwide projects group, co-leader of the energy transition initiative, and leader of its clean hydrogen task force.

Speaking to Legal Business about the Houston launch, regional managing partner for the Americas, Sharis Pozen said: ‘This play in Houston is all about extending our energy and infrastructure practice. We have a market-leading practice globally and the one piece of it that was missing was Houston and having a hub in the US for energy and infrastructure. So that’s what drove us to Houston.’

She added: ‘We have about 700 folks in total in the United States. We have almost 500 fee earners and 95 partners. So, we’ve been fortunate to be able to build a fantastic team in the US that’s very connected to the rest of our firm.’

The new office will primarily focus on energy and infrastructure, with the Texan location dictated by the needs of existing clients.

‘Our clients led us to Houston. Many of them are global clients headquartered in Houston and they are primarily energy and infrastructure clients. Houston right now is an incredibly dynamic marketplace. It is the fourth-largest city in the United States, one of the most diverse, and it’s really the hub of the energy transition,’ Pozen explained.  She added that she was hopeful that the Houston base would prove to be an attractive offering for new clients as well.

The launch has been several years in the making. Commenting on the process, Pozen said: ‘We’re discerning, and we play our own game. That’s who we are. So, we’ve watched other firms with some global reach go into Houston and watched the successes and those that haven’t been as successful, and we’ve learnt. In our world, there isn’t always that first-mover advantage. Often history shows that the person who sits back and watches goes in even stronger and better.’

Pozen also credited the reach and foresight of global managing partner Charles Adams as a driving force behind the office opening. The firm plans to expand the Houston office with more growth expected over the coming year, with the strategy for the next three to four years to remain on the lookout for new talent and continue to grow the team when it makes sense.

‘We will look to build out the team further for sure. That is the plan. It’s part of our plan to expand in the US generally, and we have been expanding in the US. We plan on continuing to strategically grow. We are not just a growth-for-growth’s-sake firm. We are a strategic grower and meticulous about our execution,’ Pozen added.

Currently, Clifford Chance’s Americas revenue makes up 13% of its global turnover. However, with the move into the Texan market, the firm is placing its bets on the energy transition sector as the route to breaking the US. As the magic circle firms consider their US expansion plans, the proposed Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling merger will see another magic circle firm make headway in Texas, giving them access to offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston if the partner vote is passed.

Holly.mckechnie@legalease.co.uk

This article first appeared on Legal Business

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Management merry-go-round as CC, Mayer Brown and Watson Farley name new leaders

Capping off a week of significant change in big law’s C-suites, Clifford Chance has appointed financial markets partner Charles Adams as its next managing partner.

Adams will succeed incumbent Matthew Layton on 1 May 2022, when he will commence a four-year term. For his part, Layton was re-appointed for a second term in 2017, after improving operational rigour, bolstering partner performance and ushering in shake-ups to CC’s historically restrictive lockstep model . During Layton’s second term, CC boosted revenues by 35% and profit per equity partner by 65%.

Adams has been CC’s regional managing partner in continental Europe since 2018, and in that time has also sat on the firm’s executive leadership group. Prior to this role, he served as office managing partner for CC’s Italian offices between 2007 and 2014. In winning the support of the CC partnership, Adams fought off challenges from London structured finance partner Jessica Littlewood and Singapore-based project finance partner Nick Wong.

Adams said: ‘At Clifford Chance we have all the ingredients to continue to shape the legal industry: an outstanding global platform, deep and broad market-leading expertise and a strong, dynamic and ambitious culture. The past few years have shown what we can achieve, and I see many opportunities to work with partners and all my colleagues across Clifford Chance to build on that success. At the heart of all we do will be ensuring that we are the absolute first choice for our clients and for the best talent in the market.’

Elsewhere, Mayer Brown on Tuesday (14 December) announced that banking and finance partner Dominic Griffiths will succeed Sally Davies as London managing partner. Davies, who has held the position since 2017, will be stepping down at the end of the year to focus on her responsibilities as part of the firm’s eight-lawyer global management committee.

