This year’s 2024 round of King’s Counsel appointments saw only one solicitor advocate take silk – in line with each of the last two years and down from five in the 2021 round and six in the 2020 round.
Continue reading “A&O Shearman only firm to pick up new KC as silk appointments rise”
More than 100 legacy Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling partners have left or retired since the merger of the two firms was announced in May 2023, according to Legal Business research.
Continue reading “Revealed: A&O Shearman partner exits pass 100 mark since merger announcement”
Clyde & Co’s Wynne Lawrence, who was recently named as one of Legal 500’s new UK Green Ambassadors, is a founding member of the firm’s climate risk and resilience practice group. In this Q&A, she discusses the genesis of her professional interest in climate change, building a team of ESG rising stars, and how junior lawyers can make a difference Continue reading “‘Every lawyer has a role to play in sustainability’- Clydes’ Wynne Lawrence on ESG legal pathways”
Late last year, Legal Business and Legal 500 unveiled a data project that has been in the works for some time – looking at how highly firms are recommended by clients.
That data, collected from Legal 500 referees, offers an entirely new perspective on the world’s largest law firms, enabling us to reorder the Global 100 by a new customer satisfaction metric – Net Promoter Score (NPS)*.
Of the eighteen UK-heritage firms in the Global 100, the firm with the highest NPS is Slaughter and May (and we will be revealing NPS for the LB100 very soon) but NPS is not the only metric we have data for – we also ask referees to score law firms on metrics such as billing, communication and value for money
So while Slaughters comes highly recommended by clients – how does it compare to its peers on criteria such as partner and associate quality and availability?
(The rest of this article is available to logged-in users only. If you are not logged in and unable to do so above, please click ‘Forgot your password?’ below to gain access to the full article). Continue reading “Putting a number on it – how do clients rate Slaughter and May?”
Paul Hastings is advising a consortium of investors on an all-cash offer to acquire TikTok’s US operations and assets from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
Earlier this month, Clyde & Co launched in Texas, the latest step in a two-decades-long journey into North America which has seen it establish a 19-strong network of offices across the US and Canada.
As the new year unfolds, Goodwin has launched its seventh European office in Brussels, hiring antitrust partner Stephen Mavroghenis from Quinn Emanuel. He was previously head of then-Shearman & Sterling’s Brussels office and co-head of its global antitrust group.
Up to 15 lawyers in CMS’ London real estate team could lose their jobs as the firm looks to cut costs for a second time in 16 months.
It is understood that no partners will be affected in the redundancy round. Continue reading “CMS to cut up to 15 real estate lawyers in London”
Travers Smith’s Heather Gagen, who leads the firm’s ESG and impact group, was recently named as one of Legal 500’s new UK Green Ambassadors. In this Q&A, she discusses the rise of ESG, the realities of balancing work and life with a young family, and offers advice for lawyers looking to build a career in the sustainability sector Continue reading “‘A fascinating area to work in’ – Travers Smith’s Heather Gagen on forging an ESG career”
Hogan Lovells and Akin became the two latest firms to announce their 2025 partner promotions last week, with 28 and 22 new partners respectively.
Continue reading “Hogan Lovells and Akin announce 2025 partner promotions”
Clifford Chance has hired one of the most well-known M&A partners in the City, Bruce Embley, who previously served as co-head of Freshfields’ global M&A client group before leaving for Skadden in 2020. Continue reading “Clifford Chance snaps up Skadden M&A heavyweight Embley”
Following last month’s release of Legal 500’s first US city elite rankings, Legal Business checked in with the newly ranked Chicago lawyers to learn more about the city’s legal market from the perspective of top regional and national firms.
When talking to managing partners at law firms based across the UK, one thing is clear – there’s no shortage of challenges for them to contend with.
Whether it’s keeping their staff happy, competing for quality work, or staying on top of client priorities, law firm leaders have their hands full.
But while they juggle all these challenges, shifting dynamics in the major legal markets across the UK mean that new opportunities are emerging for national and regional players, as a tier of firms long viewed as the national elite increasingly turn their attention to the international arena.
Leading M&A partners are predicting an increase in deal activity in 2025 driven by sectors including tech, financial services and private capital, as full year M&A legal adviser rankings from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) highlight the increasing influence of top US firms on the market.
If there’s one thing litigators aren’t disputing, it’s that workflow is not likely to drop as we settle into 2025.
Activity in the UK dispute resolution market ‘is showing no signs of abating’, says Paul Lewis, joint managing partner of Herbert Smith Freehills’ global disputes practice. He maintains that with litigation remaining one of the country’s top exports, the market is set to stay busy. ‘The reputation of the English Courts continues to be at an absolute high’, he says, making the UK an attractive place for both claimants and litigation funders.
Investor-related disputes are a key driver for the steady uptick in claims, suggests Oliver Middleton, chair of the London litigation and trial department at Latham & Watkins. He points out that the increasing sophistication of investors has resulted in ‘a lean towards a US-style approach to litigation, which involves parties using it as a tool rather than as something to avoid.’
Revolving into 2025, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has bolstered its London leveraged finance practice hiring Bryan Robson and William Gwyn from US rival Sidley Austin.
Continue reading “Revolving doors: Simpson Thacher, Latham, Sidley lead New Year London moves”
Paul Hastings finance partner Reena Gogna, who joined the firm from Weil in summer 2024, on coming into law, inspiring women in finance and always keeping perspective.
Simmons & Simmons has begun the process of electing a new managing partner, with the firm confirming that it expects to choose a successor to longstanding leader Jeremy Hoyland in March. The successful candidate will take up the post when Hoyland steps down at the end of April.
Five Simmons partners are understood to be in contention for the upcoming election, with four based in London and one in Paris. All five are practice heads. Continue reading “Five partners vie to succeed Hoyland as Simmons managing partner”
Former Freshfields senior partner Edward Braham is among the legal practitioners to have been recognised in the 2025 New Year Honours List.
Braham, currently chair of investment advice company M&G, was senior partner at Freshfields between 2016 and 2020 and also served as global head of corporate during his 26 years at the firm. He has received a knighthood for services to corporate law and to business. Continue reading “Former Freshfields senior partner among recipients in New Year Honours List”
After a turbulent 2024 that at times saw the future of the funding industry called into question things are looking up for litigation funders. There may still be uncertainty but the easing of the post-Covid courts gridlock and an increase in litigation means there’s now a sense of optimism going into 2025.
But while it may be a better time to be a litigation funder, rapid growth brings growing pains. And, with the litigation funding market still developing, funders face issues around regulation, shifting perceptions, and ever-increasing costs.
