Allen & Overy (A&O) has hired Simmons & Simmons IP head Marc Döring to join its 15-strong international IP practice in London.

This is the second Simmons hire for Allen & Overy in the space of three months. IP partner Marjan Noor left in June to be the firm’s sixth partner.

This leaves a total of 14 partners in Simmons’ IP practice in London, according to the firm’s website.

Döring has experience working with clients in the pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices and hi-tech industries.

The firm has a total of 15 partners in its global IP group, including Nicola Dagg, Neville Cordell, Jim Ford, Mark Ridgway and Nigel Parker in A&O’s IP team in London.

A spokesperson at Allen & Overy said: “Marc is a renowned and formidable IP litigator who brings the skills and experience that will complement our existing team and help us to exploit new opportunities down the line.”

The post A&O hires Simmons head of IP in London appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

An Employment Tribunal case can be a costly, time-consuming and stressful experience, especially if you don’t know what to expect.

The Collyer Bristow employment team, in conjunction with Old Square Chambers, will be presenting a full interactive mock Tribunal, chaired by an Employment Judge. Based on a real case study, the mock Tribunal will include a claim form and response, witness statements, cross-examination of witnesses from both parties and, after lunch, the Employment Judge will deliver their judgment based on the evidence heard and you will be given the opportunity to help decide the outcome.

Date: 19 October 2016

Time: 9.00am – 1.00pm

Venue: Collyer Bristow LLP 
4 Bedford Row
 London 
WC1R 4TF

RSVP: Darren Butt
events@collyerbristow.com
or call 020 7470 4588

Cost: £95 + VAT
Early-bird discount 
Just £75 + VAT if you book before the end of August.

Lunch will be included.

 Places are limited.

The post Mock Employment Tribunal appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) managing partner Lisa Mayhew outlines how diversity can impact business results and how her firm is implementing its 2018 diversity strategy ahead of the Business Leadership Summit.

What do current partnership pipelines look like?

It is fair to say that current partnership pipelines are not nearly as diverse as they could be.

This is illustrated by the most recent SRA statistics, where for law firms with over 50 partners, the average percentage of women in partnership stands at 33 per cent, but at associate level there are 57 per cent women.

This illustrates that there is now a much better attraction and recruitment of diverse talent at junior levels, but sadly this isn’t as yet following through to partnership level. However, there is even more of an imbalance when you look at ethnicity, for example there are just 4 per cent Asian partners and 9 per cent at associate level.

Exploring the partnership pipeline of tomorrow and creating diversity within that pipeline. Quite simply having diversity in your pipeline and partnership is essential for future business success.

McKinsey & Co found that companies (across a range of industries in Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States) in the top 25 per cent for ethnic diversity are 35 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

Conversely, companies in the bottom 25 per cent for ethnicity and race are statistically less likely to achieve above-average financial returns. Similarly, the Financial Times recently reported that a major study of more than 21,000 public companies in 91 countries found increasing the number of women in top management positions notably boosts profitability. Research suggests that firms that include and manage their talent have 2.3 times higher cash flow and are 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in their market. This highlights the true business benefits of diversity and as such it is something that we are focused on at BLP.  Not only is it the right thing to do but it also makes business sense.

At BLP we launched our new Inclusivity Strategy in June 2015 having six months earlier set ourselves a gender target of 30 per cent women in our UK partnership by the end of 2018 and an increased number globally. The focus for us at BLP is very much about continuing to embrace diversity coupled with creating an environment in which diversity can thrive.

Alongside many other law firms we recognise that there are not enough women in partnership and we have a focus on this alongside other areas.

There is a lot of talk about targets vs quotas. At BLP, setting ourselves the target has given us a clear measurable to monitor our progress against and it has helped us to put the spotlight on what is working and areas where we might improve. We are pleased that since setting ourselves the target when the percentage of female partners in the UK stood at 22.1 per cent, we now stand at 25.8 per cent. Equally importantly, we have not compromised on quality.

There are a number of critical success factors that have enabled us to deliver the above and are fundamental to our inclusivity strategy.

• It’s a core part of our business strategy

• It’s owned and led at senior level. In relation to gender each of our five departmental managing partners have their own gender target and associated action plan that supports the overall firm target. We have a set of partner principles, one of which is to “value diversity and be inclusive” which are assessed during the performance review and allocations processes.

