Allen & Overy is a pioneer in many disciplines which enables us to structure better and more flexible offers for our clients. This maxim was also the decisive factor in creating the Transaction Support Unit (TSU), ie a concept which is not reliant on volume but contributes our high-quality advice by effectively facilitating workflows.
The TSU is a unit comprising lawyers and, specifically, commercial law specialists who are closely integrated in their teams in the various practice areas and provide support with day-to-day legal work. In this context, the Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers not only meet the high standards demanded from legal advisers at Allen & Overy, but they also receive specialist training enabling them to identify and assess workflows and to deploy legal tech solutions and project management skills in order to optimise the processes they underlie.
A powerful, integrated team
By acting as an interface between legal advice and technology, the TSU embodies our “seamless service” approach like no other team.
A key benefit of the TSU is its interdisciplinary approach and implementation which combines specialist legal knowledge, technology and processes. Our Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers are extremely versatile and very quick to familiarise themselves with new working environments. Savings are generated by having familiarity with the legal requirements of the project and the underlying processes and workflows, as well as the ability to facilitate and accelerate work in a targeted and structured manner.
The TSU acts as an enabler for very large transactions as well as litigation and investigation projects – with legal tech and project management in particular, the TSU allows us to deliver quick, efficient, and targeted results.
Wolf Bussian, Managing Partner - Litigation/Frankfurt
How high are the actual cost savings generated by deploying the TSU?
Deploying the TSU generates savings of 25%-30% on average. The savings are the result of lower hourly rates, combined with the routine deployment of legal tech tools and efficient project management.
Savings in terms of resources are generated as a result of process know-how, the deployment of complementary specialised teams (eg Advanced Delivery Legal or Project Management) and the use of software.
Does the TSU work with all practice groups or are there exceptions?
Naturally, the TSU is particularly well represented and integrated in the field of Corporate/M&A. But at Allen & Overy this also applies to, inter alia, the Real Estate and Antitrust teams as well as the Public Law and Tax practice groups. We intend to include other practice groups in the near future.
What form does cooperation with the lawyers in the individual practice groups take?
By acting as an interface between legal advice and technology, the TSU embodies our “seamless service” approach like no other team. Cooperation works best if the team is involved in the project right from the start, with clearly designated areas of responsibility and reporting lines.
Which tasks are most suitable for involving the TSU?
TSU members are assigned organisation tasks in process-driven projects and (sub-)processes that require a high level of coordination or even the application of appropriate legal tech tools. For large volumes of documentation the TSU further serves as an interface to our Advanced Delivery Legal team in Belfast to reasonably allocate work. Depending on their seniority and experience, team members’ tasks may also include preparing and reviewing (contractual) documentation, assuming the role of central contact for all parties, dealing with authorities or assuming the entire project management.
Are Transaction Lawyers and Transaction Officers included in working processes?
Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers are included in the matter from the beginning, ideally from as early as the pitch stage. They are familiar with both the administrative background of the matter (eg engagement letter and accounting requirements) and the process status, and have a good overview of all parties (internal/external, and also those at an international level).
Yes! The work of Advanced Delivery Legal significantly overlaps with the work of the TSU. There are differences in terms of their primary focus (the TSU focuses primarily on specific legal fields), jurisdiction (the TSU focuses exclusively on German law), their respective size (the TSU is considerably smaller) and their ways of working (the TSU pursues a holistic approach).
With clear project planning from an early stage and by regularly reviewing the project plan on the basis of the following parameters: costs, time and resources.
The services include data extraction, document review, document automation, e-signing, project management platforms and process optimisation solutions.
Do Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers speak English?
All Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers speak English very well and are business fluent.
The TSU in action
Case study 1
Challenge: Formation of a joint venture, which spanned 25 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, with a focus on further geographic expansion and a planned multi-million investment in future-orientated digital services.
With the support provided by the TSU team, the workflows between the numerous jurisdictions were managed smoothly under extreme time pressure. The TSU took over the revision of material agreements in the context of due diligence, pre-sorting the numerous agreements and preparing reports using the various Allen & Overy review tools, as well as preparing the annexes, coordination of the cross-border closings and post-closing measures.
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Case study 2
Challenge: Support in the preparation of a legal vendor due diligence report in the framework of a secondary sale by way of a cross-border controlled auction process.
With the involvement of the TSU, our German team was able to demonstrate their strength in the handling of international engagements; a Senior Transaction Officer acted as interface between offices abroad and in Germany to ensure complete and up-to-date exchange of information and work results at all time. For Germany, the TSU took over the gathering of facts from notaries and land registries, the preparation of these facts for the legal vendor due diligence report and, based on this know-how, the supporting and handling of the subsequent Q&A sessions.
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Case study 3
Challenge: Advising one of the largest transactions in the cruise business in which a luxury cruise business was contributed into a 50:50 joint venture between two of the renowned players in the market, valued at over EUR 1 billion.
