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Global 100 ten-year view: Bad timing

Figueroa Street, LA

In the last boom year in 2008 before the global financial crisis took its toll, the picture was rosy for UK-bred law firms. Riding high on an exchange rate that was more than two dollars to the pound, Clifford Chance (CC) topped the table with revenues of nearly $2.7bn, heading a list of seven $2bn+ firms, of which four were Magic Circle and another, DLA Piper, the result of a headline-grabbing UK/US tie-up.

Buoyed by their own success, the messages from the City elite were naturally upbeat. Not least because those firms felt that with the globalisation of legal services in full swing and the focus of clients shifting away from New York and towards markets like China and India, their attractiveness to US suitors had never been greater. ‘We want to be the number one global law firm and, without a strong US component, we won’t achieve that,’ said Linklaters’ then firm-wide managing partner Simon Davies. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s chief executive at the time, Ted Burke, echoed the point: ‘We’ve never seen so much interest in us from New York firms.’ Continue reading “Global 100 ten-year view: Bad timing”

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Global 100 Asia Focus: Long-term greedy

Asia skyline with dragon

The clichéd view of the Asia legal market is that it is a very difficult place for international firms to make money. Recent economic underperformance in China has not helped, although the flurry of office openings, hires and deals in the region over the last 12 months would suggest otherwise. Local alliances are the current vogue in China, with the likes of Linklaters and Ashurst opting for these often-complex arrangements.

But while the Asia region is dominated by China, based on recent activity it would seem the so-called secondary markets, like Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia, could be lucrative areas of interest. As Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Greater China managing partner May Tai notes: ‘China remains the driver of growth and the story of our careers. However, activity in South-East Asia is just as busy, from the developed markets of Singapore and Malaysia to rapidly emerging markets, such as Laos and Cambodia.’ Continue reading “Global 100 Asia Focus: Long-term greedy”

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The New GC Toolkit: Hired help – bringing new skills to legal teams

staff running a business

‘A good general counsel (GC) should do three things,’ says National Grid’s Alison Kay: ‘Manage the legal requirements of the business, manage their people and manage their budget.’ But as managing the legal requirements of a large business becomes more time consuming, GCs are increasingly finding it difficult to pay adequate attention to costs and staff.

‘In-house is fighting constantly for staffing and budget against compliance, enterprise risk and other areas, and teams are stretched thin just responding to demand,’ says Leigh Dance, founder and president of ELD International. ‘The GC’s time is taken by dealing with board-level issues and often there is no second tier of in-house professionals with the time or experience to implement new technology or make the case for legal operations support.’ Continue reading “The New GC Toolkit: Hired help – bringing new skills to legal teams”

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The New GC Toolkit: The innovation illusion

Stéphanie Hamon

‘There’s a palpable sense of innovation in the legal industry,’ says Casey Flaherty, founder of legal technology consultancy Procertas. ‘But then,’ he adds, ‘there always has been.’

While heads of innovation are now an established part of the law firm landscape – among the better-known names in this rapidly expanding sub-profession of business development are Derek Southall of Gowling WLG, Bas Boris Visser of Clifford Chance, Kathryn DeBord of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Knut-Magnar Aanestad of Norwegian firm Kluge – their impact on the practice of law is more muted. Continue reading “The New GC Toolkit: The innovation illusion”

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The New GC Toolkit: The discerning customer – smarter procurement

Bill Deckelman

 

In-house teams are using new techniques and recruiting specialists to take a more sophisticated approach to procuring legal services

In April last year, US-based tech services provider DXC Technology was formed following the merger of The Hewlett-Packard Company’s enterprise division with Computer Sciences Corporation. It was the ideal opportunity for general counsel (GC) Bill Deckelman (pictured) to sit down with senior management and establish what the legal function should look like. Continue reading “The New GC Toolkit: The discerning customer – smarter procurement”

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The New GC Toolkit: Journey into the unknown – upgrading operations and tech

Tunnel diver

For general counsel (GCs) struggling to manage the administrative and regulatory burdens of the role, a head of operations has become the must-have accessory. In the US, the growth of legal ops is demonstrated by statistics. A recent Association of Corporate Counsel survey suggests that nearly half of all GCs in the US have appointed a legal ops professional to drive transformation, while the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) is targeting a membership of 50% of the Fortune 500 by mid-2019. Our global survey shows these numbers are less representative of trends outside the US, but only slightly. Just under a third (30%) of GCs globally currently have a head of legal operations, while a further 13% are looking to recruit one in the near future.