• It must be engaged in at all levels. Many diversity strategies fail because not everyone believes diversity and inclusion to be a priority. Recognising that diversity is part of us all and that everyone contributes to the culture of the firm, we have employee led task-groups that work to drive forwards the strategy.

• Flexibility is vital. Historically there has been a traditional well-trodden route to partnership and a narrow way in which the role is transacted, which has effectively limited progression and stifled ambition of those that don’t ‘fit the mould’. Recognising that individuals are different, face different challenges at different points in their personal and professional lives, and that careers are long and talent retention is critical, we now encourage flexibility on both sides to find an arrangement that works for the individual and us.

How do you get more women into partnership?

When I decided to put myself forward for the managing partner role at BLP, I did so because BLP’s future really mattered to me. I had been on the board for three years and gained a good understanding of the business and built relationships. I thought that I could make a difference. I was also mindful that irrespective of the outcome (it was a contested election), I would demonstrate to other women that we are just as capable as male colleagues of putting ourselves forward for such a responsible position.

The lack of female managing partners in part stems from the fact that there is a limited number of women in partnership in general, so naturally there is a smaller pool to draw from. This is a consequence of it already being difficult for women to achieve a balance between a professional and family life. The role of managing partner takes this to another level and requires a very substantial commitment as well as a number of other things e.g. a significant amount of international travel, which then makes it incredibly hard to juggle the personal and professional aspects and a requirement to network extensively to name but two.

McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2015 report highlights factors that resonate with this and help us to understand this further:

• Women continue to do a disproportionate percentage of child care and housework.  At every level, women are at least nine times more likely than men to say that they do more child care and at least four times more likely to say that they do more chores.

• Perceived difference in ambition levels, although this may reflect the fact that women are less comfortable promoting themselves compared to their counterparts.

• Men predominantly have male networks, while women have mostly female or mixed networks. Given that men are more likely to hold leadership positions, women may end up with less access to senior-level sponsorship – and I would think support when it comes to a MP vote.

• Across the legal sector and in other sectors lots of good work is being undertaken to get more women into partnership or C-suite positions. For example, the establishment of women’s networks, women’s leadership programme and, coaching among other things have proved hugely beneficial. But there is no one magic pill; there isn’t one initiative that is going to provide the solution. I believe it will take a combination of initiatives combined with a commitment for things to change which comes from the top.

A few key activities that we at BLP are focusing on currently are:

• Encouraging much more flexible working – in order to deliver to our clients, we do not need people to be ever-present in the office. In addition to having a good number of people in formal flexible working arrangements, we increasingly have more and more teams adopting informal flexibility, where people work from home or fit when and where they work around other commitments. Partners are leading by example and being supportive of this change in working patterns.

• Mentoring programmes – to provide the support and guidance which addresses the point on networks already mentioned.

• Profiling partners – Partners are hosting sessions where they share their path to partnership, to provide much more transparency around the role and how partners balance their work and home lives.

These initiatives are ones that both men and women can benefit from and they help to ensure that we progress and retain the very best talent.

Does social mobility underpin diversity?

An individual’s socio-economic status or background is just one facet of an individual’s diversity. Tackling social mobility won’t solve diversity. The key to really embracing diversity is to address the culture of the firm. It is important to remember that if a firm’s culture isn’t consistent with its efforts to attract and recruit diverse employees, it will continue to suffer from the corroding/leaky pipeline.

An inclusive culture drives diversity not the other way round. Social mobility is just one diversity characteristic that along with others (gender, ethnicity, disability etc.)  there has been a focus on for a number of years now, but progress remains slow.

Progress in the legal sector will only be made when law firms have inclusive cultures. Diversity is the mix, inclusion is getting the mix to work well together – creating a level playing field to allow the best diverse talent to rise to the top.

For the law to become more diverse there really requires greater education in schools and colleges in socially deprived areas about the sector; the career; the opportunities and the route into the profession to begin to make it genuinely accessible to all.

The law prides itself on attracting many of the brightest and best. Until we can fully access talent from minority groups we will never be able to say we have fulfilled our objective.

The post BLP boss Mayhew: Diversity is essential for success appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has raided rival US heavyweight Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft for a four-partner antitrust team.

Leading the team is partner Charles Rule who headed up Cadwalader’s antitrust group. Rule also chaired the firm’s litigation department, sat on the firm’s management committee, and was managing partner of its Washington office. He will join Paul Weiss as co-chair of its antitrust group.

Rule advises major corporations in high-profile mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures. He also represents clients in high stakes civil and criminal litigation.

