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Foreword: J. Michael Bernard

Here at World Services Group, it is our pleasure to introduce you to the second in our series of GC special reports examining the present state of technology use by in-house legal departments around the globe.

Based on the stories and experiences shared as part of this report, there appears to be no denying that the use of technology in the legal sector is flourishing across Latin America. From blockchain-backed smart contracts to law firm relationship management software and everything in between, evolution is evident in all aspects of legal life – much of which is being driven by in-house legal departments. With positivity emanating and uptake rapidly increasing, the point of maturation for legal technology is not just on the horizon, but rapidly approaching.

As private practice lawyers, this means that we must also be at the vanguard of technological development. With the range of novel applications being implemented by forward-thinking counsel and their businesses, it is crucial that we understand the disruptive potential of technology in order to ensure that we remain relevant as trusted advisers in an ever-changing corporate environment. General counsel have made technology a business priority, which means that we must make it a business imperative.

Getting buy-in and leadership from all corners of the profession will be an essential component for long-term success. New solutions will require new thinking and, as the report reveals, implementing technology into legal functions is not always a straightforward matter. Considerations around the ethics of different innovations and the impact they can have on businesses and their legal departments is just one prominent example shared of the new challenges being faced by counsel of all walks. Oftentimes, these will have no clear and obvious precedent to follow, which speaks to the importance of engaging with members across the legal fraternity.

At World Services Group, we do not want to be passengers as our profession changes around us; we strive to be agents of change that help to facilitate progress. Partnering on projects like this provides us an opportunity to directly engage with thought leaders from across the legal world and glean insights into what the future of the legal profession may look like, as we collectively chart a renewed path for the practice of law and enable our member firms to add value for their clients.

Finally, I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of everyone at World Services Group to all of those who took the time to contribute their views and opinions as part of this project. The insights you’ve shared will undoubtedly ignite discussions and establish a dialogue about the impact technology stands to have on the legal sector – both in Latin America and further afield – but more importantly, help us all to consider how we can harness its potential for the betterment of everyone in our profession.

J. Michael Bernard

Chairman,
World Services Group

Equity Member,
Dykema

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Pretty, pretty, pretty good: outgoing Hogan Lovells chief lauds best-ever financials as PEP surpasses $1.5m

Steve Immelt

Hogan Lovells has posted its strongest financial performance since its transatlantic union a decade ago, with turnover rising 6% and solid year-on-year growth in all key metrics.

Revenue in 2019 came in at $2.246bn, profits per equity partner (PEP) was up 9% to just over $1.5m despite the firm growing its equity ranks by 13 to 536, while revenue per lawyer (RPL) rose 6% to $850,000 as total headcount grew marginally to 2,642. Continue reading “Pretty, pretty, pretty good: outgoing Hogan Lovells chief lauds best-ever financials as PEP surpasses $1.5m”

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Simpson Thacher makes rare lateral play with hire of Linklaters tax head

Jason Glover

Traditionally one of the more conservative US acquirers of talent in the City, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has bucked that trend with the hire of Yash Rupal from Linklaters.

The move sees Linklaters deprived of its City head of tax and is another reversal for the Magic Circle after Amy Mahon, Clifford Chance’s respected dealmaker, defected to Simpson Thacher in November 2018. Rupal becomes head of tax at Simpson Thacher following the switch. Continue reading “Simpson Thacher makes rare lateral play with hire of Linklaters tax head”

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A year of two halves for White & Case as City revenue drops after tricky start to 2019

Melissa Butler

White & Case’s City revenue fell almost 4% over the last financial year following a ‘challenging’ start to 2019, while growth in global turnover also slowed.

London revenue last year dropped to $337m from $350m after a blistering 2018 on the back of a dynamic lateral hiring spree. Continue reading “A year of two halves for White & Case as City revenue drops after tricky start to 2019”

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Goodwin’s City arm hikes revenue 11% to $74m on the back of lateral bonanza

City of London

In another robust year for Boston’s Goodwin, its ever-expansive City arm has seen turnover lift 11% to $74m amid a year of aggressive investment.

The double-digit City turnover growth may not be as pacey as last year’s eye-catching 58% uptick to $66.8m, but it speaks of the benefits of investing heavily and sticking to the strategy in a year characterised by a slower rate of growth for many more mature practices of US firms in London. Continue reading “Goodwin’s City arm hikes revenue 11% to $74m on the back of lateral bonanza”

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More Mishcon losses as Greenberg makes dual disputes hire in London

Kas Nouroozi

Greenberg Traurig has hired a pair of disputes partners from Mishcon de Reya, in an uncommon departure for the litigation and private client specialists and a significant addition for the US outfit.

