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(Reuters) – Weeks after hiring an antitrust partner away from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C., Fenwick & West on Tuesday announced it was formally setting up shop in the nation’s capital with a new pair of regulatory-focused hires.
Thomas Ensign and Melissa Duffy have joined the Silicon Valley-founded firm’s new Washington, D.C. office as partners, where they’ll work alongside former Skadden counsel Steven Albertson. All three have joined Fenwick’s regulatory group. Ensign is a former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner, while Duffy was a partner at Dechert.
It’s the third office Fenwick has launched within the past five years, and it’s a reflection of how Fenwick’s technology and life sciences clients are facing greater regulatory scrutiny, firm chair Richard Dickson said.
“Our clients need increasingly sophisticated regulatory advice,” Dickson said.
Other law firms have been taking similar steps. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Jenner & Block, Latham & Watkins, Mayer Brown, Shearman & Sterling, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati have added Justice Department and FTC alumni in recent months in anticipation of greater scrutiny from the Biden administration.
Dickson said Fenwick will grow its presence in Washington, but there is no set goal for the number of lawyers that will be based there.
Dickson also held open the possibility of expanding into other markets where there is a strong presence of technology and life sciences clients. Fenwick counts companies like Cisco Systems Inc, Electronic Arts Inc, Facebook Inc and Intuit Inc as clients.
“Technology and life sciences are not as concentrated in places like Silicon Valley as it once was,” Dickson said. “As that grows, we’ll grow along with it.”
The firm has profited from its focus on technology and life sciences clients. Last year, Fenwick’s revenue rose by 15% to $543 million while profits per equity partner grew more than 31% to $2.84 million, The American Lawyer reported in February.
That focus has been “the wind at our sails for our growth,” Dickson said. “Our clients have done very well over the last several years, and we’ve done very well alongside them.”
Ensign specializes in antitrust matters. His profile on Freshfields’ website said he advised on the London Stock Exchange’s $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv from Thomson Reuters and Blackstone, a deal that closed earlier this year.
Ensign also worked on Intel Corp’s $16.7 billion acquisition of semiconductor manufacturing company Altera Corp, according to Freshfields.
Duffy is a five-year veteran of Dechert, where she advised clients on international trade issues, including trade controls and national security rules for cross-border transactions.
Representatives for Freshfields and Dechert wished Ensign and Duffy well, respectively.
The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has set a new annual record for new cases after notching up 479 new filings in 2019.It marked the third consecutive year in which SIAC registered more than 400 cases. SIAC recorded 452 and 402 in 2017 and 2018, respectively. About 95 percent of the cases, while the remainder were ad hoc appointments.Additionally, in 2019, SIAC’s total sum in dispute was S$10.91 billion ($8.09 billion), a 14.6 percent increase compared to the amount in the previous year.The year saw parties from 59 jurisdictions arbitrate cases at the SIAC. According to the centre, “while India, China and the U.S. retained their top foreign user rankings, other significant contributors to SIAC’s caseload included new entrants from Brunei, the Philippines, Thailand, Switzerland, UAE and the UK, which is testament to SIAC’s global appeal to users from diverse legal systems and cultures.”
Davinder Singh, SC, SIAC chairman, said, “We are delighted that so many from around the world have placed their trust in us. We remain committed to ensure that SIAC will provide the best service ever in this field.”
Global law firm White & Case has advised Hg, the specialist private equity investor focused on software and service businesses, on its agreement for an investment in Intelerad Medical Systems, a leading global provider of medical imaging software and enterprise workflow solutions.
Founded in 1999, Intelerad specializes in diagnostic viewing, reporting and collaboration solutions for radiologists. Headquartered in Montreal, Intelerad serves more than 300 healthcare organizations around the world, including radiology groups, imaging centers, clinics and reading groups, and has a strong and growing presence in hospital imaging departments.
Healthcare technology is a core sector for Hg, and Intelerad represents the fifth healthcare technology investment in Hg’s current portfolio.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, following satisfaction of customary regulatory approvals.
The White & Case team was led by partner Oliver Brahmst and included partners Frank Lupinacci, Sang Ji, Steven Lutt, Tal Marnin and Arlene Arin Hahn, and associates Adam Plotkin, Jordan Kobb, Brian Fetterolf, Daniel Kozin, Brandon Dubov, Arian Mossanenzadeh, Harry Hudesman, Neeraj Shah, Caroline Cima, Julianne Prisco and Mark Kim (all in New York); partners Rebecca Farrington and Farhad Jalinous, counsel Paul Pittman and Keith Schomig, and associates Ajita Shukla and Daniel Rosenthal (all in Washington, DC); partner Jarlath McGurran and associate Mahir Maini (London); and partners Nirangjan Nagarajah and Michelle Keen, counsel Andrea Reeves, and associate Tiffany Leach (all in Melbourne).
