Clifford Chance has revealed its pay rises for 2016.

Trainee pay goes up 3.5 per cent, with first-year salaries boosted from £42,000 to £43,500, while the second-year salary jumps from £47,300 to £49,000.

In 2015, salaries for newly-qualified solicitors stood at £70,000. With maximum bonuses, top remuneration at NQ level in 2015 was £84,000. Meanwhile, a 1PQE received £75,500 in 2015, or a maximum £98,150 with a bonus.

This year, the firm has remained silent on whether base salaries have changed but say that when the fixed-amount bonus – which the “vast majority” of junior lawyers will receive – is taken into account, total compensation for an NQ will be £85,000, while 1PQEs will pick up £95,000.

London managing partner David Bickerton said: “In the ‘Early Years’ (NQ and PQE1) we expect our lawyers to work hard to develop the skills and good habits of an exceptional lawyer so their contribution is assessed on the basis of whether or not they are acquiring these skills and habits. At these levels, lawyers receive a salary and a Binary Bonus. If the lawyer is developing the skills and habits they will require they will receive the Binary Bonus, so the vast majority of junior lawyers will receive it.”

Last year, 2PQEs took home a base salary of £88,000. This year, Clifford Chance has only published average figures for those who have made a ‘good’ and ‘exceptional’ contribution to the firm.

‘Good’ 2PQEs will take home something in the region of £100,000, while ‘exceptional’ ones will get an average £119,000. The most a 2PQE could have received last year was £144,400.

Meanwhile, ‘good’ 3PQEs will be paid around £111,000 and exceptional ones an average of £130,000. In 2015, the base salary for 3PQEs was £98,500 while maximum pay was £128,050.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to press on with its plans for a new ‘super-exam’ taken at the point of qualification, but has delayed its final decision until next spring after the legal profession demanded more detail of how it would work.

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White & Case advises on €1.7bn PPP deal

White & Case has advised the Slovak Republic on a €1.7bn public private partnership (PPP) deal to develop 59km of new road networks.

The deal saw the firm advise the Slovak Republic on the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance of the country’s D4 highway and R7 Expressway.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and PRK Partners advised Zero Bypass Limited on its successful bid for the project. Zero Bypass is a consortium comprised of Cintra Infraestructureas Internacional SLU, Macquarie Corporate Holdings and Porr AG.

The project focuses on the construction of the southeastern section of Bratislava’s ring road and part of the southern expressway network that links eastern and western Slovakia. The agreement also covers the maintenance of the roads for the next 30 years.

London-based infrastructure partner Caroline Miller Smith co-led White & Case’s team along with Bratislava corporate partner Marek Staroň. The team also included associates Peter Hodál, Kristína Klenová, Deji Adegoke and Helen Steininger.

Freshfields’ team was led by energy and infrastructure head Nick Bliss. Following Bliss’ retirement partner Alex Carver led the team and was assisted by associates Ronen Lazarovitch, Chris Wallace, Shanine Felix and James Chapman.

Partner Miriam Galandová led PRK Partners’ team.

Staroň said: “The D4 Highway and R7 Expressway is the one of the largest road infrastructure development projects in the history of the Slovak Republic.

“White & Case established the qualification and selection criteria, drafted the procurement documentation and concession agreement, structured and led negotiations with the bidders, assisted with the relevant financing documentation and provided advice on various legal aspects of the land acquisition process, construction and zoning permits, environmental and other regulatory issues.”

The public procurement process was conducted over 18 months and received bids from nine major construction and financial consortia. Of the nine bids four consortia were originally shortlisted.

Dechert and HSF advise on Hines’ first student housing deal

Dechert and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have advised real estate investment giant Hines on its first move into the student housing market.

Hines acquired a £150m portfolio consisting of six developments sites across Aberdeen, Brighton, Cambridge, Kingston and Oxford. The development will provide space for 1,100 beds and planning consent has already been granted for four of the sites. Consent for the remaining two sites is expected to be granted later this year.

The portfolio was acquired from McLaren Property, which was advised by Taylor Wessing. Real estate partner Paul Leamy and real estate consultant Eamonn Cannon led Taylor Wessing’s legal team. Associates James Dutson, Jeena Atwal, Natasha Cooper, Alistair Watson, Emma Tait, Jill Hamilton and Gabriel Estevez supported the partners throughout the deal.

Dechert’s team consisted of a number of partners in Luxembourg and Germany. It included partners Jean-Louis Frognet, Achim Puetz, Olaf Fasshauer, and Hans Stamm.

