Growing corporate crises prompts 24/7 hotline launch

International firm Bird & Bird has launched a 24/7 hotline in response to the growing frequency and pace of corporate crises.

The 24/7 Business Fraud and Crisis Response Hotline will give round-the-clock access to a member of the Bird & Bird team for any business or employee struck by a crisis involving internal and external corporate investigations or other business critical issues.

It will involve the firm’s teams in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East or the USA and is part of its wider compliance & investigations capabilities.

Sophie Eyre is a dispute resolution partner and specialist in crisis and fraud matters. She says that an issue can occur quickly and throw the business into crisis with potential for reputational damage.

"Crisis response often needs to transcend jurisdictional borders, which is why we're offering an international service. In such cases it’s important to act swiftly to stop an attack on the business in its tracks. We’re hopeful that this hotline provides callers with a quick way to do just that," she said.

The hotline has two numbers, one based in the UK and the other in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong partner is new global head of banking for Linklaters
Davide Mencacci has begun a 4-year term as global head of banking for Linklaters.

The Hong Kong-based partner succeeds Tony Bugg and will lead a team that has worked on some landmark deals in recent years including advising the financing banks on Bain Capital’s $18bn acquisition of Toshiba Memory – the largest-ever leveraged buyout deal in Asia - and BBVA on the world’s first syndicated loan on blockchain.

“Linklaters’ Banking practice is preeminent across the globe with our teams working on the largest and most complex matters,” commented Michael Kent, Global Head of Finance & Projects. “With Davide’s skill-set I am excited to see where he leaders the practice in the coming years.”

Mencacci has been a partner at Linklaters since 2007 and trained and qualified in London before moving to Milan in 2001 and then to Hong Kong in 2015.

Ashurst adds to Southeast Asia capabilities
Frédéric Draps has joined Ashurst in Jakarta as a partner in its projects practice, working at association firm Oentoeng Suria & Partners, OSP.

He joins from Allen & Overy’s associated office in the Indonesian capital, Ginting & Reksodiputro.

"We anticipate significant opportunities and a strong pipeline in the energy and infrastructure sectors across Southeast Asia,” said Ashurst Asia regional head Patrick Phua. “The firm continues to invest resources to enhance our offering. Fred has a solid reputation in the market and we are confident that he will play a key role in further developing our projects capability."