Transaction Support Unit
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
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
Your questions - our answers
- Can a TSU member serve as an interface to the legal operations department?
- How high are the actual cost savings generated by deploying the TSU?
- What savings are generated in terms of resources?
- Does the TSU work with all practice groups or are there exceptions?
- What form does cooperation with the lawyers in the individual practice groups take?
- Which tasks are most suitable for involving the TSU?
- Are Transaction Lawyers and Transaction Officers included in working processes?
- Does the TSU work with Advanced Delivery Legal?
- How can workflows be structured more efficiently?
- Which project management methods does the TSU apply?
- Can the TSU do legal tech?
- What legal tech topics does the TSU deal with?
- How closely is the TSU involved in Allen & Overy's advisory practice?
- Do Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers speak English?
Can a TSU member serve as an interface to the legal operations department?
This is one of the TSU's core strengths; Transaction Officers and Transaction Lawyers are well prepared for this role.
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.
What savings are generated in terms of resources?
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).
Does the TSU work with Advanced Delivery Legal?
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).
How can workflows be structured more efficiently?
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.
Which project management methods does the TSU apply?
Agile working, Kanban-Boards
Can the TSU do legal tech?
Yes, knowledge of the functionality and possible applications of our legal tech tools is just as strong as legal and process knowledge.
The TSU regularly works with our popular legal tech tools (i.a. Collaborate, Legatics, Kira, Ravn, Avvoka, DocuSign and more).
What legal tech topics does the TSU deal with?
The services include data extraction, document review, document automation, e-signing, project management platforms and process optimisation solutions.
How closely is the TSU involved in Allen & Overy's advisory practice?
On average the TSU is involved in 100 different projects and 80 different types of projects.
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.
Our solution Case study 1Case 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.
Our solution Case study 2Case 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.
Our solution Case study 3Case 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.
Our solution Case study 4Case study 5
Challenge: Sale of a food processing company by way of a cross-border auction process.
Our solution Case study 5A selection of our benefits
Deploying the TSU generates cost savings of up to 30%
Close integration with practice groups
Knowledge of matters and workflows
Focus on workflow management, supported by legal tech applications and project management methods
Excellent professional training standards for Transaction Lawyers and Transaction Officers
The TSU is the interface to colleagues across Allen & Overy’s global network and business teams
Experienced in setting up and organising international matters
Direct contact with legal tech developers enabling us to develop tailor-made solutions for clients
Familiarity with structures similar to those in legal departments
in the fields of Corporate, Real Estate, Public Law and Tax
in identifying and incorporating suitable software solutions for certain project stages and processes
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
Downloads
E-signing according to German law
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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