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The Path to Partnership: A Special Report
Client Intelligence Report: Data View – Euro Elite Focus
The European region of the Client Intelligence Report received feedback from just over 2,500 in-house lawyers and legal spend decision makers.
The following section offers a short overview of how clients ranked law firms in their region. Respondents were asked to score a list of key performance indicators (KPIs) on a scale of one to ten according to their perception of the law firm’s service in the last 12 months. Each client scored their chosen firms on 13 core KPIs covering client relationship skills, technical legal ability and efficiency in project management. The ranking of firms was vetted for seniority of respondent so that we are able to provide true representation of the firm’s performance in the region. Continue reading “Client Intelligence Report: Data View – Euro Elite Focus”
Who Represents Who: Snapshot of best performers’ clients in The Euro Elite
We take a further delve into some of the best performers in Legal Business’ Euro Elite table, looking at the FTSE100 clients of four firms from Benelux, France, Italy, and Central and Eastern Europe. Continue reading “Who Represents Who: Snapshot of best performers’ clients in The Euro Elite”
Hogan Lovells cuts 54 City jobs as law firms keep slashing London biz service roles
Hogan Lovells is to cut 54 business support jobs from its City arm as the firm moves to expand its low-cost hubs around the world.
The Anglo-American law firm announced today (20 June) that most of the roles have been moved to its low cost centres in Johannesburg and Louisville, and a new business support team established in Birmingham. Continue reading “Hogan Lovells cuts 54 City jobs as law firms keep slashing London biz service roles”
A&O lures FinReg head Penn back from Cleary as White & Case makes City funds play with partner hire
In a surprise move, Allen & Overy (A&O) has taken back its erstwhile financial services regulation head Bob Penn from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton after only two years away, while White & Case eyes the lucrative funds market with the addition of a new partner to its global banking practice in London.
Penn’s departure in April 2016 from A&O after 17 years to Cleary was a rare high-profile exit for the Magic Circle firm and a rarer-still acquisition for Wall Street-bred Cleary. Continue reading “A&O lures FinReg head Penn back from Cleary as White & Case makes City funds play with partner hire”
Deal watch: Magic Circle trio banks on Virgin Money sale as €7.1bn Adyen IPO and £1.8bn Equitable Life disposal keep raft of advisers busy
Magic Circle heavyweights Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC) have scored key roles on the £1.7bn sale of Virgin Money while the €7.1bn Adyen initial public offering (IPO) and £1.8bn Equitable Life disposal drummed up business for numerous City and US advisers.
CYBG, the owner of Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, said yesterday (18 June) it had struck a deal to buy London Stock Exchange-listed Virgin Money in a £1.7bn acquisition that will create the UK’s sixth-largest bank. Continue reading “Deal watch: Magic Circle trio banks on Virgin Money sale as €7.1bn Adyen IPO and £1.8bn Equitable Life disposal keep raft of advisers busy”
Slaughters confirms highly-symbolic legal tech incubator launch as another start-up secures $13m investment
The burgeoning legal technology scene has seen Slaughter and May confirm it will launch a legal technology incubator in the next year, while highly-rated start-up Tessian raises £9m.
In a highly symbolic move for the industry, Magic Circle firm Slaughters has confirmed the launch of a law tech programme it flagged earlier this year, to sit alongside its existing Fast Forward fintech incubator. Continue reading “Slaughters confirms highly-symbolic legal tech incubator launch as another start-up secures $13m investment”
White & Case sets ambitious Chicago growth plans after opening office with corporate and white collar hires
White & Case is continuing its dynamic growth drive apace as the US vanguard opens an office in Chicago to be spearheaded by Jason Zakia, the head of its disputes practice in the Americas.
The firm has nailed its colours to the mast with a pair of laterals in corporate and white collar, in the form of Gary Silverman and Carolyn Gurland, but plans to expand to more than 100 lawyers in short time. Continue reading “White & Case sets ambitious Chicago growth plans after opening office with corporate and white collar hires”
Revolving Doors: City laterals flat as DLA and Shoosmiths hire in the regions while CMS and CC go global
Regional and international hires dominated lateral recruitment in the last week as City hiring stalled, with DLA Piper bringing on a corporate partner in Manchester and national firm Shoosmiths adding to its Birmingham bench.
Meanwhile, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang and Clifford Chance (CC) both made international hires. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: City laterals flat as DLA and Shoosmiths hire in the regions while CMS and CC go global”
Taylor Wessing’s UK PEP shoots up 20% as global revenue exceeds the £300m mark
In another early sign of a good 2017/18 for UK firms, Taylor Wessing has followed up on a disappointing performance last year with a solid 12% revenue growth to £144.6m for its UK business.
In what UK managing partner Tim Eyles (pictured) described as the firm’s ‘best year yet’, UK profits per equity partner (PEP) rebounded to grow 20% and hit £579,000 after last year’s 6% drop to £481,000. Continue reading “Taylor Wessing’s UK PEP shoots up 20% as global revenue exceeds the £300m mark”
Associate pay: Freshfields joins salary race as global firms jostle for talent in US
More details are emerging on associate pay at Magic Circle firms as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has joined the list of firms to announce increased salaries for US associates, as competition to recruit top lawyers intensifies.
The move by Freshfields will see the firm match the rates set by Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, which set the standard for raising the starting salary for new lawyers two weeks ago, with Freshfield’s US associates now starting on $190,000 and rising to $330,000 in their eighth year. Continue reading “Associate pay: Freshfields joins salary race as global firms jostle for talent in US”
Thrusting DWF primed for largest law firm listing yet but eyebrows raised at touted price
Thrusting national operator DWF is gearing up to be the largest UK firm float yet with a London Stock Exchange listing later this year. The top 25 UK law firm initially went into standard non-denial mode today (15 June) over reports it is aiming to float later this year with a supposed price tag of £1bn.
