European expansion: Speechlys opens second Swiss base as Pinsents and OC bolster Euro offices through lateral hires Sarah Downey It’s been a year of highs and lows for private client firm Speechly Bircham which, after enduring flat revenues for…
US lateral spree: Jones Day closes in on 50 hires for 2013 as King & Spalding continues to crank up City offering Jaishree Kalia In its 49th lateral hire of 2013, Jones Day has hired Latham & Watkins finance partner Brian Conway to its…
Analysis: upheaval in Scots legal market continues as Kennedys takes over Simpson & Marwick Francesca Fanshawe Insurance specialist Kennedys is the latest in line of large English firms conducting raids north of the border over the…
Accept no substitute: Legal Business hits the iPad with the law app you’ve been waiting for Alex Novarese We take a sizeable step in the evolution of Legal Business today with the launch of a new iPad edition,…
Real estate round up: Macfarlanes, HSF, Slaughter and May and Hengeler Mueller each win key commercial property mandates Legal Business It’s been a week for the traditional corporate bluebloods to shine in real estate-related work, with Macfarlanes, Slaughter and May…
Deal watch: telecoms stays on front pages as Skadden and Simpson Thacher lead on Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business Mark McAteer Following Monday’s $130bn deal between Vodafone and Verizon, yet another blockbuster telecoms transaction has emerged to keep M&A lawyers enthralled,…
If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well? Alex Novarese We’ve had five years of unforgiving conditions for law firms, everyone agrees. And in many respects that squeeze has had…
ABS growing pains: Co-op Legal Service’s losses simply teething troubles, says GC Jaishree Kalia With news that Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has posted a £3.4m loss in the for first half of 2013, the…
Healthy competition: Capsticks takes five partners from DAC Beachcroft Francesca Fanshawe It may be one of its signature practice areas but progressive insurance giant DAC Beachcroft last week (30 August) confirmed…
Back of the net: BLP and Fladgate advise on Gareth Bale’s £85m transfer to Real Madrid Sarah Downey It was a busy football transfer window for some of the UK’s leading law firms, with Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Graham Shear…
Merger frenzy hikes Legal Business 100 income but growth masks another tough year Mark McAteer The latest Legal Business 100 results show the total revenue of the UK’s top 100 law firms has topped £19bn…
The guessing game is over as Vodafone’s $130bn Verizon sell off sees Slaughters acting opposite Macfarlanes and Wachtell Sarah Downey Intense speculation over Vodafone’s $130bn disposal of its US group, whose principal asset is its 45% interest in Verizon Wireless,…
Private equity: CVC gifts Clifford Chance and Cleary with two major European mandates Legal Business Followers of the tussle between UK and US private equity practices for European mandates were last month rewarded with an…
LB100 – The top 25: The age of turbulence Legal Business It’s been a bumpy ride for many of the UK’s largest firms, fighting battered profits with consolidation and increased global…
LB 100 – The second quartile: Wind swept Sarah Downey Mid-pack advisers faced contrasting fortunes over the year, with many generalists seeing margins under continued pressure, while a sizeable band…
LB 100 – The second 50: Scattered in the wind Francesca Fanshawe The gulf between success and failure among the firms occupying the second half of the LB100 is as pronounced as…
LB 100 – The Five Year View: Riders on the Storm Mark McAteer A five-year view of the LB100 underlines the profound impact globalisation has had on the UK’s top firms but also…
LB 100 – Methodology Legal Business LB100 LAW FIRMS The firms that appear in the LB100 are the top 100 firms in the UK, ranked by…
The thick of it – a brief history of legal PR Legal Business For 20 years now the (mainly) thankless role of the legal PR has put the comms professional between demanding and…