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in India – Inclusion of UAE as a Reciprocating Territory
The Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India vide its Notification dated January 17, 2020 (“Notification”) declared United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) a “reciprocating territory” for the purposes of enforcing foreign civil decrees in India. The declaration has been made by the Indian government in exercise of powers under Explanation 1 appended to Section 44A, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (“CPC”). Pursuant to the Notification, decrees passed by the courts in UAE are now executable in India as if they were passed in India.
CPC lays down the procedure for enforcement of foreign judgments and decrees in India. A foreign judgment is a judgment of a foreign court and a foreign court means a court situated outside India and not established or continued by the authority of the Central Government. A foreign judgment needs to be conclusive for it to be enforceable in India. The test of conclusiveness of a foreign judgment is provided under Section 13 of CPC, which postulates that a foreign judgment shall be conclusive unless:
f) It sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in India.
Broadly, a foreign judgment in India can be enforced in the following ways:
Some of the countries that have been declared to be “reciprocating territories” are United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, etc.
Considering that the decrees from reciprocating territories are directly enforceable in India, the inclusion of UAE as a “reciprocating territory” will be beneficial for a UAE decree-holder to enforce the decreed time and cost-efficiently in India. The courts in UAE which will be considered as the superior courts of UAE for the purposes of section 44A of CPC are the Federal Supreme Court; Federal, the First Instance and Appeals Courts in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah; and local courts in Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah Judicial Department, Abu Dhabi Global Markets and Dubai International Financial Center.
It further implies that Indian expatriates in UAE would no longer be able to seek safe haven in their home country if they have a decree against them in a civil case in the UAE. It would also be interesting to see how this development will impact the proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 were so far the National Company Law Tribunal (“NCLT”, in the matter of M/s Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited v. M/s Rajkumar Impex Private Limited CP/670/IB/2017), has held that NCLT has no jurisdiction to enforce foreign decree, however, there is no bar in it taking cognizance of the foreign decree. The Notification, however, will have no impact upon enforcement of arbitral awards passed by arbitral tribunals seated in UAE as the scope of Notification is strictly limited to decrees covered under section 44A of CPC.
In a special session on Sunday the Iraqi Parliament approved a resolution that calls for the Iraqi government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.
The vote comes in response to a US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassim Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Despite the potential difficulties associated with the removal of US troops, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi ultimately recommended removal to the Council of Representatives. The resolution was passed unanimously by the 172 members in attendance.
US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement Sunday, “while we await further clarification on the legal nature and impact of today’s resolution, we strongly urge Iraqi leaders to reconsider the importance of the ongoing economic and security relationship between the two countries and the continued presence of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.”
While explaining the decision to target Suleimani, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a Sunday interview that the US is preparing for several risks not only “from the proxy militias in Iraq but in the region more broadly along every vector, including cyber.”
Global law firm White & Case LLP has expanded its Global Banking Practice with the addition of Alexander (Xander) McMyn as a partner in Singapore.
“Singapore is the key financial hub in the Southeast Asian bank finance market, which has matured significantly in recent years with a marked increase in sophisticated financial sponsor activity,” said White & Case partner Eric Leicht, who leads the Firm’s Global Banking Practice. “Xander’s addition sends a clear signal that White & Case is determined to continue growing its role advising clients across Asia-Pacific on their most important financing transactions.”
McMyn has more than a decade of experience in Asia-Pacific and is recognized as a leading lawyer in the region’s finance market. He advises creditors, sponsors and borrowers on a wide range of transactions and has a particular focus on key investment destinations such as India, Indonesia and Australia, as well a thorough knowledge of other emerging Asia-Pacific markets. McMyn’s breadth of experience in the region is reflected in the variety of structures with which he is familiar – clients turn to him for advice on event-driven, structured and limited-recourse financings as well as commodities-related investments. Recently, a significant amount of McMyn’s work has involved the reassessment and restructuring of transactions that have not performed in the current environment. He joins White & Case from Hogan Lovells, where he was a partner, and brings nearly 20 years of experience.
“Xander is a leading lawyer with a substantial reputation in the Asia-Pacific finance market and strong relationships with key financial institutions in Singapore and across the region,” said White & Case partner Baldwin Cheng, Regional Section Head, Asia-Pacific Corporate, Finance & Restructuring. “Xander adds materially to our Asia-Pacific banking team, which is tier one ranked in Greater China and Japan, and he will play a particularly important role as we continue leveraging our capabilities in Southeast Asia.”
White & Case partner Eric Berg, Head of Asia-Pacific, said: “Xander’s arrival is a further demonstration of our ongoing pursuit of the Firm’s strategic growth priorities in Asia-Pacific. A combination of lateral additions and internal promotions have added ten new partners in the region over the past year, and these lawyers have strengthened our strategically key disputes, finance and M&A practices in Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.”
Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Naspers, a global internet and entertainment group and one of the world’s largest technology investors, on its US$1.16 billion acquisition of an additional 29.1 percent shareholding in Avito, the leading Russian online classifieds site.
