Ashurst is targeting a significant uptick in its European funds offering, having received licence approval for a new Luxembourg office from the country’s Bar association. Corporate partner Isabelle Lentz – currently head of its Luxembourg desk in London – will take the helm at the new outpost, which is set to open in October.
They said rapid growth is hard if you are already big. Last year it hiked revenue 19% from $2.65bn. They said profitability is about focusing on quality over growth. As it became the highest grossing law firm in the world, fee-earner headcount surged 13.5% to over 2,000 and profit per equity partner (PEP) was up …
Continue reading “Global 100: Wrecking ball – Inside Kirkland & Ellis’ creative destruction”
It has been a dramatic year for the world’s top 100 law firms in three respects. Our prediction that the group would break the $100bn barrier by the end of 2016 did not quite happen in last year’s report, but that barrier has been smashed a year later with total revenue for these firms rising …
Continue reading “Global 100 Overview: They might be giants”
My dad is a Marxist. Imagine how he felt when I became a City solicitor and married a banker. He might have brought that up in his wedding speech! I decided to study law when I was 11 or 12. I thought it would be nice to be a lawyer. I envisaged courtroom law. My …
A parliamentary select committee has blasted employers and regulators for failing to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace and has called for a clamp-down on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The report by the Women and Equalities Committee on sexual harassment in the workplace published today (25 July) is the culmination of an enquiry …
Ashurst has culled more than half of its secretarial staff in London as its redundancy review draws to a ‘difficult’ conclusion. The firm confirmed on Wednesday (19 July) that 54 of its 100-strong secretarial team had been made redundant following a consultation which put 80 jobs at risk. Two secretarial roles in the Middle East have …
Continue reading “‘A difficult time’: Ashurst axes 54 City secretaries following redundancy review”
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters are leading on Linde’s $3.3bn Americas disposals, bringing the German gas group a step closer to its $83bn combination with Praxair. The deal sees Freshfields advise a consortium of Messer Group, the German industrial gas manufacturer, and private equity house CVC Capital Partners as it acquired the bulk of Linde’s gas …
In a fresh blow for City giant Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, high-yield partner Ward McKimm is leaving after three years to re-join his old firm, Shearman & Sterling. The move comes not seven months after buyout star David Higgins exited for Kirkland & Ellis despite the Magic Circle firm overhauling its partnership model in a bid to …
Continue reading “Freshfields’ high-yield guru McKimm rejoins Shearman & Sterling”
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has posted something of a rebound after announcing a 12% increase in profit per equity partner (PEP) to £1.734m while the firm added 5% to its top line. The firm achieved total profits of £683m, a 12% increase, while revenues were up from £1.33bn last year to £1.403bn. The performance will be seen …
Continue reading “Freshfields partner profits top £1.7m as City giant posts more confident year”
The City lateral market has kicked off after an uncharacteristic hiatus in recent weeks, seeing Ashurst recruit disputes partner Tom Duncan from Mayer Brown as Macfarlanes loses private equity rising star Emmie Jones to White & Case’s relentless hiring spree. Macfarlanes-bred Jones, who featured in Legal Business’ analysis on the female City private equity players to watch in the …