Real estate partner Julian Pollock led HSF’s team.

Ashurst has appointed its first-ever London office head, as part of a new management structure formed following the election of Paul Jenkins as managing partner.

Current corporate co-head Simon Beddow has been named as Ashurst’s first London office managing partner, having been a partner at the firm since 1998.

His appointment means Ashurst now has three new office managing partners in the senior leadership group, with Singapore lead Shaun Lascelles and Sydney-based Shawn Wytenburg also making it onto the team.

London-based Logan Mair has been appointed as head of clients – responsible for developing the firm’s client and industry strategy.

The position is a new one, with a head of innovation role also being created to support Ashurst services such as Ashurst Advance. Glasgow-based Mike Polson will co-lead in this department, alongside Sydney-based Jamie Ng.

The executive team further consists of five lead partners responsible for Ashurst’s corporate, finance and disputes practices.

Former managing partner Simon Bromwich will remain in charge of the disputes division, while London-based Robert Ogilvy Watson has joined the corporate leadership team replacing Beddow. His co-head Geoff Gishubl will continue as co-head, based in Perth.

Helen Burton will meanwhile head up finance team, alongside Sydney partner James Marshall. Marshall has taken on the position following the appointment of former banking co-head Jenkins as managing partner.

Jenkins was announced as Ashurst’s first Australia-based managing partner back in April, replacing James Collis who has decided to return to a fee-earning role at the firm.

Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy’s only female partner in London, Laetitia Costa, has resurfaced at PwC Legal a year after leaving the US firm.

Costa has been appointed head of banking and finance at the ABS. She left Milbank early last year, just three months after she was promoted to partner.

Her exit left Milbank without a single female partner in the UK. The firm declined to comment on the circumstances of her departure at the time.

Costa advises on senior financings for domestic and cross-border acquisitions, bank bonds, public to private transactions, and was a partner in Milbank’s leveraged finance group.

PwC head of M&A Mark Crofskey said: “We already have an outstanding borrower-side banking practice and Laetitia’s experience strongly complements both that and our M&A practice.”

PwC Legal, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ legal arm, gained an ABS licence in 2014, allowing the Big Four accountant to take ownership of the business. A few months later its boss, Leon Flavell, told The Lawyer the firm had targeted revenues of $1bn within the next five years.

The UK business, run by senior partner Shirley Brookes, is set to turn over an estimated £50m this year, according to The Lawyer UK 200.

Brookes told The Lawyer in February growth has partly been driven by an uptick in the M&A markets as well as the firm broadening its service offerings into areas such as financial services.

Allen & Overy (A&O) has hired Simmons & Simmons partner Marjan Noor, giving the magic circle firm a sixth IP partner in London.

Noor will join A&O’s five-strong IP team in the City, having been a partner at Simmons for five years.

She joined the firm from Howrey in 2010, leading Howrey to eventually close its IP practice after a string of departures.

Prior to Howrey, Noor was a partner at Taylor Wessing, specialising in patent and regulatory matters for clients in the life sciences sector.

A&O’s last high-profile partner hire was Latham & Watkins’ finance partner Lucy Oddy in September last year.

Meanwhile Simmons lost its former TMT practice head Andrew McMillan to Pinsent Masons two months ago, as well as former commercial head Mark Dewar to DLA Piper.

Other departures include asset finance head Christopher Boresjo and partner Mark Moody who left to join Winston & Strawn’s transport finance practice.

Clio is offering both an iOS and Android app to help manage the ins and outs of lawyers’ practices. Easily look up your appointments and deadlines, add tasks, track your time and expenses, and do everything you need to while away from your office and on the go.

Features include time-tracking; calendars that sync with Google and Outlook and create time entries directly from calendar appointments on your phone; an ability to connect with clients; and account integration.

Sue Harris from Walker Morris is the new President of the Leeds Law Society, with effect from 1 June 2016.

Sue Harris, who takes over the role from Colin Gilbert, is a director in the Construction & Engineering Group at Walker Morris and becomes the first Walker Morris employee to be President of the Society.

In her 12 month tenure Sue will be fronting the Leeds Law Society and be chair of the Board. The Leeds Law Society is “the voice” for its members who are solicitors, LPC students, and trainee solicitors in Leeds, and represents their interests locally and nationally.

Sue’s role will involve meeting with representatives of The Law Society, the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, the Legal Services Board and members of other Law Societies in major cities to discuss policy issues affecting solicitors.

