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Into the mainstream: another big New Law exit sees EY acquire Riverview Law

Mere months after New Law pioneer Lawyers On Demand (LOD) secured private equity backers to position itself as a global player, fellow alternative legal services business darling, Riverview Law, has been acquired by Big Four accountancy firm EY.

The financial details of the deal, announced today (7 August), were not disclosed, but Riverview’s turnover is believed to have risen to more than £10m since it launched in 2012, meaning the acquisition is expected to carry a hefty price tag. Continue reading “Into the mainstream: another big New Law exit sees EY acquire Riverview Law”

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Revolving Doors: McDermott leads busy City recruitment round as in-house and international hires dominate

City laterals were active last week in a bolstered global recruitment round, as McDermot Will & Emery was joined by Capsticks and Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB) in making London plays. Meanwhile Eversheds Sutherland was among the firms looking to prise talent away from in-house teams as Kirkland & Ellis and DLA Piper made significant moves abroad.

McDermott led the City recruitment round, hiring structured finance partner Rachel Kelly to the firm’s corporate group. Kelly joins from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where she specialised in structured finance and debt capital markets during a three-year spell. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: McDermott leads busy City recruitment round as in-house and international hires dominate”

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White & Case doubles up in the City in continued disputes drive

City of London

White & Case is continuing its aggressive City expansion with two disputes hires, the firm’s eighth and ninth laterals this year.

Contentious construction and engineering partner David Robertson is joining White & Case’s arbitration team from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), while Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft litigation partner Steven Baker joins the firm’s commercial litigation practice. Continue reading “White & Case doubles up in the City in continued disputes drive”

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‘The giant is awakening’: Baker McKenzie adds $230m to revenue as partner profits surge 13%

Paul Rawlinson

Baker McKenzie has posted one of its best financial performances in recent history as revenue hit $2.9bn and partner profits reached $1.44m in the year to 30 June 2018.

An upbeat chair Paul Rawlinson claimed his firm was winning more higher value work as revenue rose 10% in constant currency and 8% in dollar terms from last year’s $2.67bn. The result confirmed Bakers as the third highest billing firm in the world, behind Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins. Continue reading “‘The giant is awakening’: Baker McKenzie adds $230m to revenue as partner profits surge 13%”

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RPC’s profits rebound amid 10% revenue growth after consulting arm produces ‘good results’

James Miller

RPC has followed up on last year’s disappointing financial performance with a 10% rebound in profits as revenue hit £112.7m.

The rise in net income to £28.9m was coupled with an 8% increase in profits per equity partner (PEP) to £348,000. The 2017/18 financial year was an improvement on last year’s modest 2% revenue growth, which resulted in an 11% drop in PEP to £322,000. Continue reading “RPC’s profits rebound amid 10% revenue growth after consulting arm produces ‘good results’”

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Kaplan wins bid to create controversial SRA ‘super exam’ after rivals pull out early

graduates

While education services company Kaplan has emerged as the winner of the race to develop the Solicitor Regulation Authority’s (SRA) controversial new ‘super-exam’, rival providers BPP University and University of Law (ULaw) claim to have pulled themselves out of the running at an early stage.

Kaplan prevailed in a year-long contest between a number of organisations to develop the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). They were appointed for a period of eight years beginning from the introduction of the SQE, which could be as early as September 2020. Continue reading “Kaplan wins bid to create controversial SRA ‘super exam’ after rivals pull out early”

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Comment: Disputes Eye – An English court in Paris: another warning shot

Paris, France, Eiffel Tower

There is a certain irony to be found in France’s enthusiastic uptake of English courts just as the UK detaches itself from the EU, an irony accompanied by a realistic fear of weakening the English judiciary.

Of course, the introduction of an English-language common law commercial court in Paris is nothing new for the continent, with similar proposals already taking form in Belgium and Germany. However, the Parisians have recently upped their marketing drive, announcing a flat court fee of €100 to contest the Rolls Building’s less-than-competitive entry price of up to £10,000. Continue reading “Comment: Disputes Eye – An English court in Paris: another warning shot”

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MPs accuse legal profession of making a ‘nonsense’ of gender pay gap reporting

Simon Daivs

The UK’s top law firms, particularly Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC), have been condemned by MPs for their gender pay gap efforts.

A&O was specifically criticised for its failure to disclose its partnership pay figures when prompted to earlier this year, while fellow Magic Circle firm, CC, was for its ‘painfully slow’ progress on female representation. Continue reading “MPs accuse legal profession of making a ‘nonsense’ of gender pay gap reporting”

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Withers targets global tech industry with acquisition of UK boutique JAG

Withers

Withers has bought out six-partner UK tech law boutique JAG Shaw Baker in the latest chapter of its global expansion.

JAG’s 26-lawyer team has today (1 August) joined Withers’ London and Cambridge operations as the private wealth specialist targets investors and entrepreneurs in the life sciences and digital world. Continue reading “Withers targets global tech industry with acquisition of UK boutique JAG”

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Deal watch: Eversheds Sutherland races to advise Formula 1 team on administration as Cooley acts on $126.8m tech IPO

Formula One Force India car

Eversheds Sutherland has landed a major role on the administration of Formula 1 team Force India as Cooley advises a UK IT company on its $126.8m IPO and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) acts on a $388m Philippines agribusiness deal.