Partners Mohammed Khamisa QC and Masoud Zabeti are poised to join the London office of Greenberg. Zabeti is currently the head of the finance and banking disputes group at Mishcon, having first joined the firm over a decade ago. His practice focuses on advising hedge funds, asset managers and private equity houses on various disputes. Continue reading “More Mishcon losses as Greenberg makes dual disputes hire in London”

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Dealwatch: Big-ticket M&A back on track as Cleary and NRF lead on Alstom’s €6.2bn rail acquisition

Alstom

Amid a relative dearth of substantial European buyouts recently, the proposed €6.2bn acquisition by France’s Alstom of the rail business of Canadian counterpart Bombardier will come as a boon for the international offices of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Norton Rose Fulbright.

Alstom said on Monday (17 February) it had signed an agreement with Bombardier and its shareholder the Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to acquire 100% of the shares in Bombardier Transportation for between €5.8bn and €6.2bn. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Big-ticket M&A back on track as Cleary and NRF lead on Alstom’s €6.2bn rail acquisition”

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Comment: Remembering Mr Disruption – How Clayton Christensen became the legal industry’s North Star

Working in a lightbulb

Barely into 2020 and news came that probably the most influential business thinker of the last 20 years had passed away. Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, who died on 23 January at the age of 67, entered the business world and then popular culture with his concept of ‘disruptive innovation’, which was first outlined in 1995. The model came to wider prominence in the 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma and was to grow in stature along with the rise of the US buccaneering technology giants through the 2000s.

As a study of how small upstarts can upend and ultimately crush huge, well-run industry leaders, the book’s ideas spoke to a globalising world economy in which technology and new operating models made it easier for apparently-unrelated industries to collide. Continue reading “Comment: Remembering Mr Disruption – How Clayton Christensen became the legal industry’s North Star”

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Down this road before: State bars fiercely oppose ABA’s US innovation push

The American Bar Association (ABA) suggested yesterday (17 February) that American states consider ‘innovative approaches to the access to justice crisis’ before quickly facing resistance from influential state bars strongly opposed to alternative business structures (ABSs).

The recommendation came through a resolution proposed before a meeting of the ABA’s biannual ruling House of Delegates in Austin, Texas. The original resolution encouraged bars to gather data to assess regulatory innovations to ensure changes that are effective in increasing access to legal services. Continue reading “Down this road before: State bars fiercely oppose ABA’s US innovation push”

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Revolving doors: Goodwin appoints BCLP real estate partner as Mayer Brown hires White & Case City projects pair

Mayer Brown

American players dominated City recruitment last week as Goodwin Procter appointed a real estate partner, Mayer Brown made two hires to its banking & finance practice and Locke Lord recruited to its energy practice.

Goodwin has appointed real estate investment funds partner Justin Cornelius in London. He joined from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where he was leader of funds and investment management. He focuses on the establishment and operation of unlisted pooled investment funds, private equity funds and joint ventures. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Goodwin appoints BCLP real estate partner as Mayer Brown hires White & Case City projects pair”

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Comment: The 2010s marked an unsung crisis in law firm leadership

Astute readers will note that our cover feature on 2020 forecasts spends as much time casting its eye back on the 2010s as looking ahead. Assessments based on observable trends support conclusions that better stand the test of time, but such introspection has lent a jaded tone to the resulting piece. How could it not? The 2010s was a decade that began with bold claims and expectations for the legal industry, yet from the perspective of the elite UK firms, it consistently disappointed. And it is one aspect that perhaps explains much of the wider malaise: the increasingly stark problems with leadership and governance at large London-born law firms.

Back when I first started covering the legal industry, the authority of senior management at top London firms was absolute, or at least appeared so from the outside. Occasionally an imperious managing partner overreached, but in the main London firms, which had until recently been much smaller firms built with close social bonds, allowed small groups of individuals to push through rapid shifts in strategy in the 1990s and 2000s. Continue reading “Comment: The 2010s marked an unsung crisis in law firm leadership”

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Akin Gump falls short of last year’s City revenue surge amid global growth and lateral push

Kim Koopersmith

The London office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld may have failed to maintain 2018’s pacy revenue growth of 28% on the back of a restructuring bonanza, but globally the firm has reported steady global growth amid a sustained lateral push.