The transaction values Avito at an implied enterprise value of US$3.85 billion. Following the acquisition Naspers stake in Avito will increase from 70.4 percent to 99.6 percent (on a fully diluted basis). The remaining shares are held by existing management.
White & Case also advised Naspers on its minority investment in Avito in 2013 and on Naspers’ subsequent US$1.2 billion investment in 2015, when Naspers became the majority owner of Avito.
Avito was established in 2007 by Filip Engelbert and Jonas Nordlander together with founding investors Vostok New Ventures and Kinnevik. It achieved revenue of US$286.5 million and EBITDA of US$127.6 million for its last full financial year to March 2018 and Avito currently has 10.3million unique visitors per day.
The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led by partners Eric Michailov (London / Moscow) and Johan Steen (Stockholm) with support from counsel Sophie Sahlin (London) and associates Hanna Wingren (London / Stockholm) and Ksenia Tyunik (Moscow).
Partners at transatlantic firm Hogan Lovells increased their profit share in the last calendar year, the firm’s latest results indicate. Profit per equity partner rose 4% to £1.035m in the year ending 31 December 2018, up from £996,000 in 2017.
The firm did not provide an overall pre-tax profit figure. Revenue rose from £1.581bn to £1.596bn – a 0.9% increase. Calculated in US dollars, profit per equity partner was $1.381m, up from $1.283m. Revenue was $2.11bn, up from $2.037bn.
Chief executive Steve Immelt said the firm expects an ’increasingly volatile global economy’ in the year ahead, with trade tensions and uncertainty caused by political instability such as Brexit creating a slow-down effect.
He added: ‘Having broken through the $2 billion revenue barrier in 2017 we have consolidated that position with further growth of just over 4% of revenue in 2018, as well as higher increases in revenue per lawyer and profits per equity partner.’
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce the formation of a global innovation team dedicated to working with clients to address their most pressing priorities through creative and innovative solutions.
The Global Co-Heads of Innovation are UK-based Andrew McManus and US-based Anusia E. Gillespie. Mr. McManus brings to the role his deep experience in technology and years of experience at Eversheds Sutherland, while Ms. Gillespie offers her experience in the practice and business of law and a fresh and unique perspective from her recent work at Harvard Law School Executive Education.
Together, Mr. McManus and Ms. Gillespie will take a comprehensive, analytic and disciplined approach to innovation to better serve clients globally.
“We define innovation as focused and creative change in service to our clients,” said Eversheds Sutherland Co-CEO Mark D. Wasserman. “Our clients’ needs are ever-changing; the dedicated innovation team allows us to work together with our clients to focus on developing new ways to assist them in reaching their business goals.”
In the last year, Eversheds Sutherland has demonstrated its commitment to creating a robust innovation pipeline with the launch of Idea Drop, an internal crowdsourcing platform to curate innovative ideas; the global implementation of legal technology solutions including CaseReady, Client Portals and ESLocate; and the launch of Client Conversations, a custom app that provides key information about Eversheds Sutherland.
With their complementary backgrounds, Mr. McManus and Ms. Gillespie will lead the strategic planning for innovation and will coordinate on research and development, client partnerships, and best practices. They will engage with clients, lawyers and professionals from across the global legal practice to develop new resources and enhance existing processes, and will highlight areas for change and growth within Eversheds Sutherland.
“We have always seen innovation as central to our strategy to be a leading law firm by 2020,” said Eversheds Sutherland Co-CEO Lee Ranson, “Developing an innovation team was a natural next step to further our innovation goals. Andrew and Anusia are ideally placed to support our existing innovation projects. They will also propel the pace of our development more quickly into new areas that are ripe for change.”
Mr. McManus has been with Eversheds Sutherland for over four years. In his previous position he led the technology function as IT Director leading the development of the core platform. He is now solely focused on the technology and innovation needs of clients and in developing Eversheds Sutherland’s overall Digital Strategy and growing adoption of solutions to support lawyers and clients.
Mr. McManus said, “Our clients and our legal teams have the dual challenge of needing a stable and resilient platform on which to operate as well as needing to constantly innovate and change to keep up with the opportunities that disruptive technology provides. In order to truly adapt to the fast-growing needs of our clients, we need to ensure we are able to adopt new ways of working, whether this is based on new technologies or through the fostering of an innovative culture. We also need to provide our teams with the knowledge and the training to get the best from new ways of working themselves.”
Ms. Gillespie recently joined Eversheds Sutherland from Harvard Law School Executive Education, where she worked with industry leaders and Harvard faculty to research, design and launch business of law programs for practicing lawyers from around the world. Previously, she practiced law, founded and developed a business, and co-authored a book with Dr. Heidi K. Gardner, a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession.
“Staying ahead of the curve is vital, and the firms that can figure out how to do so will rise above the rest,” said Ms. Gillespie. “While at Harvard, I had the opportunity to study the challenges facing the legal profession and identify strategies that were and were not working. Eversheds Sutherland is forward-thinking in creating these positions, and I know we will develop innovative and competitive solutions to the benefit of our clients.”