Joining Mayer Brown in 2005, Griffiths (pictured) served as co-leader of the firm’s global banking and finance practice since 2014. He also has valuable experience with fostering junior talent, thanks to his well-established position as Mayer Brown’s graduate recruitment partner.

A 2019 Legal Business Life during law feature on Griffiths saw him discuss, among many other things, his annoyance at ‘boring lawyers’, his love of Winston Churchill, and his general bon viveur approach to life.

Jon Van Gorp, global chair of Mayer Brown, described Griffith’s elevation as ‘great news for the London office.’ He added: ‘He is a talented leader, whose unique skills combine great knowledge of the firm, our clients and the London market. I am confident that he will build on Sally’s work to ensure that we continue to thrive.’

Speaking to Legal Business, Griffiths said: ‘I’m incredibly honoured to be chosen. I have been at the firm for a long period of time, and I am keen to transfer my previous focus on the finance practice into the future growth of the wider firm.

‘This will include outward-facing engagement with City institutions and consolidating our incredible network of banking institutions, funds and corporates. But it will also mean promoting the brand of the firm, which I consider to be one of a small handful of elite transatlantic practices with a broader network in Asia and South America. I would define our future approach to promoting our strong internal talent and attracting high quality lateral hires as “measured but serious growth”‘.

It is also an end of an era at Watson Farley & Williams, with longtime leadership duo Chris Lowe and Lothar Wegener stepping down as co-managing partners. The firm has opted to shuffle its management structure by appointing George Paleokrassas and Lindsey Keeble as its new senior partner and managing partner respectively for a five-year term starting in February 2022.

The outgoing Lowe and Wegener took on their roles in 2014, and can be credited with largely improving the firm’s form by focusing on its rigid sector specialisms , despite less favourable financial results of late. This summer, the firm recorded a 1% dip in revenue to just over £180m.

New senior partner Paleokrassas has substantial experience at the firm, having led WFW’s Athens office since 2005, building it up to become the largest international law firm in Greece. He is also a well-regarded shipping finance specialist with experience both in Greece and internationally.

Keeble previously headed up the firm’s London assets and structured finance group covering aviation, maritime and rail – a team which has now grown to 27 partners. She has also led the firm’s maritime sector since 2013 and is a highly-respected operator in that industry.

Keeble commented: ‘George and I both recognise the immense responsibility of our new positions and of ensuring the continued strength and longevity of the business, where our people have the chance to develop, express their views and ideas and have the opportunity to grow and ultimately see their careers fulfilled within the firm.’

On the lateral hire front, Linklaters has recaptured a pair of partners to boost its corporate and financial regulation practices. In Hong Kong, M&A and private equity specialist Betty Yap re-joins the firm from Paul Weiss, where she was China managing partner. She has extensive experience in cross-border M&A, strategic investments, joint ventures, special situations transactions and foreign direct investments involving China.

And in London, Carl Fernandes has returned to Linklaters from Latham & Watkins, bringing with him a practice focused on advising a range of financial services clients on complex regulatory issues. Linklaters’ Asia managing partner William Liu said: ‘The hire of these prominent industry veterans reflects our commitment to further enhancing our truly “world class” client offering. The wealth of experience they will bring to our well-established private equity/M&A and financial regulation practices, will enable us to provide unrivalled expertise to our clients to support them in maximising the opportunities in this diverse market.’

Fieldfisher has launched a new commercial crime practice via the hires of barristers Quinton Newcomb and Shiv Haria-Shah from boutique set Fulcrum Chambers. Newcomb is a highly experienced commercial crime, investigations and compliance specialist, who can boast representing Rolls-Royce, Alstom, Rio Tinto and ENRC in high-profile Serious Fraud Office investigations.

Haria-Shah additionally brings expertise in conducting internal investigations, and advising and training corporate clients on good governance and compliance procedures, helping them to guard against regulatory risk.

Outlining their ambitions, Newcomb said: ‘Fieldfisher is committed to building a market-leading practice, handling the most significant commercial crime, investigations and compliance work globally, with a dedicated and highly specialised team. I look forward to working with both my new and longstanding teammates to realise this goal.’

Finally, Milbank has strengthened its London antitrust capabilities with the hire of Andrea Hamilton, who joins from the Brussels office of McDermott Will & Emery. She brings nearly two decades of global experience in antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, litigation, compliance and counseling, as well as foreign direct investment.

Alexander Rinne, head of Milbank’s European antitrust practice, stated: ‘As the UK continues to extend the scope and rigour of its foreign investment control regime, Andrea’s expertise will be essential for clients to effectively navigate this regulatory hurdle.’

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

This article first appeared on Legal Business.

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CC Live: Together We Are One Firm & a chance to win a free 1-1 coaching session with a Clifford Chance recruiter

Date:  Thursday 28th October

Time:  4-6pm UK/5-7pm CEST/11-1pm EDT

Registration link: https://opportunities.cliffordchance.com/jobs/together-we-are-one-firm-28th-october-2021-4586

Clifford Chance would like to send you a personalised invitation to an incredible event we have on Thursday 28th October which will showcase how a law firm works collaboratively on commercial and pro bono matters. This is an unmissable event for anyone who wants to understand what working at a truly global law firm can look like and is interested in finding out more about the opportunities available

We are teaming up with several of our offices across the UK, Europe and the US to bring to you this free, virtual, event showcasing the collaborative nature of our Firm. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from lawyers across multiple jurisdictions, talking about their involvement in one of our biggest cross-jurisdictional deals to date. There will also be chance to hear about the scale and breadth of our pro bono work headed up by Tom Dunn, with lawyers from across Europe who will provide a good insight into the range of work we’re currently involved in that focuses on issues such as LGBT+ rights, war crimes, human rights and children’s rights.

Following the panel discussion, you can join a networking booth with the speakers and ask them any questions about their presentations and you’ll also have the chance to network with the HR teams and some representatives from your region. There will be representatives from our offices in Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dusseldorf and Luxembourg to name a few!

If you register and attend the session you could be in for a chance to win a 30 minute one-on-one coaching session with a senior member of the recruitment team from your region.

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Dealwatch: Latham and Linklaters bet on £2.2bn William Hill disposal as £1.2bn easyJet rights issue flies

While it could hardly be said to have slowed down over summer, the deal market has nevertheless ramped up since the beginning of September with easyJet’s £1.2bn rights issue and Caesars’ £2.2bn disposal of William Hill’s international business among the more high-profile recent transactions.

Latham & Watkins and Linklaters won lead roles as 888 Holdings agreed to acquire the international business – the non-US assets – of William Hill at an enterprise value of £2.2bn.

The deal was the result of a hotly-contested auction process run by Deutsche Bank and followed on from the closing in April this year of Caesars Entertainment’s £2.9bn takeover of William Hill with a view to building out its US business, a buyout originally announced in October 2020.

Ed Barnett, the Latham relationship partner for 888 who led on the deal, told Legal Business: ‘This was a very competitive process. Caesars had made it clear to the market that it was going to sell the non-US assets of William Hill, so it was expected to be competitive. Deutsche Bank ran a very successful auction. We understand bidders were mostly comprised of private equity houses but also some private equity and strategic combinations. It’s obviously a very well-known, longstanding brand and so it is a real asset in the space and once the deal closes it’s expected to put 888 in a strong position as a significantly bulked-up business.’

Barnett was also bullish on the wider market outlook: ‘There’s certainly been a lot of activity in the gaming sector in the UK and US and you’re going to continue to see transactional activity, SPAC-related deals and tie-ups between US and European/UK businesses in the gaming space. As individual states in the US relax gaming-related regulations we anticipate more activity. It’s a very hot sector in which Latham has been, and will continue to be, very active.’