Part of Sue’s duties as President will include representing Leeds solicitors at the opening of the legal year at Westminster Abbey in October, dinner with the President of The Law Society in London in July and giving a speech at the Leeds Law Society Annual Dinner in March 2017.

In addition, the Leeds Law Society will be walking in support of the Personal Support Unit (Leeds) (PSU) in the Legal Walk for Justice on 13 June and helping them to raise £3,000. Further details are on the Leeds Law Society website here.

Commenting on the appointment Sue said:

“I’m honoured to have been appointed as president and I am eagerly anticipating my new role. Having been on the Leeds Law Society board since 2014 I understand the important role the Society plays in communicating the thoughts and ideas from members to ensure the profession stays effective for our clients and society as a whole.

Legal software company Aderant has announced that Birmingham-based law firm Maynard Cooper & Gale, P.C. is live on Aderant Expert for its practice and financial management system exactly 12 months to the day of contract signing.

With more than 230 attorneys across six offices, Maynard Cooper needed a unified, robust solution that would support its dynamic business requirements as it expands its geographic footprint, and chose Expert to be that solution.

“We need a solution that will grow with us,” commented Ray Bullock, chief operating officer for Maynard Cooper. “We were looking for a modern and flexible solution that’s built for today as well as the future. We want to minimise use of third-party applications, and Aderant Expert’s all-in-one approach does that. We were also looking for a strategic partner to support our growth, and our relationship with Aderant has certainly become that.”

More than a year of fund raising by staff at Ogier has resulted in two local charities benefitting from more than £26,000.

Nick Cook, Julie Jouanny and Kate Falle from Barnardo’s recently received a cheque for £13,816.42 from members of Ogier’s Charity Committee.

And the Jersey Alzheimer’s Association received the same amount when Mark Blamey and Michaela Graham met Ogier staff recently.

Peter Derrick from the Ogier Charity Action Group said: “Barnardo’s and the Jersey Alzheimer’s Society both do great work supporting the island and we are all delighted that we have managed to raise this amount of money to help them with their activities, particularly the Plan B Service and providing dementia education.”

Barnardos, the charity that works with children and young people aged 5 – 25, will use Ogier’s donation to help fund its Plan B service. In particular, the money will be used to support the work of Julie Jouanny who has been taken on to co-ordinate group work sessions for young people.

Among those sessions are four six-week life skills groups each year, resilience skills training for at least 12 young people, “Chill Out” sessions on Thursdays and Sundays which provide an informal space for young people to spend time with other young people, as well as support, advice and guidance from staff and volunteers. There are also monthly mental health and well-being workshops, practical skills sessions and activity-based groups through the year targeting 15, 16 and 17-year-olds.

Julie from Barnardo’s in Jersey said: “This money will transform the group work we offer and it will mean we can work with even more young people and offer support when they need it most. We are very grateful to Ogier’s charity committee for all of their hard work – what a fantastic amount they have raised.”

The Jersey Alzheimer’s Association will use Ogier’s donation to go towards the cost of employing its full-time Educator, Michala Graham.

Manager Mark Blamey said: “Michala teaches in many different settings, raising awareness of dementia so that individuals, companies, healthcare workers and the population at large are better informed about dementia and show compassion towards people living with dementia and those who provide care. Her role is key to one of the charity’s primary objectives, that of creating a dementia friendly Island.”

Jim Hollywood, Chairman of Jersey Alzheimer’s Association, added: “The money raised by Ogier has gone a long way to support the appointment of a member of staff dedicated to raising public awareness and understanding of dementia in companies, organisations and community groups throughout the Island.”

Kathrein Group, a German domiciled world leader in communication technologies, completed its acquisition of EnKom Group, a Swiss domiciled mobile and fixed networks engineering and infrastructure company.

Bär & Karrer acted as legal counsel to Kathrein Group. The team included Michael Trippel, Silvio Grunder, Frédéric Mancosu and Livia Casanova

As of June 1, Mirela Metea was named partner with Maravela & Asociaţii. This was the second partner promotion within the firm amidst its dispute resolution associates.

Besides an increased volume of clients and entrusted mandates in this field, which requires a properly sized team in view of a proper management of the cases, the promotion represents a direct consequence of Mirela’s professional performance, who thereby equally becomes head of the firm’s insolvency practice.

