Baker McKenzie adds senior tech strength to global M&A team

Baker McKenzie adds senior tech strength to global M&A team

With technology providing a large share of M&A activity currently, Baker McKenzie has hired a senior lawyer to bolster its global transactional practice.

Leif King joins the firm from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom where he was head of the M&A/corporate practice in the Silicon Valley. With more than 20 years of experience, King represents clients in a wide variety of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, activist investor situations, recapitalizations, spin-offs and strategic investments.

"Leif is one of the most highly regarded M&A attorneys in Silicon Valley, having advised clients on numerous large-scale transactions during his 20+ year career," said Michael DeFranco, Chair of Baker McKenzie's Global M&A Practice. "His excellent reputation handling milestone M&A matters for the technology industry will further enhance our transactional capabilities in California and beyond."

Hybrid law firm expands into New York with blockchain specialist

US law firm Taylor English has expanded to New York, extending the reach of its hybrid model which combines a traditional law firm with lawyers working remotely across the US.

Harvard-educated New York lawyer Chi-Ru Jou will serve as a partner in the corporate and litigation practice groups with a practice focused on blockchain as well as capital markets, IP, and other commercial matters.

“Having a presence in New York has been a priority of the firm since the launch of our hybrid business model,” said Kirk Hancock, CEO of Taylor English. “Chi-Ru brings extensive knowledge and a range of experience to our corporate and litigation practice groups as well as further strengthens our bench and ability to serve clients in the Northeast. We are thrilled to bring her on board.”

The firm is headquartered in Atlanta but has offices across the US including Chicago and Washington DC.

Thomson Reuters seeks out next-gen tax & compliance tech

A competition to find the next generation of technology to help lawyers and tax professionals has been launched by Thomson Reuters.

The RegTech competition gives early stage start-ups in the legal, tax and regulatory space the opportunity to partner with the firm to accelerate their business through access to the firm’s sizeable data, customer base, and resources.

“Businesses are increasingly looking to technology and automation to help navigate a rapidly evolving regulatory environment and rising costs of compliance,” said Nick Jarema, vice president, Thomson Reuters Labs. “The global RegTech market segment is expected to nearly triple in size over the next five years to US$12 billion, and we are excited to pair our data, expertise and customer relationships with the innovative spirit of the start-up community to bring solutions to market even faster.”

The competition is open for entrants until September 9, 2019.