Ashfords International Work
Introduction
One leading West Country law practice which has worked successfully on the international stage now for over 20 years is Ashfords. The firm has assisted clients such as Actaris, Centrax, Gemalto, Schlumberger and other firms on transactions in the USA, Australia, Canada, Peru, and Chile.
Ashfords also set up the ADVOC international legal network in 1989 which now has 80 law firm members worldwide, and the firm represents many overseas ADVOC client interests within the UK.
Overseen by Ashfords Chairman and Head of Corporate Simon Rous, four major deals have been carried out so far this year on behalf of international oil and gas field information services provider Schlumberger plc, including:
- The acquisition of Insensys Oil & Gas Ltd, a UK based pioneer international specialist in developing fibre optic sensors and integrity monitoring systems for sub sea oil & gas fields;
- The acquisition of Water Management Consultants, a leading consulting firm specialising in water solutions for the worldwide mining industry operating in the USA, UK, Peru, Chile, Australia and Canada;
- The acquisition of Vector International Processing Systems (VIPS) Ltd. a UK based company providing market-leading geo-mechanical modelling software and related consultancy services to global oil gas and mining industries;
- The establishment of a joint venture company in the USA with Kyrogen for the development and commercialisation of new technology, with an initial investment of US$20 Million.
In addition, Ashfords partner Alan Bennett has been working on some ongoing and ground-breaking, cross-jurisdiction corporate recovery cases recently.
This includes the bankruptcy of an Australian national in which Ashfords were involved in acting for his Australian Trustee in Bankruptcy. This work came via the Australian Trustee's lawyer, who is also an ADVOC member, and he wanted to obtain recognition of the Australian Bankruptcy in the UK so that he could investigate, locate and realise assets situated within the UK. The Application was made pursuant to the Cross Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 which were only enacted in February 2006.
This application by Ashfords was just the seventh made and one of the very few issued to date under the regulations in the UK, so it was pioneering legal work and it is probably the only one made by a West Country firm to date.
Following this, Alan Bennett became aware of approximately AUS$3 million of assets owned by the same bankrupt located in Jersey. Jersey is outside UK jurisdiction so, working in conjunction with Ashford's Jersey lawyer Mark Renouf of Hanson Renouf, Ashfords obtained a freezing and disclosure order within 24 hours of discovering the assets. The firm has now lodged the first ever recognition application in Jersey which it is hoped will ultimately lead to the recovery of this money.
This case has had a truly international flavour with Ashfords working as part of a team of lawyers from Australia, England, Scotland, Jersey and Switzerland.
Ashfords corporate recovery team is developing a niche reputation in cross border work and Alan Bennett is currently working on a job for an English Trustee in Bankruptcy of an English citizen with a significant land asset in the USA in order to prevent its sale. His team also handles a number of other international jobs for English Trustees and regularly recovers assets in the US and Europe.
Ashfords Chairman and Head of Corporate Simon Rous said:
"Whilst attracting high quality national and international legal work to the South West and avoiding the natural drift by international firms towards London lawyers is always a challenge, it's an inescapable fact that legal, accounting and banking time doesn't come cheap. As a result, our lower overheads allow Ashfords' professionals to compete keenly on price with London practices and other international law firms.
"An essential ingredient to winning international work is the experience of having done it before and knowing how these clients think and what they expect. Ashfords is recognised by both the Legal 500 and Chambers legal guides as having this expertise in abundance, and we are lucky to have partners who have spent parts of their careers in an international environment, and with the knowledge and contacts to match.
"Our specialist language unit can translate and draft in Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Swedish which is also a boon.
"These days, major deals tend to be cross-border, requiring coordination of legal input from several jurisdictions at the same time. Legal networks such as ADVOC make light work of this and the fact that we have known many of our international colleagues personally for many years also makes it easier.
"Coordinating these jurisdictions means responding to different time zones. Modern lawyers take 24/7 for granted and latest information technology makes it much easier. Looking around the office, I don't see many law books these days, but lawyers at virtual deal screens researching and drafting on-line.
"Colleagues and clients, whether in the office or at home, are able to be permanently linked by wireless laptops and Blackberry hand held phone. This level of technology is not for the dabbler, but needs steady investment in upgrades and a team of backup ICT professionals.
"Cross border deals are not for the faint hearted or underpowered. They require a big team and a wide range of specialisms.
"Luckily, we can attract these talented professionals with specialist skills thanks to the great quality of life on offer here in the West Country, providing we also give them plenty of interesting work. These young professionals bring valuable contacts from far afield, and so the virtuous circle spins on!"
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