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‘A slippery slope in one direction’ – white collar partners raise concerns over plans to cut jury trials

White collar partners have warned of the ‘slippery slope’ facing the UK criminal justice system, following the news that jury trials will be scrapped for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years.

The move, announced by justice secretary David Lammy yesterday (2 December), is aimed at reducing the backlog of cases in courts across England and Wales, and will also apply to ‘exceptionally technical and lengthy’ fraud and financial cases.

The backlog, which currently sits at just under 78,000, is expected to reach 100,000 by 2028. While the measures are less radical than previously expected, with earlier reports suggesting that it would extend to crimes with a likely sentence of up to five years, partners have expressed concerns over their implications.

White & Case London white collar head Neill Blundell warned that the move could mean that ‘the fairness of the process would be prejudiced’, and said other measures could be taken to address the backlog.

‘It’s a slippery slope in one direction,’ he said. ‘Once you go down that route, there’s an erosion of fairness in the process. There are other areas which could be concentrated on first, such as investing in court infrastructure, increasing judges’ sitting days, and improving training for prosecutors on presenting cases. All of these issues have come about as a result of vast underfunding over an extended period of time.’

With regard to technical fraud and financial crime cases, Lammy stated that ‘they place undue pressure on jurors to sit for months – a significant interference with their personal and professional lives.’

However, Mishcon de Reya white collar crime and investigations head Johanna Walsh disagreed with removing juries for such cases, pushing back on the suggestion that they are ‘too complex’ for juries to deal with.

‘In terms of the big Serious Fraud Office cases that I’ve defended, it is clear from the calibre of the notes coming from the jury that they have a good understanding of the issues, no matter how complex,’ she said.’ Lawyers need to be able to – and can – distil those issues so that they are understandable for juries.’

Walsh concurred with Blundell that other options should be considered. ‘Better resourced prosecutors, more judges, better availability of courts, would all help to reduce the backlog,’ she said. ‘Robust case management, particularly of the prosecution in complex financial crime cases, is really important.’

Kingsley Napley white collar and financial crime head Louise Hodges, who chairs the City of London Law Society’s committee on corporate crime and corruption, agreed with the view that juries are capable of dealing with complex cases, adding that they also help to ensure fair treatment for ethnic minority defendants.

‘The empirical evidence demonstrates that juries are representative, effective and capable of handling complexity, and they remain the one stage at which minority ethnic defendants do not face disproportionate outcomes,’ she said. ‘Any restriction on this right must be supported by compelling evidence and we have seen none. Both the causes of the current backlog and the solutions to resolve it lie elsewhere.’

Announcing the plans in Parliament, Lammy said that serious offences such as rape, murder and robbery would still be heard before a jury, but that removing juries from hearing non-serious offences could speed up the process by 20%.

However, Walsh asserted that ‘delay is embedded in the criminal justice system’.

‘The delay is already baked into the system – what is required is better resourcing at all stages from investigation through to trial,’ she said. ‘I can’t see that removing the right to trial by jury will address this.’

The reforms follow a review of the courts conducted by former senior judge Sir Brian Leveson. The first part of his recommendations was released this July, with the second half expected by the end of the year.

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‘Status quo is not an option’ – leading fin reg lawyers gather to debate future enforcement challenges

Private practice litigators, barristers and in-house lawyers gathered in the City’s Minster Building for Legal Business and Legal 500’s annual Financial, Regulatory and Disputes summit on 1 December.

The half-day event, sponsored by 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB), Dentons and Penningtons Manches Cooper, covered a range of issues, including the rise of UK class actions, an increasingly assertive Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the ins and outs of Upper Tribunal Proceedings.

Commercial litigator Catherine Gibuad KC, of headline sponsor 3VB, opened the morning with an overview of the current state of affairs in enforcement proceedings in the financial services space, outlining some recent significant decisions made by the Supreme Court, particularly those relating to fiduciary duties.

Dentons then kicked off the first panel, with an engaging session titled ‘Navigating Class Actions: Strategies and Challenges in Defending UK Collective Litigation’. The session, which was moderated by London disputes partner Tom Leyand, explored the group litigation landscape in the UK, including some of the limitations when it comes to delivering justice. He was joined by fellow disputes partners Tom Hanson and Felicity Ewing, who leads Dentons’ financial services disputes team, to discuss successes in collective action cases since the UK competition regime was introduced.

Ten years on from the introduction of the regime, the trio considered whether the UK competition regime has evolved as the government intended and whether it enables claimants to receive fair compensation. They also briefly addressed some of the recent public disputes between funders and law firms, when outcomes have not aligned with expectations.

The session was followed by a lively debate chaired by 3VB’s Saima Hanif KC titled PRA/FCA Enforcement in 2025 – Key Decisions, Trends and Future Outlook. Hanif was joined on stage by Anthony Monaghan, director of retail and regulatory investigations at the FCA, Claire Cross, a white collar partner at Corker Binning and Katie Stephen, co-head of Norton Rose Fulbright’s contentious financial services group.Hanif moderated an animated discussion that started with Monaghan setting out the regulator’s more assertive and expedited approach to investigations, as well as the increased intervention powers granted to the regulator through VREQs and OIREQ interventions.

The group moved on to discuss non-financial misconduct and some of the inconsistencies in firms’ approaches to these issues. The session ended with discussion around what’s next on the horizon, with market abuse, ESG, consumer duty and crypto all flagged as topics to watch over the coming years.

Following a short coffee break, Penningtons took to the stage for a discussion titled ‘Beyond Compliance: Delivering Better Outcomes and Protections for Consumers’. The session saw managing associate Sarah Mant moderate a panel that included disputes partner Michael Brown, employment partner Tom Walker and senior disputes consultant Teja Picton-Howell.The session kicked off by looking at the impact of non-financial misconduct in the boardroom, with Walker discussing the recent focus on psychological safety in the workplace and how this should be driven from the top down, with Picton-Howell then moving to discuss the Consumer Duty Regulation and Brown outlining some of the upcoming changes to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the FCA, particularly in relation to the UK’s financial redress scheme.

After Penningtons, headline sponsor 3VB returned to the stage, with Adam Temple leading a fireside chat with Kingsley Napley financial service partner Jill Lorimer on the ‘Nuts and Bolts of the Upper Tribunal Proceedings’. The discussion covered everything from privacy applications for those subject to FCA enforcement, through to the FCA’s shifting approach to disclosure and its obligation to call relevant witnesses.

The final session saw Legal Business editorial director Georgina Stanley joined on stage by reputation counsel Byfield’s joint managing director Michael Evans. The fireside chat explored the reputational risks financial institutions face from litigation and regulatory investigations. From how to handle sensitive non-financial misconduct claims, through to the challenges posed by ever-faster legal reporting driven by AI and greater transparency, Evans talked through some of the common PR mistakes companies make when facing a crisis and how to do it better, emphasising the importance of being prepared.

To conclude the morning, Gibaud KC returned to the stage, offering final reflections on the sessions of the day and highlighting why ‘status quo is not an option’ when it comes to enforcement in the financial services space.

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‘Nobody really understood what I was going through’ – the in-house push for better IVF support

‘Nobody really understood what I was going through, and they were nervous to discuss it with me.’

This is an all too common experience of women going through IVF, and while many people are aware of what IVF does, there’s little knowledge of just how extensive and invasive the procedure really is. This, coupled with the hectic schedule of life as a general counsel, leaves many women feeling alone, during what is already an emotionally taxing time.

That’s why a women’s GC network has released a report outlining what employers can do to support employees going through IVF.

The report, ‘In Vitro Fertilisation – A compassionate guide for Employers.’ was compiled by The Eagle Club, a women-only forum for GCs and C-suite members around the world, founded by Lesley Wan.

Eighteen members of the group, many of whom have undergone IVF themselves, drafted the guide, which outlines the side effects of the treatment, logistical impacts, and potential policy points for companies to consider.

The initiative has been shared among the group, whose membership totals more than 500, with each member encouraged to share the report with their companies in an effort to push for dedicated IVF policies.

From blood tests, hormone medication, and egg collection to the often-disappointing news couples face, the changes are aimed at supporting employees navigating the challenging journey, without requiring them to disclose personal information on their progress.

‘It was very stressful to manage all the work and meetings without telling my manager what was going on’

A common difficulty that several GCs who have undergone IVF mentioned is juggling medical appointments with the demanding nature of their role.

‘GCs are in a unique position that their presence and advice are often needed on an ad hoc and urgent basis,’ says one GC. ‘IVF policies should ensure that managers and colleagues understand how time-consuming IVF treatments are and that GCs might not be present all the time.’

Another explains: ‘GCs end up involved in so many different things and are often brought in on time sensitive situations. It can leave you feeling you’re letting your stakeholders/internal clients down by being more absent.’

Appointments throughout the process ‘can range from every few days to twice a day, often with little/no advance warning,’ the report explains, with the bulk of the regular appointments in the 10 to 14-day period leading up to egg collection.

Without any considerations in place, employees are left in a difficult position, having to either juggle a busy work schedule with frequent hospital appointments or disclose personal information to their managers and colleagues about their progress in the IVF process.

‘I needed a great deal of flexibility to be able to arrive late, duck out during the day or take days off on short notice over each round of IVF,’ shares one GC. ‘I didn’t need this to be forever, but as needed. It was disappointing that in order to achieve this, I needed to explain the IVF process and what particular stage I was at to several people. With a policy in place, I would not have had to do so.’

Another GC explains that while her company had generous fertility benefits when she was going through IVF, there were no dedicated IVF policies in place, leaving her feeling that she should not bring up the topic with her manager: ‘It was very stressful to manage all the work and meetings, with having to take 2-3 hours almost every second day to go to the hospital without telling my manager what was going on.’

‘The support an initiative such as this offers will be invaluable to anyone who is dealing with this silently’

While GCs often found that their companies and managers were supportive once they discovered what the GCs were going through, the report recommends implementing policies from the outset, which will give employees peace of mind that their employer will support them.

Among a number of suggested policies, the report recommends flexible working arrangements, time off for medical appointments, a flexible approach to sick leave, a phased return to work after treatment, and limited or no work-related travel around key times.

