New Law buyout sees EY acquire Riverview Law
A sign of things to come?
After Lawyers On Demand (LOD) earlier this year secured private equity backers, fellow New Law pioneer Riverview Law in August announced a sale to Big Four group EY. The deal, which saw original backer DLA Piper offload its remaining 14% stake, has been cited as evidence of the Big Four’s renewed push into legal services. EY’s global head of alliances for tax, Chris Price, has become the chief executive of the rebranded EY Riverview Law.
The acquisition could also signal change in the developing legal tech world, with Riverview having a longstanding relationship with the much-touted platform Kim Technologies, which demerged from Riverview last year. Though financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, Riverview’s turnover has risen from around £200,000 in 2012 to over £10m currently. While the legal ambitions of the Big Four have so far failed to live up to the hype, the acquisition of such a prominent New Law brand will be seen as a notable step forward.
Barclays completes its final panel
Who pays the piper?
Banking giant Barclays completed its final global panel review in July, with its long-awaited move away from formal panels increasing the pressure on law firms to overhaul working arrangements. Barclays will be reducing its advisers from 140 to just under 100, before finally phasing out a conventional legal panel altogether in three years. Two years ago in 2016, the bank had as many as 400 firms on its global roster. The decision to abandon the traditional panel is highlighted as pushing law firms more robustly away from traditional billing models. Though the bank did not name its final roster, Magic Circle trio Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Clifford Chance are expected to retain their places alongside Dentons, Simmons & Simmons, Baker McKenzie and Ashurst. The underlying question is how far major banks can push their legal advisers without losing their status as trophy clients.
Ashurst axes 54 secretaries as jobs move north
Support staff, unsupported
Ashurst in July confirmed it was to cut more than half of its secretarial staff in London, becoming the latest in a long line of firms relocating back-office jobs out of the City. Fifty-four of its 100-strong secretarial team were cut, following a consultation that put 80 jobs at risk. Two secretarial roles in the Middle East were also axed. The redundancy will overhaul its support function, with its team now being divided into three different types of role across its London and Glasgow offices. The move came as Hogan Lovells in June announced it was cutting 54 support roles in London to shift jobs to low-cost global hubs.
Investment flows into law tech as duo secure multimillion-pound injections
Place your bets
At the end of August, legal tech start-up Apperio closed a $10m funding round, which will enable it to double in size to 40 staff, while fuelling further expansion into the US. The London-based start-up has now received a total investment of $14m, with Dentons an early backer. The outfit provides in-house teams with real-time tracking of legal fees.
The move came after artificial intelligence business Eigen Technologies in June secured one of the largest legal tech investments to date with a £13m backing. Counting Linklaters as one of its key clients, Eigen received the backing of Goldman Sachs and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Temasek.
Fieldfisher launches low-cost hub in Belfast
And still they come
Fieldfisher became the latest in a string of firms to make a foray into volume legal services, deciding to open a high-volume hub in Belfast. The new 125-staff Northern Irish office will provide document negotiation and legal support with a team primarily comprised of paralegals. The venture is being launched alongside Donaldson Legal Consulting (DLC), after Fieldfisher secured a Belfast tie-up with the firm at the end of last year, with DLC founder Alison Donaldson appointed managing partner of the new office.
A string of major legal firms – among them Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith Freehills, Baker McKenzie and Axiom – have set up significant operations in Belfast.