We have made some of the most high-profile and high-value Partner placements in the legal market and have been involved in numerous team moves.
Some illustrative examples and case studies of placements we have made and projects we have been involved in are set out below:
US firm start-up – Private Equity and International M&A
We have considerable expertise in new start-ups and are the clear market leader and search firm of choice for US firms coming into London.
We were approached by a leading (Top 15) US and global law firm. Our brief was to build a Private Equity practice in London in accordance with the firm’s business plan which required not only Private Equity Funds and Transactions capability but also Leveraged Finance, Tax and M&A, i.e. a full-service Private Equity offering in London. We succeeded in fulfilling every aspect of the brief, placing five partners with the firm in a ten month period. These were:
- Managing Partner/Head of Private Equity (from leading top-tier Private Equity firm);
- Private Equity Transactions Partner (from leading mid-market Private Equity firm);
- Private Equity Funds Partner (from leading top-tier Private Equity firm);
- Leveraged Finance Partner (from Magic Circle firm);
- Tax Partner (from Magic Circle firm).
These also included their teams of Associates in Funds, Private Equity and Tax.
Unusually for a search, but advisable in this case, we suggested that the firm run recruitment advertising at Associate level to underpin the Partner searches. As a result of the advertisements, we placed several Associates into Funds, Private Equity Transactions and Corporate Finance/M&A. We also, on a non-retained basis, carried out searches at Associate level culminating in placements in Tax, and Regulatory.
The project was interesting because, as always with US start-ups, it involved, at our request, several meetings in the US with relevant Partners (in this case in New York) in order to explain to the firm why we were the search firm most suited to undertake such an ambitious project, and also to discuss the strategic thinking regarding London and to collaborate on the search brief.
In addition, following completion of the searches, we were involved in a significant amount of press liaison and lobbying. The firm wanted to gain as much positive publicity as possible and we introduced the firm to various members of the legal press, including hosting a lunch with journalists. We were keen to ensure that correct information was received by the press. We stressed the phenomenal achievement of achieving critical mass (by this time the office was approaching twenty lawyers) with credible Partners and Associates in under twelve months. This culminated in the firm being awarded “US Law Firm of the Year” by one of the market-leading legal publications less than twelve months after the firm had started in London.
US firm start-up – Alternative Investment Funds (Hedge and Private Equity)
We were approached by a leading New York firm which was looking to build a Private Equity and Hedge Fund practice in London. Our initial brief was to place with the firm its London Managing Partner. We achieved this successfully, placing a leading partner from a top US and global Private Equity firm. We were then retained to search for a Regulatory Partner. Within three months we had placed with them a Regulatory partner from a leading US firm in London.
The search was challenging because, as with all start-ups, it was important to promote the client properly in a new market. This was particularly so in this case because, despite the firm’s undoubted quality in the Investment Funds arena in the US, it had almost no profile in London/Europe. A key part of our role, therefore, was to raise awareness of the firm, effectively present the opportunity, and deal with the questions around support, resourcing, commitment and strategic planning that arise in a start-up situation.
Financial Markets/Investment Management
We were retained by a US firm to hire a top-tier name Partner with a book of business in the Financial Markets space to complement the firm’s world-leading Hedge Fund and Investment Management practice in the US and Asia. We identified and approached a leading name in this area and successfully placed him with the firm including a key member of his team.
The assignment presented some immediate difficulties because of the specific nature of the practice area and the requirement for an immediate book. Also, the Partner concerned was being aggressively targeted by two other firms and we had, therefore, to be able to successfully promote our client firm ahead of competitors.
A number of obstacles had to be overcome in relation to the transitioning from the Partner’s complex UK modified lockstep to a more straightforward US compensation system. Additionally, difficulties arose around extraction of his capital from his UK firm. There were also issues around buy-back of the Partner and his team members, garden leave and a prolonged notice period, making it necessary for us to remain in a close dialogue with the Partner and his team over a twelve month period to ensure successful completion of the search.
