‘Uncertainty is now having an impact’: revenue and profit growth slow at Simmons

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‘Uncertainty is now having an impact’: revenue and profit growth slow at Simmons

Simmons & Simmons saw growth slow last year following a ‘much tougher’ second half in the UK, as uncertainty begins to weigh following a strong few years for the firm. Revenue for the 2018/19 financial year rose 6% to £374m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) increased 4% to £710,000. Net profit growth also slowed, up …

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HSF hikes associate pay package to £105k as firms jostle for talent

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Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has joined the ranks of firms upping their associate pay commitments, boosting its compensation package to £105,000 including salary and bonuses. The figure is a 13% increase on the £93,000 the Anglo-Australian firm announced last year. Though the firm would not disclose the underlying basic salary, the new structure is meant to …

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Linklaters digs down back of sofa to match rivals’ £100k associate pay packages

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Linklaters digs down back of sofa to match rivals’ £100k associate pay packages

Linklaters has finished off the Magic Circle’s robust response to associate pay increases from US firms in London, raising its pay package for newly-qualified solicitors (NQs) to match its rivals. The pay boost will see the total cash payable to NQs reach £100,000, including a salary and a discretionary bonus, while top performers will be …

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Mayhew secures new four-year term at BCLP with Pritchard ineligible to run again

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Mayhew secures new four-year term at BCLP with Pritchard ineligible to run again

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) co-chair Lisa Mayhew has been elected to serve another four years in the role. Meanwhile, current co-chair Therese Pritchard was ineligible to serve another term and is to be succeeded by St Louis transactional partner Steven Baumer. The terms for Mayhew and Baumer begin 1 January 2020 and will run …

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Pay for today: Slaughters boosts associate remuneration package to £100k as talent war intensifies

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Pay for today: Slaughters boosts associate remuneration package to £100k as talent war intensifies

Slaughter and May is bolstering associate pay to a £100,000 including bonuses, becoming the latest of the City elite to play its hand on lawyer salaries. The move comes after Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance (CC) both hiked their newly-qualified (NQ) pay to £100,000 in a bid to head off the ever-increasing threat from …

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Fieldfisher reducing UK reliance following third consecutive year of double-digit growth

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Fieldfisher reducing UK reliance following third consecutive year of double-digit growth

Fieldfisher is looking to further reduce the percentage of overall turnover generated in the UK following a year defined by geographic expansion. Turnover at the mid-market pace-setter hit £242m, up a better-than-expected 17% in the third consecutive year of double-digit growth at the firm. Profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 7% to £805,000, and has …

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Return to growth for Stephenson Harwood as PEP rises 9% and revenue tops £213m

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Return to growth for Stephenson Harwood as PEP rises 9% and revenue tops £213m

Stephenson Harwood’s profit per equity partner (PEP) bounced back from two consecutive years of decline, rising 9% to reach £727,000 as the firm’s top line grew 12% to hit the £213m mark. The results will come as a welcome improvement on last year’s performance, which saw steady revenue growth of 6% to £189m offset by …

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Serious money: Elevate bolsters acquisition chest with $25m backing while Orbital Witness raises £1.2m

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Serious money: Elevate bolsters acquisition chest with $25m backing while Orbital Witness raises £1.2m

Investment continues to flow into New Law and legal tech with US-based law company Elevate securing $25m in private equity backing while legal tech start-up Orbital Witness raises £1.2m. Elevate today (17 June) announced that private equity house Kayne Partners had injected $25m into the New Law pioneer in what is the first significant private …

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Herbert Smith Freehills partner reported to SRA for threatening sexual harassment claimant

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Herbert Smith Freehills partner reported to SRA for threatening sexual harassment claimant

A woman who filed a sexual harassment case against her employer was allegedly told by a Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) lawyer the case would end her career. City finance associate Nathalie Abildgaard was awarded £270,000 in April after settling a sexual harassment case against her employer IFM Investors. However Abilgaard wrote in a submission to the …

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Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?

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Ticking boxes – Is City law going beyond the platitudes on ethnic diversity?

‘People are so scared to talk about race in the UK,’ Linklaters senior partner Charlie Jacobs says. ‘They think it’s a landmine they’re going to walk straight into, so they’d rather avoid it entirely.’ A landmine – easy to lay but hard to get rid of – which has seen Big Law for years avoid …

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