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Legal technology sponsored briefing: Tracing crime on the Dark Web

FTI Consulting

Muthmainur Rahman on the dangers posed by the Dark Web and what firms must do to protect their data and that of their clients

It is the section of the internet that is unknown to the vast majority of people. The Dark Web is a network of websites and servers that use encryption in an attempt to keep their activities secret. It is not indexed by search engines but it is where fraudsters buy drugs, guns, credit card details and personal information. In fact, when researchers at King’s College, London, looked at the contents of nearly 3,000 sites on the Dark Web, they discovered that 57% were hosting illicit material. Continue reading “Legal technology sponsored briefing: Tracing crime on the Dark Web”

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Legal technology sponsored briefing: The Network Effect – How the AI-powered legal profession is gathering pace

Luminance

Luminance’s Emily Foges on the advance of legal tech

In 2019, relationships between different legal service providers are a driving force for the adoption of legal technology. Following the emergence of true artificial intelligence (AI) within the market, the rate of adoption is gathering speed in firms and organisations as technology has increasingly become a competitive necessity. True AI harnesses the latest advances in machine learning solutions to empower lawyers to return to the first principles of law; fulfilling the time-honoured role of trusted adviser. This ground-breaking technology also serves to eliminate some of the historic barriers to adoption. Flexible, ‘learning’ algorithms are able to adapt to any document set and law firm, regardless of language, jurisdiction or specialism. This delivers value from day one, eliminating the need for resource and time-sapping configuration periods needed by extraction and rules-based systems. The real difference this time is that lawyers no longer need to adapt their professional processes to accommodate new solutions. Continue reading “Legal technology sponsored briefing: The Network Effect – How the AI-powered legal profession is gathering pace”

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Travers female partner promotions suffer amid scaled back round

David Patient

A firm more progressive than many in the City on gender diversity, Travers Smith has made up just one female partner in a four-strong promotion round that is significantly scaled back from last year.

The City stalwart made up half the number of new partners as in 2018, when eight new partners were promoted, of which three were women. Continue reading “Travers female partner promotions suffer amid scaled back round”

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Ted at the wheel – all change at Quinn in the City as East becomes senior partner as Greeno joins leadership

Disputes heavyweight Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has revamped its City leadership team, with Richard East vacating the co-managing partner role to become senior partner in London. Ted Greeno, meanwhile, has moved into the co-managing partner position to head the firm alongside longstanding co-head Sue Prevezer QC.

East had been the co-managing partner alongside Prevezer since the firm launched its London office in 2008. Under East’s joint stewardship, Quinn’s ascent has been impressive, with the LA-born litigation outfit growing revenues 220% between 2008 and 2018 throughout Asia and Europe. Continue reading “Ted at the wheel – all change at Quinn in the City as East becomes senior partner as Greeno joins leadership”

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‘Makes sense’ – Clyde & Co becomes latest English firm to launch in Dublin

Dublin

Clyde & Co has become the latest UK firm to enter the Republic of Ireland, opening a base in Dublin for its Irish law insurance practice.

In a move announced today (13 May), insurance partner Garrett Moore has relocated from London to Dublin to ensure he continues practising Irish law ‘whatever the outcomes of Brexit’. Continue reading “‘Makes sense’ – Clyde & Co becomes latest English firm to launch in Dublin”

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‘Keep doing it better’: Slaughters senior partner Cooke gets another three years

Steve Cooke

Highly-respected M&A practitioner Steve Cooke (pictured) has had his term as senior partner at Slaughter and May extended until 2024.

Cooke was first elected to senior partner at the City institution in 2016 for a five-year term after a long stint spearheading the firm’s M&A practice. His current term runs until 2021, with the extension meaning Cooke will have been in the role for eight years. Continue reading “‘Keep doing it better’: Slaughters senior partner Cooke gets another three years”

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Out of office: Freshfields, HSF among nine new Mindful Business Charter signatories

Philip Aiken

A further nine law firms have signed up to the Mindful Business Charter, an initiative devised by banking giant Barclays alongside Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard to try to mitigate unnecessary stress for in-house and external lawyers.

Capsticks, CMS, DWF, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Michelmores, Osborne Clarke, Stone King and Weightmans have today (9 May) signed up to the charter – six months after it launched – bringing the total number of signatories to 20. Continue reading “Out of office: Freshfields, HSF among nine new Mindful Business Charter signatories”

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City paywars: a history lesson – Freshfields hikes hark back to era of Magic Circle domination

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

The news this week that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was to push through the highest real-terms pay rises by a major City firm for a decade is a significant moment for the London legal market.