It is unknown who will replace Rule as Cadwalader’s antitrust head.

Joining Rule at Paul Weiss are partners Jonathan Kanter, Joseph Bial and Andrew Forman. The team will focus on providing antitrust advice in connection with major M&A as well as handling antitrust litigation including cartel defences.

Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp said: “With today’s heightened regulatory scrutiny of M&A transactions, intense regulatory focus on antitrust enforcement and increased private antitrust litigation, a top-flight merger clearance team and world-class antitrust litigators are indispensable assets.”

In February Paul Weiss revealed that its global revenue had rose  7.1 per cent during 2015, from $1.04bn to $1.1bn. The firm’s average profit per equity partner (PEP) also jumped from $3.8m to $4.1m, breaking the $4bn barrier for the first time.

Cadwalader’s global revenue fell by 3.7 per cent during the same period from $481.5m to $463.5m. While global revenue fell the firm’s London turnover rose by 6 per cent according to City managing partner Gregory Petrick.

The post Paul Weiss hires Cadwalader antitrust head and DC managing partner appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Collas Crill’s commercial property team in Jersey has advised property developer Comprop Ltd on the acquisition of 13-14 Esplanade, St Helier, worth £10,750,000.

The deal, which completed in July, saw Jersey partner and commercial property specialist Paul Harben and conveyancing manager Shaun O’Connor work on the freehold conveyance of the tenanted commercial property, centrally located in St Helier.

The post Collas Crill acts in £10m Comprop deal appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Join legal industry adviser Chris Bull and Encompass Product Manager Natasha Miller for this exclusive introductory session ahead of The Lawyer’s Business Leadership Summit, to learn how modern law firms use technology, data and analytics to secure client loyalty.

Tuesday 2nd September, 2pm GMT

The post Webinar: Cutting through the Buzz – a rough guide to legal analytics appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Simmons & Simmons is cutting a number of real estate lawyers as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

It is understood around 10 real estate lawyers will be made redundant. The lawyers are understood to work across a number of practices, including the firm’s corporate and finance teams.

Simmons has refused to confirm the exact number of planned departures. A spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the firm is making a very small number of roles redundant at this time. I’m afraid we’re unable to provide any further details.”

Last month Simmons revealed that its average profit per equity partner (PEP) had plummeted by 10 per cent, from £650,000 to £585,000 during the 2015/16 financial year. The drop in PEP was caused as the firm’s net profit fell by 6.2 per cent to £88.8m.

Despite the fall in profit Simmons’ turnover increased by 1.7 per cent, from £290.1m to £295.1m. Turnover had increased for the fourth consecutive year at the firm.

The post Simmons makes redundancies in London in wake of Brexit appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

EY partner Sanjay Bhandari talks to The Lawyer at the recent In-house Financial Services Conference about the tech that will transform the way in-house teams work, whether Brexit will make innovation more complicated and how to grapple with changing regulation.

The Lawyer’s In-house Financial Services conference took place in London on 5 July. Find out more about the conference here.

The post EY: Why GCs shouldn’t fear ‘disruptive’ tech appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

The following article was contributed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner and SRA board member, Geoff Nicholas

Last week, the President of the Law Society wrote unequivocally about the current SRA consultation on reforming the Solicitor’s Handbook, named ‘Looking to the Future’.

As a practising solicitor and a recently-appointed SRA Board member, I think it is important to respond to those comments to ensure that the proposals being put forward by the SRA are properly understood.

Our proposals for extending the range of firms where solicitors can work to include unregulated providers will increase choice for those seeking legal advice. This will help to ensure there is a healthy, innovative and modern legal market that is responsive to consumer needs, as required by the Legal Services Act 2007.

Access to high quality legal advice from solicitors working outside authorised firms will enhance both those services and public protection. And we believe that individual solicitors should be able to practise as solicitors regardless of who their employer may be, in order to both widen public access to justice and to afford solicitors greater career opportunities.

I do not accept the suggestion made by the Law Society that these proposals will lead to a two-tier profession.

All solicitors will continue to be subject to the same high standards of education, training and ethics – standards that are more clearly articulated in the proposed new code. There will, of course, still be both regulated and unregulated firms in the market, as there are now. By necessity, different protections apply to each, as a consequence of the framework set up under the Legal Services Act.

Importantly, access to the Legal Ombudsman will be unaffected, as this applies to services provided by “authorised persons”, including solicitors operating outside of regulated firms.