Other key points include various health insurance and private healthcare options that can cover, in whole or in part, the costs of IVF.

Furthermore, the report suggests any policy relating to IVF should be gender-neutral, to recognise that most partners will also need to attend regular hospital appointments to support their spouse, and can also be involved in the process through sperm collection and shared disappointment after an unsuccessful round.

‘As someone who went through multiple cycles for almost a decade, during most of my senior career to date, I can’t express how much I welcome this report’ shares one GC. ‘The support that an initiative such as this offers will be invaluable to anyone who is dealing with this silently.’

Another GC, who went through four rounds of IVF explains: ‘Having an IVF policy in place will encourage employees to confide in their managers and colleagues, which will certainly reduce the stress of feeling that you have to be present all the time for work.’

Since the report’s launch, GCs have been sharing the report widely. One GC says that she has already shared the guide with both current and former employers, with an overwhelmingly positive reception. ‘The Head of HR of my current company already said that this was a great initiative and she would review the guidance and discuss internally whether the company should implement an IVF policy.’

‘We can only have change if we talk about things more. It’s still sometimes regarded as taboo’

Another GC has shared the report with the employee relations and human resources teams at their company, a multinational tech business, with the teams confirming that the report will be shared with external consultants as part of a global benchmarking review exercise.

The report has also gained traction outside the in-house environment. A managing associate at a large international firm spoke with Legal Business about the positive impact a report like this will have. She explains that while solid policies are already in place at a number of firms, including hers, being able to speak about these policies is one of the best solutions.

‘We can only have change if we talk about things more,’ she says. ‘It’s still sometimes regarded as a taboo, and I think the more we can talk about it, and the more that men feel that they can talk about it, the better. It is such a game changer to say okay, look, these are some steps forwards that we should be thinking about everywhere and as a whole.’

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A&O Shearman’s first post-merger accounts reveal scale of pension deficit and partner capital injections

A&O Shearman has filed its first set of accounts as a merged firm, shedding light on the financial implications of the tie-up, including a sharp hike in partner capital contributions and a near-£200m pension deficit.

The LLP accounts – which cover the 12 months after legacy Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling’s transatlantic union went live on 1 May 2024 – include specific details about Shearman’s pension deficit, a factor widely cited as a stumbling block in the US firm’s attempts to get a merger through.

While pre-merger accounts for the 2023-24 financial year show legacy A&O had a pension surplus of £22m, the latest accounts for 2024-25 reveal that the combined firm now has a surplus of £27.8m and a deficit of £220.3m, equating to a net defined benefit pension deficit of £192.5m.

Shearman’s pension liabilities were reported to have been a sticking point in the firm’s earlier merger talks with Hogan Lovells, which were called off in early 2023.

The latest LLP accounts also state that between May 2025 and April 2026, contributions of $20.1m are expected to be made to the unfunded retirement plan for former Shearman partners.

The merged firm’s LLP accounts also highlight a surge in partner capital contributions over the last financial year, with the total paid in by partners more than doubling to £421.3m, up from £208.9m in A&O’s last year pre-merger.

Prior to the tie-up, A&O had approximately 600 partners, while Shearman had around 170. The increase in partner numbers, combined with the merged firm’s move to an all-equity partnership model, will have significantly contributed to the rise in capital contributions.

One partnership expert suggested a number of other potential factors. ‘They could need a financial buffer – partner capital allows them to do that. Something as significant as a merger like this would have cost the firm a lot of money. They have lots of offices around the world that have to be integrated,’ they said. ‘There’s also the tax cost of the merger – it may have resulted in a tax charge arising, and between US and UK firms this can be quite significant.’

Another expressed surprise at the size of the increase. ‘Firms generally try to keep capital relatively stable – it’s a huge capital contribution; doubling it is massive.’

Looking beyond pensions and capital contributions, the accounts state that revenue at the combined firm rose by 33% over the year to £2.86bn, up from £2.15bn, marginally down from the £2.9bn headline figure A&O Shearman announced earlier this year. Profit before tax nudged up from £1.046bn to £1.081bn.

Breaking revenue down by geography, the Shearman merger helped to drive Stateside turnover from £280.1m to £706.6m, meaning the US now accounts for 25% of firmwide revenue, up from 13%.

The firm saw strong growth in the UK over the year, with revenues up 20% from £818.7m to £981.4m, while the APAC and Middle East & Africa regions both saw revenue rise 16% over the year. Continental Europe was the slowest growing region at 9%.

Operating costs also increased, largely due to a combination of higher staff headcount and salaries, as well as costs associated with the merger.

Driven in large part by the growth delivered by the Shearman merger, average employee headcount rose 15% from 6,077 to 6,961, and with it, total staff costs increased from £858.6m to £1.08bn, a 26% hike. Other operational expenses grew by 17.8% to £446.4m, up from £379m in 2024.

Other details contained in the accounts include pay to ‘key management personnel’, which comprises the senior partner and managing partner, the heads of the main global practice groups and the support directors. Collectively, this group took home £43.6m in their share of the profit and salaries.

This equates to an rise of 164% from last year’s equivalent of £16.5m, although it is understood that this relates in part to the larger size of the management team in the wake of the merger.

A&O Shearman is now led by senior partner Khalid Garousha, global managing partner Herve Ekue and US chair Adam Hakki; Garousha and Hakki also co-chair the firm’s board and executive committee.

The board comprises the senior partner and managing partner, six independent and elected partner directors, and up to four co-opted members.

A&O Shearman board in full

  • Parya Badie, London, insurance and capital markets partner, chair of the audit committee
  • Tim Conduit, London, energy and infrastructure partner
  • Roger Lui, Hong Kong, financial institutions sector lead and global co-head of the banking sector
  • Peter Myners, Luxembourg, M&A, corporate and private capital partner
  • Ken Rivlin, New York, co-head of the environmental and climate law group and co-head of the international trade group
  • Alice Englehart, London, disputes partner
  • Lisa Brill, New York, co-head of real estate.
  • Lona Nallengara, New York corporate, finance and regulatory partner

A&O Shearman executive committee in full

  • Diana Billik, Paris, US securities partner, regional co-head of US capital markets and global ECM
  • David Broadley, London, corporate finance partner, global co-head of M&A
  • Denise Gibson, London, debt finance partner, UK managing partner and co-chair of the London executive committee
  • Astrid Krueger, Germany head of private equity
  • David Lee, London, global co-head of energy, natural resources and infrastructure
  • Doreen Lilienfeld, New York, employment partner, co-managing partner of the US.
  • Vicki Liu, Hong Kong, finance partner, co-managing partner of Greater China and managing partner of Hong Kong
  • Stephen Lloyd, London, global co-head of private equity
  • Fredric Sosnick, New York, global co-head of restructuring

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Additional reporting by Kate Peacock.

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‘Anything that begins with admin is at risk’ – the pressures fuelling firms’ business services cuts

Recent weeks have seen a flurry of major law firms confirm plans to restructure their paralegal ranks and business services teams, citing a range of factors including advances in AI and tech, and a need to drive efficiency to meet client needs.   

Although the roles at risk are different, the factors putting pressure on both paralegal and business services jobs are similar, leading some firms to rethink how legal work is being delivered and who delivers it.  

Business services has borne the brunt of the pressure in recent weeks, with a number of major firms reassessing the functions that need to remain in high-cost locations like London, and those that can be relocated or redesigned. 

Clyde & Co last week confirmed that it is undergoing a consultation with support staff across the Asia-Pacific region, with redundancies expected ahead of the opening of a new business services centre in Manila.  

In a statement, the firm said the new centre would build on ‘improvements already introduced’ by the firm’s global business services centres in Kansas City and Glasgow, which opened in 2018 and 2015 respectively. The bases, which employ 165 staff between them, provide support across finance, HR, IT and administration.

A Clydes spokesperson said: ‘As a global business and a forward-thinking firm, we continuously review how we can optimise our operations to ensure we meet client expectations and adapt to a changing market.’ While the firm declined to provide specific figures on how many roles may be made redundant, Clydes acknowledged that this would be ‘a challenging time for those who may be affected’.   

News of Clydes’ plans came after it emerged that Clifford Chance is set to cut around 10% of its London business services workforce, amounting to an estimated 50 redundancies, with a further 35 roles set to be reshaped.  

The planned cuts span finance, HR and IT, with the trigger understood to be the firm reassessing the roles that could be performed more efficiently, or at least as efficiently, outside London.  

CC has a paralegal-staffed support hub in Newcastle, acquired from Carillion in 2018, as well as service delivery operations in Delhi, Hyderabad and Warsaw.  

Other firms thinking along similar lines around business services roles include Fieldfisher, which last month confirmed that it is in consultation with staff as it moves to transform its Belfast office into a business services centre. The firm did not comment on numbers but relocations to the office, which opened in 2018, and redundancies are expected as it aims to remain ‘competitive and sustainable for the future’.

Structural change

Montresor Recruitment senior director Francesca Milton believes the consultations reflect a wider pattern of structural change, rather than short-term cost-cutting. ‘Business services teams have grown quickly over the last decade as part of long-term planned restructurings, but firms are now looking carefully at how they can do it better – what work really needs to be done in a City office, versus what could be centralised or done by tech,’ she comments.  

Moving business services roles to lower-cost locations is, of course, nothing new, with nearshoring or offshoring moves during the 2010s including Herbert Smith and Allen & Overy opening in Belfast in 2011, Ashurst’s Glasgow launch in 2013, Latham & Watkins and Freshfields moving into Manchester in 2015, and Taylor Wessing opening in Liverpool in 2018.

However, recent developments demonstrate that the physical location of staff is only one side of the coin. The other is the acceleration of technology such as AI, with firms increasingly open to how new tech can help them reshape operations. 

‘What you’re seeing now is firms starting to explore whether AI can make a difference; whether it can reduce fixed costs’

BCLP announced this spring that it was undertaking a business modernisation programme that will impact approximately 8% of the firm’s global business services population. Global COO Trevor Varnes said the firm was investing in ‘market-leading technology’ and ‘leveraging digital solutions’ to ‘enhance operational efficiency’, while CEO Steve Baumer highlighted the need for ‘a stronger, more agile firm’.  

DWF confirmed a consultation with 108 commercial services employees in April,  placing them at risk of redundancy as it sought to cut costs, citing a need to respond to the ‘economic environment and ensuring our teams reflect the changing needs of our clients’.  

One partner at a UK firm suggests that pricing pressures in an increasingly competitive legal market are accelerating change. ‘What you’re seeing now is UK firms starting to explore whether AI can make a difference; whether it can reduce fixed costs, particularly people, to keep margins up and stop key talent moving to the American firms. That is driving a huge amount of behaviour.’

‘Anything that begins with “admin” is at risk. If you can take two people out of a team of five and replace them with AI that supplements the remaining three, what’s the cost saving? How much does that support margins? And does that keep us competitive in this whole hunt for talent?’ the partner adds.

Paralegal centres under scrutiny

The increasing adoption of AI and other new technology across the legal industry is also expected to see paralegal and legal support roles come under scrutiny, as evidenced by the news that Freshfields is set to scale back its Manchester paralegal hub.

Up to 19 roles are set to be affected as part of a restructuring of its legal support function that kicked off in September. The move comes just over a decade after the magic circle firm launched in Manchester, relocating hundreds of support jobs to the lower-cost hub.  

In the context of a ‘fast-changing legal market’ a Freshfields spokesperson  cited ‘investing in technology, building key skills in-house and adapting [their] model to meet future client needs’ as reasons for the proposed cuts.  

‘Entry-level paralegal work has fallen off a cliff’  

According to Montresor’s Milton, this shift is visible across the market. ‘Entry-level paralegal work – first-line research, document production, the admin layer – has fallen off a cliff.’  

Despite the pressure, she believes that it is not a simple contraction: ‘Paralegal roles aren’t going to disappear, but they will evolve. While routine tasks will reduce, higher-value project work will still rely heavily on experienced paralegals. The most employable will be tech-literate senior paralegals who are open to new tools.’  

According to one London partner, paralegal centres are likely to come under mounting pressure to become early adopters of AI which, in turn, could put more roles at risk.

‘Firms are giving paralegal hubs the technology and saying: “Show us how you can use this, so we can prove its worth”. The paralegal centres will have winners and losers. They’re winners because they’ll be the first properly upskilled in deploying AI for legal functionality. But they’re at risk because the very success of AI may reduce the need for large paralegal centres in places like the UK.’ 

A&O Shearman’s global head of advanced delivery and solutions, Angela Clist, disagrees with this stance, pointing out that the firm is continuing to recruit paralegal roles in its Belfast hub.

‘Our model is not based on high turnover – we see it as a serious career path. We’re hiring top graduates across the UK for Belfast – it is about adding value at a higher level.’

‘These roles are important for business – we’re responding to client demands for more for less,’ she adds. 

Her position aligns with several other firms contacted by Legal Business, which said they had no plans to reduce support staff headcount, with some, such as Kennedys and McDermott Will & Schulte, noting that business services headcount had been rising steadily in recent years.  

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Sidley leader Yvette Ostolaza on role models, ambition and private investment in law

Yvette Ostolaza is Sidley’s management committee chair – a role she has held since 2022 – and a commercial litigator. Here, she discusses her thwarted journalism ambitions, rising through the ranks to leadership roles, and why she thinks external investment in law will catch on

I remember the first time I discovered that women could be lawyers. In middle school I read a book called Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon, and the heroine was a lawyer. I’d never thought of a woman being a lawyer; I’d never seen one on TV or met a female lawyer. I didn’t realise it at the time, but that book planted a seed in my mind.

I never assumed I would attend college. Many of the students from my neighbourhood started jobs after graduation to support their families. I was actually engaged to be married after high school, but friends of mine who were older than me and teachers at my high school said: “What, are you kidding me? Look at your grades! You’ve got to go to college, and you can get an academic scholarship!” I ended up not getting married at 18!

The interesting thing about being a first-generation college student is that you may not have any preconceived notions about what you should major in. They gave you these large catalogues when you get admitted to university – they were two inches thick, with a list and description of every major. I went through the catalogue and thought everything sounded interesting! I began reading the majors in alphabetical order – I was interested in anthropology, then archaeology, and astronomy. I even attended an astronomy class, and I realised it was focused on physics – so that didn’t last long.

‘Every time someone at law school would say it was a lot of work, I’d say, “You should try working full-time in management!”‘

I wanted to be a journalist. I double-majored in marketing and communications with a journalism emphasis. But I found when I started to interview for positions, the pay didn’t allow me to live in the cities that you need to live in if you wanted to work for a major newspaper. I’d also taken a constitutional law module – I found law fascinating and did well at the class. The professor said I had an aptitude for law and encouraged me to consider law school. But I didn’t apply just then. Instead, I applied for a position in marketing for a major airline and focused on selling computers and conventions to the travel industry and corporations.

After I graduated, I went into business and worked for Eastern Airlines. At one point there were layoffs, and one of my colleagues who was in his 50s was laid off. He said, “You should go to law school – you’re entrepreneurial, and that’s a business where you can always hang a shingle.” That was very appealing to me. My parents were always small business owners, and being raised in a Cuban immigrant community with a lot of small businesses, I wasn’t afraid of being entrepreneurial or betting on myself.

When I went to law school, I was already used to working long hours and travelling. By contrast, law school didn’t seem so bad! Every time someone would say, “Boy, this is a lot of work,” I would say, “You should try working full-time in management.” I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of the legal coursework and the camaraderie of graduate student life.

The earlier you get to make your mistakes, the better. I took a few summer associate roles while I was at law school, and afterwards I went into private practice. I was fortunate to have been given leadership positions at a young age. When I moved to Sidley, I was serving on the management committee of another global firm and ended up moving with a large team. Sidley had an opportunity to grow in Texas, and we thought it was a better platform for us and our clients. It had a much larger diversified platform, including very strong regulatory, transaction, and litigation practices. Over 50 of us from Dallas and New York moved together, and it’s been great for our clients.

‘I’m fortunate to have experience advising boards in crisis situations. It’s easier to handle your own issues when you’ve had experience in private practice’

It was never my goal to be the chair of a law firm. It just isn’t the way I think. I focus on doing the best job I can, loving what I do, delivering results, having fun, and working with colleagues to help them succeed. I will always put my name in a hat if there’s an opportunity. But I won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t come through. A lot of people worry too much in advance about what their role can be, and they may set themselves up for disappointment. Whereas if you’re good at it, people will come to you and say, “You’re good at this, do you want to do more of what you are already doing, plus teach others to do the same?”

When I was informed that I had unanimously been selected to become chair of the firm’s management committee, it was a very humbling moment. I knew the importance of the role I was taking on, at one of the largest global firms, over 150 years old, and that had so many people that relied on the global leadership team. I also had big shoes to fill. Larry Barden, my predecessor as chair, is a wonderful leader as well as a friend.

It’s important to take a stance only when you need to. What our clients want us to do is to practise law at the highest level and deliver a collaborative team. They need to know we can be in their corner, and we need to show that we can be a law firm that delivers a deep and broad bench of expertise. It can be hard – there are a lot of challenges involved in running a large organisation, from geopolitical issues, competitive pressures, and social issues, to the fact that so many of our younger lawyers have lived their lives in such a public way. I’m fortunate to have in my professional background significant experience in advising boards in crisis situations. It’s certainly easier to handle issues you’re confronted with when you’ve had the experience in private practice.

One of the benefits of being the first in your family to do things is that you’re not afraid to ask questions. You have to continuously learn new areas and challenge yourself. More importantly, you have to listen and take feedback. I would not be here if it weren’t for the many, many colleague doing that for me. That’s particularly important when you’re a first-generation lawyer. You’re counting on other people, in addition to your own skills of observation, learning, reading, to make sure you’re delivering premier legal work.

‘Being raised in a Cuban immigrant community with a lot of small businesses, I wasn’t afraid of being entrepreneurial or betting on myself’

Private investment in law firms is going to happen. What I saw in medicine in the US was, as the laws changed and allowed for investment, medical clients saw nice outcomes from a liquidity standpoint. They were able to expand, to build the market power to let them negotiate from a position of strength. Although legal practices are different in many ways, smaller practices are going to say: “This is the only way I can invest to support my clients and grow.” It can be a good alternative to a merger. I think that third-party investment will be attractive to law firms, just as it was attractive to medical practices.

When you’re a $3.5bn global law firm, you have opportunities that can really change lives. When I joined the firm, the firm accepted a case representing a class of Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who had been unnecessarily institutionalised by the state. We worked pro bono over the course of 12 years, and this June we secured a landmark decision which found that Texas needs to redesign its long-term care infrastructure and service delivery, redirecting policy towards individualised support and away from placing people in homes away from their family. We invested hundreds of thousands of hours, and the result will have a really positive impact on the lives of the disabled.

I love travelling, learning about different cultures, and experiencing new cuisine. I hit a lot of continents when I was working in the airline industry – but I still haven’t been to Antarctica! This summer I took the Royal Scotsman train around Scotland, and next year I plan to see the total eclipse in Spain. I also love a good historical fiction miniseries. I love when you see something in a show and you think, there’s no way that happened – then you look it up, and it’s real!

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‘For us, it all came together’ – how Proskauer built a London high yield offering in 12 months

‘When you start a new practice, there are a tremendous amount of variables,’ says Jake Keaveny, head of European capital markets at Proskauer. ‘You need to put together the right team, the right clients and a little bit of luck for everything to fit together and all the pieces to work.

When Keaveny joined the firm in September 2024 to launch the practice, Proskauer had never worked on a high yield deal in London. Little more than a year later, it had advised on ten, including recently advising the banks on Spanish engineering company Gestamp Aotomocion’s €500m notes offering, as well as advising the financing sources on Platinum Equity portfolio company Urbaser’s €2.7bn syndicated financing in July.

Proskauer’s London leveraged finance team now counts some 25 lawyers, including seven lender-focused partners. Of those, two are high yield specialists: Keaveny, and Court Tisdale, who moved with him from Cahill.

