Niche law firm makes key hire

Private equity firm MJ Hudson, which was created only two months ago, has poached secondaries and fund formation lawyer John Dyson from a rival firm.

Dyson was previously a managing associate at London-based law firm Simmons & Simmons, officially leaving the firm last month, according to a spokesperson for MJ Hudson. Prior to his stint at Simmons, Dyson worked as a senior associate at law firm Clifford Chance.

The eponymous MJ Hudson was established in July by seasoned private equity lawyer Matthew Hudson, to “provide high end legal advice on the formation of specialist investment funds and structuring deals”, according to a statement.

The firm intends to distinguish itself from most in the industry by charging clients based on a percentage of a successful fund or transaction as opposed to billing a private equity house by time. The firm additionally considers investing equity in its clients’ funds and transactions as a way of further aligning its fees with its clients’ returns, according to a statement.

The firm’s model is made possible due to the incoming Legal Services Act, which from next year will enable firms in the UK to adopt “alternative business structures”, allowing them for the first time to sell stakes to private equity funds and other outside investors, as previously reported on PEM. Likewise, Hudson will have the option of taking a position in clients’ funds, thereby mutually reinforcing the interests of all parties in the relationship.

Coller Capital is a founding client of MJ Hudson and its chief investment officer, Jeremy Coller, described the firm’s creation as “a breath of fresh air to clients of the traditional legal profession to be able to use a law firm that prices transactionally and can also invest in a transaction, thereby showing an understanding of and interest in the client and their returns”.