Guided and formed by Gelu Maravela and the long regretted Marius Pătrășcanu, and envisaged for promotion since the end of last year, Mirela embraced the firm’s core values and has proved, throughout the time, besides sound legal reasoning, impressive qualities such as innovation, dedication, constant drive for self-improvement as well as consistent team and project management skills, efficiently handling for local and international top clients portfolios of hundreds of corporate litigation and insolvency files.

Furthermore, Mirela is a versatile professional who, aside from numerous insolvency and dispute resolution files, is successfully involved in banking & finance, real estate & construction and corporate projects.

Mirela represents clients from various industry sectors such as automotive, pharmaceuticals & healthcare, trade, construction, renewable energy, etc, who have repeatedly acknowledged her efficiency, passion and undisputed quality of services provided.

Kinstellar has announced that Anthony O’Connor has joined its Budapest office as partner. At Kinstellar he will be the head of the Hungarian corporate and M&A practice and the co-head of the firm-wide private equity sector.

Anthony is a leading lawyer bringing considerable domestic and cross-border M&A and private equity experience to both the Hungarian and regional practices. Prior to joining Kinstellar, he was a partner at White & Case and later Dentons in Budapest and has over 10 years of experience in the region, having worked on scores of transactions in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.

Anthony has extensive experience advising private equity and venture capital investors on all aspects of high-profile investments in Central and Eastern Europe, including identifying and managing key business risks, principal areas of sensitivity and motivating factors.

His expertise includes advising on and negotiating share purchase agreements, investment and shareholder agreements, management warranty deeds and warranty and indemnity insurance, as well as management incentive plans, equity roll-overs and earn-outs. He has also built a strong reputation representing entrepreneurs and family businesses in relation to investments by global corporates and investors, providing strategic advice on the sale process.

Anthony graduated from the University of Queensland in 2002. He is a member of the Budapest Bar Association and a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales

Khaitan advised IFMR Capital Finance Private Limited and Aptus Value Housing Finance India Limited in relation to securitisation of portfolio of priority sector loans (loans qualifying as loan against property)  originated by Aptus Value Housing Finance India Limited and investment by Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited and IFMR Capital Finance Private Limited in the pass through certificates issued by the securitisation trust.

Manisha Shroff, Associate Partner and Nikita Nehriya, Associate represented the client on the transaction.

Khaitan advised International Trade and Exhibitions India Private Limited in relation to obtaining Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) approval for proposed expansion of the scope of business activities by way of carrying on the business, in India and/or abroad, of printing, publishing and circulating or otherwise dealing in all types of books, scientific and technical magazines/specialty journals/ periodicals and other publications but not in any manner dealing with news and current affairs.

Sharad Vaid, Partner; Prasenjit Chakravarti, Partner; Atul Pandey, Associate Partner; Monika Srivastava, Principal Associate and Sara Rashid Khan, Senior Associate represented the client on the transaction.

Fieldfisher has unveiled a new three-year strategy, prioritising three practice areas and building upon its European network of offices.

The firm, which focuses on seven different sectors and industries, has revealed it intends to prioritise investment in its technology, finance and energy practices.

The three groups are currently led by technology partner Rob Shooter and financial services partner Guy Usher, while Dominic Gurney-Champion and Roger Sargologo jointly lead the energy team.

“We believe we can grow faster in these areas than any of the others,” managing partner Michael Chissick told The Lawyer. “Technology probably won’t come as much as a surprise to many people, but finance is an area we’ve been trying to grow beneath the surface, with the two overlapping in terms of fintech.”

Despite highlighting these three key areas, Chissick said Fieldfisher’s other sectors remained a key focus for the firm, noting the hire of three life sciences patent partners from Rouse at the start of the year.

The second focus of the strategy concerns the growth of its European network of offices, including development in Germany, France and Belgium.

“We’re aiming to be in every commercial capital in Europe over the next three years,” Chissick added.

Away from Europe, growth is further expected in the firm’s Silicon Valley and Shanghai bases, which opened in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

Diversity and working environments form the third and final part of Fieldfisher’s global strategy, which lasts until 2019. Last year, the firm hired its first diversity manager with the aim of increasing female leadership.

The strategy is the second to be announced under Michael Chissick’s watch, having been re-elected for a second term as managing partner last year. Previous firmwide strategies concerned growth in revenue and average profit per equity partner (PEP), with Fieldfisher last year revealing PEP growth of 22 per cent to £506,000.

The top of equity also jumped 111 per cent to £1.25m, breaking the £1m barrier for the first time.