‘Proskauer wanted to build off its longstanding relationships with the direct lending funds,’ says Keaveny. ‘What they didn’t have in Europe is syndicated finance, which is always run through the investment banks. They’re not necessarily investing long-term – they underwrite debt and sell positions to the market. That’s a very different model. We came to the firm to help bring those relationships over.’

‘Being able to say you’re top five on high yield gives you a lot of credibility on other products’

To do so, one thing was crucial: face time with clients. ‘Proskauer did not have this practice in Europe in the past,’ says Keaveny, ‘So we quickly wanted to get in front of clients to let them know the team we had and the investment made so there wouldn’t be questions about the brand in this space.’

‘There were a lot of market participants to get in front of out of the gate,’ he continues. ‘We met with all of the investment banks, and also let the sponsors and their law firms know what we had built. They wanted to understand the level of investment, do we have a deep enough bench to do the work? We had to show them. Then someone had to say, “Okay, we’ll give you a shot.” The first ones are the most important, because then you can build the reputation.’

Their efforts have been a success, according to Keaveny: ‘Almost all of our legacy clients have followed us one by one.’

The push in high yield is part of an ambitious plan by Proskauer to grow its offering across the breadth of the finance space in London – an effort that also saw the firm hire Philip Bowden, former global co-head of banking at legacy Allen & Overy, in July 2024.

Keaveny explains the strategy: ‘We want to be able to cover leveraged finance as a whole. If a sponsor decides they want to do a high yield bond, or a syndicated term loan, or direct lending, we have to be able to cover it. We have to be completely agnostic, to be able to follow the sponsor whatever direction they go.’

The underlying rationale is simple: to build the firm’s syndicated lending and high yield capacities to match its depth in private capital.

‘If you’d have asked me seven or eight years ago, I’d have said for large-cap deals you just need to focus on loans and high yield,’ says Keaveny. ‘But the last five years have shown that you need direct lending too – in a big way. Ideally, you’d have about a third each in direct lending, loans, and high yield. And the covenants that govern those deals are becoming more and more similar.’

This overlap creates further opportunities, according to Keaveny: ‘Being able to say you’re top five on high yield gives you a lot of credibility on other products, as everyone knows the key covenants across products derived from the high yield market. Getting past that hurdle allows us to credibly invest money in other areas.’

‘By having early success we’re giving firm management ammo to provide more support’

Keaveny explains that these opportunities also feed back to the firm’s longstanding strength in private capital work. ‘The firm has always had a great platform in direct lending, and now we’re moving more into the large-scape space. We’re focused on growing market share across the board.’

A year in, the London team’s performance has been strong enough to ensure further commitment. ‘By having early success we’re basically giving firm management ammo to provide more support and go out into other areas,’ says Keaveny. ‘It allows us to keep growing.’

What form would this growth take? Keaveny says the firm does not need to prioritise City hires: ‘We’re at a good spot. We still have growth plans, but we’re hiring on a more strategic basis.’

Continental Europe is a possible area of expansion, as a significant portion of the work the London-based team handles is Euro-denominated, and involves clients based on the continent.

‘Having more of a local market presence outside London is something we’ll continue to evaluate,’ says Keaveny, pointing to the firm’s existing offering in Paris as evidence of growth on the continent.

Having the right people in the right place will be important to a firm that wants to compete at the top level amind growing consolidation across the industry. 

Still, Keaveny is confident: ‘We really can wait for the right people.’ 

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‘There’s definitely competition around rates’ – Clifford Chance and Linklaters match Cravath bonuses for US associates

Clifford Chance and Linklaters will match Cravath scale year-end and special bonuses for associates across their US offices, but not for those working in the UK and elsewhere around the world.

The bonuses mean the firms’ most senior associates, sitting in the class of 2018, will receive December bonuses of $140,000 on top of their salaries. This is split across a $115,000 year-end bonus and a $25,000 special bonus.

The most junior class of 2025 associates will be awarded bonuses of up to $21,000, comprising a year-end bonus of $15,000 and a special bonus of $6,000, pro-rated to their time at the firm over the calendar year.

The firms have also held their US salaries steady on Cravath’s scale, with $225,000 for those joining in 2025 and $435,000 for those joining in 2018.

In a memo to its US teams, Linklaters said: ‘Thank you for your outstanding contributions to another record year for our US practice. Together, we are building on extraordinary momentum and further strengthening our position as an elite US team within one of the world’s leading global platforms,

‘Your dedication and commitment to excellence have set new benchmarks for revenue and delivered exceptional results for clients, including on many of the market’s most high-profile mandates across M&A, finance and disputes.’

CC’s message to associates said: ‘We are energized by the momentum in the region and approach the year ahead both ambitious and excited to achieve great things together!’

2025 year-end bonuses and 2026 salaries

Class Year-end bonus Special bonus 2026 salary
2025 $15,000 (pro-rated) $6,000 (pro-rated) $225,000
2024 $20,000 $6,000 $235,000
2023 $30,000 $10,000 $260,000
2022 $57,500 $15,000 $310,000
2021 $75,000 $20,000 $365,000
2020 $90,000 $25,000 $390,000
2019 $105,000 $25,000 $420,000
2018 $115,000 $25,000 $435,000

The news makes Linklaters and CC the latest in a string of firms to match Cravath’s scale.

Cravath’s scale is firm-wide, with associates paid at the same rates across all three of its offices in New York, Washington DC and London.

The special bonuses on the scale match the summer bonus rates set by Milbank in July this year.

While UK-origin firms traditionally pay bonuses at the end of their financial year, usually in March/April, those with offices in the US have been under increased pressure in recent years to follow US firms’ lead in order to retain associate talent.

Other US firms confirming that they are matching Cravath’s bonuses for US associates include: Cadwalader, Paul Hastings, White & Case, Dechert, Baker Botts, Debevoise & Plimpton and Skadden.

A&O Shearman, Ropes & Gray, Proskauer, Hogan Lovells, Milbank, Simpson Thacher, Weil and Covington & Burling are also reported to be matching the Cravath scale in their US offices.

Meanwhile, Vinson & Elkins, Quinn Emanuel, and Paul Weiss are all matching the bonus scale firmwide, while McDermott Will & Schulte and Fried Frank are matching for associates across their US and UK offices.

According to Above The Law, Cleary and Davis Polk are also matching the bonuses firmwide.

Ria Karnik, managing director of Major, Lindsey & Africa’s associate recruitment team in London, said: ‘We’ve seen bonus rates really ramp up this year, really since the second half of 2024. No one moves [only] because of the hours they are working or how much they get paid, it’s about whether or not you’re in a team where you can make your mark.’

She continued: ‘US law firms have reached a point in the London market where they can offer training initiatives and lean team formations. It means you can be in front of clients sooner. So if you’re enthusiastic or ambitious, it’s advantageous to be in a US firm.’

Adam Sutton, an IP associate recruiter for Fintelligent in New York, agreed with these sentiments. He said: ‘The response from associates has been a mixed bag. No one is panicking or asking to leave over bonuses. The general consensus is: it was expected, nice to receive but not overly impressive considering the year law firms have had.’

He added: ‘there’s definitely competition around rates and it’s always interesting to watch how firms react each year. Associates aren’t naïve, if you don’t pay the market rate but expect the same level of effort, it raises the question – why wouldn’t you consider somewhere else?’

Karnik said ‘When you start getting to the third or fourth year associate level, there’s a huge advantage to working for a US law firm. On the current pay structure, you know where your rates are going.’

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‘Puts our money where our mouth is’ – partners size up the key measures in Budget 2025

The usual period of pre-Budget speculation was ended prematurely yesterday (26 November) when the Office for Budget Responsibility inadvertently published its report ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ statement.

As always, the legal profession had been primed and ready to assess the Chancellor’s plans, and with the details now confirmed, opinions are mixed on whether Reeves’ plans will hit the mark.

One particular area of interest for City lawyers has been the health of the stock market, and the budget included the announcement of a tax holiday that will exempt new London Stock Exchange listings from stamp duty for three years.

Latham & Watkins partner Mark Austin, who has been playing a leading role in efforts to reform the UK’s capital markets, welcomed the move. ‘It puts our money where our mouth is,’ he said. ‘London is now the least frictional listing regime in Europe after the reforms of the last five years,’ said Austin.

Others, however, believe the measure does not go far enough.

‘The stamp duty relief is a welcome measure, although further reform is needed to see a marked revival in UK listing activity,’ suggested Sidley Austin tax and M&A partner Jason Menzies.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer corporate partner Casey Dalton said that while the move will be welcomed by those eyeing a UK listing, it could also have inadvertent effects. ‘Like any deal offered to new customers only, it risks creating distortion and arguably unfairness for those companies and funds who have already listed and so will not benefit from this measure.’

‘Changes are more limited than feared’

The budget aims to raise £26bn by 2029-30, a large part of which will come from a freeze in personal tax thresholds, as well as changes to salary sacrifice for pension contributions which will mean the amount that is exempt from National Insurance contributions will be capped at £2,000 a year.

‘This could significantly reshape how much employers contribute and how much individuals save,’ said Charlotte Cartwright, a pensions partner at Eversheds Sutherland. ‘Employers may be forced to explore tax-efficient alternatives […] that could have knock-on effects on benefit packages and salary-based calculations like mortgages.’

‘The Budget ends months of speculation. While the changes are more limited than feared, some members may already have made irreversible decisions as a result of that uncertainty,’ she added.

Another key announcement in the budget concerned employee share schemes, with Enterprise Management Incentives (EMIs) – which enable smaller companies to make tax-efficient share options available to their employees – set to be extended to companies with up to 500 employees and/or assets of up to £120m, up from the current thresholds of 250 and £30m

‘This will allow many more employees to share in their employing company’s growth journey, better aligning their interests with those of the wider shareholder base in driving towards a successful exit, and in the process freeing up cash for the company that might otherwise have been spent on cash incentives,’ said Oliver Walker, a tax partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges.

‘The government is acknowledging that reform is required to encourage talent into the UK and to reinvest in the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,’ added Hayden Bailey, head of private client and tax at Boodle Hatfield.