Latham corporate partner Sam Newhouse also advised on the deal, while Anna Ngo dealt with capital markets matters, Jay Sadanandan and James Burnett provided finance advice and Jonathan Parker gave antitrust advice. Employment and benefits matters were handled by partner Sarah Gadd, IP by Deborah Kirk, tax by Helen Lethaby and real estate matters by Quentin Gwyer.

The Latham team advised in conjunction with 888’s long-term counsel, Israeli firm Herzog Fox & Neeman, whose team was led by managing partner Gil White. The Linklaters team advising Caesars was led by London corporate partner Iain Fenn.

Meanwhile, the £1.2bn rights issue of easyJet also piqued market interest and provided instructions for teams from Herbert Smith Freehills, Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance.

The rights issue, the largest such transaction in the UK this year, will see funds raised to increase the resilience of easyJet’s balance sheet and to fund strategic investments as air travel recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Herbert Smith team advising easyJet was led by head of UK equity capital markets Mike Flockhart and global co-head of corporate Stephen Wilkinson. Head of US securities Tom O’Neill and counsel Dennis Hermreck provided US securities advice. The easyJet legal team was led by GC Maaike de Bie.

HSF’s Mike Flockhart noted of the transaction: ‘easyJet’s rights issue demonstrates that the markets will continue to endorse companies with solid fundamentals, effective leadership and strong brands, notwithstanding the impact of Covid.’

A&O is advising Greenhill and BNP Paribas as joint sponsors; BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs as joint global co-ordinators; and Santander and Société Générale as joint bookrunners on the rights issue, with James Roe and Jeff Hendrickson leading the team.

The firm is also advising BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Santander and Société Générale as lenders under easyJet’s new revolving credit facility, announced simultaneously with the rights issue, led by A&O’s head of aviation finance, Paul Nelson.

A&O has advised easyJet’s financiers on a number of matters since the start of the pandemic, including acting for the underwriters on the company’s £400m equity cashbox placing in June 2020, advising UK Export Finance (UKEF) and the lenders on $1.87bn combined UKEF and EDG commercial facility in January – the first-ever secured transaction under the UKEF Export Development Guarantee scheme, and advising the dealers and trustee on easyJet’s £1.2bn bond issue in February 2021.

CC acted for easyJet on matters relating to shareholder enfranchisement with a team led by partners Daud Kahn and Melissa Fogarty.

Elsewhere and continuing the transport theme, RAC and its shareholders – including funds managed or advised by CVC Capital Partners and GIC – sold a stake in the UK breakdown assistance provider to Silver Lake.

Together with GIC and CVC, Silver Lake will support RAC in its goal of further improving its digital capabilities and leveraging its data to provide more innovative products and services for RAC members and partners to accelerate growth.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised longstanding clients RAC and the selling shareholders with a team led by partners Alastair Brown and Charles Hayes.

Travers Smith acted for the management team of RAC with private equity and financial sponsors Partner Adam Orr leading and tax advice provided by partners Hannah Manning and Russell Warren.

Meanwhile Baker McKenzie advised Silver Lake on the acquisition of its stake, led by partner David Allen, with the team also including finance partner Matt Cox and antitrust partners Luis Gomez and Sam Mobley.

Finally, funds advised by Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus acquired T-Mobile Netherlands Holding from Deutsche Telekom and Tele2, giving the company an enterprise value of €5.1bn.

Freshfields and Simpson Thacher advised WP/AP Telecom Holdings IV, an entity jointly controlled by funds advised by Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus, on the acquisition. The Freshfields team was led by partners Markus Paul and Shawn der Kinderen, and James Howe led the London Simpson Thacher team, with Ian Barratt acting on the debt aspects of the acquisition.

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk

This news story first appeared on Legal Business.