Given the amount of time I spend hanging out with managing partners it’s not unusual to be asked by law firms how they could tweak their governance or how they stack up against peers.
In one such recent conversation, I got to thinking about how best to prepare the new managing partner for the culture shock of moving from the clear purpose of a revenue-generating role to the ambiguous job spec of running a law firm.
The partnerships of Speechly Bircham and Charles Russell have today (16 July) voted ‘overwhelmingly’ in favour of a merger that will create a firm with 170 partners, a total of 500 lawyers, and combined revenues of £135m, elevating the combined entity into the top 30 of the LB100. The new firm will be called Charles Russell Speechlys.
Speechly Bircham is getting closer to closing its sought-after merger, as its partners and those at Charles Russell are voting today (16 July) on a union that would elevate the combined firm into the top 30 of the LB100.
Last week, the Home Secretary announced that, with all party agreement, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill – (DRIP for short) – would be introduced into Parliament. Much of that is covered in the previous post of 10th July. Since then, criticism has mounted in relation to the late introduction of the Bill prior to the summer recess.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s London office has advised Whirlpool, the world’s largest manufacturer of home appliances, on its $1.04bn purchase of a majority stake in Italy’s Indesit as the company looks to expand outside the US.
Kingsley Napley has made a key hire to its criminal litigation team, as DLA Piper partner Jo Rickards, who recently represented former News of the World (NotW) editor Andy Coulson in the phone-hacking trial, is set to join the firm this August.
Baker & McKenzie has opened a third office in Australia, launching in Brisbane as it targets expansion into energy and resource-rich jurisdictions.
Following a rigorous eight-month selection process, London-based projects partner Bill Voge has been elected to take over from Latham & Watkins retiring global chair and managing partner Robert Dell, who leaves the firm after two decades in management and an increase in revenue from $260m at the start of his tenure to $2.285bn in the latest financial year.
The first time I ran into Dominic Grieve, he made a fool of the Labour shadow justice minister, Paul Boateng. It was in the 1990s, at a Liberty conference on human rights.
After announcing a return to form financially, with both revenue and profits up for 2013/14, Simmons & Simmons managing partner Jeremy Hoyland says that Asia, at times unprofitable ground for international firms in recent years, is critical to his firm’s strategic development.
