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Ashurst LLP

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Ashurst LLP
Ashurst
HeadquartersBoardwalk House, London
No. of offices24
No. of lawyers1700+
Major practice areasCapital markets, Commercial contracts, Commodities, Competition, Construction, Corporate, Data protection and privacy, Dispute resolution, Employment, Environment, Finance, Intellectual property, Investment funds, Native title, Outsourcing, PFI/PPP, Planning, Private equity, Project finance, Public sector and government, Real estate, Regulatory, Restructuring, insolvency and special situations, Tax
Key peopleCharlie Geffen (Senior Partner)

James Collis (Managing Partner)

Mary Padbury (Chairman Ashurst Australia)
RevenueIncrease £550 million[1]
Date founded1822
Company typeLLP
Websitewww.ashurst.com

Ashurst LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Silver Circle' of leading UK law firms. Ashurst is the UK's 7th largest law firm by revenue.[2] It has 24 offices in 14 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America and employs around 1,700 legal advisers.

Its principal business focus is mergers and acquisitions, corporate and structured finance. The firm also has practices in other areas including investment funds, antitrust, energy, transport and infrastructure, intellectual property, IT, dispute resolution, financial services, tax, real estate, regulatory, telecommunication and employment.[3]

History

Ashurst Morris Crisp

The firm was founded in 1822,[4] at 6 Old Jewry in the City of London. The first 100 years of Ashurst Morris Crisp, as it was then known, were dominated by three men: progressive political activist William H. Ashurst, liquidation mastermind John Morris and corporate specialist Sir Frank Crisp.[5]

Ashurst Morris Crisp grew to have one of the best pedigrees in the business. It spent years in the upper echelons of the City's corporate advisers, but it struggled to adapt to the rapidly expanding legal market that emerged in the 1990s, with London's largest firms beginning to break away from the pack.[6]

Merger Plans

Struggling for a clear response, Ashurst Morris Crisp was engaged in three major sets of merger talks between 1998 and 2004. The first came in 1998 when the firm considered tying up with Clifford Chance, though a number of senior Ashurst partners were to torpedo the deal amid fears that the firm would effectively be swallowed by the larger London practice. Similar concerns contributed to the collapse of the firm's 2000 talks with top 10 US practice Latham & Watkins, with Ashurst apparently unwilling to give enough ground to its larger suitor for the US firm to proceed.[6]

In light of its fear of being taken over, its prolonged attempt to secure a merger-of-equals with New York's Fried Frank may have looked just the ticket. However, the talks were to finally collapse after nearly 12 months of serious discussions amid cultural differences and the inability to agree a similar compensation system. In particular, Ashurst was resistant to the concept of paying a handful of high-billing partners 'super-point' deals well above its central lockstep. Emerging bruised from the talks, one of the major supporters of the deal, outgoing managing partner Justin Spendlove, quit the firm for Fried Frank in March 2004 to head up its European operation.[6]

Growth and Financial Crisis

After rebranding as Ashurst LLP in 2003, the firm was faced with profits lagging its peer group and the risk of a contracting work force. One abortive initiative in 2004 that allowed the management to pay high performers additional bonuses was seen as symbolic of the defensiveness of the time. However, the team of veteran senior partner Geoffrey Green and managing partner Simon Bromwich were to begin having more success in managing the firm. Partly this involved a more actively managed partnership and a handful of discreetly handled exits. The firm was also able to make more progress in building up its core M&A practice, in particular improving its investment banking links, and dealing with quality problems in its foreign network. The firm was also aided by a continued strong performance from its finance practice. With partner profits rocketing in 2007 to take top earners past the £1m mark, placing the firm comfortably in the UK top 10 in profitability.[6]

In 2008, the firm voted in highly rated corporate partner Charlie Geffen to succeed Green as senior partner after an election against veteran litigator Ed Sparrow. The credit turmoil that gripped financial markets in the summer of 2007, which became a full-blown banking crisis and recession the following year, had a substantial impact on Ashurst's core practice lines. Profits fell and revenue suffered a dip. But the firm quickly steered itself out of trouble, and figures began to rise again.[6]

Combination with Blake Dawson

Ashurst announced strong 2011 results,[7] with profit per partner rising 5% to £723,000 and total revenue growing 3.5% to £303 million. As of the summer of 2011, Ashurst had over 900 lawyers, including over 200 partners, in 12 countries.

On 1 March 2012, Ashurst merged its Asian business with that of Australian law firm Blake Dawson, a member of the Big Six, Blake Dawson being renamed as Ashurst Australia across all offices. The two firms may vote to complete a full financial merger in 2014.[8]

As a result of this combination, Ashurst now has 1,700 lawyers and 3,500 staff working across 24 offices, with worldwide revenue exceeding £550 million. Ashurst has also gained new offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Jakarta, Melbourne, Perth, Port Moresby, Shanghai and Sydney. This significantly increases Ashurst's resources and its stronghold in the energy & resources, infrastructure and financial services sectors.[1]

The business merger has propelled Ashurst to new heights, now 25th in the list of 100 largest law firms in the world by revenue and 7th in the list of largest UK law firms by revenue. It has overtaken Magic Circle firm Slaughter & May in total revenue, making it a serious contender for the top 5 in years to come.

Practice Areas

References

  1. ^ a b Ashurst press release
  2. ^ http://www.ashurst.com/about-ashurst.aspx?id_Content=66 Ashurst and Blake Dawson announce merger
  3. ^ Ashurst website
  4. ^ 'Ashurst's founders'
  5. ^ Chambers Student – History of Ashurst LLP
  6. ^ a b c d e Legalweek – Ashurst
  7. ^ Ashurst 2011 results
  8. ^ Blake Dawson (2011). Ashurst and Blake Dawson announce Asia business combination and future merger plans. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
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