The lateral hiring market for December and January was once again dominated by Paul Weiss’ impressive recruitment efforts in the City, resulting in the Magic Circle stepping it up in the US. Meanwhile, White & Case has been on a hiring spree of late, bringing in several partners in key practice areas in numerous locations. Continue reading “Paul Weiss continues London expansion as Magic Circle responds in US”
2024 started with uncharacteristically decisive action from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), when in January it issued its joint highest-ever fine against Clyde & Co, following a slew of anti-money laundering breaches. It was a bold move from the regulator, which in recent months has drawn criticism over its perceived lack of action during the collapse of Axiom Ince.
As the fallout from Axiom Ince continues, both the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Legal Service Board (LSB) have announced reviews into the handling of Axiom Ince in the run up to the SRA’s intervention. Both regulators have highlighted the need to centre consumer protection in their regulatory approach, as the scandal threatens to derail confidence in the profession. Continue reading “‘Bolder, pragmatic, more proactive’: Regulators bare teeth, but will they bite?”
The Post Office Horizon scandal saw over 700 subpostmasters convicted of fraud, theft, or false accounting. The victims were prosecuted for accounting shortfalls that were in fact the result of errors made by the Post Office’s Horizon accounting software.
At time of publication, fewer than 100 of those convictions have been overturned. Continue reading “‘The human cost’: Post Office Horizon fiasco throws scrutiny on litigators and shines light on litigation funding”
By Sholto Lindsay-Smith, founding partner and director of brand strategy at Industry, an international brand and business consultancy.
As the management mantra goes, ‘you can’t manage what you can’t measure’. Law firms often undertake evaluation of their brand in pockets throughout the organisation by teams in HR, customer experience, internal and external communications. What is often missing is a 360-view which can summarise the brand strategy, identify brand-blockers and determine where to invest efforts in building brand advantage. This article considers the importance in assimilating this information to build a lasting brand advantage. Continue reading “How do you know when you have a brand advantage?”
I have been working with law firms advising on strategic lateral partner hires for more than 20 years, and trying to predict what the market is going to do is not only challenging but futile, as the market often does exactly the opposite of what everyone thinks it is going to do.
Law firm growth and profitability is directly linked to hiring and developing the right people, be that as trainees, or as lateral partner hires. Even firms that have historically grown organically, such as the Magic Circle or single-office big hitters like Macfarlanes and Travers Smith, are increasingly making forays into the lateral recruitment market. This desire/need/pressure to grow and to get ahead of the curve has exploded in recent years and resulted in record numbers of partner and team moves, not to mention some eye-catching mergers.
Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The lateral partner hiring landscape for 2024”
Following a year of high interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation, the real estate sector would be forgiven for feeling a little worse for wear. However, when LB caught up with some of the industry’s leading partners, their outlook for 2024 was more positive than might be expected. While investment in traditional real estate transactions is down, opportunities in new areas of business are booming and the City’s lawyers are ready to diversify.
2023 dealt the real estate sector an enforced pause as landlords and investors grappled with rising interest rates. While the investment market is unlikely to bounce back to full force in 2024, more movement is expected. Continue reading “From wellness amenities to stranded assets: leading real estate partners give their 2024 predictions”
From AI to ESG and class actions, top London litigators predict the hottest litigation trends for 2024
If the view of London litigators on the coming year could be summarised in a single word, it would be ‘more’. Continue reading “New year’s (dispute) resolutions”
When I was 12, I was a competitive swimmer, and I used to swim every morning before school. If you’re swimming that much, your swimsuits get see-through, so for training, sometimes you’d have to wear double swimsuits, and that’s a bit of a drag when you’re in a competition. I’d asked my mum for a new swimsuit, but she said I would have to wait till the end of the month. I asked her how I could become rich to be able to afford a new one. She said: ‘You can become a solicitor, or you can marry someone rich.’ So, from then on, my decision was made to become a lawyer.
I got work experience in a small solicitors’ firm on our high street in Bangor, North Wales, and was focused on doing a law degree. I knew it was very competitive to get a training contract, so I did law and French. Then I got a training contract with Garretts, part of Andersen Legal. Six months into my training contract, DLA took the Leeds office, I transferred, and 23 years later I’m still here! Continue reading “Life During Law: Natasha Luther-Jones”
The lateral hiring market in November was once again dominated by comings and goings between Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis, as well as big moves between Global 100 rivals in Europe.
Just when the market thought Paul Weiss had eased up on its hiring spree in the run-up to Christmas, the firm announced it had hired John Patten, a partner in the London technology and intellectual property (IP) transactions practice of Kirkland. Continue reading “Global 100 firms expand notably in core areas as Paul Weiss vs Kirkland rumbles on”
Almost 1,200 firms have secured spots in the most recent UK Legal 500 Solicitors research, which provides law firms, in-house counsel and individuals with accurate and in-depth analysis of the best firms and lawyers working across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Between them the firms, roughly half of which are in London, share almost 10,000 practice rankings, around 4,500 of which are in the capital. In addition to the practice area rankings, there are also more than 12,300 individual lawyer rankings – almost half of which have been awarded to London-based lawyers. Continue reading “Table toppers – the law firms leading the pack in the latest Legal 500 research”