There will also be no reduction to supervision arrangements. Indeed, the proposed obligation to ensure continuing competence of solicitors wherever they practise is a new requirement designed to strengthen the management of solicitors. Likewise, the proposed reform to the conflict rules does not “narrow” the ability to act, as suggested by  the Law Society, rather it widens it, to allow any case to be taken, subject to informed consent, save where there is an actual conflict.

I do not understand the basis for the suggestion that we are attempting to dilute legal professional privilege (LPP) status or make it more difficult to obtain. This is simply not true. The code does not address this. The application and enforcement of LPP status is a matter of substantive law. Further, there is nothing in our proposals that changes the law of privilege. And the proposal in relation to a solicitor’s duty of confidentiality will apply to all solicitors whether working in authorised firms, unregulated firms or in-house.

Our proposals are about increasing choice for the public and business users of legal services. It makes little sense that under current restrictions, solicitors are among the only people unable to offer legal advice through an unregulated business. Indeed, the proposals offer opportunities for those  the Law Society represents.

The SRA Board wants to hear the views of all concerned. Throughout the consultation, the SRA is engaging closely with the Law Society and more widely with the profession and the users of legal services, just as we did while developing the proposals.

I would encourage all solicitors to read the consultation for themselves and respond to our proposals.

The post Freshfields partner responds to Law Society’s criticism of SRA consultation appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

If I were given the power to make the law, rather than just interpret it, I would rule that all toilets had to be in the Japanese style. Features include a heated seat which flips down to welcome you, strategically-placed jets to wash you down, and a built-in blowdryer to conclude proceedings. It senses when you have finished and then flushes itself and closes, without the need for intervention by the human hand. Who wouldn’t want that?

You can experience some of those features in the lavatories at Jason Atherton’s Sosharu, one of the newer outposts of the Atherton empire.

Sosharu is split into three sections: a self-styled Izakaya bar, the main restaurant and a chef’s table space. An Izakaya is a sort of Japanese pub, the sort you just drop into on the way home for a drink and a snack. This Izakaya bar, The 7 Tales, is in the basement, all moody décor and copious use of neon. It offers quirky cocktails and a bar you can sit at, whilst staring at the laboratory in front of you which displays some rather esoteric ingredients, destined for their cocktails.

It is an Izakaya in the way that Harrods is a supermarket. It’s too polished to be an authentic Japanese-style Izakaya. I know. I’ve actually been. But it’s fun and the cocktails are interesting and you can get in without booking.

I am dining out with a private banker, OK, who is early. They have seated him in The 7 Tales. “Mr Richmond is already here,” they say, as they walk me into the bar.

Bad thing: assuming the man you are meeting is your husband. Good thing: assuming that the man you are meeting is your husband, even though he is substantially younger than you.

He tells me that I can order what I like from the menu. Whilst I obviously love control over the menu, indeed over most things, I am not sure how much to order and what might be okay for OK. The waitress suggests six to eight dishes. It will not surprise you to discover that I order nine. I skip over the sashimi because there are too many other temptations.

I order the open Temaki, with tuna, scallion, tobiko, sushi rice and spiced mayonnaise. Tobiko is fish roe and scallions are your bog-standard spring onions and I’m not quite sure why we have to use the American word for them when we are in Farringdon. Stop it.

Temaki is, effectively, a sushi taco, the seaweed casing deep-fried in tempura batter, filled with chopped raw tuna and roe, with a wasabi mayo and a little bottle filled with spiced mayo to squirt on your tuna. It needs the mayo and once it has it, this is a lovely mouthful. Crunchy, sweet/sharp and all that lovely fresh tuna. Not quite sure where the scallions are.

Not easy to eat, but you’ll manage. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest that you order it at a business lunch, not unless you’re happy with getting food all over the table.

Some things are memorable and a few dishes are meh. There’s a wonderful chicken Kara-age, deep-fried boneless chicken, served with three types of salt; kombu (seaweed), wasabi and smoked. It’s a bit unnecessary, the three and I’m a salt lover.

Not everything is memorable. The pale aubergine miso thing is a little meh and I fear that I have been spoilt by the Roka version, which I order every time I eat there. I tell myself I won’t, but life is short. The sea-bream sashimi dish is not worth the big waitress upsell, but that is forgiven when I taste the stuffed chicken wings, which come to the table presented legs akimbo, a sight which gives me pause. We both fail to notice the dip for the chicken and this is perhaps because the dishes are coming thick and fast and the table is now getting rather cluttered.