Aine Lyons was one of the first to take on a truly global legal ops role when, in 2010, she became head of worldwide legal operations at cloud infrastructure provider VMware. She continues to act as VMware’s global head of legal ops in addition to serving as chief of staff to GC Amy Fliegelman Olli. In November 2015 she became part of CLOC’s global leadership team and now leads its European chapter. Continue reading “The New GC Toolkit: Journey into the unknown – upgrading operations and tech”

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A new Global 100 elite emerges as the old ones decline

In the summer of 2017 the world’s top law firms were looking at their next financial year with scant optimism given a turbulent geopolitical backdrop and uncertain economic headwinds. As it turned out, driven by a robust global economy, bullish investors and a re-born enthusiasm for cross-border transactions, the 2017/18 season proved kinder than forecast, equating to one of the stronger years seen by the Global 100 since the banking crisis recast the industry.

Assisted by consolidation, the 100 drove their collective top line up $6bn to reach $104.4bn. US-centric firms heavy on marquee transactions and private capital made the best showing – it was a relatively subdued 12 months in the vast US disputes market, hitting firms overly exposed to it. Continue reading “A new Global 100 elite emerges as the old ones decline”

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The City’s big four report steady growth in a boom deal year as CC leads Magic Circle

After last year’s double-digit revenue growth for three of the big four Magic Circle firms, 2017/18 financials for the same group have failed to make as much of a splash this time around.

But while failing to match last year’s 11% uptick in revenue and profit per equity partner, Clifford Chance (CC) nevertheless leads the pack this year, in more ways than one. Continue reading “The City’s big four report steady growth in a boom deal year as CC leads Magic Circle”

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Debevoise next up as Tchenguiz drops Stephenson Harwood after €2bn claim fails

Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz has replaced longstanding legal adviser Stephenson Harwood with Debevoise & Plimpton after his €2bn claim against an Abu Dhabi investment company was thrown out.

A Debevoise team, led by disputes partner Kevin Lloyd, took over future Tchenguiz mandates, including a key Commercial Court case later this year. Tchenguiz had only drafted in Stephenson Harwood in 2014 to replace Shearman & Sterling in his later-settled case against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Continue reading “Debevoise next up as Tchenguiz drops Stephenson Harwood after €2bn claim fails”

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

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Shearman wins McKimm from Freshfields as Penn returns to A&O from Cleary

Shearman & Sterling

Two standout moves in June and July saw the Magic Circle and the Wall Street elite each lose and gain one in partner reversions in London.

Ward McKimm, one of thestra most upwardly mobile partners the City has seen, made good on a long-rumoured defection to Shearman & Sterling’s capital markets practice, having previously worked there for some 14 years, becoming partner in 2005 and co-head of its corporate group in 2010. Continue reading “Shearman wins McKimm from Freshfields as Penn returns to A&O from Cleary”

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Moves of the month

  • White & Case boosted its City recruitment drive and funds credentials with London partner Shane McDonald joining its global banking practice, the firm’s sixth London lateral this year alone. McDonald’s previous role of senior vice president at fund manager Hudson Advisors allowed him to forge valuable links with private equity firm Lone Star Funds. He has experience of the financing of a large number of investments, including the acquisitions of non-performing loan portfolios and private equity portfolio companies. Dual-qualified to practise in England and Australia, he was previously an associate at Ropes & Gray and, before that, at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Continue reading “Moves of the month”

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City’s mid-weight elite set blistering pace as Travers and Macfarlanes surge in 2017/18

Michael Chissick

Marco Cillario assesses the results amid another strong year for the City’s mid-tier

The latest financial results by UK law firms show leading mid-market players once again harnessing robust commercial activity to post a series of startling results well ahead of larger rivals. Continue reading “City’s mid-weight elite set blistering pace as Travers and Macfarlanes surge in 2017/18”