Norton Rose Fulbright has hired Sidley Austin’s entire US public finance team across three offices in New York, Washington DC and San Francisco.

The firm has taken 17 lawyers from Sidley including six partners.

The move sees Norton Rose Fulbright open in Northern California for the first time, taking seven lawyers including three partners from Sidley in San Francisco.

It has also hired eight lawyers including two partners from Sidley’s New York practice and two lawyers, one of which is a partner, from its Washington DC base.

The partners are: Larry Bauer and Matt Hughey in New York; Peter Canzano in Washington DC; and Jerry McGovern, Eric Tashman and Cliff Gerber in San Francisco.

The team is led by McGovern, who has been a partner at Sidley for 32 years, and Larry Bauer, who leaves his post as Sidley’s co-head of public finance.

Senior counsel Michael Burke, Patti Wu and Mark Norell will join the New York office, along with of counsel Homer Schaaf and Frank Robinson and counsel Jinelle Craig. Senior counsel Eric Hebert will be located in Washington DC. Senior counsel Dave Sanchez and Michele Dulik will be based in San Francisco, along with senior associate Mary Kimura and associate Preston Swapp.

The hire significantly boosts Norton Rose Fulbright’s US finance practice, increasing headcount by around 50 per cent. Norton Rose Fulbright US finance boss Bob Dransfield said the jump “makes us even better positioned to give coast-to-coast coverage across the US.”

He added the team’s experience in securitisations, healthcare finance and municipal restructuring would enhance the firm’s public finance capability.

The San Francisco office is Norton Rose Fulbright’s twelfth in the US and 53^rd worldwide. It already has an office in Los Angeles.

Norton Rose Fulbright US managing partner Linda Addison said: “We have wanted to expand our firm’s West Coast presence for some time, and San Francisco is the ideal location for our strategic growth.

“These accomplished partners give us a solid foundation in San Francisco, as they possess strong connections to the city’s business leaders.”

Norton Rose Fulbright has been pushing for greater efficiency in recent months, revealing in May it would axe 170 global business services roles in favour of opening a back office function in Manila.

Departures from Sidley Austin are relatively rare and over the past two years the US firm has been recruiting heavily across the US in litigation, private equity as well as media and entertainment.

This year it launched a private equity practice in London with a team of six partners and a number of associates from Kirkland & Ellis. More recently, it hired leveraged finance partner James Crooks from Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

This report, produced by Clean Energy Pipeline, contains a wealth of data and insight on the global green bond market. It includes profiles of the most active issuers and arrangers, detailed league tables that rank issuers, arrangers, legal advisors and second party opinion (SPO) providers, and a comprehensive list of all green bond issuances in 2015 and 1Q16.

The report also includes detailed analysis of issuance trends, revealing that green bond issuances totalled a record $48bn in 2015, a 15 per cent increase on the $41.8bn of issuances in
2014.

For more, download the executive summary here. To buy a full copy of the report, contact Munir Bello at: munir.bello@cleanenergypipeline.com.

Linklaters managing partner Gideon Moore and Gordon Dadds managing partner Adrian Biles discuss the future of the legal industry in the UK and whether mergers are on the horizon in this exclusive video.

Both Moore and Biles appeared in the stellar list of management in this year’s The Lawyer Hot 100.

Latham & Watkins was the top legal adviser on green bond issuances last year, advising on more deals than any other firm.

The research, compiled by The Lawyer‘s sister title Clean Energy Pipeline, reveals Latham worked on eight green bond issuances over 2015. The eight, issued by companies such as TerraForm Power, Paprec Group and KfW Bankengruppe, were the highest valued deals in the market, amounting to $3.8bn (£2.6bn).

Latham was one of a number of US firms to win big green bond mandates last year, with Sullivan & Cromwell and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett also working on the largest deals over 2015. The pair advised on two deals each, worth $2.3bn and $1.6bn respectively.

Allen & Overy (A&O) was the highest ranked magic circle firm, advising on four green bond issuances last year worth $1.3bn. Its closest rival was Clifford Chance, which was involved in three green transactions with a total deal value of $1.1bn.

However Linklaters’ two green bond issuances did not make it one of the top 20 legal advisers by deal value, with the combined worth totalling $419m.

Despite Norton Rose Fulbright matching Latham’s eight deals in quantity, the firm advised on green bond issuances worth a total of $1.2bn. Their combined value ranked Norton Rose Fulbright lower than Sullivan, Simpson Thacher and A&O which all advised on fewer deals of a higher value.