Regulatory/Funds
Our client firm retained us to carry out a search for a Partner in the area of Hedge Fund/Investment Fund Regulation, to include both regulatory advice and transactional assistance. Having conducted several searches in Funds and Financial Markets/Investment Management we were aware of a Partner who was contemplating a move and who, for a number of reasons relating to his background and specific to the search, was the optimum person for the role. He was based in New York and we flew to New York to interview him and to brief him about the position. We successfully placed him with the firm in London. The search involved issues around relocation from New York to London, transitioning of compensation and notice period/garden leave.
Complex Real Estate
Our client firm was looking to bring in a name Partner who would be able to make an impact on an international platform in a Real Estate department that was increasingly involved in complex, multi-jurisdictional work and was looking to consolidate its position in the top tier of international Real Estate Investment.
From a very narrowly defined short-list we identified one of the leading names in Real Estate from a top-tier UK firm. After over a year of discussions we successfully placed him with the firm. The search was challenging not least because of the extreme sensitivities around moving clients at a critical stage for them in terms of an ongoing complex refinancing. While usual issues of compensation, notice and garden leave arose, the critical issue was managing the client transition, including resolving conflict and resourcing issues.
Funds Tax
We were retained by a US firm on our fifth consecutive Partner search for the firm. The firm was looking for a Tax partner with particular emphasis on Hedge Funds and the Financial Services sector. We successfully placed a partner with the firm from a leading US firm in London.
The search was not straightforward principally because of the scarcity of Tax Partners having the precise practice area experience required and also because, initially, we had introduced a Partner to the firm who had accepted an offer of partnership with our client. The candidate had resigned from his existing firm but, due to exceptional circumstances, ultimately decided to stay at his firm. We, therefore, re-searched this difficult market, culminating in a successful Partner placement.
Anti-Trust/Competition
We were retained to build out Anti-Trust/Competition in London and placed the founding Partner into Competition in London from a Magic Circle firm. The search was interesting because it involved us in numerous discussions, in both the US and in London, with the firm’s Anti-Trust Partners to discuss the London market, including producing a pre-search market report giving consideration to various matters including whether to open in Brussels as well as/instead of in London.
Regulatory Investigations
Our national UK client law firm had a strong Investigations practice nationally/in the UK regions but had very little on the ground in London. We were retained to build out the Investigations and Criminal Defence practice in London, preferably with the hire of a team. We identified the very small number of individuals in London with the right blend of practice and approached a Partner at a competitor firm. We successfully placed him and his entire team.
The search involved managing expectations on remuneration, which was broadly the same as the Partner was earning at his existing firm, and, therefore, promoting the opportunity at our client firm over the long term, rather than focusing on short-term gain.
Venture Capital and Funds
Our client, a medium-sized US firm, not well-known in the London market, was looking to expand in London in its core practice area of High-Tech Venture Capital and Funds. We were retained to hire a team in order to significantly ramp up the London offering. We sourced the market extensively and identified a lead Partner and team, not at one of the more obvious High-Tech firms, who we believed was considering a move. We approached him and successfully placed him and his entire team with the firm in London.
The Partner and his team had numerous restrictions which needed to be looked at, including taking Counsel’s opinion on enforceability of covenants.
Family and Employment
We have been repeatedly instructed and retained by a national UK firm in a range of practice areas. In Family, where the firm has a very strong practice, we were retained to search for a Partner in London to expand the London presence. Family was not an area we had previously searched, which we explained to our client, but they wanted us to carry out the search. It was important that we identified someone with a profile in the market who had a proven track record of fee generation. We did so and successfully placed a Partner with the firm in London. Immediately following the success of the search we were re-retained in Family, this time to do a similar search in the North. This we did, successfully placing a Partner with the firm in its Leeds office.
We were then retained to search for a Partner in Employment in the firm’s London office. The requirement was for someone who had clients and was a self-starter. We successfully placed a Partner in the firm’s London office.
The search was challenging because the firm’s profile in London was more Employee than Employer-based and it was imperative that we promoted properly the strength of the Employer-based practice outside of London and the opportunity within the London market presented by the firm’s corporate client base.