Due to consistent and efficient collaboration within the project team, the Transaction Support Unit could be integrated seamlessly from as early as the due diligence until the closing of the transaction and was able to align its distinct project management workflows to those of our lawyers.
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Solution:
With the support provided by the TSU team, the workflows between the numerous jurisdictions were managed smoothly under extreme time pressure. The TSU took over the revision of material agreements in the context of due diligence, pre-sorting the numerous agreements and preparing reports using the various Allen & Overy review tools, as well as preparing the annexes, coordination of the cross-border closings and post-closing measures.
Solution:
With the involvement of the TSU, our German team was able to demonstrate their strength in the handling of international engagements; a Senior Transaction Officer acted as interface between offices abroad and in Germany to ensure complete and up-to-date exchange of information and work results at all time. For Germany, the TSU took over the gathering of facts from notaries and land registries, the preparation of these facts for the legal vendor due diligence report and, based on this know-how, the supporting and handling of the subsequent Q&A sessions.
Solution:
Due to consistent and efficient collaboration within the project team, the Transaction Support Unit could be integrated seamlessly from as early as the due diligence until the closing of the transaction and was able to align its distinct project management workflows to those of our lawyers.
Case study 4
Challenge: Sale of a huge portfolio consisting of, in total, 49 office, residential and retail properties with a total rental space of over 352,000 square metres in premium locations in Germany.
The TSU was in charge of the development of a public law-orientated overview, which was updated on a daily basis and which contained information on undisclosed due diligence documents, revised issues, results of legal research topics and deductions regarding respective open issues. A Transaction Officer streamlined the workflows and saved valuable time, which otherwise would have been invested in tedious data room searches, and further took over the handling of all requests to and communication with all public authorities.
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Case study 5
Challenge: Sale of a food processing company by way of a cross-border auction process.
The Transaction Support Unit was appointed to support the SPA drafting and signing processes within the deal which encompassed in particular the preparation and final revision of the annexes and the preparation of the deed of reference. For the revision of mark-ups, the TSU applied comparison tools, which noticeably accelerated the process. In preparation of the signing, the TSU was responsible for drafting various side agreements in connection with the prior carve-out and for regular corporate housekeeping documentation.
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Solution:
The TSU was in charge of the development of a public law-orientated overview, which was updated on a daily basis and which contained information on undisclosed due diligence documents, revised issues, results of legal research topics and deductions regarding respective open issues. A Transaction Officer streamlined the workflows and saved valuable time, which otherwise would have been invested in tedious data room searches, and further took over the handling of all requests to and communication with all public authorities.
Solution:
The Transaction Support Unit was appointed to support the SPA drafting and signing processes within the deal which encompassed in particular the preparation and final revision of the annexes and the preparation of the deed of reference. For the revision of mark-ups, the TSU applied comparison tools, which noticeably accelerated the process. In preparation of the signing, the TSU was responsible for drafting various side agreements in connection with the prior carve-out and for regular corporate housekeeping documentation.
A selection of our benefits
Cost savings
Deploying the TSU generates cost savings of up to 30%
Integration
Close integration with practice groups
Knowledge
Knowledge of matters and workflows
Workflow management
Focus on workflow management, supported by legal tech applications and project management methods
Professionally trained
Excellent professional training standards for Transaction Lawyers and Transaction Officers
Fast coordination
The TSU is the interface to colleagues across Allen & Overy’s global network and business teams
International
Experienced in setting up and organising international matters
In-house legal tech hub
Direct contact with legal tech developers enabling us to develop tailor-made solutions for clients
Legal operations management
Familiarity with structures similar to those in legal departments
Solid expertise
in the fields of Corporate, Real Estate, Public Law and Tax
Specialist expertise
in identifying and incorporating suitable software solutions for certain project stages and processes
Process optimisation
Constant view of process optimisation solutions
The TSU offers additional resources when time is of the essence and administrates our legal tech solutions which play an ever increasing role, especially in cross-border cases. We could not achieve the same resourcefulness and efficiency for our clients if we could not count on the TSU’s assistance...
Ellen Braun, Partner - Antitrust/Hamburg
Facts and Figures
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of TSU matters are internationally oriented
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The TSU is involved in over 100 matters on average.
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The TSU handles around 80 different matter types in parallel.
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The TSU works in an interdisciplinary manner, across 8 practice groups.
Work for us
Join the TSU team
The TSU is an exciting, fast-paced and challenging workplace in which you will have the opportunity to strengthen your tech and project management skills and work on complex business law matters across a wide range of practices and jurisdictions.
Digitalisation in companies involves changes in work processes and a search for more efficient solutions for daily business. Signing documents using an electronic signature has already become common practice in many organisations. In order to facilitate smooth running of this process in terms of organisation and, most importantly, to ensure full legal compliance, please download our how-to-guide on e-signing in German legal transactions.
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