When City lawyers are asked for their thoughts on the man who has taken on one of the most prestigious posts in M&A, a clear consensus emerges: few had even heard of him before his appointment.
This is surprising given the fact that Slaughter and May’s new head of corporate, Chris Saul, who was last month confirmed as replacement to Nigel Boardman, has a distinguished record with the firm.
The 48-year-old, who stood in a contested election, is the firm’s contact for key client Unilever and has regularly handled work for General Electric (GE), Emap and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
Recent deals have seen Saul lead an investment banking consortium underwriting the £800m Eircom flotation in March and rivals applauded his advice to GE on its complex £450m acquisition of UK property investment firm Benchmark last month.
It was also Saul who helped convince the partnership to make a push into private equity in 2002. Although the verdict on the firm’s efforts in the sector remain mixed, Slaughters has drawn on its leading top-flight US referral links to handle work for heavyweights like Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners as well as bagging some work for Permira.
One partner said: “I never really understood how Chris’ profile was not very high. He is not a publicity seeker, but inside the firm he is seen as a heavy-hitter.”
Nonetheless, Saul’s appointment appears a shift for a firm whose corporate reputation has been defined in recent years by figures like Michael Pescod and Boardman. The former typified the imperious but technically brilliant adviser, while Boardman managed to combine a sterling reputation in hostile M&A with polished client skills and all-round elan as an ambassador for Slaughters’ M&A machine.
In contrast, Saul is regarded as one of Slaughters’ most down to earth partners — not a breed the firm is renowned for producing — with the firm’s lawyers last week bandying around phrases like “enthusiastic” and “amiable”.
It seems noteworthy that in Saul the appointment to Slaughters’ most symbolic practice role produced — at least as far as rivals are concerned — the biggest surprise, while Richard Slater’s replacement as finance head, Andrew Balfour, was regarded as a dead cert.
The extent to which this difference in style will impact on the firm is debatable. Though department heads continue much of their fee earning, Saul will take responsibility for training along with head of M&A Stephen Cooke, who oversees the firm’s investment banking relationships.
The role also involves monitoring some of the firm’s key client relationships — an important role considering the firm’s stranglehold with UK plcs — and, in a broader sense, acting as the face of Slaughters’ transactional practice.
This was a card Boardman played particularly well. He was certainly a respected operator before he took on his title, but his profile was done no harm by instructions from major clients such as Orange, Walmart and Shell during his time as the practice figurehead.
A key challenge for Saul, who is promising business as usual, will be to translate internal credibility into broader market clout. More importantly, the firm will be looking for a figure who can inspire confidence as Slaughters faces up to a fast-changing M&A market.
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Commentary: Slaughter and May’s surprising choice
Published: 22/04/2004 00:00
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