This is one of those restaurants where dishes arrive at the convenience of the kitchen.

Fortunately, they appear to appear in the order ordered, but even I am astonished at the speed with which they arrive. The table can’t quite fit all the food on it and not only because I have ordered enough for three healthy adults.

If I could travel back in time I’m not sure I’d re-order the grilled lamb cutlets, roasted onion and sesame aka miso (sic). The bright pink lamb chunks were hidden under Little Gem lettuce leaves, which were presented in a semicircle and filled with a sweet red liquid and a paste which I think was miso-based. It looked like the lettuce had been used to scoop up the aftermath of a gory accident. There were chops without crispy bits on them. Or meat. I wondered why. I wasn’t sure this was £25, before service.

Far better was the joyously rich Chashu pork belly, udon king oyster and ramen sauce. A bowl of fat thick udon noodles, a barely cooked egg, a large tempura-coated deep-fried seaweed wafer, a soft, yielding slow-cooked round of pork, this was a plateful of umami-rich goodness. A child would love the decorations on the pork ; bright yellow blobs of some sort of mayo and scalloped-edge wafers I have only ever encountered before by way of an emoji, all served in a rich, deep tonkotsu stock, also known as bone broth by the sort of people who espouse clean eating or gluten-free. I loved this and at £16, it’s a love experience I could happily repeat.

I haven’t had cold soba noodles since I was in Japan. I know they don’t sound appetising, in a cold spaghetti way but trust me. Here, the noodles are served with ice-cubes on top and numerous accompaniments you are meant to dunk in your dashi of deep loveliness. Cold soba noodles are a thing of beauty and simplicity, without all the pimp-my-dish stuff going on here, though I quite liked the bits of seaweed and tempura broccoli.

Simply put, soba noodles are buckwheat noodles “put into a mouth, and it sniffles and has at a breath”. Or so said the menu in the Tokyo department store I first ate these in. Again, not a dish I’d recommend for a business meeting or a first date, as you slurp your way to noodle nirvana and a splattered shirt.

We finish with a very creditable mango sticky rice, served in a real half-coconut shell. Not quite the Thai version of joy and happiness, but really quite gooey-lovely. I try to scoop out the fresh coconut but my spoon isn’t up to it. OK has been to Thailand but has never had mango sticky rice. My pity is real and deep.

Judgement: Beautifully designed and attractive to the sort of person who likes fossil-stone, Sosharu is Japanese in the way of Roka or Zuma. It’s trendy Japanese food for those who are a bit frightened by sashimi and is sufficiently smart for the surrounding city folk to take advantage at lunchtime. Location is a bit off-pitch and it wasn’t full on the Thursday night we visited. The food came at a pace, but there was no table-turning in evidence; perhaps there was no need. It’s not cheap, but it’s no more expensive than similar venues. I’d try it if I were you, they’re keeping your seat warm.

Scores on the doors

Food 8/10
Ambience 9/10
Value for money 7/10
Best for: style junkies
Worst for: a cheap date

The post The Lawyer Eats: Sosharu, Clerkenwell appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Olswang’s turnover dropped 11 per cent to £112.5m last year, while net profit dropped by 8 per cent to £22.5m.

The results mark the first full financial year with CEO Paul Stevens at the helm, after he took over from interim head Michael Burdon last year.

He told The Lawyer in October his strategy has focused on being “more embedded with clients”, as well as going back to the firm’s entrepreneurial roots and “enhancing the firm’s ability to change and evolve”.

However the results mark a disappointing year for Olswang, which also saw a 12 per cent drop in qualified lawyer headcount.

Profit per equity partner was flat at £490,000, while total remuneration to all classes of partner was £32.3m, down by 17 per cent from £39m.

Revenue per lawyer stood at £365,000, while revenue per partner was £1.1m, the same as in 2014/15.

Despite the negative results, Stevens said the numbers “demonstrate resilience and robust business practice”.

He said: “We have posted consistent profitability in a year of transition, and I am extremely pleased to see our bank borrowings significantly reduced over the last year two years.

“This financial discipline, along with many of the projects and initiatives currently underway, such as our move toward agile working and various IT improvements, will position us well in the years to come.”

The financial results follow rumours of merger discussions with CMS Cameron McKenna. Such a tie-up would boost CMS’s IP, tech and media groups and also add a significant corporate and real estate capability. The combined firm would also have a strong presence in Europe.