City turnover was broadly flat in 2019, rising only 1% to $125.1m from $123.5m after an exceptional 2018 that saw revenue surge dramatically from $96.2m. The global picture was stronger, with gross revenue increasing 6% from $1.07bn to $1.135bn and profit per equity partner (PEP) rising 8% to $2.6m from $2.4m the previous year. Continue reading “Akin Gump falls short of last year’s City revenue surge amid global growth and lateral push”

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Ropes ups the ante in the City talent war with £130k NQ pay package

Ropes & Gray London office

In a bold play for the Boston-bred firm, Ropes & Gray has increased its London NQ salary by 8% to £130k plus bonus.

The move means a notable uptick on the previous City NQ rate of £120k and present a boon for Ropes’ appeal to young lawyers at a time of internal transition and increasing competition in the market. Continue reading “Ropes ups the ante in the City talent war with £130k NQ pay package”

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Cooley’s City base passes $70m revenue mark as global growth slows

City of London

Cooley’s London outpost has outpaced the West Coast firm’s global revenue growth for the third consecutive year, rising 9% to $72.9m five years after its launch.

The results disclosed today (13 February) show a global revenue increase of 8% to $1.33bn while profits per equity partner (PEP) rose 6% to $2.54m in 2019. Continue reading “Cooley’s City base passes $70m revenue mark as global growth slows”

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In-house: Novartis to withhold 15% of fees if new panel firms miss D&I requirements

Novartis

As in-house legal departments continue to push their law firms to be more diverse, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has pledged to withhold 15% of fees if diversity and inclusion (D&I) levels are not met by its 22 panel firms.

The measure introduced as part of the company’s panel review, announced yesterday (12 February), has seen a host of advisers, including Magic Circle firms Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters, pledge that no fewer than 30% of associate time and 20% of partner time on a legal matter will be provided by ‘females, racially/ethnically diverse professionals, or members of the LGBTQ+ community, with an expectation that such commitments will move to parity over the next several years.’ Continue reading “In-house: Novartis to withhold 15% of fees if new panel firms miss D&I requirements”

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From Silk to Rope: Linklaters signs lease for Ropemaker Street move in 2026

Linklaters London new office

Linklaters is moving its 1,200-lawyer City headquarters out of Silk Street after 30 years to take up 14 floors at 20 Ropemaker in Moorgate from 2026.

The firm’s move to new 300,000sq ft premises in the 27-storey building will reduce its floor space by about 25%, but managing partner Gideon Moore said Linklaters will be able to use the space more efficiently. Continue reading “From Silk to Rope: Linklaters signs lease for Ropemaker Street move in 2026”

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HSF’s accounts show revenue hit £447m amid a 23% profit hike and a sharp fall in debt

Justin D’Agostino

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has increased profit and turnover, its latest LLP accounts reveal, while also bolstering its borrowing capacity and significantly reducing debt.

HSF increased revenue 6% to £447m in 2018/19 as operating profit at the Anglo-Australian giant increased 23% to £127.5m. The firm has also bolstered its borrowing capacity following the implementation of a new Revolving Credit Facility put in place in April 2019. Continue reading “HSF’s accounts show revenue hit £447m amid a 23% profit hike and a sharp fall in debt”

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Scrum time – Can agile project management deliver for GCs?

rugby match

Business is full of buzzwords, and among the buzziest of the last few years is ‘agile’.

The traditional project management approach is ‘waterfall’. But, in contrast to the dynamism of the term, the waterfall process can be rigid. After a long period of requirement gathering and planning, the project is developed in a linear way, journeying through multiple phases and silos. A final product is delivered after an often lengthy process, perhaps measured in months or years, but with little opportunity for adaptation once the project has begun. Continue reading “Scrum time – Can agile project management deliver for GCs?”

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Legal tech focus: Joined-up thinking

Jim Leason

With cash flowing freely into legal tech and start-ups scaling, the market is looking increasingly mature. But while bold claims have been made of the disruption start-ups will supposedly trigger in legal, the response from established providers has been a robust acquisition strategy, which could see fledgling companies struggle to compete.

‘Certainly there’s been consolidation and people buying up platforms,’ says Simmons & Simmons innovation and business change director Ben McGuire. ‘Bigger incumbents like Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis are becoming more acquisitive. We’ll likely see more of that from large, existing platforms and fast growers like UnitedLex.’ Continue reading “Legal tech focus: Joined-up thinking”