Law.com International

We’re excited to announce the return of the General Counsel Conference Middle East for in-house counsel! Taking place in Dubai on Weds 30 April 2025, this half-day event is your chance to connect, learn, and grow. Register NOW to secure your spot: https://lnkd.in/ersVc43Y #Legal #Leadership #Networking #InHouseCounsel

Safe to say that was a pretty special night! And it's not just one night at the British Legal Awards, but a whole legacy that we leave behind. If you look closely, you'll see several generations of Law.com International (Legal Week/ALM) - John Malpas, Chris Johnson, James Baxter and Saira Zaki. Thanks to everyone involved in the event, from all the judges and chair moderator Lesley Wan to the organisers Clare Sutherland, Deon van Schalkwyk and Anisa Choudhary and everyone in between. It was great to see so many of you. Well done to all the nominees and winners! And congratulations to our Editor's Choice winners: Emma Danks, William Normand, Sam Jardine🎗and Matt Fairclough. #BritishLegalAwards #BLA24 #Party #Awards

We don’t remember time, we remember moments. How true this is for how we live our lives. Here’s me imparting some thoughts ahead of the British Legal Awards this evening. If you’re coming please come and say hi! #britishlegalawards2024 #BLA24 #Purpose

CMS has added Mauritian-based Prism Chambers as one of its member firms in Africa, granting the global firm entry into one of the continent's major investment hubs and a fund market worth more than $80 billion. Rival firms Eversheds Sutherland, DLA Piper and Dentons have already established a presence in Mauritius which, despite being a small island in the Indian Ocean, is a destination of choice for law firms seeking expansion on the African continent. Its appeal is largely due to Mauritius’ favourable tax regime and robust international financial centre hosting more than 450 private equity funds investing in Africa and Asia. CMS’s local boutique, with a team of six finance and tax lawyers based in Ebène, will provide the firm with outbound legal work from Mauritius and access to the market, CMS said in a statement on Monday. Established in 2019, Prism Chambers focuses on corporate and finance law and has experience in high-profile tax litigation and complex cross-border matters. Duncan Weston, PhD, executive partner at CMS, said Prism Chambers’ expertise in tax law in particular will support CMS clients in expanding their businesses on the continent. The partnership will also strengthen the firm’s ability to build a competitive African offering and identity, Riza Moosa, CMS Africa chair, added. The Mauritian team will be led by Johanne Hague, Prism Chambers founder and a former DLA Piper partner. Hague, who is also qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales, previously worked at Linklaters and JPMorgan’s London offices. Full story from Alfred Olufemi: https://lnkd.in/e3u2pRMs

The Wirecard debacle dates back to 2020 when the DAX stock exchange-listed bank filed for insolvency announcing €1.9 billion in cash was “missing” and that Wirecard was €3.2 billion in debt. Four years later, one of the three parallel lawsuits brought by former shareholders convened on Friday in the Bavarian State Supreme Court’s converted airport hangar. Some 8,500 Investors are suing Wirecard’s accountants at EY and seven former bank directors blaming the collapse on fraudulent financial reporting. The legal arguments are expected to drag on for years but the final payoff of an estimated €5-€7 billion (US $5.3 billion to $7.3 billion) could be worth the wait, according to Wolfgang Dr. Schirp, of Schirp & Partner Rechtsanwälte, who represents about 2,000 plaintiffs. Their next hearing is scheduled for March 2025 but it is uncertain how many of the 8,500 claims will move forward as a preliminary assessment found numerous cases could be rejected as “vague and are therefore inadmissible”, according to Bavarian Supreme Court Vice President Paul Heinrichsmeier. The court recommended the parties settle but there’s no offer on the table. “The bad news is that [there] will be no quick decision against EY,” Schirp said, adding that EY Germany has refused to settle but may eventually relent. “Even if the German legal system is slow and cumbersome, if EY doesn’t want to exit the market, they will have to clean up their act.” EY Germany denies responsibility for the shareholders saying, “We consider the claims for damages against EY Germany to be unfounded. This applies both to the mass claims and to the individual claims. We believe there is no legal basis that would substantiate liability on the part of EY Germany.” 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: https://lnkd.in/exQRCJzU

Weil, Gotshal & Manges promoted 18 attorneys to partner this year, topping the 16 it added in 2023 and the 12 it tapped in 2022. Of those 18, 10 are resident in New York, continuing a trend the firm has had where its partnership promotions are roughly split between those in New York and those in the firm’s other offices. The promotions are effective Jan. 1, 2025. The firm also announced it has promoted 43 individuals to counsel. Weil's large class of new partners follows some notable partner exits this year but office openings in California and some lateral additions. Weil also is planning for the retirement of Barry Wolf, executive partner. In a statement, Wolf said the new partners "epitomize the client-centric and forward-looking culture for which Weil is so well known." He added that they also reflect the firm's "broad practice strength and global presence, with our new partner class spanning twelve practice areas and seven offices around the world.” Full story from Patrick Smith: https://lnkd.in/e9A7sGRH

