Senior insurance and financial services specialist Vivienne de Chermont is to join Lovells' international corporate practice as a partner in London. Vivienne, who was previously International Counsel at Debevoise and a partner at Ashurst, will join the firm on 6 October 2008.
Vivienne de Chermont started her career at Lovells. She moved to Woolwich Building Society as a Senior Solicitor before becoming Head of Legal at Abbey Life. Vivienne returned to private practice, first as an associate and then a partner at Ashurst and, most recently, as International Counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton. She has extensive experience of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, schemes of arrangement and complex commercial agreements in the insurance and wider financial services sector.
Commenting on Vivienne's hire, Lovells' managing partner David Harris said:
"We have made a concerted effort to build our international corporate practice, as evidenced by the hire of high calibre individuals such as Chris Ashworth in London, Pierre Todorov in Paris, Rika Beppu in Tokyo and Lucas Osorio in Madrid. Investment in the practice is a strategic priority for the firm and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to strengthen further our excellent financial services and insurance teams."
Vivienne joins Lovells' market-leading financial institutions group, headed by John Young. The group is an industry-based practice, combining the skills of regulatory, product and corporate lawyers, delivering advice on a wide variety of non-contentious matters in relation to the activities of insurers, banks, asset managers and related businesses. Within the group, Lovells has one of the world's leading corporate insurance practices: the London-based team of Tim Goggin, Charles Rix, David Sullivan and John Young advise on corporate and financial transactions within the insurance industry as well as regulatory issues.
Recent projects on which the Lovells' financial institutions group has advised include:
- advising Resolution, the investment vehicle of financial entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, in relation to its proposed investment in Bradford & Bingley.
- advising Prudential, in relation to its proposed reattribution of inherited estate.
- advising Max Capital Group on its acquisition of Imagine Group (UK).
- advising Sanlam, one of South Africa's largest financial institutions groups, on its acquisition of the wealth manager, Principal Investment Holdings Limited.
- advising EuroCCP on its successful application for recognition as a Recognised Clearing House in the UK.
- advising Equitable Life on its transfer of £1.8 billion of with-profits annuity business to Prudential.
- advising Prudential on its outsourcing to Capita.
- advising Lloyds TSB on the transfer of the banking business of Cheltenham & Gloucester to Lloyds TSB Bank under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
- advising Insurance Australia Group on its
- acquisition of Equity Insurance Group.
- advising the UK's largest friendly society LV= on the proposed acquisition of Highway Insurance Group Plc, announced on 28 August 2008.
Andrew Skipper, Corporate Practice Stream Leader, added:
"Vivienne is one of a select number of individuals in the marketplace with the expertise which will enable her to make a significant contribution at a senior level to our already strong financial services and insurance teams. Our financial institutions group is one of the success stories of the corporate practice and the firm as a whole and, with Vivienne as a further partner, I'm confident we'll go from strength to strength, particularly as the requirement for legal services in the insurance market remains buoyant through the current economic downturn."
Vivienne de Chermont said:
"Lovells has a first class financial institutions practice, which is well-supported by the firm’s strong international network. Lovells track record in corporate insurance is second to none and I am delighted to be returning to the firm as a partner in such a well regarded team."
Lovells' FIG group
Recent comments made by legal directories and other commentators on the financial institutions group include the following:
- an 'epic' presence in the non-contentious insurance market; clients claim that the team is 'detailed in its knowledge, utterly responsive and sympathetic to our needs.'Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession
- The undisputed leader for both corporate/regulatory and insolvency work in the insurance sector.Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession
- The insurance group has risen to pre-eminence and is now embedded in both the regulatory and transactional markets.Legal 500
- When it comes to the insurance market, Lovells is head and shoulders above its rivals. The Lawyer
During 2007:
- Lovells advised on 179 transactions in the financial services sector with an aggregate value of £14.1 billion
- Lovells was awarded Global Insurance & Reinsurance Law Firm of the Year for the third consecutive year in the 2007 Who’s Who Legal Awards
- Lovells was awarded Run-Off Advisory Services Provider of the Year in the ARC Run-Off Awards 2007
- Rachel Kent won the personal award for Best Regulatory and Commercial Legal Advisor at the UK financial services industries Compliance Register Awards in 2007
- Lovells was shortlisted for Financial Services and Insurance Team of the Year 2007 by Legal Business and for Corporate Team of the Year 2007 by The Lawyer for our role advising Equitable Life on the split of its with-profits business and the transfer of its £1.8 billion with-profits annuity business to Prudential
- Lovells made a clean sweep in the ReActions annual survey of law firms advising in the insurance industry in Europe and the US in 2006
Lovells' corporate stream
The financial institutions group (FIG) is part of Lovells' corporate practice stream, which is led by Andrew Skipper. The corporate team is structured around four industry sectors - financial institutions (headed by John Young); consumer commercial retail & real estate (headed by Peter Watts); life sciences & industrials (headed by Richard Ufland); and energy, power, utilities & infrastructure (headed by John Cooper) - with the corporate finance, private equity, equity capital markets, commercial & regulatory, tax and competition practices underpinning those sectors.
About Lovells
With over 3,000 people operating from 26 offices in Asia, Europe and the United States, Lovells is one of the world's leading international law firms. We advise many of the world's largest corporations, financial institutions and governmental organisations. We regularly act on complex, multi jurisdictional transactions as well as some of the most high profile commercial disputes. Lovells (the "firm") is an international legal practice comprising Lovells LLP and its affiliated businesses. Lovells LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC323639. Registered office and principal place of business: Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2FG.
The word "partner" is used to refer to a member of Lovells LLP, or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications, and to a partner, member, employee or consultant in any of its affiliated businesses who has equivalent standing.
www.lovells.com