QualitySolicitors (QS) has unveiled plans to abandon the hourly rate across its network of firms, offering fixed fees for all legal services including litigation.
The group, which has around 120 members across 200 locations, is to roll out the next phase of a pilot scheme which will see 15 of its firms stop charging by the hour, with the intention to roll out the model across the network by early 2014.
Newly-merged Ashurst has joined the growing numbers of top 50 LB100 firms to report an increase in turnover during the first half (H1) of 2013/14, with its combined revenues up by 5.8% to £298m, thanks to improved prevailing economic conditions and an uptick in transactional work.
The 1,800-lawyer firm, which achieved full financial integration with big six Australian firm Blake Dawson in September this year, has disclosed combined revenues for the two firms during the period 1 May to 31 October 2013. Its 5.8% increase is set against a pre-merger combined revenue of £281.7m this time last year.
Building on its decision earlier this year to introduce an element of merit to its associate pay, Slaughter and May has overhauled its associate bonus, moving away from a ‘blunt instrument’ flat rate bonus of 5% to a performance and seniority related uplift.
The overhaul – which was unveiled by the Magic Circle firm today (2 December) and follows its decision in January to create ‘good’ and ‘exceptional’ salary bands for associates from 4.5 years post-qualification experience (PQE) and upwards – will see associates paid up to a 12% bonus based on both their PQE level and performance.
By any estimation 2012/13 was Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP’s) annus horribilis but the top 20 firm is showing modest signs of recovery with today’s (2 December) announcement that its revenues are up by 6% on this time last year.
Partners at the 786-lawyer firm have for some time privately indicated that its 2013/14 revenues are showing signs of improvement and the 6% rise, while starting from a low base given its 5% decline from £246m to £233m last year, is confirmation that their quiet confidence is, to an extent, justified.
DAC Beachcroft has expanded its Latin American presence via a merger with Colombian alliance partner De la Torre & Monroy Abogados Asociados, which began trading as DAC Beachcroft Colombia yesterday (1 December).
The 1000-lawyer top 25 UK firm, which formally allied with the six-lawyer Bogata insurance firm in March this year ahead of the liberalisation of the Colombian insurance market, agreed the tie-up after partners voted in favour on 22 November.
CMS Cameron McKenna has elected its first-ever female senior partner, as UK managing director and head of energy Penelope Warne takes over the role from longstanding management figure and corporate finance partner Dick Tyler, who has said he is ‘ready for a change’.
Warne (pictured), who joined the firm in 1993 and set up the firm’s offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai, will officially take up the post in May 2014 for a four-year term.
If anyone wanted to see what alternative business structures (ABSs) can achieve, they need look no further than Slater and Gordon (S&G).
If you take into account the sum announced as going towards buying Simpson Millar – a deal currently on ice – S&G has committed around £150m towards its UK expansion since first announcing the acquisition of Russell Jones & Walker in January 2012. Could it have achieved this without being a listed company? I’m no financial expert, but I doubt it; raising money through share issues has been key, although debt levels are up sharply as well.
While there are signs of recovery at larger law firms, fresh evidence of the pressure on smaller practices has emerged this week with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirming that 141 law firms unable to gain insurance cover are now entering a final period before they face an enforced wind-up.
While there are signs of recovery at larger law firms, fresh evidence of the pressure on smaller practices has emerged this week with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirming that 141 law firms unable to gain insurance cover are now entering a final period before they face an enforced wind-up.
The 141 firms have moved into the middle of a 60-day ‘cessation period’, which began on 1 November. 277 law firms initially failed to gain insurance cover by 1 October, as required, triggering SRA oversight. 153 firms still had no cover by 30 October, stopping them from taking on new instructions. The 1 October deadline triggers a 90-day extended policy period (EPP), a professional ‘last chance saloon, which this year replaced the old system of the assigned risk pool for struggling law firms that cannot gain professional indemnity cover.
The Co-operative Bank (Co-op) has announced the appointment of former interim general counsel (GC) of Coventry Building Society Brona McKeown as legal chief and company secretary shortly after current GC Alistair Asher moves to head the legal function across the Co-operative Group.
Prior to Coventry Building Society, McKeown held a variety of roles at Barclays, culminating in global GC of Barclays Corporate. McKeown, who trained as a lawyer at CMS Cameron McKenna, joins the Manchester-based bank on 2 December.
