Bryan Canning

A Global lens on Legal Marketing and BD

Brief

europe | issue 1 · oct 28, 2026

Freshfields advises the banks on Anthropic’s IPO.

Freshfields takes the bank-side seat on Anthropic's IPO while Clifford Chance and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader keep buying US senior talent, and Linklaters fronts Qiagen's €10.8bn take-private by EQT.

6 min read

dealOct 26 · Freshfields

Freshfields lands the underwriters' role on Anthropic's IPO

Freshfields is advising the underwriters on Anthropic's proposed Nasdaq IPO, after Anthropic filed its S-1 with the SEC on 26 October. The team is led from Silicon Valley by Sarah Solum, global co-head of US capital markets, with capital markets partners Calise Cheng and Phillip Stoup. Wilson Sonsini advises Anthropic; Cravath advises Anthropic's co-founders on certain governance matters, Orrick is co-counsel to Anthropic on certain executive compensation and equity matters, and Cleary Gottlieb advises Anthropic's Long-Term Benefit Trust on certain governance matters.

why it matters

Holding the bank-side mandate on a closely watched US listing is a credentials story Freshfields can use in US capital markets pitches. It also puts a major transactional mandate alongside the multi-year AI partnership Freshfields agreed with Anthropic earlier this year.

sources Legal Business: Freshfields lands Anthropic IPO role alongside raft of US firms Legal Cheek: Freshfields bags top role in Anthropic's $1.5 trillion mega-IPO

dealOct 22 · Linklaters

Linklaters fronts Qiagen's €10.8bn take-private by EQT

Linklaters advised Qiagen on its agreement with EQT Private Equity for an all-cash public takeover offer at €46.50 per share, valuing the diagnostics group at an enterprise value of about €10.8bn. The firm's team was led by corporate/M&A partner Staffan Illert and Daniela Seeliger of the antitrust and foreign investment practice. ADIA's Luxinva and CPP Investments are co-investors with EQT.

why it matters

Linklaters published its full cross-practice team list on the day the deal was announced: a reminder that deal announcements double as bench advertising for German corporate and antitrust talent.

sources Linklaters announcement (via mandaco M&A Newsroom): Linklaters advises QIAGEN on takeover offer by EQT The Lawyer: Milbank, Clifford Chance and Linklaters line up on €10.8bn Qiagen deal

lateral hireOct 26 · Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance adds project finance partner Jean Lee, its 12th US partner hire of 2026

Clifford Chance announced on 26 October that Jean Lee has joined its Project Development & Finance team as a partner. Lee, who has more than 20 years’ experience advising sponsors, developers and lenders, previously helped establish legacy Allen & Overy’s Seoul office and was managing partner of Allen & Overy’s Washington office from 2020 to 2022. The firm says she brings its US partner hires this year to 12.

why it matters

By putting a running tally of US partner hires in the announcement, Clifford Chance frames individual laterals as a sustained growth narrative. The firm highlights her energy-transition and Korea-linked financing experience, so competing firms should expect those angles in its sponsor pitches.

source Clifford Chance: Clifford Chance Expands Sponsor-Side Energy & Infrastructure Capabilities with Jean Lee

lateral hireOct 26 · Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader hires former US ambassador Julissa Reynoso

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader announced on 26 October that Julissa Reynoso, former US Ambassador to Spain and Andorra and to Uruguay, has joined its Disputes practice as a partner in New York. She will focus on government investigations, congressional inquiries, crisis management and cross-border disputes, with a strong presence in Latin America and Spain. The firm says it has made nearly 20 lateral hires globally since 1 July, following its recent combination.

why it matters

The combined firm is using high-profile laterals to give its new brand a public face in New York, and the "nearly 20 hires since July" line is now part of its post-combination story. Firms competing for investigations work with a Latin American or Spanish angle have a new name to plan around.

sources Hogan Lovells Cadwalader: Former U.S. Ambassador Julissa Reynoso joins Hogan Lovells Cadwalader's Disputes practice Law360 Pulse: Hogan Lovells Taps Ex-Spain Ambassador For Disputes Team

leadershipOct 23 · Hogan Lovells Cadwalader

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader sends 60 partners to Cambridge this year

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader has launched "Leading The Future," a year-long leadership programme with Cambridge Judge Business School, Legal Business reported on 23 October. The first intake of about 30 partners includes CEO Miguel Zaldivar; the firm plans 60 partners across two intakes this year and 30 a year after that. Zaldivar said the firm needs "everybody rowing in the same direction at the same speed."

why it matters

Post-combination integration is being run as a visible culture programme with a university brand attached, which doubles as a recruiting and retention message. Firms facing their own integration or succession questions can expect clients and laterals to ask what theirs looks like.

source Legal Business: 'We need everybody rowing in the same direction' – Hogan Lovells Cadwalader teams up with Cambridge

dealOct 27 · Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises CICC on a three-way Chinese brokerage merger

Clifford Chance advised China International Capital Corporation (CICC) on its three-way merger with Dongxing Securities and Cinda Securities, completed on 26 October through absorption and share exchange. The combined group is expected to hold assets of more than RMB1 trillion, making it one of China's largest securities firms. Partner Tommy Tam led the work, with M&A partner Alex Bidlake, drawing on 15 offices.

why it matters

Publicising a landmark onshore Chinese financial-sector consolidation, with a 15-office team list, signals that Clifford Chance treats its China practice as a brand asset worth promoting, not just a book of business.

source Clifford Chance: Clifford Chance advises CICC on landmark three-way merger with Dongxing Securities and Cinda Securities

dealOct 27 · Slaughter and May

Slaughter and May advises PTTEP on its Ghasha joint venture with Eni

Slaughter and May advised PTTEP on forming Seela Energies, a 50:50 joint venture with Eni into which each contributed its indirect 10% interest in Abu Dhabi's offshore Ghasha Concession. The JV now holds a 20% participating interest in the concession, which is operated by ADNOC. Partner David Watkins led the team.

why it matters

Slaughter and May's recent-work page is a useful read on where it is winning; advising PTTEP on a Gulf upstream JV alongside Eni shows its energy reach beyond UK plcs.

source Slaughter and May: PTTEP on the formation of a joint venture in connection with the Ghasha Concession

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europe | every issue

The Europe archive.