Goodwin makes good on Taylor Wessing hires with Cambridge office opening

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Goodwin makes good on Taylor Wessing hires with Cambridge office opening

The expansive Goodwin has leveraged its recent four-strong band of life sciences and technology laterals from Taylor Wessing to open a new office in the UK’s innovation hub, Cambridge. The move follows Goodwin’s hire of a Taylor Wessing team including Malcolm Bates, David Mardle, Tim Worden and Adrian Rainey as part of its strategy to build …

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Partner promotions: Cleary bypasses the City as Ropes again makes up just one in London

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Partner promotions: Cleary bypasses the City as Ropes again makes up just one in London

Despite previously denying claims that the firm is retrenching in London, Ropes & Gray has promoted just one new partner in the City as part of a 16-strong round while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has neglected its London arm entirely. The promotion of Elizabeth Todd to partner in Ropes’ City private equity transactions practice …

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Beckwith ruling a wake-up call for profession as regulators close in on #MeToo complaints

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Beckwith ruling a wake-up call for profession as regulators close in on #MeToo complaints

Ruling sends strong message but Nathalie Tidman finds unease over watchdog’s shifting remit October’s prosecution of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ryan Beckwith highlights awkward truths for the profession as regulators increasingly target claims of harassment and sexual misconduct in law. The ruling on 10 October, the most high-profile scalp yet after a string of embarrassing …

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Our corporate soul – Defining the values of a law firm

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Our corporate soul – Defining the values of a law firm

‘If your boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, then give him loyalty.’ USAF Colonel John Boyd, quoted in Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram ‘Our objectives are… to achieve the highest order of excellence in the practice of the art, the science and …

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Deal View: A&O’s corporate practice has matured nicely but will O’Melveny fallout take its toll?

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Deal View: A&O’s corporate practice has matured nicely but will O’Melveny fallout take its toll?

Habitually viewed as the poor relation to its unparalleled banking and finance practice, Allen & Overy (A&O)’s corporate team has stepped up in recent years, the culmination of a decades-spanning campaign to forge a top-tier name in M&A. Richard Browne, co-head of corporate, stresses the level of growth the 161-partner practice has seen, having increased …

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Freshfields secures trophy four-partner US deal team as debate over leadership continues

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Freshfields secures trophy four-partner US deal team as debate over leadership continues

In what it hopes will signal a breakthrough for its US business, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has secured the hire of a four-partner M&A team in Wall Street from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. The hire of the team – led by prominent M&A veteran Ethan Klingsberg and including partners Meredith Kotler, Pamela Marcogliese and Paul Tiger …

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Tip of the iceberg: Beckwith prosecution sparks Freshfields misconduct and financial penalty clampdown

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Tip of the iceberg: Beckwith prosecution sparks Freshfields misconduct and financial penalty clampdown

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has ushered in radical reforms to handling misbehaviour, including financial penalties, as the #MeToo fallout intensifies following former partner Ryan Beckwith’s prosecution for sexual misconduct. The move sees a conduct committee established and new enforcement protocols which mean partners under internal investigation will receive a final warning about their behaviour and face …

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A&O’s transatlantic woes continue as New York leveraged finance pair quit for Shearman

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A&O’s transatlantic woes continue as New York leveraged finance pair quit for Shearman

Allen & Overy (A&O) has suffered a fresh blow to its transatlantic aspirations following its failed US merger as two key leveraged finance partners depart for Shearman & Sterling. Alan Rockwell and Michael Chernick are leaving A&O’s New York office for the US firm just a month after A&O lost well-respected London corporate partners Simon …

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Tribunal finds against Freshfields partner in high-profile misconduct case

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Tribunal finds against Freshfields partner in high-profile misconduct case

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer restructuring partner Ryan Beckwith engaged in sexual activity with a junior female colleague in circumstances in which she was ‘intoxicated to the extent that her judgment was impaired’, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) found today (10 October). The SDT said at a hearing this morning that Beckwith knew or ought to have …

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Weil’s City office sees 23% profit hike as top-earning partner takes home £1.7m

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Weil’s City office sees 23% profit hike as top-earning partner takes home £1.7m

The City office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges increased revenue 15% from £126.1m to top £144.8m during 2018, the firm’s recent LLP accounts show. Operating profit surged 23% to reach £70m as the partner profit pool increased 27% from £51.8m to hit £66m in the 2018 financial year. The City office’s top-earning partner took home £1.72m …

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