Legal briefs: Addleshaws, Bootes, Cope & Co
A Manchester-based team from international law firm Addleshaw Goddard has advised AIM-listed Andor Technology on its acquisition of two international businesses for a total of £12m.
Andor Technology develops and manufactures high performance scientific digital cameras for academic, industrial and government applications.
The Belfast-headquartered business, which has offices in China, Japan and the US, acquired Apogee in the US and Spectral Applied Research in Canada within 11 days of each other. Addleshaw Goddard advised Andor on both acquisitions.
The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by corporate partner Roger Hart and included Darren Harris and Tina Wong.
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MEANWHILE, Mark Molyneux, who is also based at Addleshaws in Manchester, has given his views on international arbitration at the three day event in Lagos, Nigeria last week.
The ESQ International Arbitration School 2013 conference is one of the biggest in Africa and is held for corporate in-house counsel and arbitration lawyers on the continent.
The conference was sponsored by Aluko and Oyebode, a leading commercial law firm in Nigeria and the relationship firm for Addleshaw Goddard in the region. Addleshaw Goddard advises on disputes and acts on litigious and regulatory matters in Algeria, Libya, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and Sudan. It also advises on deals, risk and compliance, intellectual property and reputation management, infrastructure and oil and gas.
Mr Molyneux said: “Africa’s economy is experiencing its longest period of uninterrupted growth in more than 40 years. In a global downturn, Africa is one of the few economic bright spots, providing exciting opportunities for growth.”
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MANCHESTER law firm, Boote Edgar Esterkin, has rebranded as Bootes and switched from a limited liability partnership (LLP) to a limited company.
It said the corporate structure will allow the business to grow and develop as it expands its range of legal services.
Chief executive Eugene Esterkin said: “We have been known in the community and by our clients as ‘Bootes’ for years, so the transition is natural, and with over 150 years of presence in Manchester, it was time to modernise our structure as we prepare for continued growth.
“Whilst Bootes has been a niche firm specialising particularly in the spheres of financial services and commercial property with specialist litigation teams dedicated to those areas, we have started to widen our offering over the past 18 months and are set to continue that trend”.
Director Simon Baxter, said: “By incorporating, we believe we are modernising, and at the same time, we are opening up lots of exciting new opportunities that come with incorporation, in particular, growth by facilitating new shareholder appointments, which in turn will lead to widened services being offered.”
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COPE & Co in Liverpool is celebrating its fourth birthday with new offices as it targets growth in the near future.
It has taken space at Castle Chambers on Castle Street, as it looks to expand next year.
The firm was founded four years ago by ex-DLA Piper and Addleshaw Goddard solicitor Paul Cope.
He said: “The industry is going through seismic change, but many firms are stuck in their ways and are either unwilling or unable to adapt to new ways of working. Cope & Co was set up to meet those new expectations and offer the same expertise priced in a way that suited client needs.”
He added: “We spent a long time looking for the right office. We’ve got somewhere that suits us now as a business, but will also allow us to take on new staff and expand as we continue to win more work. We’re looking forward to 2014 being a big year for us.”
