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Revolving doors: HSF takes two senior New York litigators from Hogan Lovells as Littler expands in Portugal

Amid a hectic week for lateral partner recruitment, Herbert Smith Freehills has picked up two former Hogan Lovells financial litigation partners in New York to boost its US operations.

A significant blow for Hogan Lovells, global head of financial services litigation Marc Gottridge and New York administrative partner and fellow financial litigator Lisa Fried are the high-profile departures. Continue reading “Revolving doors: HSF takes two senior New York litigators from Hogan Lovells as Littler expands in Portugal”

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Guest post: Any COP? – mixed messages at UN climate summit as usual platitudes belie call for action

As the 2021 United Nations Climate Change conference enters full swing in Glasgow, Tim Baines, counsel in Mayer Brown’s environmental team, assesses the mood on the ground.

Monday (1 November) marked the first day of COP26, also known as the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference. As usual, the conference started with the ritual display of private jets congesting the airport.  For the non-VIPs, travel delays and the chilly (these are the northern latitudes, after all) wait to register, kicked off the proceedings as tradition dictates. Continue reading “Guest post: Any COP? – mixed messages at UN climate summit as usual platitudes belie call for action”

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The Bribery Act, ten years on: Has it properly tackled corporate misconduct?

Marking the ten-year anniversary of the Bribery Act, senior white-collar lawyers from private practice and in-house have agreed that significant progress has been made thanks to the legislation. They also engaged in a lively debate looking ahead to identify what more needs to be done to tackle corporate malfeasance.

Legal Business, in conjunction with Paul Hastings, hosted an online event featuring an all-star cast of partners and general counsel (GCs) alike with the aim of establishing whether the Act has had the enforcement impact it originally intended. Continue reading “The Bribery Act, ten years on: Has it properly tackled corporate misconduct?”

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The management interview – James Palmer

Legal Business: What has the pandemic taught you about leadership?

James Palmer: Everything teaches me. The last 15 months or so have been – and I’ve said this internally – the most extraordinary of my lifetime in most respects. Who would have anticipated this? I like change and challenge, but nothing prepared me for a year at home. Has it taught me things? Oh boy – yes! Continue reading “The management interview – James Palmer”

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Ireland focus: Riding it out

The hatches have been firmly battened down. Last year’s Legal Business report found Ireland had been resilient in weathering the storm of 2020, with the impact wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy far below the average for the eurozone. There were, however, still clouds on the horizon: a looming second wave of the pandemic and a no-deal Brexit, both potentially disastrous for the Irish economy.

Since then, resilient seems like an understatement when describing the Irish market. Reports from the Central Statistics Office show that the economy grew by 3.4% in 2020 – the only EU member state to do so – despite a series of lockdowns that were among the most stringent in the world, introduced in March, October and December 2020. Continue reading “Ireland focus: Riding it out”

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The Client profile: Stephanie Dominy, Snyk

‘There is a creative and artistic side to me but also a very pragmatic and logical one. While I left that creative side behind, sometimes it still wants to get out.’ From speaking to Stephanie Dominy, general counsel (GC) of the hyper-complicated, open-source software security start-up Snyk, both her logical and creative credentials are in no doubt.

Dominy came to the UK at age 12 from Singapore while on an artistic mission: at the time she was training to be a ballet dancer, and had enrolled at a performing arts school. As such, she recalls that becoming a lawyer ‘wasn’t even intentional’. She says: ‘It was somewhat the expected thing, a safe career, something you would work hard at and then you will be recognised. I studied law at King’s and people were getting ready to go off and do training contracts, so I thought I might as well do the same!’ Continue reading “The Client profile: Stephanie Dominy, Snyk”

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Life During Law: Natasha Harrison

My maths teacher was married to a criminal barrister, so I did a mini-pupillage at his set. Loved it but decided I didn’t want to do criminal law. Over the years that followed I did more mini-pupillages, including at a commercial set, a common law set, as well as work experiences at law firms, the BBC and Foreign Office. All of which confirmed I wanted to do commercial law.

I really wanted to go down the barrister route, but I was the first person in my family to go into law and I didn’t know any barristers growing up. I had been to Durham rather than Oxbridge and I was a girl. Continue reading “Life During Law: Natasha Harrison”

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The Legal 500: Competition: Close competition

‘Brexit was a big moment,’ notes Allen & Overy (A&O) London antitrust group head Mark Friend. ‘It has big ramifications for antitrust practitioners because the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) is no longer able to enforce EU competition law but on the other hand, it is increasingly flexing its muscles. The high-level theme is that the CMA has an opportunity to compete on the international enforcement stage – freed from the shackles of the EU. We’ll see it taking an increasingly high-profile role.’

The UK’s departure from the EU has had an impact on all areas of legal practice, but perhaps none more so than antitrust and competition. Traditionally, the CMA as the UK regulator was largely subservient to the EU, meaning that all high-level work was European-facing. Though one may expect that Brexit would cause the London market to suffer, the emergence of the CMA as a global regulatory force has meant that London competition work is of greater global importance than ever before, to the extent that numerous US giants have been in hiring mode. Continue reading “The Legal 500: Competition: Close competition”

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The Legal Business Awards and GC Powerlist UK 2021: Great to be back!

Pinsent Masons, Travers Smith and easyJet were among the major winners at the 2021 Legal Business Awards, which returned as a live event following the pandemic, bringing together 600 guests in Covid-safe conditions at the Grosvenor House hotel on 30 September.