Olswang has also been exploring opportunities for other combinations. News emerged earlier this year Olswang had mooted plans for a merger at its January conference and it was understood to be targeting Bird & Bird, Simmons & Simmons and an unnamed US firm.

Olswang’s last year was clouded by a number of senior exits, precipitated by the sudden exit of former CEO David Stewart in October 2014, mid-way through his second three-year term, and followed by the successive departures of most of his management team.

Head of strategic development Nigel Rea left to join Lexis Nexis, business development and marketing director Michelle Elstein exited for Morrison & Foerster, general counsel Simon Callendar joined Addleshaw Goddard and veteran HR director Ffion Griffith left for a non-legal position.

The firm also closed in Berlin late last year when its entire 50-lawyer team, including 13 equity partners, decamped for Greenberg Traurig after an announcement that the office was “decoupling” to focus on TMT.

Olswang has made two hires and two promotions to its senior management team, adding former Linklaters global head of shared services Kevin Bye as head of strategic development and EC Harris CFO Neil Morling as chief finance officer.

Olswang HR manager Sarah Tucker took on the role of HR director, and partner Stephen Hermer became the firm’s general counsel and head of acquisitions.

According to Stevens, the new lineup was part of a three-year “growth strategy based on improvement and change to both the business and our legal processes”.

Olswang also announced that it planned to introduce open plan and agile working by 2017. The firm is in the process of refitting its 90 High Holborn offices “to better utilise its office space”.

At the moment, Olswang occupies a total of seven offices last year following the Berlin closure, across a total of 118,657 sq ft at a cost of £9.8m. This is equivalent to £82.6 per sq ft. The majority of this property is in London, where the firm occupies 112,857 sq ft for £9.6m (or £85 per sq ft).

The post Olswang turnover drops 11 per cent as merger hunt continues appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Litigation funder Burford Capital has hired former Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson competition head Craig Arnott as its new managing director.

Arnott replaces Nick Rowles-Davies, who quit the business last month to launch a rival fund.

He joins from the Australian bar, where he was a barrister at Sixth Floor Chambers. He will relocate to London for the new role, which will see him take over the funder’s litigation financing activities in the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific and also become director of Burford’s bond-issuer subsidiary, Burford Capital PLC.

Arnott started his legal career at Cravath Swaine & Moore in New York, subsequently moving to London to join Ashurst in 1997 then joining Fried Frank in 2004, later becoming London head of antitrust and competition at Fried Frank.

Burford CEO Christopher Bogart said Arnott “brings over 20 years of commercial law experience in multiple legal jurisdictions that will assist us in meeting the increasingly global demands of our clients.

“Moreover Craig has advised Burford on matters in Australia for some time, and has in the past practised law with both [New York-based managing director] Aviva Will and me,” he continued.

Burford released its financial results for the six months to the end of June 2016 last month, revealing its income increased by 88 per cent on the same period last year, to $76.2m (£58m).

The funder also announced it was pulling out of the ATE insurance market following major restrictions in the wake of the Jackson reforms.

Bogart said Burford still had a “large bankbook of ATE insurance business”, much of which was created in the pre-Jackson period and is currently going through the litigation process.

Burford will continue with these arrangements, which Bogart said would amount to more than $30m in profit for the funder.

The Lawyer revealed former managing director Rowles-Davies had resigned from Burford last month. He is understood to be going into business with former Navigant disputes director Matthew Denney, who handed in his notice at the same time.

Details of their new venture have not yet surfaced, though it is understood the pair could launch a fund backed by a major US hedge fund.

Rowles-Davies is a major player in litigation funding circles. Last year he secured a $45m deal between Burford and FTSE 20 telecoms giant BT Group to fund a portfolio of 10 pending litigation matters, subsequently sealing a similar deal with Grant Thornton.

The post Burford Capital hires ex-Fried Frank competition head as new MD appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Tech-savvy users of mobile and social media tools have been warned about the growing risk of identity fraud.

According to new data from credit checking firm Experian, 23% of the victims of ID fraud attempts last year were highly tech-savvy.

Those who fall into this category have witnessed a 16.7% increase in ID theft attempts compared to the previous 12 months, the report added.

People in this group generally spend more time online than the wider British public, and make effective use of things such as gadgets and digital services.

Experian said they generally live in urban areas and would find it tough to go through each day without digital tools.

