Page 230 – Legal Business

28 June 2018

Linklaters and A&O join Magic Circle peers in associate salary race to attract US talent

Linklaters and Allen & Overy (A&O) have joined Magic Circle peers Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance to hike associate salaries in the US as competition to recruit top-flight lawyers heats up.

A&O said today (28 June) it would pay US associates a starting salary of $190,000 rising to $340,000 for associates in their eight year. The salary rises to $350,000 for lawyers in their ninth year and for senior associates. Continue reading “Linklaters and A&O join Magic Circle peers in associate salary race to attract US talent”

27 June 2018

Comment: BCLP offers a (slightly) better post-merger pitch than expected

It would take a generous observer of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) to claim the once sure-footed outfit had managed anything better than an indifferent run in the years preceding its union with Bryan Cave. Having dazzled through the 2000s – a period in which the firm seemed to have single-handedly revived the unfashionable notion of a City mid-tier – the last five years have been a stark contrast. Volatile financial performance, a disastrous run of partner recruitment and tension over its property-heavy direction – all in, it was unclear where the firm was going.

As such, confirmation earlier this year that BLP was uniting with a solid US operator, but one whose brand had limited potency in Europe, did not quicken the pulse. Continue reading “Comment: BCLP offers a (slightly) better post-merger pitch than expected”

27 June 2018

Three new appointments to Supreme Court but still no commercial judges

While the UK Supreme Court announced today (27 June) that Lady Justice Arden, Lord Justice Kitchin and Lord Justice Sales will be appointed later this year, a lack of commercial expertise at the nation’s highest appeal court has drawn criticism.

The trio’s elevation comes after former deputy president Lord Mance retired this month, with Lord Hughes and Lord Sumption set to retire in August and December respectively. Continue reading “Three new appointments to Supreme Court but still no commercial judges”

26 June 2018

Knights shareholders to get £20m windfall after float valued at over £100m

Staffordshire-based Knights is set to raise £50m from its initial public offering (IPO) on AIM this week (29 June), with the firm’s four selling shareholders to split £20m in proceeds.

The float – which would be the largest legal IPO to date – is also expected to give Knights a market capitalisation of £103.5m, in line with the firm’s forecast from earlier in the month. Continue reading “Knights shareholders to get £20m windfall after float valued at over £100m”

26 June 2018

Financials 2017/18: Ashurst posts 4% revenue uptick and second year of double-digit PEP growth

In what management has billed as ‘a strong performance globally’, Ashurst has reported a modest 4% uptick in revenue for 2017/18 while the firm sustained the 11% growth in profit per equity partner (PEP) achieved last year.

The firm’s revenue for the last financial year was £564m, up from £541m, while PEP stood at £743,000 compared with £672,000 in 2017. Continue reading “Financials 2017/18: Ashurst posts 4% revenue uptick and second year of double-digit PEP growth”

25 June 2018

Revolving Doors: Baker Botts takes Kirkland capital markets partner in Houston as Cooley adds tax partner and DLA makes litigation play in LA

City laterals stayed quiet last week continuing a recent hiatus while the US was the centre of attention internationally with DLA Piper, Baker Botts and Cooley all making hires across the Atlantic.

US laterals defined last week’s international recruitment round, with Baker Botts leading the way with a strategic hire from American powerhouse Kirkland & Ellis. Capital markets partner Justin Hoffman joined the firm in its Houston office, after spending two years as a partner at Kirkland. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Baker Botts takes Kirkland capital markets partner in Houston as Cooley adds tax partner and DLA makes litigation play in LA”

25 June 2018

Expansive Simmons shrugs off sluggish post-Lehman form to drive income up 12% to £354m

Simmons & Simmons has posted one of its strongest results since the banking crisis, with the City firm announcing a 12% hike in revenues to hit £354m. After a year of sustained recruitment and foreign expansion, the 280-partner firm also saw net profits surge 19% to £110m and profit per equity partner (PEP) up 8% to £686,000.

The headline 12% growth rate comes after a 7% increase for 2016/17 and looks set to be one of the most robust showings in its weight class this year even against the backdrop of active markets. In common with many large City firms over the last decade, Simmons has struggled to sustain strong growth. Continue reading “Expansive Simmons shrugs off sluggish post-Lehman form to drive income up 12% to £354m”

24 June 2018

‘Continued growth an excellent result’: year of investment brings slowdown for Pinsents

Pinsent Masons has recorded slower revenue growth for the 2017/18 financial year, with turnover increasing by 6% to £449.8m compared to the 11% growth the firm recorded last year.

Profit per equity partner (PEP) increased by 4% to £653,000, a significant slowdown from the 14% growth registered last year, however the increase comes despite the addition of six equity partners at the firm since July 2017. Continue reading “‘Continued growth an excellent result’: year of investment brings slowdown for Pinsents”

22 June 2018

Ashurst targets funds and Brexit business with Luxembourg launch

Ashurst is a step closer to building out its European funds offering having today (22 June) received licence approval for a new Luxembourg office from the country’s Bar association.

Corporate partner Isabelle Lentz – currently head of the firm’s Luxembourg desk in London -will take the helm at the new outpost, which is set to open in October. Continue reading “Ashurst targets funds and Brexit business with Luxembourg launch”

21 June 2018

Comment: The good things the ‘pundits’ never tell you about the legal profession

This may be an issue dominated by all things Millennial, but I am past that, so the column that follows is likely the result of age-induced cynicism. But even by the standards of the legal industry, I find myself increasingly weary of what passes for industry commentary these days.

