Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is an international law firm operating throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the USA. It has 27 offices around the world and employ 2,400 lawyers with clients that range from multinational corporations, governments and financial institutions. The law firm is one of the most respected and successful in the business and is regarded as part of an "elite inner magic circle of law firms"

History

Freshfields is one of the oldest law firms in England, with a history dating back to 1743 when it became the legal representatives for The Bank of England. Obviously as a company with such a long history it has undergone several changes. The shape and nature of the business as it stands today work is recognisably a result of the deregulation of London's financial markets in the 1986 and subsequent liberalisation of banking and financial service industries.

According to the Law Firm magazine: "During this period a group of go-getting corporate partners - particularly Anthony Salz, Gavin Darlington, Barry O'Brien, James Davis and Alan Peck - lobbied for the firm to target investment banks to win more of the corporate takeover work that was sweeping the City. The move was controversial internally given Freshfields' lead adviser role to the Bank of England, which was at the time responsible for bank regulation. However, it proved highly successful, cementing Freshfields' position in the rapidly-consolidating legal elite, which in the 1990s became known as the magic circle"

Lobbying

In 2003 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was recognised as one of the most active law firm lobbyists in Europe. Freshfields had five lawyers listed as accredited advisers and lobbyists allowed special access to the European Parliament. The lobbying lawyers were Elizabeth Crossick, Alexander Fricke, Gail Orton, Catherine Schmitz and Marianna Settimi.

They offer lobbying as one of their services to clients "Freshfield can devise and execute lobbying campaigns that elevate the profile of your organisation and work in tandem with our media relations expertise to make a powerful, compelling programme"

Elizabeth Crossick provides some clarification on the differences between a lawyer and a lobbyist in an interview with EurActive "A lawyer who is acting as a lawyer is not a lobbyist. A lawyer who is inputting into the decision-making process by representing a client in a piece of legislation, is doing lobbying. You can wear many hats. So it is not the person that makes the definition, but the issue"

Chemicals Industry

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer commissioned research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research that assessed the impact of revisions to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, designed to help the EU improve environmental standards. Freshfields used the report to warn businesses, particularly petrochemicals, of the dangers to their profits and shareholder returns if higher environmental standards were demanded. Freshfields set out how they can help firms affected by the tighter EU rules, they can ensure help with compliance on the new rules if they become law. However, while the revised standards are moving through the legislative process Freshfield's are offering a lobbying strategy for large firms and trade associations.

Clients

Banking and Financial Services

• The German Federal Government called upon the services of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to advise them on drawing up the Financial Market Stabilisation Act. The emergency action saw partners from the law firm called to develop the financial rescue programme on Thursday the 9th of October 2008 and had only 48 hours to develop the strategy in order for Angela Merkel to announce the plan before the markets opened on the following Monday morning.
• Northern Rock were advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in relation to a strategic review prompted by its enforced nationalisation. The firm admit that this was difficult "...the complexity of nationalising an institutionwith a £110bn balance sheet, combined with the political ramifications of the roles played by the government and the Bank of England in the rescue,made this one of the most demanding and difficult restructuring operations in history". FBD continue to advise what is left of the bank. "on its capital and business restructuring which has recently received EU state aid approval"
• The financial situation in Spain resulted in more clients desperate to protect themselves: Inmobiliaria Colonial were advised on restructuring its €7bn syndicated debt facilities; Reyal Urbis on the restructuring of long-term secured financial indebtedness incurred when they took over Inmobiliaria Urbis in 2006; and Metrovacesa and its shareholders sought advice on restructuring €3.2bn with Royal Bank of Scotland
• On behalf of Nomura secured the take over of any viable interests of Lehman Brothers following their collapse.
• The Bank of England hired FBD to develop the legal structure to enable their "Special Liquidity Scheme" that made £185bn of additional liquidity by February 2009.
• Goldman Sachs, CSFB, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are also clients

Food and Drink

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

• Tesco were successfully represented by FBD in their dispute with the UK Competition Commission in 2009.
• Mars acquisition of Wrigley's chewing gum was overseen by FBD. The negotiations were complicated, the deal was partly financed ($23billion) by Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm led by Warren Buffett. The deal involved aggregating some of Mars's existing "sugar business" that includes products such as Skittles and Starburst into the Wrigley's that would become a new strand of Mars's business. This involved FBD working with Mars anti-trust team, McDermott Will & Emery their US advisers and Skadden a Wrigley’s company.
• Danone were sucessfully represented by FBD in their long running multi-jurisdiction dispute with Wahaha over the use of the Wahaha name on drinks.