The decision to hike its associate pay scale, raising its benchmark rate for newly-qualified solicitors from £85,000 to £100,000 is a bold and expensive step for the City giant. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest such a move, which will put Freshfields well ahead of its Magic Circle peers, comes at an annual cost of more than £10m. Continue reading “City paywars: a history lesson – Freshfields hikes hark back to era of Magic Circle domination”

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Addleshaws launches first European base in Hamburg with five-partner BCLP hire

Addleshaw Goddard will open its first continental European office in Hamburg with the hire of a five-partner team from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP).

Addleshaws said today (8 May) it will open its sixth office outside the UK next month, with five lawyers joining partners Exkart Budelmann, Michael Leue, Martin Lüderitz, Maximilian Karacz and Hubertus Schröder in the move from BCLP. Continue reading “Addleshaws launches first European base in Hamburg with five-partner BCLP hire”

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Shades of 2007: Freshfields sends NQ salaries soaring above £100k to head off talent threat from US rivals

standing on coins

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is fighting the war for talent by becoming the first Magic Circle firm to raise its pay for newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors to £100,000.

The £15,000 salary uptick is symbolic, given the pressures imposed on the City elite by US competitors in recent years. There will also be a discretionary bonus on top of the new NQ salary. Continue reading “Shades of 2007: Freshfields sends NQ salaries soaring above £100k to head off talent threat from US rivals”

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Kirkland private equity duo quit for Willkie Farr

Gherkin

Long-rumoured to be on their way out of the US giant, Kirkland & Ellis private equity duo David Arnold and Gavin Gordon are set to join Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

The pair joined Kirkland from Ashurst in 2010 in one of the firm’s first major laterals in private equity in the City. Clients Gordon has worked with include Cinven, ABRY Partners, KKR and Vista, while Arnold’s list include CapVest Partners and Montagu Private Equity. Continue reading “Kirkland private equity duo quit for Willkie Farr”

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Stronger than expected recruitment track adds 35% to Keystone’s top line

Revenue at Keystone Law rose by more than a third to £42.7m as the listed legal platform’s principal lawyer headcount rose 14%.

The firm’s financial results for the year to 31 January 2019 – its first full set since becoming the third UK law firm to float in late 2017  – also show a strong 57% increase in net profit before tax to £5.1m. Continue reading “Stronger than expected recruitment track adds 35% to Keystone’s top line”

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SRA releases full allegations against Freshfields partner Beckwith

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has today (3 May) published the full list of its allegations against Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ryan Beckwith.

In the published allegations, which follow a case management hearing at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) last week, Beckwith – who has been placed on indefinite leave by Freshfields – is alleged to have attempted to engage in sexual activity with an intoxicated junior member of staff in an abuse of seniority at an event organised by the firm. Continue reading “SRA releases full allegations against Freshfields partner Beckwith”

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Moment of truth: New Law champion Axiom unveils float plans but break up of its business raises doubts

When Axiom announced in February its intentions to float, it was a seminal moment for New Law, with the pioneering flexible lawyering company established as the most prominent global brand in the sector. Back in 2013 one excited commentator forecast 2018 as the year Axiom would become the world’s largest legal provider (spoiler alert, it still wouldn’t make the Global 100).

Continue reading “Moment of truth: New Law champion Axiom unveils float plans but break up of its business raises doubts”

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New Law meets Big Four – Has Deloitte got the conviction to match its free-thinking legal pitch?

The often-cited but seldom-seen legal arrival of the Big Four has long passed into a professional joke, though renewed investment from the major accountancy groups in the last three years has given the debate fresh urgency. But, truly, something must have changed in the wind, as even that traditional hold-out, Deloitte, has signalled its intention to build a significant law presence. Continue reading “New Law meets Big Four – Has Deloitte got the conviction to match its free-thinking legal pitch?”

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The challenge of you

Building on sister publication Legal Business’ 2018 cover feature on the City’s star female deal counsel, The In-House Lawyer teamed up with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for a reception celebrating the strides made… and steps still to be taken. The 80 senior lawyers across in-house and private practice that gathered at The Ned in late November heard from a panel of general counsel and partners talking frankly about careers, life and changing aspirations.

Continue reading “The challenge of you”

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Innovation needs law firm champions as Axiom doubts emerge

Alex Novarese, Editor-in-Chief, The In-House Lawyer & Legal Business

We have at IHL Towers something of a reputation for being sceptical of the claims to fresh thinking surrounding much of New Law Land. One exception, though, has been Axiom, the pioneering outfit that pushed lawyering into the mainstream. Sure, Axiom’s message could be obscured by strangulated attempts to ape Silicon Valley speak, an odd trait given the straight-talking style of founder Mark Harris. But its growth rates and reputation for quality never made you doubt that the outfit was a cut well above most New Law lightweights. Continue reading “Innovation needs law firm champions as Axiom doubts emerge”