Shearman and Hogan Lovells – better the devil you don’t

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Shearman and Hogan Lovells – better the devil you don’t

This comment piece has been updated to reflect an announcement late on Thursday (2 March) that merger talks between Shearman & Sterling and Hogan Lovells have been called off. In a joint statement, the firms said: ‘As has been widely reported, our firms have been in preliminary and exploratory conversations regarding a possible combination. After careful consideration, we have mutually agreed that a combination at this time is not in the best interest of either firm. We have been deeply impressed with each other’s business, practices and people and wish each other continued success.’

It’s funny how the market gets about law firm mergers. Ringing around various senior lawyers for a hot take on what they thought of a Shearman & Sterling and Hogan Lovells tie-up, most were pretty scathing.

‘A merger of losers’ and ‘a combination of mediocre and mediocre’ were just two pejorative remarks being flung around the Square Mile. Few were kind. Now that the dust has settled on the idea, and I hold my hand up to playing devil’s advocate on this one, these initial reactions strike me as a little churlish. Continue reading “Shearman and Hogan Lovells – better the devil you don’t”

Stopping the bleeding at Travers will require hard-won loyalty and a pay overhaul

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Stopping the bleeding at Travers will require hard-won loyalty and a pay overhaul

Looking at the recent wave of departures from Travers Smith brings to mind fears expressed by peers when we last did a major analysis of the firm back in 2019.

Four years ago, harbingers of doom were quick to jump on the perceived threat to such a UK-centric firm amid Britain’s exit from the European Union. Noted one corporate partner at a US firm at the time: ‘If profit starts to fall post-Brexit, what do you do with Paul Dolman? If Paul left, it would be a killer blow. He is talismanic.’ Continue reading “Stopping the bleeding at Travers will require hard-won loyalty and a pay overhaul”

Much snootiness still remains, but the Vereins are actually fine

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Much snootiness still remains, but the Vereins are actually fine

While Legal Business is not the type of publication to force a tenuous link in order to make a feature topical, isn’t it timely that our Global 100 analysis on law firms structured as Swiss Vereins – ‘Capture the flag’ – coincides with the football World Cup of FIFA (also a Verein)? Continue reading “Much snootiness still remains, but the Vereins are actually fine”

A bonanza year for the Global 100 – is the table about to turn?

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A bonanza year for the Global 100 – is the table about to turn?

It is a treacherous business, making market predictions for the year ahead. Too conservative and the pundit is guilty of clinging to the ‘cautiously optimistic’ soundbite, which is the ultimate in fence-sitting and has become one of the most banal phrases in legal industry history. Too adventurous and you run the risk of being over-zealous in predicting market-altering developments.

Of course, it is better to take a stab rather than be accused of being non-committal. Continue reading “A bonanza year for the Global 100 – is the table about to turn?”

The Last Word: Matchday forecasts

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The Last Word: Matchday forecasts

‘The profitability of firms operating in the US is very high. If that continues to grow not least because the exchange rate has weakened our ability to be dollar-profitable, then sure it’s going to change how people look at investments.’ Tamara Box, Reed Smith

Global 100 leaders and corporate stars give their prognosis on how the market will shape up in 2023

Continue reading “The Last Word: Matchday forecasts”

30 years of LB100 – So much has changed but also shades of déjà vu

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30 years of LB100 – So much has changed but also shades of déjà vu

It is always educational and entertaining to view how the industry has evolved through the eyes of those veterans who lived it, and this – the 30th anniversary of the LB100 – presented the perfect opportunity to do that.

Some of the recollections from pundits on the 1990s speak of a time that appears far more archaic than seems likely of a mere three decades ago. RPC managing partner James Miller’s observation is a case in point: ‘When I joined RPC in 1995, we had a bunch of disconnected terminals, and we still had typewriters. You could also still smoke in the office – we had enormous ashtrays everywhere!’ Continue reading “30 years of LB100 – So much has changed but also shades of déjà vu”

Still vulgar to talk about money? Three decades have made the industry less coy

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Still vulgar to talk about money? Three decades have made the industry less coy

‘I don’t think you will get any of the City firms to talk about this sort of thing… You have? Well. I am astonished. It is one thing for the Americans and accountants to get into this sort of thing, but not the lawyers.’

‘Anyone who gives you that information will be booted out of the partnership.’ Continue reading “Still vulgar to talk about money? Three decades have made the industry less coy”

The Last Word: Market comment

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The Last Word: Market comment

‘A client said to me during the first Covid wave: “I stand in awe of the superior business model of law firms — because you will normally need a lawyer, whether you want one or not”.’ Penny Angell, Hogan Lovells

From innovation to economic headwinds to premature reports of the demise of the Magic Circle, leaders at Legal Business 100 firms give us their views on the past financial year and look ahead to the next

Continue reading “The Last Word: Market comment”

Work in progress – Big Law’s existential office conundrum still needs fixing

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Work in progress – Big Law’s existential office conundrum still needs fixing

The news that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has directed partners, associates and trainees in London and Manchester to come into the office at least three days a week will have piqued interest around the market recently.

The move to increase office time from the 50% requirement the firm set out last year won’t have come as a surprise to many law firm leaders. They have been grappling with the thorny issue of how best to give staff the flexibility on offer pretty much everywhere else in the market while simultaneously avoiding ennui prompted by looking around at an empty office each day. Continue reading “Work in progress – Big Law’s existential office conundrum still needs fixing”