Dysfunctional, inefficient and expensive: City Law Society responds to MoJ consultation on regulation

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Legal regulation

The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has responded to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) call for evidence over concerns around the complexity of the legal services regulatory landscape with claims that it is dysfunctional and will need to be overhauled. The MoJ led by justice minister Helen Grant kick-started the wholesale review in June this year, in a bid to reduce the regulatory burden on the profession.

In its response yesterday (9 September), the CLLS, which represents approximately 15,000 City lawyers, claimed that the current regulatory framework is ‘not ideal’, fails to regulate all sectors of the solicitors’ profession in an appropriate manner, is unnecessarily complex and expensive and that ‘the total cost of regulation is close to getting out of control.’

Glaxo reviews advisers as A&O & CC take lead roles on £1.35bn Ribena and Lucozade sale

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Adviser reviews Allen & OveryClifford ChanceGlaxoSmithKline

As GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) reviews its preferred law firms in a decision that could see the healthcare giant create a formal panel, Allen & Overy (A&O) has won the lead role to advise on its £1.35bn sale of drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena to the Japanese consumer goods company Suntory Beverage and Food (Suntory).

A&O won the deal after a series of GSK’s preferred firms pitched for the role. The corporate team at A&O will include partners Edward Barnett and Andrew Ballheimer, with assistance from senior associate Nigel Parker and associate Matthew Appleton, alongside anti-trust partner Alasdair Balfour and employment partner Mark Mansell.

Latin America pulls in insurance firms as Kennedys launches in Bogota

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Latin America Kennedys

Following recent news that insurance specialist Kennedys is to merge with Simpson & Marwick in Scotland, the firm announced on Friday (6 September) that it is to extend its reach into Latin America through an association with Bogota insurance boutique Botero Salazar Tobón & Abogados (BST).

Kennedys now has four associations in Latin America, complementing existing associations in Brazil with Fabio Torres & Associados Advocacia Empresarial in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in Chile with Santiago based Acuña & Cia and in Mexico with Bufete Solís Marín.

Comment: If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?

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Financial results 2013

We’ve had five years of unforgiving conditions for law firms, everyone agrees. And in many respects that squeeze has had predictable results on the upper echelons and lower half of the LB100. But this year it’s the mid-tier which has had the most interesting 12 months. This group should by rights and conventional wisdom be on its knees, yet judged on 2012/13 results they aren’t. Looking at organic growth, plenty of firms in the 26-50 range out-shone larger rivals and many of the stand-out performances this year – among them Mishcon de Reya, Holman Fenwick Willan, Macfarlanes and RPC – hail from this segment.

Lateral movement: Martin explains Macfarlanes’ current hiring spree

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Strategic recruitment Macfarlanes

One of the biggest surprises to come out of Macfarlanes lately is not that it was one of the strongest performers in the LB100 this year, but rather the significantly accelerated rate of lateral hires joining the firm, bringing an increased risk of upsetting traditionalists at the City blueblood.

With the recent re-hire of one its former lawyers, Michael Parkinson from Russell-Cooke, 71-partner Macfarlanes has made seven lateral hires in around two years, as opposed to its typical average of one per year. Managing partner Charles Martin says the firm will continue to add to this number over the next 12 months.

Guest post: A fight to the death- can the Law Society and its regulatory arm continue as now?

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Legal regulation

‘My terms of reference include a requirement to propose a framework that promotes the public and consumer interest, promotes competition, promotes innovation and is transparent,’ wrote Sir David Clementi in 2004. ‘I do not believe that the current combination of regulatory and representative powers, in particular within the Law Society and the Bar Council, permit a framework that gets close to meeting this requirement…A key recommendation of this review is that the regulatory and representative functions of front-line regulatory bodies should be clearly split.’

Deal watch: Hogan Lovells, RPC in key work for Kodak and AstraZeneca as DLA Piper reveals major High Court win

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Corporate DLA PiperHogan LovellsRPC

This week has seen two of the larger global challenger firms reveal significant wins on behalf of major international clients. Hogan Lovells closed a $650m acquisition for the trustees of the Kodak Pension Plan and DLA Piper secured victory for China Southern Airlines in the High Court. Meanwhile, one of the top performers in this year’s LB100, RPC, is advising AstraZeneca on its move to a new purpose-built HQ in Cambridge.

Return of the accountants: KPMG and EY consider ABS

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ABS

Global accountants including KPMG and EY have the UK’s legal sector firmly in their sights as they consider their options under the Legal Services Act (LSA) in a move said by one tax partner at a leading City law firm to be ‘clearly a threat’.

Last month it emerged that KPMG is looking at an alternative business structure (ABS) conversion in a bid to expand its legal services capability. EY, meanwhile, has the position ‘under review’ and PwC is also understood to be considering its position. Deloitte was the only one of the Big Four accountants to deny any plans to set up an ABS.

Legal aid reform: Grayling scraps competitive tendering plans

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Legal affairs

Fears that the government is reducing the justice system to a ‘stack it high and sell it cheap’ model were today further allayed as the Justice Secretary backtracked on his proposals to award legal aid contracts to the lowest bidders.

In a deal reached with the Law Society after listening to the concerns of dozens of criminal practitioners, Chris Grayling has dropped price competitive tendering (PCT).

Comment: The lingering enigma of BLP’s bad year

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Comment Berwin Leighton Paisner

Success is a mysterious beast. Hard to define, built up over years and often the result of a formula even its creators struggle to understand. But failure, well, that’s simple. When a law firm runs into difficulties you can point to bickering partners, problem offices, a weak client-base or an unworkable strategy. Whatever it is, there’s usually a clear narrative to explain the situation.

As such, the current rough patch at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is striking less in itself than because the firm seems surprised by – and unable to entirely explain – the situation.