Michael Carter, head of incentives at Osborne Clarke described the change as ‘very good news’ and said that EMIs are ‘one of the most effective tools for attracting and keeping talent.’

However, Carter struck a note of caution about the potential long-term effects of the cap for salary sacrifice pensions: ‘Ensuring that short-term revenue priorities do not inadvertently discourage future pension saving will be an important balance for policymakers to strike.’

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‘It was never a marriage made in heaven’- what Norton Rose Fulbright’s exit means for South Africa

Johannesburg at sunset

Earlier this month, Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) became the third major firm to withdraw from South Africa in just over a year. Its more than 200 lawyers, who operate across three offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, are set to spin off and practice independently from 31 March 2026.

The move comes some 14 years after then Anglo-Autralian firm Norton Rose entered South Africa via a combination with Deneys Reitz in 2011, with the local firm joining the Swiss Verein structure and becoming Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa.

‘This change represents a natural evolution for both firms, as the dynamics of international markets and client needs progress worldwide,’ an NRF spokesperson said, adding that the global structure of the rest of Norton Rose Fulbright’s other member firms remained unchanged.

While NRF is keen to  stress that it will continue to service clients in South Africa, working with both former partners and other firms where relevant, the exit, which follows similar moves by Hogan Lovells and A&O Shearman, adds weight to questions about the viability of South Africa for international firms.

So, is NRF’s exit a sign of weakness in South Africa or an internal dilemma?

NRF in South Africa

According to some partners in South Africa, the legacy Deneys Reitz practice hadn’t been boosted by the combination with NRF as much as local partners may have hoped, or been as accretive to NRF as the international firm may have wished.

‘Deneys Reitz was a strong firm,’ says one senior lawyer practising in South Africa. ‘But they started struggling with profitability issues some years back and their bench strength suffered. Maybe the tie-up was a defensive move for them but it didn’t really help.’

On this view, the split from NRF is unlikely to be damaging. ‘[Partners] lose a brand that isn’t really important to them,’ says the lawyer.

Another partner also believes the split is more about internal politics than economic problems in South Africa. ‘It had never been a marriage made in heaven,’ they say. ‘Market perception is that they struggled in the past with commercial decisions and hiring. Whether or not they’re part of Norton Rose Fulbright, they need time to rebuild and reposition. You need to establish your brand to be competitive here. You need domestic relevance and can never compete effectively without top talent.’

Certainly NRF is keen to stress its continued commitment both to South Africa and its South African partners, saying in a statement: ‘Norton Rose Fulbright and Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa will continue to collaborate on cross-border matters where client needs align, while each will also work with other international partners as appropriate.’

A growing trend?

But if it’s all about internal issues, why then have there been three exits from the market in little more than a year? NRF’s move follows A&O Shearman and Hogan Lovells each pulling out last year. A&O Shearman announced plans to close in South Africa last September, following its merger with legacy Shearman, with its partners relocating to local firm Bowmans.

Hogan Lovells pulled out at roughly the same time, and also announced plans to close in Sydney and Warsaw, citing its aim to focus on more ‘strategic markets’.

Peter Leon, a London-based partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and former chair of legacy HSF’s Africa practice, argues that South Africa can be a difficult market for international firms to establish themselves in. ‘Domestic firms are well established,’ he says, ‘so international firms need to bring a distinctive as much as different offering for clients.’

HSFK has had an office in Johannesburg since 2015 and Leon says the firm remains committed to the region calling it ‘strategically important to the firm and for the overall Africa practice.’ He suggests that part of the issue for NRF may have been the verein structure: ‘I don’t think the Verein model really works in this context,’  Leon continues.  ‘For the office to be successful it should be integrated into a firm’s global partnership.’

Others agree. ‘Different profit pools can cause difficulties and competition,’ one South Africa partner tells LB. ‘The same brand can compete with itself on the continent.’

Leon also points to the importance of an integrated offering across sub-Saharan Africa, saying that the ‘relative weakness of the currency requires any local office to develop a pan-African practice.’

NRF announced it was integrating its Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia offices in June this year, creating a US$1 billion business with more than 1800 lawyers. Notably this integration did not include South Africa, Morocco or  ‘alliance’ offices in Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

A changing economy

Partners on the ground say there are promising signs for South Africa’s economy.  Earlier this month S&P Global increased the country’s local long-term credit rating to BB+ from BB, putting it two levels below investment grade.

The nation’s foreign currency credit rating also increased to BB from BB-, and S&P Global estimated that its GDP growth will hit 1.1% in 2025, up from 0.5% in 2024.

This marks the first credit rating upgrade for the country in nearly 20 years, indicating economic growth and stability after years of uncertainty.

Signals like these are promising for both domestic firms and international firms remaining in South Africa, says Peter Bradshaw, head of DLA Piper’s corporate practice in Johannesburg: ‘There is good news for South Africa economically at the moment and we’re seeing general improvements in sentiments towards South Africa – and not just in mining.’

He continues: ‘South Africa works for DLA’s business strategy, for some other big law firms it may not make sense to be here.’

Another senior South Africa partner is similarly positive: ‘Things are looking a lot more rosy.’

‘Its been pretty lacklustre for about a decade or so. Firms which invested over a decade ago have been disappointed in terms of South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Its been slower and harder than everyone thought,’ the partner says.

‘If we continue to see growth in the next 12 months, it could cause global businesses to be interested again.’

Looking forward, Bradshaw says: ‘M&A activity may strengthen further. M&A has been strong despite some negativity over the last few years.’

He argues that South Africa offers an exciting opportunity to connect with the continent at large, which local firms and international operations are looking to be a part of.

‘As Africa continues to move forward, South Africa remains a prominent part of its story,’ Bradshaw says. ‘I’m not concerned about DLA’s future in South Africa. We are a part of not just the South Africa story, but the Africa story,’ he concludes.

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Legal 500 acquires Mondaq

Legal 500 is expanding its offering with the acquisition of professional services content marketing, data and analytics company Mondaq.

The deal, announced today (26 November), will bring Legal 500’s data-driven legal benchmarking capabilities together with Mondaq’s legal, tax and regulatory knowledge-sharing platform.

The deal will give law firms, in-house legal teams and corporate decision-makers access to market-leading analysis, insight and data in one place.

Bristol-based Mondaq has 20 million readers worldwide, publishing content from more than 1,500 firms, operating primarily in the legal sector. It is distributed across sites including Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and Dow Jones.

Legal 500, which was founded in 1987, benchmarks law firms in over 100 countries worldwide, and is the parent company of Legal Business.

Its research arm includes more than 150 researchers, technologists and data analysts and analyses more than 60,000 law firm submissions a year, in addition to confidential client feedback from more than 300,000 corporate clients.

By integrating Mondaq’s thought leadership, expert analysis and unique readership data, Legal 500 will be able to offer more robust, real-time intelligence into trends and developments across multiple jurisdictions, as well as providing actionable insights for supporting revenue growth.

Hunters Law acted for Mondaq on the transaction, with the London firm’s team led by corporate and commercial partner Rory Wilson. Osborne Clarke advised Legal 500, with advertising, marketing and strategic comms services head Chris King leading.

Tony Harriss, executive chair of Legal 500, commented: ‘The acquisition of Mondaq marks an exciting evolution for Legal 500. We are combining our world-class benchmarking and research capabilities with Mondaq’s outstanding information, network and data to create a truly integrated intelligence platform. This strengthens our ability to help clients navigate complex legal purchasing decisions, and law firms to make more informed strategic choices.’

Tim Harty, CEO of Mondaq, added: ‘Joining forces with Legal 500 is a natural alignment and a great strategic fit. Our contributors produce timely, practical insight that is relied on by in-house counsel and executives globally, while law firms depend on our analytics platform to help drive client retention and acquisition. With Legal 500’s trusted platform, we can amplify the impact of that intelligence, as well as enhance our compelling data proposition.’

Legal 500, which opened an office in Leeds in September, already operates in more than 100 countries. By bringing in Mondaq’s large, global network of contributors and buy-side readership data and analytics, the combined platform will expand its presence in key markets, such as the US, Canada and the UK.

The deal comes amid consolidation in the legal publishing market, with The Lawyer acquired by Legal Benchmarking Group in September, while Law Business Research (LBR) and law.com parent ALM announced their merger in March this year.

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Slaughters, Gibson Dunn lead on Daily Mail’s £500m Telegraph Media Group acquisition

Slaughter and May is advising Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT) on its proposed acquisition of the Telegraph Media Group (TMG), with Gibson Dunn advising TMG on the transaction.

The deal, valued at £500m, sees DMGT purchase TMG from RedBird IMI, a joint venture between US private equity firm Red Bird Capital Partners and Abu-Dhabi-based privately-owned investment company International Media Investments (IMI).

The announcement marks the potential end of a drawn-out process that has seen TMG navigate multiple ownership bids since it was first put up for auction in October 2023, with RedBird IMI acquiring its interest that December, when it helped former TMG directors the Barclays pay off their debts to Lloyds Banking Group.

Slaughter and May said in a statement: ‘Terms have been agreed been DMGT and RedBird IMI and the parties have entered exclusivity to finalise the transaction. The parties will seek relevant regulatory approvals to enable the transaction to take place at the earliest opportunity.’

The magic circle firm fielded a team including M&A partner and sustainability practice head David Watkins, corporate and PE partner Simon Tysoe, competition and regulatory partners William Turtle and Alex Bulfin, banking head Ed Fife and finance partner Charlie McGarel-Groves, and tax partner Charles Osborne.

Slaughter and May has an established relationship with DMGT, previously advising the media group in 2021 on a £3.1bn reorganisation, including the acquisition by Lord Rothermere of all non-voting shares. Watkins also led on that deal, with Fife and Osborne also involved.

Gibson Dunn has advised RedBird IMI in the past, including on its acquisition of All3Media, the UK’s largest independent production company, for £1.15bn in 2024, as well as its 2022 acquisition of AC Milan Football club.

New York-based Richard Birns, chair of the firm’s sports law practice group, advised on each of these transactions.

The firm also advised RedBird IMI on its 2023 TMG deal, with a team spread across its New York, London, and Abu Dhabi offices.

