Making an ESG lawyer – law firms search for the magic formula

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Making an ESG lawyer – law firms search for the magic formula

‘I don’t believe there is such a thing as an ESG lawyer’ – the words of one environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice head in an interview for this month’s lead feature aptly sums up one of the key challenges for firms trying to establish themselves at the top of this much-hyped market.

That individual is not alone in this view; it has also been a repeated refrain in the research interviews for the Legal 500’s first UK ESG rankings, which will be published later this year. And it’s not a stretch to see why this opinion persists, given the myriad practice areas that fall under the ESG umbrella – from greenwashing disputes to sustainable finance, and regulatory matters to ESG transactions; not to mention the traditional environment and governance work that make up two letters of the acronym. Continue reading “Making an ESG lawyer – law firms search for the magic formula”

The Last Word: ESG to the fore

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The Last Word: ESG to the fore

‘Flexible working is something I hope to see the legal profession increasingly support. I’m a single parent of two five-year-old girls. I couldn’t do this job unless I was more often than not taking them to school.’ Lisa O’Neill, Milbank

As part of our annual ESG report, management at top law firms give their views on ESG’s importance to both lawyers and clients

Continue reading “The Last Word: ESG to the fore”

Talk of the town: Why Kirkland/Paul Weiss underlines the value of controlling the management message

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Talk of the town: Why Kirkland/Paul Weiss underlines the value of controlling the management message

Clandestine conversations, a recruitment strategy on steroids, eye-watering salaries and internal politics galore, the Paul Weiss/Kirkland story has enough drama in it to keep the attention of even those outside the legal market.

For City partners, the interest in what’s going on has been off the scale. Continue reading “Talk of the town: Why Kirkland/Paul Weiss underlines the value of controlling the management message”

After the party – market slowdown pushes US leaders to take stock in London

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After the party – market slowdown pushes US leaders to take stock in London

The easy narrative is that the party is over. After years of rapid expansion by international law firms in London, 2023 saw lawyer headcount at Global London firms inch up by just 1.8% – a figure which appears to provide confirmation that the City interlopers are finally starting to apply the brakes in London as deal volumes dry up.

And that narrative does bear up to scrutiny – to an extent. Last year more than half of the 50 Global London firms saw headcount in the capital flatline or decrease, and across the largest ten, combined headcount fell by 1%, with big firms such as White & Case, Baker McKenzie and Reed Smith all seeing London lawyer count dip. Continue reading “After the party – market slowdown pushes US leaders to take stock in London”

No shoo-ins at the Legal Business Awards, and beware the perils of TL;DR

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No shoo-ins at the Legal Business Awards, and beware the perils of TL;DR

Awards season. It should be viewed as a time of joy and anticipation, when law firms clamour to showcase their finest achievements of the last year, whether that’s an especially standout deal or matter, or an extraordinary individual moving the dial for the profession.

Amusingly, one of my colleagues forwarded this message onto me in Teams from a law firm comms person (apparently intent on gaming the system) who will, to save their blushes, remain nameless: ‘Can you ask Nathalie what is an easy category to apply for in the LB Awards?’ Continue reading “No shoo-ins at the Legal Business Awards, and beware the perils of TL;DR”

Reasons to be cheerful: the hustle is back for 2024

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Reasons to be cheerful: the hustle is back for 2024

Whether it is the prospect of another few weeks still left of winter, many law firm leaders seem to have started the year under an uncharacteristic cloud of despondency.

Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the other reasons why even the peppiest of senior partners might appear noticeably dispirited. The US contingent at least will be frantically number-crunching ahead of financial results coming out and, after the year that most transactional practices have had, the task will be about as enviable as filling out your tax returns. That said, early indications of double-digit growth from Milbank and Hogan Lovells may well prove those fears unfounded. Continue reading “Reasons to be cheerful: the hustle is back for 2024”

Global 100: When the music stops – it’s time for the global elite to play a different record

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Global 100: When the music stops – it’s time for the global elite to play a different record

It has long been a peccadillo of business publishers to measure financial performance in five-year increments and for this, our final issue of the year, it seems churlish to break with tradition now.

Revisiting our Global 100 coverage from 2018 calls to mind a time capsule, with some of the contents uncannily familiar and others belonging almost to a bygone era. Continue reading “Global 100: When the music stops – it’s time for the global elite to play a different record”