However, the firm’s fraud warning is not confined to tech-savvy individuals. It added that older and retired households are also at risk, with this group seeing a 15.4% year-on-year rise in the number of ID fraud attempts.

The post Technology users warned of ID fraud threat appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.

Users of Cayman Islands vehicles that fall within the scope of US FATCA and UK FATCA as Reporting Financial Institutions (which will, for example, include most Cayman funds) are reminded that the previously extended deadline issued by the Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Corporation (DITC) to complete their notification and reporting to the Cayman Tax Information Authority is 10 August 2016 (FATCA Deadline).

Cayman Reporting Financial Institutions are reminded that their obligations under FATCA will include:

• Registration with the United States IRS to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) (US FATCA only)
• Due diligence on investors and identification of any reportable accounts
• Registration and applicable notifications with/to the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority by the FATCA Deadline

CRS

Cayman Reporting Financial Institutions are also reminded that for CRS the deadline for conducting due diligence on pre-existing high value individual reportable accounts is 31 December 2016.

Reporting Financial Institutions are urged to confirm with their internal compliance function or external FATCA/CRS services provider that the requisite notifications and reporting requirements have been or will be met.

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Conyers Dill & Pearman is advising Iluka Resources Limited (Iluka) on its proposed acquisition of Sierra Rutile Limited (SRL), an AIM-listed BVI company with mineral sands mining operations in Sierra Leone. The takeover, which is to be implemented by way of a British Virgin Islands statutory merger, is valued at approximately £215m and is subject to approval by SRL’s shareholders and satisfaction of other customary conditions.

The transaction underscores Conyers’ leading position in advising on takeovers of BVI listed companies, having advised on seven out of the last eight take-privates of BVI companies, including the US$1.35bn acquisition of UTi Worldwide by DSV earlier this year.

Anton Goldstein of Conyers’ BVI office worked alongside Ashurst in advising Iluka on the transaction.

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Kinstellar advised Arkema SA, a global innovative chemical company, on the acquisition of the Dutch sealant-and-adhesives maker Den Braven from Egeria, a Benelux buyout house, in a deal valued at EUR 485 million. The transaction was managed in more than 25 jurisdictions by Loyens & Loeff, with Kinstellar’s team, led by Nina Tsifudina, providing all local law advice in each of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

Arkema is a global chemical major focusing on specialty chemicals and performance materials. It has operations in over 40 countries. The acquisition of Den Braven is a step towards expanding the High Performance Materials segment which should account for 50% of the Group’s sales by 2020.

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Schoenherr has advised HETA Asset Resolution AG (HETA) and its subsidiary HETA Asset Resolution GmbH (HAR GmbH) on the sale of Heta Asset Resolution Italia S.r.l (HARIT), including all outstanding loans granted by HETA to HARIT, to an Alternative Investment Fund advised by Bain Capital Credit, LP (Bain Capital Credit). The closing of the sale is conditional upon the approval of the transaction by Banca d’Italia.

HARIT (formerly known as Hypo Alpe-Adria Leasing S.r.l.) is a financial intermediary regulated by Banca d’Italia, duly enrolled in the New Single Register under Art.106, with its headquarters in Tavagnacco, Italy. With 90 employees, HARIT manages a portfolio with a Gross Book Value of EUR657m (mainly represented by repossessed assets as well as performing and non-performing leasing contracts). Upon closing of the sale, HETA will no longer have operational activities in Italy.

HETA is a wind-down company owned by the Republic of Austria set to dispose of the remaining assets of Hypo Alpe-Adria-International AG, which was nationalised in 2009. With a portfolio of EUR9.556bn as of December 2015, HETA is tasked to ensure the orderly and swift disposition of its assets under the best possible terms.

Bain Capital Credit is a global credit specialist with approximately USD30.4bn in assets under management as of March 31, 2016. The company invests across the full spectrum of credit strategies, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt, private lending, structured products, non-performing loans and equities.

The Schoenherr team advising HETA was led by Thomas Kulnigg (partner, corporate/m&a), and further consisted of Clemens Rainer (attorney at law, corporate/m&a) and Ana Taleska (attorney at law, corporate/m&a). The team was further supported by Clemens Leitner (attorney at law, corporate/m&a) and Daniela Hohenegg (attorney at law, banking/finance).