Earlier this month, RedBird IMI dropped its £500m bid to buy TMG amid regulatory pressure and criticism from both the Telegraph’s editorial leadership and UK human rights organisation Article 19 over the company’s ties to China.

With terms agreed, the deal is expected to close imminently.

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In-house moves: legal leadership changes at Tesco, Bank of England, Williams Racing and more

Sonya Branch (pictured) has left her position as general counsel at the Bank of England, after ten years in the top legal position.

Branch joined the central bank in 2015, having previously worked at the Competition and Markets Authority as director general, enforcement for two years.

She trained in private practice at Linklaters before moving to Clifford Chance in 2000, where she was at the time the youngest-ever partner appointed at the firm.

The Bank of England is now in the process of recruiting a successor to lead the 200-strong legal team, with the role set to be based in the bank’s Leeds office.

Tesco has hired Jeff Langlands as general counsel of its UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI) business.

Langlands joins the retail giant from BT, where he spent 19 years, progressing through a number of senior legal positions, becoming GC, corporate, digital and networks in 2022.

At Tesco, Langlands will work with group GC Kay Majid, who has been with the company for over 17 years, and recently managed essential UK and ROI duties in addition to her group GC role. 

Dubai-based telecoms and digital services company VEON has appointed Sebastian Rice from Akin as general counsel.

Rice, who has led Akin’s London office for almost 12 years, will succeed acting general counsel Vitaly Shmakov in January 2026, with Shmakov moving into the position of chief investment officer.

Speaking of his move, Rice commented: ‘I am excited to take on the role of General Counsel at VEON Group, an organization I hold in the highest regard, having worked closely with the team for many years. I look forward to joining VEON’s growing headquarters in Dubai, and to contributing to the Group’s growth agenda as VEON advances its digital operator transformation.’

Back in the UK, Anglian Water Services has hired Celia Gough as its general counsel and company secretary, following the retirement of long-term GC Claire Russell, who spent more than 17 years with the company.

Gough joins the water provider from waste, water, and energy services company Veolia UK, where she spent more than 12 years as chief legal officer (CLO), Northern Europe.

Following Gough’s departure, Veolia UK has appointed Katie Swainsbury as CLO of its Northern Europe Zone.

Swainsbury has been with the waste, water and energy management services since 2015, and has held a number of senior legal positions since then, most recently as group counsel – head of legal for industrial, water and energy, commercial and Finland.

Before joining Veolia UK, Swainsbury worked in-house at energy companies BP and Eni UK Limited, before which she was an associate at Linklaters.

Speaking of her move, Swainsbury commented: ‘I’m immensely proud to be stepping into the role of Chief Legal Officer at Veolia for the Northern European Zone. This is a pivotal moment for the waste, water and energy industries. I’m looking forward to bringing my expertise and passion towards helping Veolia achieve our goal of Ecological Transformation.’

Elsewhere in the UK, leading Formula 1 team Atlassian Williams Racing has appointed Alison Wood as general counsel.

Wood joins the group from data analytics company Ascential, which was acquired by Informa at the end of last year for £1.2bn.

She spent nearly four years at Ascential, before which she was deputy director of legal affairs and head of legal, corporate and commercial at O2.

‘I am delighted to be joining Atlassian Williams Racing at a truly exciting time as we build momentum towards our goal of winning World Championships again,’ said Wood.

She continued: ‘The focus of the legal team is to work closely and collaboratively with stakeholders to support the commercial strategy and long term on-track success at this critical phase of growth and transformation. It has been a pleasure getting to know the team and feeling the energy, drive and determination of everyone at Grove in my first weeks in the role.’

Also in the UK, experienced insurance GC Chris Pinney has joined AmTrust International as general counsel for insurance and financial services.

Pinney joins the global insurance company from Sedgwick, a tech-enabled business solutions platform, where he served as GC international, insurance and financial services for almost seven years.

Before that, Pinney worked as a senior associate at Jones Day between 2001 and 2010, before moving in-house to claims management company Crawford & Company.

Sara Mackie, the former GC of personal care brand Elida Beauty and French Connection, has taken up a new GC role at consulting and data analytics company JMAN Group.

Elida Beauty was recently sold to Boston-based PE firm Yellow Wood Partners by Unilever. Before joining the beauty brand in 2022, Mackie was group GC of fashion brand French Connection for seven and a half years.

In the US, Starbucks has appointed Pilar Ramos as chief legal officer, replacing former CLO Brad Lerman, who Starbucks announced was leaving the company earlier this year, after nearly three years in the position.

Ramos has extensive experience in-house, having spent over 18 years at Mastercard between 2003 and 2021. She left Mastercard to become general counsel and corporate secretary at Spanish-language media company UniVision Communications, which became part of TelevisaUnivision after a 2021 merger.

Elsewhere in the States, government-sponsored mortgage finance company Fannie Mae has promoted Tom Klein to acting GC, with company veteran Danielle McCoy leaving her role after nearly 20 years with the company and almost two as GC.

Klein has similarly had a long stint with the group, having held a number of senior legal roles over his 20-year tenure.

In the pharmaceuticals space, Fortrea has hired Agnieszka Gallagher as general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary, replacing Stillman Hanson, who was with the company for over two and a half years.

Gallagher joins the biotechnology research company from life sciences tools company Standard BioTools, where she served as CLO for the last two years. She is highly experienced in the pharma space, having held senior legal positions at companies such as GSK and Pfizer.

Finally, in Los Angeles, American technology company Snap Inc, developer of the popular messaging service Snapchat, has appointed Zachary Briers as its new GC.

Briers joins the company from private practice, having spent the last 13 years as a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. Briers replaces Mike O’Sullivan, who joined the company in 2017, also from Munger, Tolles & Olson, and has served as GC for the last eight years.

Speaking of his new role, Briers commented: ‘It’s a privilege to join Snap and its exceptional leadership team at such an exciting time in the company’s journey. I’ve long admired how Snap continues to redefine how people communicate and express themselves. I am eager to help advance that mission and support Snap’s continued growth with a focus on integrity, innovation, and thoughtful legal stewardship.’

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City of London Law Society and partners launch North East SQE scholarship in honour of Stephen Denyer

A new scholarship for aspiring social welfare solicitors in the North East of England has been launched to honour Stephen Denyer (pictured), former director of strategic relationships at the Law Society.

The Stephen Denyer Scholarship plans to support four individuals through their SQE1 and SQE2 qualifications, with one scholarship available per year.

Established by the City of London Law Society (CLLS), the City of London Solicitors Company (CLSC), the Social Welfare Solicitors Qualification Fund (SWSQF), and the North East Law Centre (NELC), as well as the Denyer Family, the scheme will be funded by a £50,000 family donation.

The SWSQF has also announced plans to match this pledge and fund an extra candidate per year for the next four years.

The scholarship is available to NELC employees.

Stephen Denyer was a partner in legacy Allen & Overy’s global markets team for 36 years, before retiring in 2014. He then worked with the Law Society, as well as the International Bar Association, where he served as co-chair of the Rule of Law Forum. Denyer passed away at the beginning of 2024, aged 68.

Patrick McCann, chief executive of the City of London Law Society and co-founder of SWSQF, said ‘Stephen was a gentle giant – intelligent, wise, and kind in equal measure. He had a gift for making others feel seen and valued, and for quietly moving mountains on behalf of people and causes he believed in.’

He continued: ‘This Scholarship ensures that his commitment to access to justice, to the North East, and to helping others into the profession will continue to make a difference for years to come.’

Helen Denyer, representative of the Denyer family, added: ‘Stephen cared deeply about increasing access to justice and helping lawyers enter the profession.’

‘Having had his own talent unlocked in the North East at Durham, he would be so pleased that his legacy now helps emerging talent qualify as social welfare solicitors here, using the law in the service of their communities.’

Centre director at the North East Law Centre Michael Fawole said the scholarship ‘will allow us to support and train talented future lawyers who might otherwise never have the opportunity to qualify as social welfare solicitors.

‘It strengthens our mission to widen access to justice across the North East, and we hope that others will be inspired by the Denyer Family’s generosity to help support aspiring social welfare lawyers across the UK.’

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The rise of CLOs: how the structured finance niche became one of the hottest lateral markets

Collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) have been an important, if somewhat obscure, part of the finance ecosystem for many years. However, partners in this relatively niche area of structured finance have recently become some of the most in-demand in the lateral market – so what is driving all this activity?

This September, structured finance specialist David Quirolo took a 37-lawyer, 10-partner team, from Cadwalader to Orrick, combining a highly regarded CLO practice with the firm’s already comprehensive debt finance platform.

Orrick has been involved in a shifting market in Europe which is starting to see private credit CLOs – a market which grew 19% in the US last year – emerge on the continent.

While Quirolo describes the private CLO market in Europe as still relatively nascent, he expects it to start developing ‘along the same lines’ as the US.

‘There have [only] been three in Europe so far,’ Quirolo says, ‘but we’re thrilled that we had a role in all three.’ Last month, investment manager Barings launched Europe’s first multi-currency private CLO, with Quirolo’s team acting for BNP Paribas as arranger and Dechert advising Barings. 

The CLO-down

CLOs, which first emerged in the 1980s, involve the pooling of loans, which are then split into tranches and sold to investors. While historically most CLOs have been backed by broadly syndicated loans, recent years have seen private credit become increasingly influential, aligning with the priorities of the law firms operating at the top of the global financial market.

As well as the former Cadwalader group now at Orrick, there are a handful of other teams that dominate much of this market, and the last two years have seen many of them moving between firms.

Earlier this year, Latham & Watkins hired an 11-strong A&O Shearman structured finance team led by partner duo Franz Ranero (pictured) and James Smallwood, while in 2024, a six-strong CLO specialist team led by partner Alex Martin moved from Latham for Milbank.

Another name on the move has been structured finance partner John Goldfinch, who left Milbank in late 2023 to join A&O before landing at Proskauer last December.

A lot of this activity has come as clients become increasingly alive to the value of CLOs, which can be used across a wide variety of products, from private credit to infrastructure debt, bundling loans together to provide broader and cost-efficient access to capital. ‘It’s about looking for platforms that can give you access to clients that didn’t traditionally look at structured finance as a way to finance themselves,’ Quirolo explains.