The presence of City PR shop Finsbury, which was today distributing ‘background briefing points’, signalled that DWF was being positioned for an offering. Within an hour the firm anyway changed its public position to issue a statement (see below).
CMS cites ‘19%’ UK profitability hike as turnover tops £500m in first post-merger results
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang has released a selection of financial highlights for the year following its three-way merger but disappointingly kept some key metrics under wrap.
The firm revealed today (14 June) that the 25 offices in its UK LLP turned over £518m in the year to April 2018, £29m up on the consolidated results of the three legacy firms Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang, which merged in May last year. Continue reading “CMS cites ‘19%’ UK profitability hike as turnover tops £500m in first post-merger results”
Employment partners rue ‘conservative’ Supreme Court judgment in highly-anticipated gig economy case
A Supreme Court decision which was expected to have significant ramifications for the ‘gig economy’ has disappointed employment partners who hoped the ruling would move questions around workers’ rights further forward.
The Supreme Court today (13 June) unanimously ruled in favour of heating engineer Gary Smith in his claim against Pimlico Plumbers, establishing that he was a ‘worker’ and not self-employed. This meant he was entitled to certain employment rights such as holiday pay, although not wider rights given to full-time staff. Continue reading “Employment partners rue ‘conservative’ Supreme Court judgment in highly-anticipated gig economy case”
Linklaters legal AI partner ropes in market-leading £13m investment
An artificial intelligence (AI) company boasting Linklaters as one of its key clients is targeting the world’s biggest firms after securing £13m in one of the legal tech sector’s biggest investments.
Heavyweight investors Goldman Sachs and Temasek, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, co-led on the investment in Eigen Technologies, announced Monday (11 June). The round outstrips the $10m raised late last year by fellow AI player, legal tech darling and Slaughter and May investment, Luminance. It also builds on seed funding it received from CVC Capital Partners managing partner Jonathan Feuer. Continue reading “Linklaters legal AI partner ropes in market-leading £13m investment”
Deal watch: Westfield GC exits for something ‘very different’ as takeover completes while DLA lands Poundworld administration role
Retail’s high street struggles are keeping advisers in the sector busy, as multiple firms took roles on the £18.5bn takeover of Westfield Corporation and DLA Piper took the lead on the administration of discount retailer Poundworld.
A host of firms across the globe advised as French property company, Unibail-Rodamco, completed its acquisition of shopping centre operator Westfield last week, in a deal first announced late last year. The combined $72bn entity owns and operates 102 shopping centres in 13 countries, the majority of which are in Europe and the US. Continue reading “Deal watch: Westfield GC exits for something ‘very different’ as takeover completes while DLA lands Poundworld administration role”
Another record year for Fieldfisher as ‘more international’ firm breaks £200m barrier
Fieldfisher’s leader believes the firm has a ‘very happy partnership’ after cementing its position as the mid-market pace setter with a 24% increase in revenue this year.
The firm turned over £207m globally, largely as a result of organic growth in a 2017/18 financial year less defined by international expansion than previous periods. Profits per equity partner (PEP) also grew by a healthy 17% to £750,000. Continue reading “Another record year for Fieldfisher as ‘more international’ firm breaks £200m barrier”
Deal watch: Slaughters tunes into Sky bidding war as Links and Ashurst waste no opportunity on Cory Riverside disposal
Slaughter and May has been drafted in by the Walt Disney Company on its Sky News bid while Linklaters and Ashurst took the lead as infrastructure investors scoop UK waste management business Cory Riverside Energy.
The latest twist in the multi-billion pound takeover of Sky has seen a team led by Slaughters corporate partner Richard Smith advising Disney on a bid for Sky News. This after a UK government decision last week (5 June) that Rupert Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox could pursue its £18.5bn bid for the 61% of Sky it did not already own on the condition it sells Sky News. Continue reading “Deal watch: Slaughters tunes into Sky bidding war as Links and Ashurst waste no opportunity on Cory Riverside disposal”
Revolving Doors: Paul Hastings lands Bakers FinReg veteran as Reed Smith hires City IP expert and Mayer Brown appoints Fried Frank’s UK finance head
In what has otherwise been a relatively subdued week for City laterals, Paul Hastings, Reed Smith and Mayer Brown have bolstered their London partner ranks with financial regulatory, intellectual property (IP) and finance hires respectively.
Paul Hastings continued its recruitment spree with the hire, announced today (11 June), of partner Arun Srivastava from Baker McKenzie, where he spent more than 22 years and headed its financial services regulatory group. He has also spent a year with the Financial Services Authority on secondment between 1999 and 2000. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Paul Hastings lands Bakers FinReg veteran as Reed Smith hires City IP expert and Mayer Brown appoints Fried Frank’s UK finance head”
Comment: 16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner
Recently a surprisingly popular column in Legal Business took a jaded view of the state of leadership in major law firms. The nub of our argument was that the law firm c-suite had descended into technocratic managerialism over genuine leadership, leaving once bold institutions to put off crucial decisions.
That piece drew on years of hanging around with managing and senior partners, which at times means feeling more like a leadership therapist/their mother than a reporter. But in the spirit of lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness, here are my tips to successful law firm leadership. And ignore the flip tone because I mean it all. Continue reading “Comment: 16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner”