Firm Profiles- DLA Piper

An introduction:

In its current iteration, DLA Piper was formed, in January 2005, by a merger between three law firms: San Diego-based Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP, Baltimore-based Piper Rudnick LLP and United Kingdom-based DLA LLP. Firmly in the “global mega-firm” bracket, it is structured as a “Swiss Verein” firm.

With its British operation coming from humble roots in Sheffield, the firm has certainly done well to become the behemoth it is today! In 2003 its stated aim was to be a top-five full-service European law firm, now, the brand is as ubiquitous as McDonald’s in the legal world! Of course, though the firm is regarded as a behemoth, this ubiquity is not necessarily a great thing, with the firm suffering from the same problems as its competitors in CMS or Eversheds. They may be everywhere, but they’re not particularly eminent in any major practice area. Nonetheless, DLA Piper is impressive, as a multinational law firm with offices in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Facts about the firm:

• As of August 2021, the firm’s revenue, which over the last financial year broke £2bn, rose two per cent to £2.16bn, with average profit per equity partner (PEP) up to seven per cent to £1.19m. According to the firm’s global CEO, “During the first half of the last financial year the transactional practices were slow, but then they got significantly busier in the second half, but the way they did it was very different – the regulatory, litigation, IP and tech teams were busy throughout the year but transactional (finance, corporate, RE, projects) made up in the second half of financial year.”
• As mentioned in the introduction, the firm has 90 offices in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East! DLA Piper is a truly global player, with a truly extensive global network!
• Due to the firm’s size, several training contracts are on offer- 70 training contracts places a year throughout the UK.
• For a firm in its tier, pay at DLA Piper is very strong! First-year trainees earn £46k, second years take home £51k, while newly qualified lawyers earn a round £88k. Please note that salaries will vary in the regions, due to differing costs of living. Newly qualified lawyers in regional offices earn £48k.

Key practice areas:

Arbitration, Banking, Competition and Trade, Corporate Crime, Corporate Finance, Employment, Energy, Government Affairs, Hospitality and Leisure, Insurance, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Pensions, Private Equity, Real Estate, Restructuring, Securities, Tax, Technology

Notable recent deals/cases:

• DLA Piper has been appointed by the UK government as the Provider of Legal Services for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), the conference taking place in Glasgow in November. The firm will provide general commercial support to COP26 including in respect of sponsorship agreements.
• DLA Piper has advised Axion on the formation of Axion Fibre, a company dedicated to deploying and operating a full-fibre network targeting sub-urban and rural areas, to help bridge the digital divide and address the challenge of digital transformation in the UK.
• DLA Piper has advised the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), part of ADQ and owner of the London ExCel centre, on the acquisition of a new hotel to its portfolio: the DoubleTree By Hilton London ExCel.
• DLA Piper has advised Coöperative Rabobank U.A., Landesbank Baden-Württemberg and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale as the lenders to Highfield Solar Limited in the financing of two separate solar energy projects in Ireland with a total capacity of 282 MWp.
• DLA Piper advised UBM Development AG on the successful placement of a sustainability-linked bond. This follows its first sustainability-linked bond aimed at retail clients, which was issued in May with a total value of EUR150 million.
• DLA Piper is advising Philip Morris International (PMI) on its recommended public offer for Vectura Group plc, a public limited company whose shares are listed on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange (Vela). PMI’s bid values Vectura at approximately GBP1 billion.

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