Legal technology provider Litera announced Tuesday that it has acquired Office & Dragons, a London-based drafting and editing platform, for an undisclosed sum. Founded by former Kirkland & Ellis associate Samuel Smolkin, Office & Dragons provides automated document creation, editing, and redlining services in practice areas including litigation, real estate, private equity, and more. The company’s entire 10-person staff will be joining Litera as part of the transaction. Smolkin told Legaltech News that the acquisition will allow the company to grow much more quickly than it could have done on its own. “We were in a place where we really needed to scale up further. … We’re not losing anyone. We’re gaining a lot of resources. We’re adding engineers; we’re adding security and operations and support staff.” In Litera, Office & Dragons is joining a larger company with product lines in diverse areas including document drafting, IT & security, talent management, and more. Litera CEO Avaneesh Marwaha noted that the purchase allowed his company to both improve its offerings and add talent. “It’s always amazing when you can bring in new tech fast, versus build. It’s even better when you can bring in a good team that will not only contribute to [their own] existing roadmap, but I think they’re going to provide a lot of ideation and success to the neighboring product lines as well.” Full story from Benjamin Joyner: https://lnkd.in/e6rUjW5t

Karen Seward (below), the former global litigation head and U.S. co-chair of Allen & Overy, is to retire from the A&O Shearman partnership at the end of this year, according to people with knowledge of the firm. Seward, who was seen as a potential successor to Wim Dejonghe as head of A&O Shearman following the completion of the firm’s merger, will step down as a partner on December 31 this year. A&O Shearman said that she would continue to work with the firm as a consultant. Seward joined A&O in 2000, becoming the firm’s international head of litigation in 2018. In April 2023—one month before the firm announced its merger with Shearman & Sterling—Seward was appointed to the role of U.S. co-chair, alongside Kent Rowey, who is now the firm’s global co-head of energy. Seward ran to be A&O’s managing partner in 2020, with the firm ultimately electing former energy partner Gareth Price to the role. Full story from Jack Womack: https://lnkd.in/e7UJGP-P

Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Herbert Smith Freehills have joined the queue of law firms with an eye on new London office space, as firms across the country continue to assess their real estate requirements. The industry-wide push for new space is being driven by several factors, with some firms looking to upsize owing to headcount growth, or upgrade amenities as competition for lateral and junior hiring intensifies, while others are downsizing against cost pressures. Weil has signed a lease for 20,000 square feet of new office space at Stonecutter Court, according to real estate firm Knight Frank, which produced a report that indicated that the firm will rent the space for £95 per sq ft. A person with knowledge of the move said that this was an acquisition of extra space and not an office move. The firm currently occupies around 67,000 sq ft across the top three floors of the Rolls Building at 110 Fetter Lane, where the firm will remain, one of the people said. Also in the market for new space are HSF and Simmons & Simmons, people with knowledge of the moves said. HSF, currently located across two offices in Broadgate, near Liverpool Street, and Canary Wharf, is on the hunt for 300,000 sq ft of space via agent Cushman & Wakefield. HSF already occupies approximately this amount of space cumulatively across its London locations. One person with knowledge of the move said the firm, which earlier this month agreed a merger with New York law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, was likely targeting office consolidation. Full story from Louis Altmann: https://lnkd.in/eVJqqTi2

Mayer Brown’s split with its legacy Hong Kong partner Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM) is taking place over the coming week. JSM is launching as an independent brand in Hong Kong on December 2, 2024, according to the firm’s automated email responses. The firm is informing those in contact that it will “incrementally change” its email addresses to adopt the JSM moniker and domain by December 2. In the firm’s first announcement about its split in May, it said that “the proposed agreement between the partnerships is subject to approval from The Law Society of Hong Kong and is hoped to take effect before the end of the year with certain transitional arrangements being in place up until mid-2025.” According to the Hong Kong Law Society, Mayer Brown currently counts 151 lawyers, 10 less than the firm’s head count of 161 lawyers in May. One of its latest departures is funds counsel Helen Wang, who joined CMS earlier this month as a partner, reuniting with former Mayer Brown funds partner Paul Moloney. According to five lawyers at Mayer Brown, the firm has for a few months already been operating separate financial pots from JSM lawyers. The same people told Law.com International that approximately a dozen corporate and corporate finance partners will continue with Mayer Brown while the rest of the partnership will move on to JSM. Full story from Jessica Seah: https://lnkd.in/ehBsPv_w