Finance partner Jamie Leader led Eversheds as it represented Brockstone Limited, the services company linked to Force India driver Sergio Pérez, on a High Court administration application intended to safeguard the jobs of 400 employees. Continue reading “Deal watch: Eversheds Sutherland races to advise Formula 1 team on administration as Cooley acts on $126.8m tech IPO”

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#MeToo: SRA takes favoured consultation route to tackle criticism of firms’ misconduct reporting

Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has launched a public consultation to inform changes to rules underpinning the reporting of misconduct as the industry claims a lack of clarity around the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

The regulator today (2 August) will kick-start the consultation, aimed at ‘providing clarity around the practical judgements that compliance officers, solicitors and firms must take when deciding when and if to report a potential serious breach of our rules to us’, states the consultation document. Continue reading “#MeToo: SRA takes favoured consultation route to tackle criticism of firms’ misconduct reporting”

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DWF hires the brains behind Freshfields’ Manchester hub for new managed services role

National operator DWF has bolstered its services clout ahead of a touted stock exchange listing with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s well-regarded chief of business operations, Anup Kollanethu (pictured).

Kollanethu, who joined the Magic Circle firm in mid-2015 after 12 years at Aviva Investors, has been appointed chief executive of DWF managed services. Continue reading “DWF hires the brains behind Freshfields’ Manchester hub for new managed services role”

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Asia focus: Gordon Dadds breaks international duck in Hong Kong while HFW adds Korea expertise

Adrian Biles

Ambitious listed law firm Gordon Dadds has launched its first overseas office in Hong Kong, as HFW bolsters its Korean capability with a London hire.

Gordon Dadds has been in acquisitive form since listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) last August, and has now turned its mind to international expansion after gaining approval to practise English law in Hong Kong. Continue reading “Asia focus: Gordon Dadds breaks international duck in Hong Kong while HFW adds Korea expertise”

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Comment: The new outlook for City leaders – Casinos hitched with a utility

Clifford Chance

Through much of 2018 the talk has been that major City firms have been extraordinarily busy. GDPR, a rebound in transactional activity as deals put on hold by Brexit are pushed through, a robust showing from the global economy…

And this has translated into… not that much. London’s Big Four Magic Circle firms have packed in closely this year, with revenues up between 4% and 6%. True, in contrast to 2016/17, when currency movements flattered subdued underlying results, this year they have performed modestly better than the headline numbers suggest. But for those whose memories stretch to the 1990s through to 2008, when ‘really busy’ meant routinely sticking 10% to 15% like-for-like on the top line, this remains a very different environment. Continue reading “Comment: The new outlook for City leaders – Casinos hitched with a utility”

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HFW’s continued international growth lifts revenue 8% in tough market conditions

Richard Crump

UK top 50 firm HFW has produced a competitive set of financial results headlined by a 12% rise in profit and strong international performances.

Revenue for the 2017/18 financial year increased 8% to £179.1m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) was up 2% to £542,000. In the past two fiscal years, HFW’s revenues have grown by more than 25%. Continue reading “HFW’s continued international growth lifts revenue 8% in tough market conditions”

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Revolving doors: Morrison & Foerster makes City move as Fieldfisher and Reed Smith develop international practices

US player Morrison & Foerster emerged as the only firm to make a significant lateral hire in the City last week, while Fieldfisher bolstered its new Luxembourg office and Reed Smith made a triple hire in the Middle East at the expense of Pinsent Masons.

MoFo strengthened its London finance practice with the hire of Benoit Lavigne from Ropes & Gray where he was a partner, focusing primarily on leveraged finance, acquisition finance and special situations lending. The hire is MoFo’s third London office hire of 2018, as the firm strengthened with additions from Clifford Chance and Jones Day earlier this year. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Morrison & Foerster makes City move as Fieldfisher and Reed Smith develop international practices”

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Restructuring star Sum makes quick exit from Sidley’s City practice to join Latham

Yen Sum

Latham & Watkins has hired former Linklaters restructuring star Yen Sum just over a year after she joined Sidley Austin in one of the quickest turnarounds in London’s senior lateral recruitment market.

Sum is joining Latham alongside fellow finance partner Jennifer Brennan, another Linklaters alumni who had also followed her from the Magic Circle firm to Sidley just last year. Continue reading “Restructuring star Sum makes quick exit from Sidley’s City practice to join Latham”

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Big deals – meet the GCs running the headline deals

Shaking hands over briefcase

The global M&A market is booming. Bill Mordan, general counsel at FTSE 100 drug-maker Shire, would know. Shire’s board recently recommended a £46bn takeover offer from rival Japanese pharma giant Takeda.

‘Money continues to be cheap to borrow and so it’s still easy to get funding from venture capital, as well as other speciality equity investments in new technologies,’ Mordan comments. ‘There’s a large quantum of assets out there available for acquisition.’ Continue reading “Big deals – meet the GCs running the headline deals”

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Scotland: All our yesterdays

Partially covered Scottish flag

Change always creates opportunities,’ says Nick Scott, the new managing partner at Brodies, when asked about this year’s departure of predecessor Bill Drummond. But he then quickly adopts a more cautious tone: ‘There will be no radical change to the way we will run our business.’

Scott’s reticence to herald a new era with a major pivot reflects the predicament of a leader inheriting a 20-year legacy of success. Drummond presided over a striking 122% revenue growth between 2007 and 2017, ending with a slow (by Brodies’ standards) 2% increase for the financial year 2016/17, with turnover up to £66.7m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) dropped 2% from £597,000 to £585,000. Continue reading “Scotland: All our yesterdays”