Young gunning for private equity

Another week, another Linklaters magic circle partner hire.

The impending end of Tony Angel’s managing partner term seems to have given the City giant the confidence to splash the cash on some big name laterals. While the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acquisition finance partner David Ereira raised a few eyebrows, yesterday’s news that Clifford Chance (CC) rising star Ian Bagshaw is to help rebuild Linklaters’ buy-out team (see story) leaves little doubt that Silk Street is serious about bulking up in private equity.

So just how significant is the hire? Well, despite being tipped for great things at CC, no-one would bracket Bagshaw alongside heavyweights like Ashurst’s Charlie Geffen or fellow CC partner Matthew Layton.

But integrating such established names into anything but a start-up is notoriously difficult - as Weil Gotshal & Manges can testify, having narrowly failed to recruit Layton two years ago (see comment).

And while big clients of Geffen (Cinven) and Layton (Permira) are far from dormant, they are not quite giving the pair the kind of profile they used to enjoy. Conversely, Bagshaw’s clients – in particular Blackstone and Australian infra house Macquarie – are unquestionably two of the hottest institutions of the day, both in the UK and abroard. Bagshaw also has a wide and rather tasty set of client relationships, including Candover, CVC and Duke Street.

His pairing with Linklaters’ most visible City buy-out partner, Richard Youle, also bodes well for Linklaters. Not only are the two close friends – Bagshaw was an usher at Youle’s wedding – but, as relatively new partners, they look set to hit their prime.

And they have made good use of their time. Bagshaw was shortlisted in the Deal Lawyer of the Year award at the Legal Week Awards 2006, while Youle was named as the Young Lawyer of the Year.

The only concern for Linklaters is that its approach seems rather scattergun. Bagshaw’s connections are impressive but are they enough to prise away any of the big clients from CC’s much-vaunted private equity practice? In the case of Blackstone and Macquarie - clients which have been spreading the work pretty widely in recent years - the omens are good. But getting major names away from client favourites like Layton and Adam Signy is another matter entirely.

None of which obscures the fact that Linklaters has secured a very astute hire and thrown down the gauntlet to rivals. With those partner profits providing ample scope for further signings - and more wind in the buy-out team’s sails than seemed credible this time last year - rivals will be feeling a little bit nervous.

paul.hodkinson@legalweek.com