This article is part of the Spinwatch public health oriented Alcohol Portal project.

Alcohol Industry

• Advised Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Merrill Lynch who managed the £2.125bn refinancing by Spirit Group of the Scottish and Newcastle pubs portfolio. Also acted as adviser to Scottish and Newcastle on the £2.51bn sale of the retail side of the business (managed pubs, hotels, and pub/restaurants) including the sale of 1,450 pubs to Spirit; Also advised Scottish and Newcastle on the £345m acquisition by Globe Pub Company of a portfolio of 364 managed pubs from Spirit with long term management, beer supply and trade loan arrangements from Scottish & Newcastle.
• Advised Fuller, Smith and Turner Plc, the pubs, hotels and brewing group, on its takeover brewer George Gale and Company.
• Advised Goldman Sachs, as fund manager, on its £100m deal for the Spirit Group to acquire Tom Cobleigh Pub Company;
• Advised Laurel Pub Company on modification its outsourcing arrangements with CSC;
• Advised Marston's Plc on transfer of 279 tenanted pubs to the aAim Group for £32.5m and its acquisition of Eldridge Pope estate for £155.1m from Michael Cannon;
• Advised The R20 Limited consortium on its £4.6bn bid for pub chain Mitchells and Butlers
• Advised The Royal Bank of Scotland on arranging the £600m securitisation of 904 pubs belonging to pub and brewing group Greene King plc;
• Advised The Royal Bank of Scotland on its £1.82bn refinancing of two pub securitisations for Punch Taverns
• Advised Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries on its £805m refinancing of the Group’s debentures and bank debt via a securitisation of the Group’s managed and tenanted pub estate. The deal involved 1,592 managed and tenanted pubs

Oil and Military

• Paradigm a specialist in military grade satellite communication technology they provide NATO and UK military services.
• ConocoPhillips is currently involved in a huge legal battle in an attempt to retrieve $30 billion worth of assets seized by the Venezuelan government. They also assisted ConocoPhillips in a fight against Ecuador's decision to increase taxation on oil, FBD advised their client to pay the tax into an offshore account until the litigation was finalised. In Vietnam too FBD helped ConocoPhillips successfully fight the government over increases in oil tax.

Nuclear

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

FBD has worked closely with the nuclear industry since the 1950s, working alongside the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority since its inception, and later advising British Nuclear Fuels Limited. They also have a strong relationship with the German nuclear industry and also advise many other nuclear energy companies and governments in their energy strategies. They consider nuclear a green option and important for future energy shortages.

• Bahrain government employs the firm to assist in the development of a nuclear power policy.
• Westinghouse are advised on a range of nuclear fuel issues.
• They lead the European Nuclear Energy Forum’s Anti-Trust and State Aid Working Group
• Act on behalf of applicants to build new nuclear power stations in the UK and as such work closely the government’s Office for Nuclear Development.
• Urenco, E.ON, RWE, and Hyperion all have nuclear energy interests represented by FBD

Between 2010 and 2011, FBD met twice with the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Jonathan Marland to discuss 'energy issues'.

Miscellaneous

• London 2012 Olympic Games FBD are the official legal service providers

Pro-bono Clients

• Save the Children| Reprieve|

• Pro-bono legal assistance to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition

Lobbyists and PR firms

• Quiller Consultants provide both public affairs and UK monitoring services

Corporate Social Responsibility

They are members of The HEC Foundation.

Affiliations

• Member of the Nuclear Industry Association in 2006

References

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