#8 The Legal Profession This Week - Law Firms Listing​


By Dheepa​

Irwin Mitchell is the latest law firm to consider an initial public offering (IPO). According to a spokesperson at the firm, a public listing is one of the many options being explored for external investment into the firm (The Lawyer). Law firm listings have become increasingly popular. DWF listed in March 2019 while Ince Gordon Dadds (Ince) and Rosenblatt Solicitors listed in 2018. According to The Lawyer, Mischon De Raya also briefly considered an IPO last year.

Public listings allow firms to access new capital for investment into IT, technology and international expansion. However, some law firms have not enjoyed the expected success from listing. DWF’s valuation has reduced from an initial £366m at the time of listing to £280 million this year (Law.com). Despite one of the key drivers for the IPO being its plans for international expansion (FT), the firm has announced four international office closures and further redundancy plans (Law.com). Ince also published disappointing valuation results to investors late last year (The Lawyer). In light of the performance of listed law firms thus far, a more cautious approach may be necessary for any firm considering an IPO.

Taylor Wessing is the latest law firm to announce plans to open an office in Ireland (Law.com). Earlier in March, Linklaters, Ashurst, Hogan Lovells and EY announced similar plans. The influx of firms entering the Irish market comes following the Law Society of Ireland’s announcement last November. It was decided that after Brexit, England and Wales-qualified solicitors would be unable to obtain Irish practising certificates without first working in the country (Law.com). As the UK government’s Brexit plans gain momentum, it is likely that the spate of Irish office openings for law firms will only continue.

‘Business as usual’ – the notable deals and cases which went ahead this week:

Following their roles advising on Deliveroo’s IPO last month, Latham & Watkins (“Latham”) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (“Freshfields”) are advising on the listing of yet another tech company, Darktrace. Latham is advising Darktrace while Freshfields is acting for the financial institutions Jeffries, Berenberg and KKR (Law.com). Darktrace has an expected valuation of £3bn, making it the second largest cyber security IPO on the London market since Avast’s listing in 2018 (The Lawyer).

Saudi Aramco is selling a 49% equity stake in its crude oil network to EIG, a US based energy and infrastructure investment firm. Saudi Aramco has instructed White & Case to advise on the transaction while Latham is advising EIG. Meanwhile, Clifford Chance is advising the banks involved (Law.com). The deal spans three jurisdictions with White & Case’s New York team, Latham’s London team and Clifford Chance’s Abu Dhabi team taking the lead on the matter (Law.com). White & Case has also previously advised Saudi Aramco on its landmark IPO in 2019.
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