So, after months of debate, Clifford Chance (CC) has merged its three mainstream M&A and private equity teams into one large group.
While CC says the motivation was a desire to remove unnecessary divisions and simplify the working of the group, there are those in the market who are not so sure. Perhaps that is the legacy of the unsuccessful attempt by Weil Gotshal & Manges three years ago to recruit two of CC’s private equity heavyweights, James Baird and Matthew Layton. That move, which was averted at the last minute, did highlight the difficulties of managing CC’s buy-out team – widely viewed as Europe’s top private equity practice – within CC’s wider M&A team. The group was at the time claimed to be feeling unappreciated, though ironically the firm’s success in turning around the pair is now seen by some as marking the beginning of CC’s triumphant fightback.