If an alien beamed down to earth and judged the profession through the lens of what the consultancy and the ‘thought leadership’ industries said about it, what would be the lessons they would take? The law is staffed by incompetent managers. Lawyers are uninterested in technology. General counsel (GCs) are the sole drivers of innovation and progress in the profession. The Big Four accountants are tearing through law. The legal industry faces an imminent structural collapse. I could go on and the purveyors of this certainly do. Continue reading “Comment: The good things the ‘pundits’ never tell you about the legal profession”

20 June 201813 February 2025

Practice Area Spotlight: Competition and regulatory – leading experts and high-profile cases

Business transactions regularly require a careful analysis from a competition law point of view. We at Prager Dreifuss have excellent expertise in advising and representing companies – small and large, local and global – as well as public entities in all aspects of competition law. With profound knowledge of Swiss and EU competition law, we regularly advise clients before the Swiss competition authorities, and frequently collaborate with foreign law firms in multi-jurisdictional cartel and merger proceedings, be it as team members or co-ordinators of international teams. Public procurement and state aid law also belong to our preferred areas of practice. Continue reading “Practice Area Spotlight: Competition and regulatory – leading experts and high-profile cases”

20 June 201823 July 2024

Life during law: Richard Crump

Never wanted to be a lawyer. I was persuaded to read law at Oxford by my school. I wanted to do history. Hated law at university. Wasted my time. I was lectured by the great and good but didn’t find it interesting. The one interesting course was on international trade, which was given by a guy called Francis Reynolds. Also a guy that tutored me at college, Peter Gross, who later became a Lord Justice of Appeal, they kindled that interest for me.

When I joined Holman Fenwick & Willan, as it was then known, my intention was to get my two years’ articles and do something else. Continue reading “Life during law: Richard Crump”

20 June 2018

Green investment – The colour of money

Pressure for business to ‘go green’ has been building steadily for 20 years. What started as a minority concern has steadily moved up the corporate agenda, as governments impose incentives and penalties to support green policies, while an increasingly informed consumer base votes with their wallets.

Yet one sector slow to rise to the challenge has been finance and financial services, for which the ordinary barriers to green thinking are more pronounced. Continue reading “Green investment – The colour of money”

20 June 201823 July 2024

Eyes on ‘the prize’ – BCLP’s leaders on going all-in for transatlantic union

LB: What was the background to the merger talks?

Therese Pritchard (TP): I started it. It’s my fault. In February of 2017, I was interested in strategic growth. So looking for a firm that had the same culture and practice areas that are successful or where they were interested in growing. I did some reading. I saw enough that looked interesting that it was worth a call to Lisa. One chat led to another and eventually we invited more partners to the discussions and decided this looked like a great fit. Continue reading “Eyes on ‘the prize’ – BCLP’s leaders on going all-in for transatlantic union”

20 June 2018

Client profile: Richard Price, Anglo American

Shortly before Richard Price went in-house as group general counsel (GC) and company secretary at Anglo American, the legal team’s headcount was cut in half. This was not coupled with a reduced workload, however. Expectations remained the same.

Quite a platform for Price, a former external adviser to the company as Shearman & Sterling’s co-head of mining and metals, to find his feet in-house after more than 20 years in private practice. Continue reading “Client profile: Richard Price, Anglo American”

20 June 201823 July 2024

Sole-adviser relationships: Commitment issues

Commitment. Marriage. Honeymoon. Divorce. Conversations about single-supplier legal advisory mandates are rife with relationship-strewn analogies.

While no two arrangements are the same, most begin with a commitment from a company and its in-house legal team to reduce external legal spend and get a better handle on its multitude of legal connections. Continue reading “Sole-adviser relationships: Commitment issues”

20 June 201823 July 2024

The risk debate: Silver linings playbook

The decade since the fall of Lehman has seen some dramatic changes to the profession, not least law firms’ risk teams. Ten years since Legal Business first collaborated with broker Marsh to create our annual risk management and professional indemnity survey, progress has been made but the threats to the key players within the industry have become more ominous.

We gathered together leading risk experts from some of the UK and international firms most affected by increased regulatory scrutiny, geographical cohesion, data security and PR disasters to reflect on the evolution of law firm risk management and look ahead to see how the landscape could develop over the next ten years. Continue reading “The risk debate: Silver linings playbook”

20 June 201823 July 2024

The Euro Elite: Italy – And yet it moves

Looking out of the window of his office overlooking the picturesque Piazza del Duomo on a rainy April afternoon, one veteran Milan partner is feeling sentimental: ‘I remember the firms that used to dominate the market back when I started – Graziadei, Carnelutti, Pavia Ansaldo. No-one hears of them anymore.’ What on the surface seems nostalgic reflection poses a pressing question for Italy’s current legal elite: what will become of today’s top independents in the near future?

‘It is as if the market gets tired of dominating firms every ten years or so and replaces them with others,’ agrees a partner in another office in the northern Italian city. Continue reading “The Euro Elite: Italy – And yet it moves”

20 June 2018

Refreshing revamps: EDF and Co-op Group look to new firms in panel reviews

One of the UK’s big six energy suppliers, EDF Energy, has nearly halved its external advisers in a bid to plug into ‘deeper’ relationships, while the addition of two new firms mirrors the refreshment seen elsewhere in the Co-operative Group’s revamped legal panel.

In late April, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) were added to EDF’s new panel of eight firms, which has been cut from the previous 14. Continue reading “Refreshing revamps: EDF and Co-op Group look to new firms in panel reviews”