In-house: high-profile Pfizer GC steps down while former Dewey chair appointed as a UAE legal adviser

She has built a reputation as one of the most powerful and influential lawyers in the world but Pfizer has confirmed that its high-profile general counsel and executive leadership member Amy Schulman is to leave the pharma giant just weeks before the in-house lawyer was due to take up a new post.

Schulman had joined Pfizer in 2008 from her position as co-head of mass tort and class actions at DLA Piper. The star litigator, who was reportedly responsible for a $60m book of business, was an equally high-profile general counsel going on to pioneer the Pfizer Legal Alliance, a radical attempt to usher in annually fixed fees for advisers that entirely ditched the billable hour.

The move comes despite Schulman in July being named as head of vaccines, oncology and consumer healthcare business, a post she was expected to assume in the New Year.

Merger watch – 2013 a record year for legal mergers as 2014 promises more of the same

The long-awaited consolidation of the legal market accelerated in 2013, which was a record year for large UK law firm mergers, with 28 deals announced involving at least one top 100 UK firm or firms that when merged will be likely to join the top 100 in 2014.

This follows a similarly record year in 2012, when there were 26 announced mergers involving at least one top 100 UK law firm.

Recent research by Jomati Consulting, which claims that 2014 promises further high levels of consolidation, points to a number of strategic patterns in evidence over the past year, including the emergence of a group of major national players in the personal injury and insurance sectors, with highly acquisitive Slater & Gordon and DWF the most closely watched.

LLP filings 2012/13 – BLP sees bank borrowing increase from £14m to £45m

Following a year of partner departures and a significant drop in profit per equity partner, Berwin Leighton Paisner’s limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts have revealed a 221% increase in bank borrowing in the 2012/13 financial year.

The 790-lawyer firm’s borrowing has risen to £45m from £14m the previous year.

However, in what appears to be a re-financing of debt, the top 20 firm has significantly reduced its overdraft facility, which is down from £4.5m to £371,000 and overall the firm owes £76m to creditors, compared to £51.3m the previous year.

LLP results 2012/13 – CC reveals drop in management committee pay as LG records further decline in turnover

Clifford Chance’s (CC’s) limited liability partnership accounts for the 2012/13 year have revealed a 5% drop in total remuneration paid to the firm’s management committee, according to the latest filings with Companies House.

Published on 23 December, the accounts show that the 16-strong management committee team received £18m this year, compared to £19m for the 2011/12 financial year.

Litigation watch – Claims against FTSE 100 companies up by 76% in 2013

A second spike in claims against banks stemming from the financial crisis is being blamed for a rocketing number of High Court cases involving FTSE 100 companies, which rose by 76% in 2013, the highest level since the credit crunch.

Data from Thomson Reuters Lawtel shows a total of 201 High Court cases involving FTSE 100 companies between June 2012 and June 2013, up from 114 cases the previous year. Of that total figure 55%, or 112 cases involved financial services companies, up from 65 cases in the previous year.

The UK’s top banks including the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Barclays Bank and HSBC accounted for 47% of all litigation against FTSE 100 companies, partly due to well-documented failings such as the mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities and interest rate swaps or LIBOR manipulation.

International markets – Addleshaw hires third partner in Hong Kong and rebrands to Francis & Co

Having launched in Hong Kong last summer, Addleshaw Goddard has forged ahead with a number of developments in the region including adding a third partner, Daniel Wan, and rebranding following the arrival of Nigel Francis at the end of 2013.

Wan, who joins from Jun He and previously worked at Herbert Smith Freehills, specialises in M&A and equity capital markets, particularly pre-initial public offering (IPO) investment and restructuring and post-IPO regulatory and compliance matters.

Comment: A Legal Business take on the year – my favourite articles of 2013

Since I joined Legal Business as editor-in-chief in February, our expanded editorial team has been striving to update our publication with a number of investments. Crucially we’ve aimed to improve our coverage in several regards, including more substantive reporting on issues affecting in-house counsel. Just as important has been efforts to give the title a far stronger online platform to complement our traditional strength in print, which included the launch in April of a totally revamped website and the unveiling in September of our well-received iPad edition, which is freely available to subscribing law firms.

Merger Watch 2013 – The runners, riders and fallers at the last hurdle

‘I believe the market lends itself to opportunities for growth and successful law firms will take advantage of these opportunities. It is good for the market and clients. Let’s hope there are more [mergers] in the future.’ So says CMS Cameron McKenna’s managing partner Duncan Weston, who oversaw his firm’s successful tie-up with Scotland’s Dundas & Wilson during an autumn/winter period that has also seen the merger of Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham, Slater & Gordon’s acquisition of the personal injury business of Pannone, and Pennington’s takeover of beleaguered Manches, to say nothing of the talks announced and not yet concluded or that fell at the final hurdle.

Post Clifford Chance role for Childs as Financial Reporting Council announce his appointment as Chair

Clifford Chance (CC) outgoing managing partner David Childs has been appointed by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as chair of its conduct committee, taking over the role from Herbert Smith Freehills consultant Richard Fleck.

The FRC is the independent regulator for the accounting and actuarial profession and its conduct committee oversees the conduct division, responsible for the monitoring of recognised supervisory and qualifying bodies, audit quality reviews, corporate reporting reviews, and professional discipline.

In-house revolving doors: Senior hires for Co-op, Powa Technologies and Autoliv as BMA loses group legal director

A series of senior in-house moves and hires has this week seen The Co-operative Group appoint Lloyds Banking Group company secretary Claire Davies as group secretary, Yahoo’s senior legal director Manu Kanwar move to Powa Technologies, Swedish automotive safety systems manufacturer Autoliv appoint Andrew Nellis as interim general counsel and the British Medical Association (BMA) lose its legal director Jonathan Waters.