Asia calling: Bird & Bird launches in South Korea as Taylor Wessing and Allen & Gledhill expand Asia footprint

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Strategic recruitment Bird & BirdJones DayTaylor Wessing

Bird & Bird has joined a host of international law firms looking to enhance their global footprint with a cooperation agreement in Asia’s fourth largest economy, tying up with South Korean firm Hwang Mok Park (HMP).

Announced today (25 February), the top 20 firm said the aim is to focus on helping clients in industry sectors where technology and regulation are driving change.

Founded in 1993, HMP is acknowledged by the Legal 500 as third-tier in antitrust and competition, banking and finance, corporate and M&A, disputes, employment, and insurance.

US results season 2013: McDermott and King & Spalding post 4% increase in revenue

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US firms King & SpaldingMcDermott Will & Emery

Chicago-headquartered firm McDermott Will & Emery has continued its post-financial crisis recovery, unveiling a 3.5% increase in revenue to $881m, as close US rival in revenue terms, King & Spalding sees its turnover increase by 4% to $861.4m.

McDermott’s net income also grew in 2013, with a 7% increase to $297m, fuelling an increase in profit per equity partner (PEP) to $1.545m. The top 40 Global 100 firm’s profit margin rose by a percentage point to 34%, while its revenue per lawyer increased by 4.2% to $865,000.

Energy run: Clifford Chance advises Shell on series of major M&A deals

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Corporate Clifford ChanceHogan Lovells

Clifford Chance (CC) has secured a run of major mandates for Royal Dutch Shell including last week’s A$2.9bn ($2.6bn) agreement to sell the global energy giant’s Australia downstream businesses to Vitol and the sale of a number of businesses in Italy to affiliates of Kuwait Petroleum International.

The Vitol deal, which was announced on 21 February, saw CC led by London-based partner Kathy Honeywood, Singapore-based Geraint Hughes, and Australia-based Tracey Renshaw advise on all aspects of the transaction, which included the sale of Shell’s Geelong refinery and 870-site retail business in Australia.

Countdown: HMRC’s LLP tax changes to go ahead in April

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Legal affairs

The controversial debate over taxation of limited liability partnerships (LLPs) has reached a decisive stage as changes are scheduled to press ahead on 6 April, while individuals have been allocated more time to contribute capital, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced late last Friday (21 February).

Having long been accused of unfairly treating all partnerships as tax avoidance vehicles, the Government has been taking meaningful steps to reset the relationship as it has ‘become evident that many LLPs have members who are engaged on terms similar to those of employees rather than traditional partners’, according to guidance notes published by HMRC last week.

Guest post: Cooperation. Cooperation. Cooperation. The name of the game if you want a DPA

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Litigation

‘Cooperation, cooperation, cooperation’ is the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)’s message to corporates looking to enter into new US-style plea bargains available [this week].

From [today, 24 February] the Americanisation of corporate crime in England continues.

Businesses (but not individuals) will be able to enter into Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) with the UK taking a leaf out of the US book as it moves to plea bargains for corporates.

Comment: Where do you want your firm to be in 2020? How short-termism has come to define the modern law firm

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Comment

To judge from the way law firms behave – it’s helpfully instructive to ignore what they say – the answer to the rhetorical question of the above headline is: ‘Who gives a fig?’

Consider the following facts and ask yourself what philosophy of management underlies and ties all law firms together:

Taking Manhattan – Gibson Dunn posts strong 2013 financials after another impressive year

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Financial results 2013 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Identified as one of a handful of firms based outside New York that have mounted a serious challenge to the Wall Street old guard, California’s Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has followed posting double-digit revenue growth for 2012, with a slightly more modest but nonetheless impressive 7.4% increase in revenues for 2013.

Revenues for 2013 were $1.39bn, up from $1.29bn. This is particularly strong turnover growth, on the back of the 10.7% increase in 2012 on the $1.17bn revenues the firm posted in 2011. Successive increases in revenue has given the firm an impressive overall growth of 42% over a six-year period between 2007 and 2012.

Global growth for K&L Gates but profits edge down in 2013

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Financial results 2013 K&L Gates

Even for rapidly globalising law firms, the market remains challenging, it seems. Financial results for K&L Gates show the US law firm continuing to expand its global footprint in 2013, unveiling a 9.3% hike in revenues to hit $1.16bn, but also struggling to improve profitability for the second year in a row.

The growth is largely due to the Pittsburgh-bred firm’s takeover at the beginning of 2013 of Australian mid-tier Middletons and the launch of offices in Houston, Seoul and Wilmington.

Hires in London for MoFo and O’Melveny as Paul Hastings brings in Pfizer’s assistant GC

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In-house Morrison & FoersterO'Melveny & MyersPaul Hastings

US firms have announced a number of senior hires in the last few days as Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and O’Melveny & Myers turn to their rivals for partner appointments in London, while Paul Hastings’ New York office brings in Pfizer’s head of government investigations as partner.

At MoFo, former head of Reed Smith’s acquisition and leveraged finance practice in London, Philip Slater, is to join the top 30 Global100 firm’s financial transactions group as partner.

Soft H2 debt restructuring market blamed for 12.6% drop in 2013 US revenue for Bingham McCutchen

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Financial management

When many firms were busy cutting costs and dicing teams in 2008, Bingham McCutchen weathered the economic downturn pretty well thanks to the solid inflow of work in its debt restructuring practice.

Five years later, with corporates finding cash far easier to come by, and Bingham is feeling the pinch after its H2 2013 restructuring work slowed and its revenues for the financial year dropped by 12.6% to $762m from $871.8m in 2012.