Chiomenti advised HETA on the Italian legal aspects with a team coordinated by Franco Agopyan (partner), and further supported by Luca Andrea Frignani (partner, corporate/m&a), Damiano Battaglia (senior associate, corporate/m&a), Guido Biancardi (associate, corporate/m&a), Andrea Ricci (associate, corporate/m&a), Raul-Angelo Papotti (partner, tax), Antonino Guida (senior associate, tax), Alessandro Portolano (partner, regulatory), Ilaria Barbafiera (associate, regulatory), Annalisa Reale (partner, labour), Manuela Sanzo (senior associate, labour), Carmelo Raimondo (partner, finance), Paolo Bertoni (partner, IP) and Ersilia Lazzara (associate, IP).

PwC Austria and PwC Italia were the financial advisors to HETA.

Bain Capital Credit was advised by Linklaters and Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwälte GmbH, while EY acted as financial adviser to the bidder.

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Stewarts Law has partnered with Headway East London to support its Family Support Groups for the coming year.

The Family Support Groups form part of Headway East London’s Casework service, which helps support families and survivors of brain injury at the beginning of their stay in hospital. The groups facilitate an essential space for survivors of brain injuries, family members and carers to come together, share experiences and help each other.

They provide a perfect setting to meet Headway staff members and access Headway’s advocacy service to receive information about welfare benefits, health services, social care services and housing issues.

Headway East London currently runs three free monthly groups in Hackney, Waltham Forest and Havering, and welcome anyone living within their catchment area.

Headway East London Casework Manager Sean Kinahan says: “Getting support from Stewarts for this service is fantastic as it will allow us to continue reaching survivors, families and carers in the wider community. As our services expand, we are making contact with more people looking for advice, support and information following their own, or a loved ones, brain injury.

“We hope to extend this support even further in the future, and backing from Stewarts will most certainly bring us closer to that goal”.

Stewarts Law partner Stephanie Clarke says: “It feels fitting that Stewarts Law is able to give something back to Headway by backing these support groups, a service that’s been used by our clients and their families over the years.

“The team at Headway really are in it for the long haul, not just when a patient is discharged from hospital, and we’re proud to provide the means to enable those who need it to access this support group.”

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Shepherd and Wedderburn acted for distiller and global whisky brand Whyte & Mackay in the purchase from Asda of a 127,000sq ft logistics facility in Grangemouth, Fife.

The deal, believed to be one of this year’s largest industrial transactions in east central Scotland, reflects the continued activity in the industrial market.

Fife has become a hub for the food and drink industry in Scotland and Invest in Fife reports that in the past six years, over £420m has been invested in Fife from businesses operating in the food and drink sector, creating over 1,000 jobs.

GVA James Barr acted as agents for Whyte & Mackay.

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Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (MHM), one of Japan’s largest law firms, has acquired leading firm Chandler & Thong-ek (C&T) in Thailand as part of a push into South East Asia.

The acquisition comes just over a year after the Japanese firm opened its third ASEAN office in Bangkok. The office is located in the same building as Chandler & Thong-ek and the two firms have been working closely on Thai related legal matters, as well as exchanging secondees.

It marks the first time a major Japanese firm has expanded overseas through a merger.

C&T is a well-known full-service outlet in Thailand and has a strong Myanmar office known as Myanmar Legal Services. Its Yangon office has hosted a number of secondees from leading international firms, such as Allen & Overy and Herbert Smith Freehills.

MHM expects the integration to be completed in January 2017. The combined Thai operation will be branded as Chandler MHM Limited and led by MHM corporate partner Satoshi Kawai and C&T managing partner Niwes Phancharoenworakul.

Kawai said: “MHM has been advising Japanese clients in Thailand for many years and its integration with C&T significantly enhances our capability to serve our clients in South East Asia, responding to the increased demand for legal services.”

The Thai merger will add 45 lawyers to MHM’s Thai practice and result in the Japanese firm having a 60-lawyer team outside of its home market.

Japanese and South Korean firms have been growing significantly in South East Asia over the past two years as businesses increasingly look to invest in the region.

MHM’s top domestic rivals are also expanding in these markets. Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu opened a Jakarta desk within the premises of Indonesian alliance firm Soemadipradja & Taher, and in 2015 it also opened a Hanoi office.

In May 2016, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune launched an office in Bangkok, from which it will undertake work in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The previous year it opened
 an office in Ho Chi Minh City, and established a Jakarta desk within the offices of alliance firm Roosdiono & Partners.

The second largest South Korean firm by revenue, Bae Kim & Lee has also recently launched an office in Yangon, its seventh overseas and third in South East Asia.

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