As is tradition, the event was preceded by a reception to mark the launch of our annual GC Powerlist – acknowledging the contribution of key general counsel (GCs) at influential businesses. Later, the main event got underway in the Great Room at Grosvenor House, with Legal Business managing editor Mark McAteer welcoming the guests to the evening’s proceedings and thanking them for a huge turn out at one of the first in-person events to take place for some time. Continue reading “The Legal Business Awards and GC Powerlist UK 2021: Great to be back!”

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Legal Business 100: Main Menu

Overview

Marathon, not a sprint

Events since coronavirus hit should have triggered a crisis of epic proportions. But our LB100 report makes it clear that, against all odds, the starter pistol on panic has yet to be fired

Main table

Partner earnings table

Core stats

Second 25

The great leap upwards

After a year of triumph over adversity, the LB100’s chasing pack are priming themselves to reach new heights

Second 50: City and Boutique

Percentage play

While the performance of the mid-market and boutique London-based firms in the second 50 is more muted than other areas of the LB100, these firms pack a considerable punch

Second 50: Regional View

Faster, higher stronger

The regional firms in the second 50 of the LB100 have proved that their stamina and talent can help them rise to meet the toughest of challenges

Methodology and notes

The Last Word

Going the distance

LB100 leaders give their views on another remarkable year and offer their prognosis on the 12 months ahead

 

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LB100: Methodology and notes

LB100 LAW FIRMS

The firms that appear in the Legal Business 100 (LB100) are the top 100 law firms in the UK (usually LLP partnerships but also some alternative business structures – see footnotes), ranked by gross fee income generated over the financial year 2020/21 – usually 1 May 2020 to 30 April 2021. We call these the 2021 results. Where firms have identical fee incomes, the firms are ranked according to highest profit per equity partner (PEP). Continue reading “LB100: Methodology and notes”

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Sponsored briefing: Interview: Mohammed R Alsuwaidi – chair, founding partner, Alsuwaidi & Company

Can you give our Legal Business readers an overview of Alsuwaidi & Company.

Alsuwaidi & Company is a full-service business law firm, rooted in regional know-how. Since the firm’s inception in 1997, we have supported leading businesses across the UAE and beyond, assisting them to navigate complex and commercial challenges. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Interview: Mohammed R Alsuwaidi – chair, founding partner, Alsuwaidi & Company”

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We’ve listened: important new changes to The Legal 500 UK 2022

This month’s issue of Legal Business may be dedicated to the largest firms in the UK by revenue but sibling title The Legal 500 is a much more inclusive church. The latest UK solicitors guide includes no fewer than 1,154 distinct firms operating in the UK across nearly 10,000 distinct rankings, of which nearly 4,500 are in the all-important London market. And with client feedback levels up 50% to more than 50,000 responses across the UK, they should reflect general counsel opinion better than ever.

We’re going to be taking a closer look at the rankings themselves and the performance of the LB100 in the next issue of Legal Business but there are a few important points about the most recent research that I want to highlight now. This year, on top of my general drive towards pushing for quality at the top of our core City rankings, improving diversity and ensuring our rankings are as reflective of the current market as possible, we have made two new tangible changes. Continue reading “We’ve listened: important new changes to The Legal 500 UK 2022”

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LB100 Overview: Marathon, not a sprint

The phrase has long been a cliché among industry circles, but no-one is better at being cautiously optimistic than a law firm leader. For years, individuals have been compelled to temper any bullishness on market outlook with a healthy recognition that disaster is probably just around the corner. After all, few things make the sting of a downturn worse than the humiliation of hubris. Yet this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) has again seen all those risk-averse catastrophists not only surviving but thriving.

To say much has changed since our 2020 report would be an understatement. Last year in profit terms, the message was clear that firms were cutting their cloth accordingly in light of a seemingly inevitable bout of financial turbulence in the year to come. Continue reading “LB100 Overview: Marathon, not a sprint”

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LB100 Second 25: The great leap upwards

Analysing and then explaining the performance of the LB100’s 26-50 bracket is far from straightforward. The monumental disruption of the last year would seem to mandate a slip in standards or market activity at least somewhere, but across the board, leaders seem almost embarrassed by their near-universally buoyant performances.

Three of the top ten fastest-growing firms by revenue are in the 26-50 category, with expansive listed firm Knights the fastest in the entire LB100, after growing by 39%. Granted, Knights has bolted on a number of new offices to inflate the increase, but the acquisitiveness is representative of a flourishing market. Average revenue for the bracket increased by a respectable 4% to £154.7m, while average revenue per lawyer (RPL) remained flat at £273,000. Continue reading “LB100 Second 25: The great leap upwards”

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LB100 Second 50: Regional View – Faster, higher, stronger

The regional and smaller national firms that sit in the 51-100 bracket of the Legal Business 100 (LB100) have again proved their mettle. Twenty nine firms, with an average of 250 lawyers and 30 equity partners, have shone again.

Following last year’s 7% overall revenue growth, the group’s collective revenue was down to £1.41bn for 2020/21 – although there are two fewer firms in this category than last year. It is the average performance that tells the complete story: a striking revenue increase of 11% from £47m to £53m. This growth is also reflected in per lawyer metrics across the group. Revenue per lawyer (RPL) held steady at £192,000, but profit per lawyer (PPL) jumped 14% from £37,000 to £43,000. Average profit per equity partner (PEP), however, also moved up an impressive 8% to £352,000. And, while the performance of non-City firms in the second half of the LB100 is not nearly as strong on average metrics as their London counterparts (see part III), the gap is certainly narrowing and the firms in this group have far outperformed City and boutique firms on a year-on-year basis. Continue reading “LB100 Second 50: Regional View – Faster, higher, stronger”