Latham’s Ranero elaborates: ‘CLOs are a core leverage tool for private capital strategies – the market is really heating up.’

For Tom Balmer, the founder of legal recruitment firm Montresor, while the CLO market has been an active area of laterals of late, the moves reflect firms’ broader interest in structured finance techniques. This follows private credit funds – the clients which dominate revenues for the emerging global elite – shifting from direct lending to using ‘a whole range of different securitisation techniques,’ he says. Balmer says firms such as Proskauer, given its deep private credit relationships, are well placed to take advantage here.

How CLO can you go?

One highly regarded team that has stayed put throughout all the recent movement is the London structured credit practice led by Cameron Saylor at Paul Hastings, which has played a key role on almost half of the CLOs in Europe during 2024.

This market standing owes much to its work for both arrangers and managers, and while Saylor’s focus remains on traditional CLOs, where deal volumes remain robust, the firm has been expanding its wider asset-backed securitisation capabilities, recently bringing on leading securitisation partner Thomas Picton from Ashurst.

‘Beyond CLOs, we’ve always had a great practice, with securitisation partners Paul Severs and Victoria Morton, and Brian Maher [who joined from Weil last summer] who provides securitisation for various asset classes for clients like Apollo,’ Saylor explains.

Embedding a successful CLO practice into an integrated platform was a key driver behind Ranero’s move to Latham. ‘We chose to join Latham because it has a strategic offering which aligns with our core clients and which we, and our clients, see as the clear direction of travel,’ Ranero says. ‘We were drawn to the firm because of its integrated approach, where the team will play an important role within a larger, dynamic machine – offering an end-to-end product offering across the whole private capital fund lifecycle.’ 

Yen Sum (pictured), the global chair of Latham’s private capital practice, says the expansion of its CLO capabilities is the latest step in a long-term, global strategy for its private capital business built around attracting ‘the best talent operating in key financial and capital markets, products, and asset classes.’ And this plan is already being recognised – the latest Legal 500 rankings have Latham as the only firm ranked in tier one in both the US and London for securitisation.

At Weil, Hall of Fame securitisation partner Jacky Kelly heads a structured finance and derivatives practice which is less focused on traditional volume-dependent CLOs and more on building bespoke managed accounts with more complicated ‘legal engineering’. As more credit houses and firms look to use traditional structured finance techniques in innovative ways, such as dealing with financial distress or securitising fund interests, such expertise is crucial, Kelly says.

‘There are firms that have been in the market for some time who understand the legal plumbing, how [these products] evolved and why things work the way they work,’ she says, adding that such knowledge is now held by a select few.

And such expertise will continue to be in high demand. As Balmer says: ‘Each time a CLO partner moves, we always think that must be it for a while, but I’m sure there will be another one in the not-too-distant future.’ 

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Cohen & Gresser follows McDermott in eyeing up external investment

Cohen & Gresser is positioning itself to become one of the first US law firms to tap external capital, confirming that it is exploring ‘innovative’ structures with investment firms.

The firm is working with investment bank KBW Stifel to sound out potential investors about a deal to take a stake in the business.  

According to the FT, which first reported the news, the talks are sufficiently advanced that a deal could materialise in the first quarter of next year.  

Managing partner Lawrence Gresser said: ‘We have been preparing our firm for the entry of modern finance into the legal sector for over a decade. We are exploring innovative structures with a number of prominent investment firms that can support our strategic objectives.’  

The news comes after McDermott Will & Schulte made headlines last week when it also expressed a willingness to explore private investment, while stressing that any such moves were at preliminary stage.

Cohen & Gresser, which was founded in New York in 2002, now also has offices in Paris, Washington DC, Dubai, and London.

The City base, which focuses on white-collar criminal defence, commercial disputes and corporate transactions, opened in 2018, and is now home to six lawyers, according to the firm’s website.

The firm is highly regarded for its work in the white collar space, and is ranked in tier 2 in Legal 500’s US rankings for corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defence, alongside rankings for commercial litigation in both the US and London.

McDermott and Cohen & Gresser are the latest in a growing number of law firms to be linked to external investment, which has to date been limited by restrictions on non-lawyer ownership.

For its part, McDermott has considered options including a restructure that would allow it to avoid US restrictions on non-lawyer ownership of law firms.

While firm chair Ira Coleman has been open about the benefits of private investment in law firms, McDermott is still in the exploratory phase. ‘While this is all very preliminary and we are fielding inbound interest,’ said Coleman at the time, ‘we are constantly approached and we always listen to new ideas.’

For more, see ‘I’m sure I made a ton of mistakes’ – McDermott’s Coleman on fresh thinking, leadership lessons and why scale matters

Additional reporting by Alex Ryan.

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Paul Hastings makes fourth London lateral in November with funds finance partner

Paul Hastings has hired its fourth lateral partner in London this month, bringing over funds finance partner Jennifer Passagne from Haynes Boone.

Passagne specialises in a variety of structured finance techniques for private equity and venture capital funds and clients – structures which are gaining prominence in the European finance market.

‘I met with Cameron [Saylor] who heads the CLO practice and Eric [Schwitzer] who chairs the global funds finance practice,’ Passagne told Legal Business. ‘Fund finance is a growing product and having all the supporting finance roles in a platform is hugely important […] and having those deep relationships with various players in the market was hugely attractive to me.’

Passagne began practicing in leveraged finance before switching to funds around seven years ago, the same time she moved from Simpson Thacher to Willkie as a senior associate. She then joined Haynes Boone as a partner in 2021.

Her practice focuses on net asset value and back leverage deals for private credit lenders and banks.

‘Having a strong leveraged finance background made it easier to do some of the more specialised and structured finance deals,’ said Passagne. ‘I think this experience gives me an edge because knowing this market helps me provide my clients with a more commercial approach.’

The firm is targeting fund finance as an area of growth. ‘The global fund finance market is expected to grow from approximately $1.2 trillion to more than $2.5 trillion by 2030,’ Frank Lopez, the firm’s chair said. ‘We have made it a strategic priority to be a leader in the space with premier talent like Jennifer.’

Earlier this month, tax partners Jenny Doak and Catherine Richardson joined from Weil and Cadwalader respectively, and structured finance partner Thomas Picton moved across from Ashurst, making Passagne the fourth hire in November.

The hires of Passagne and Picton underline the firm’s ambitions to provide varied liquidity options across the duration of a fund’s life in a variety of market conditions.

‘It’s an exciting time to join so many talented partners across Paul Hastings’ global platform,’ Passagne said. ‘It’s been impressive to watch the firm gain market share in high-end transactions.’ According to predictions from the firm, London revenue is projected to grow by more than 20% year-on-year.

The hires follow a series of departures across the last six months, which saw two London co-heads, Mei Lian and Arun Birla, leave for Linklaters and White & Case respectively. Five real estate partners have also left the firm since September.

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Revolving Doors: Latham hires real estate partner as HSF Kramer loses partners in London and Middle East

Leading the high profile hires this week, Latham & Watkins has continued its financial sector push with a notable partner hire from Gibson Dunn.

The firm has added UK-based real estate private equity specialist Jeremy Kenley from Gibson Dunn, where he served as a partner since 2018 across the corporate transactional and real estate groups. Kenley previously spent six years as a partner in Mayer Brown’s real estate private equity practice and earlier held GC roles at Citi and Apollo Management.

He joins Latham’s private equity real estate team with a practice spanning cross-border asset and debt acquisitions, real estate M&A, joint ventures and co-investment structures.

Ed Barnett, the managing partner at Latham & Watkins London office hailed him as ‘a star name in the market and one of the most accomplished real estate private equity lawyers in the City.’

Global practice chair Douglas Heitner framed the hire as part of Latham’s strategic push to expand its real estate capabilities in London, amid ‘shifting economic fundamentals, evolving customer trends, and recalibrated asset values’.

The move follows a run of London hires for Latham – including Ross Allardice from White & Case into its London M&A and private equity practice in July and Hugh O’Sullivan from Goodwin into its debt finance team in London in January – as the firm seeks to fortify its financial sector bench after a string of exits to rival US firm Sidley Austin last year.

Gibson Dunn has seen further movement as Ali Nikpay, co-chair of its global competition group and co-partner in charge of the London office, joined consultancy firm The Greenlight Group (Advisory) Ltd.

Incorporated in 2024 by Adam Atashzai, a former special advisor to then Prime Minister David Cameron, Greenlight offers ‘strategic advice on deal clearance, investment and major regulatory matters,’ according to its website.

Nikpay retains his position at Gibson Dunn and  will continue to work separately from his new role at Greenlight. Companies House filings in September 2025 show that Nikpay holds a 39% minority stake in Greenlight.

Elsewhere, DLA Piper has added Paul Landless as a partner in its fintech group in London.

Landless joins from Clifford Chance, where he spent over two decades in leadership roles across London, Singapore and Hong Kong. Most recently, as co-head of the fintech practice and partner in derivatives and structured products.

Matt Christmas, UK group head of DLA Piper’s finance practice commented: ‘With a strategic focus on supporting some of the world’s leading banks, financial market infrastructure providers and digital asset traders on complex cross-border transactions and regulatory changes, Paul will significantly strengthen our bench and elevate our offering.’

The acquisition follows a string of partner hires in the firm’s London finance practice, including Richard Hughes from Goodwin in November, Sudhir Nair from White & Case in August, and former Dechert partner, Adam Plainer, to its restructuring team in January this year.

Disputes boutique Pogust Goodhead has hired veteran disputes partner Jonathan Edward Wheeler from Morrison Foerster in London.

Wheeler previously served seven years as the firm’s co-managing partner, and 15 years as head of litigation.

A specialist in cross-border commercial litigation, civil fraud and international trusts, Wheeler becomes head of Mariana litigation, taking command of the firm’s landmark group action against mining megalith BHP over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse in Brazil.

He will lead the next phase of the litigation, following  the firm’s recent liability victory in the English courts which he described as ‘a watershed for access to justice and corporate accountability’.

