#23 The Legal Profession This Week: Magic Circle Goes American and Mandatory Vaccinations​

By Dheepa M​

Magic Circle Set Sights on Growth in the US
The Magic Circle are striking back against US firms, and this time on the latter’s home ground. Less than six months after opening its first West Coast office in Los Angeles, Allen & Overy (A&O) are opening an additional two new offices in San Francisco and Palo Alto. The Lawyer reports that A&O is launching these offices with the hire of seven partners from White & Case, all with dedicated expertise in the technology sector. Since opening its own office in Silicon Valley last year, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has also continued to grow its presence in the region, this time with the hire of a data and cybersecurity partner from Morrison & Foerster (The Lawyer).

The decision to open offices in the US is long overdue for Magic Circle firms. Many can no longer ignore client demands for an on the ground presence in the region. This is especially because US firms are becoming increasingly well established in the UK and EU market and are therefore better able to cater to transatlantic clients. US office openings also signifies drastic changes in the lockstep system traditionally used at UK firms. As US firms operate on a “eat what you kill” basis, a transition to a comparable compensation model is almost a prerequisite for UK firms to be seen as a competitive option for US hires.

Mandatory Vaccinations - The Ongoing Debate
This week, several major US law firms have started introducing mandatory vaccination requirements for their employees. Davis Polk & Wardwell was the latest first firm to announce that lawyers without proof of vaccination would be barred from entering its offices in the US. Although the firm’s London outpost has yet to implement a similar policy, its fellow US rival Debevoise & Plimpton (Debevoise) may lead the way in the City. According to a memo seen by Law.com, Debevoise’s London co-managing partner, is “looking into the matter of vaccination requirements for people entering the London office”, a move that would follow the vaccination requirement currently in place for its US lawyers.

Mandatory vaccination requirements are controversial. Yet as concerns over the Delta variant flares in both the US and the UK, it seems that the only way a return to office life en masse can proceed is through enforcing such requirements. Firms are clearly struggling to otherwise guarantee a safe working space. For example, the aforementioned memo from Debevoise also requests staff to avoid using public transport when commuting to work (Law.com). In a city as well connected as London, this seems like a far more drastic request than mandatory vaccination.

‘Business as usual’ – the notable deals and cases which went ahead this week:
Slaughter and May is advising The Daily Mail on a £1.4bn sale of its insurance business to Moody’s Corporation. Two US firms are involved in the deal with Slaughters advising TDM as part of a team with US giant Cravath, Swaine and Moore while Paul Hastings is taking the lead for Moody’s (The Lawyer).

Law.com reports that several firms are acting for McLaren on its latest refinancing and equity investment. Ashurst is advising McLaren while Latham & Watkins is acting for Goldman Sachs and HSBC as initial purchasers of the debt. Separately, Kirkland & Ellis and Allen & Overy are advising Ares Management and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia respectively on its combined £550 million investment into the supercar manufacturer. (Law.com).