The case, involving over 600,000 claimants, now moves into the damages stage.

Chairman Howard Morris added: ‘[Jonathan’s] track record in running some of the most complex cross-border disputes in the English courts, together with his leadership experience, make him exactly the kind of senior figure we need after our historic liability victory.’

His arrival comes during a turbulent period for the firm, which recently removed co-founder barrister Tom Goodhead as director, following his replacement as CEO by former Slater & Gordon COO Alicia Alina.  Further, financial strain has been widely reported, linked to the high costs incurred in global class actions. Coupled with a recent severing from its Sydney office, set up by ousted director Tom Goodhead, the hire signals a consolidation of the firm’s UK leadership over large scale group litigation in the UK courts.

In the Middle East, Baker Botts’ has made its third Riyadh hire in a month with the appointment of Faris Al Amoudi as partner and global head of Islamic finance.

Al Amoudi previously served as founding partner at STAT Law Firm, an independent Saudi Arabian firm specialising in Islamic finance, and is widely recognised for his Sharia-compliant banking, debt and treasury work. Before that, he spent six years as a banking and capital markets associate at White & Case’s UAE offices following just under five years as a finance and banking associate at Norton Rose Fulbright.

Danny David, managing partner at Baker Botts, said Al Amoudi’s appointment ‘is exactly the kind of strategic talent that fuels our international growth.’ He added that ‘his mastery of Islamic finance and his transactional insight will help clients navigate complex, cross-border markets with confidence.’

Newly appointed Riyadh partner in charge, Joza Al Rasheed, said: ‘Baker Botts has made history with this strategic addition. The appointment of a Saudi to lead on a global scale is truly unprecedented and underscores the firm’s strong and enduring commitment to the Kingdom and to the advancement of Saudi talent.’

Al Amoudi joins just weeks after the additions of Joza Al Rasheed – formerly Riyadh head of HSF Kramer’s M&A and capital markets team – and Alexander Currie, as an energy and infrastructure partner. Currie previously served 18 years as a partner in energy and infrastructure at HSF Kramer’s London office, before transferring to Riyadh between 2023 and October 2025.

The moves are the latest in a series of departures from HSF Kramer across private equity and energy, with the firm seeing several exits in recent months across key geographies.

Back in London, the most recent departure is HSF Kramer’s head of international private equity in London, Eleanor Shanks, to Morrison Foerster. The firm is expected to issue a formal announcement on Monday.

Her arrival follows the moves of PE partners Ambarish Dash and David D’Souza, who also left HSF Kramer for Morrison Foerster earlier this year – reuniting the trio within Morriston Foerster London private equity group.

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‘There’s never been a merger of equals of firms this size’ – what the market thinks about Ashurst Perkins Coie

‘Bringing together two firms with more than a billion dollars in revenue each has never been done before. There’s never been a merger of equals of firms this size,’ says Perkins Coie managing partner Bill Malley of the firm’s recently announced plans to merge with Ashurst.

The proposed tie-up – which is set to go live in mid-2026, subject to a successful partner vote in spring – marks the end of a decades-long quest for a US merger by Ashurst.

Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising that Ashurst CEO Paul Jenkins, who is set to become global co-CEO of Ashurst Perkins Coie with Malley, is relishing the slickly announced success of the pair’s merger plans.

‘Discussions started in February, and we’ve had a rapport from day one,’ he tells Legal Business. ‘We’re excited to be creating a top 20 global firm with nearly 1,000 partners. Cultural affinity and shared values are really the linchpins of any strong combination, and we believe we have that here.’

The pair are betting on a three-pronged sector focus centred around financial services, energy & infrastructure, and technology – aiming to leverage not only the client base and practice strength of both firms, but also their willingness to embrace AI and new technologies.

‘We see ourselves at the forefront of the legal industry in terms of innovation,’ says Jenkins, referencing Ashurst Advance and the firm’s AI adoption as evidence, before pointing to synergies with Perkins.

‘We’ve always been future-focused, embracing innovation and the practice of law,’ adds Malley. ‘We think it’s especially important at the moment, as AI transforms the way legal services are delivered.’

Should the union proceed, the combined firm will have revenues of nearly $2.7bn and 52 offices worldwide, including bases in 17 cities across the US.

However, before the deal can go live, the pair will need to completely convince their own firms that they have each found the right partner, a task they will begin swiftly through a series of roadshows to partners around the world.

They will also have to convince clients and the market, warding off any potential questions over it not being a Wall Street-centric deal, given Perkins has its roots in Seattle.

In the eyes of at least one former Ashurst partner, it should be an easy sell. ‘Everyone wants a US merger, so congratulations to them,’ he says. ‘It wasn’t going to be achievable to get a Wall Street firm with a big capital markets or M&A practice.’

Ashurst has infamously tried to secure such a merger before, with Jenkins’ management predecessors having talked to everyone from Latham & Watkins and Fried Frank to Sidley and Shearman & Sterling over the years.

Perkins may not be of the same scale or market position, but it does have 120 lawyers, including almost 50 partners, in New York – and reaction to the combination so far has been broadly positive.

Many point to Jenkins’ role in turning around Ashurst’s fortunes following a run of partner departures and falling revenues in the wake of its merger with Blake Dawson in the early 2010s.

In the nine years since Jenkins took up his leadership role, the Anglo-Australian firm has more than doubled its revenue, breaking the £1bn mark for the first time in 2024-25. Meanwhile, PEP has climbed to $1.77m, not far off Perkins’ figure of just under $1.9m, supporting the firms’ claim that the deal is a merger of equals.

‘Paul has done an amazing job given where they were 10 years ago,’ says Freddie Lawson, who heads the partner practice at Montresor Legal Recruitment. ‘Ashurst was being chipped away, but he has done a good job in keeping an energy and infrastructure focus to the firm. His bravery can only be applauded.’

A partner from a rival London firm adds: ‘On paper they have similar scale, profitability and turnover, so I think it will be an interesting and beneficial transaction.’

‘It’s a merger of equals, but some people are more equal than others’

Over in Los Angeles, Howard Cohl, a partner at Major Lindsey & Africa, is also positive. ‘The legal landscape is becoming very competitive, with the influx of AI and a war for talent. There aren’t many ways to really move the needle, but a large combination is certainly one.’ In the context of UK firms increasingly looking toward the lucrative US market, ‘this makes eminently good sense,’ he continues.

But it isn’t just about economic alignment. Also in California, Kent Zimmerman at the Zeughauser Group, who has been advising Ashurst throughout the merger discussions, says: ‘When Paul asked us to evaluate and advise on this opportunity, what quickly stood out was the level of strategic and cultural alignment. That alignment created a solid foundation for what is coming to fruition. This is a transformational achievement for both firms at a moment of change for the industry.’

What each firm gains from the deal is clear. In addition to its long-sought US presence, Ashurst gains exposure to Perkins’ tech practice and client base, which includes the likes of Apple alongside more emerging names. Perkins, meanwhile, benefits from Ashurst’s energy and infrastructure practice as well as gaining a global platform. When the deal goes live, building up in energy and financial services in the US and technology outside the US will be priorities.

Crucially, the consolidation will also give the combined firm greater weight to invest in both talent and technology.

As one London partner says of Perkins: ‘They have been around a long time and have worked with a strong corporate client base like Boeing and Apple.’

But, as Saul Gamoran of Seattle-based Gamoran Legal Consulting says: ‘they were struggling to compete with the biggest of the biggest. This will make them a 3,000-lawyer firm, with worldwide breadth, and the capacity and ability to take on the largest cases and the largest matters.’

Despite the largely positive market reaction, integrating practices, geographic identities and routine operations – including shifting to a calendar financial year, cash accounting system and coming up with a combined compensation system – will be no easy feat.

Another former Ashurst partner warns that management will need to avoid getting too distracted in order to be successful.

‘Any firm which goes through phases of inorganic growth will be tied up with this for a number of years and leadership will, unquestionably, have reduced bandwidth to meet other challenges that are not necessarily solved through scale like technology.’

Others question the extent to which the merger will really prove to be a merger of equals, warning that cuts could lie ahead. ‘The term gives an implicit assurance to partners that there will be parity of treatment, but this could make them hostage to fortune,’ warns one former Ashurst partner.

Another concludes: ‘It’s a merger of equals, but some people are more equal than others, as the old saying goes.’

Additional reporting by Georgina Stanley, Will Lewallen, Alex Ryan and Kate Peacock.

Ashurst Perkins Coie: what the data tells us about the deal

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Clifford Chance to cut 10% of London business support staff

Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance (CC) is set to cut around 10% of its business services staff in London, as part of a strategic review of its back office support functions.

Roughly 550 roles across areas including finance, HR and IT are under review, with an estimated 50 redundancies expected, as well as role changes for up to 35 others.

In a statement, the firm said: ‘In line with our strategy to strengthen our operations, we can confirm we are proposing changes to some of our London-based business professional functions. The proposed changes could see the creation of new roles, changes to the scope of roles, revised team structures and in some cases a reduction in roles.’

The cuts are understood to be driven in part by a reduction in demand for business services support in London, as well as rising adoption of AI technologies.

The firm has expanded its support functions outside of London in recent years, following the 2018 acquisition of Carillion’s Newcastle-based operation, which is now home to around 90 paralegals.

The firm also now has around 60 staff based across Delhi and Hyderabad, and last year opened a fourth legal hub in Warsaw.  In 2023 the firm created its own private AI platform, Clifford Chance Assist, and has continued to invest in AI technologies.

CC is the third-largest UK firm by revenue, with turnover up 9% in 2024-25 to a new high of £2.4bn, and profit per equity partner rising 3% to £2.11m.

It is not the only major firm making changes to its support functions. This autumn, Freshfields announced that up to 19 paralegal roles were to be made redundant in its Manchester office.

Other firms cutting jobs include BCLP, which earlier this year announced it was undergoing a ‘business modernisation programme’ that would impact approximately 8% of its workforce, while in January CMS placed up to 15 junior roles in its London real estate team under review. More recently, Irwin Mitchell last week confirmed that it is set to scrap the litigation assistant role, in a move affecting 58 staff across the UK.

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