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LLP accounts: Executive belts tightened at Eversheds Sutherland International as profit lifts 5%

 With the tie-up between Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan almost a year old, the latest accounts for the non-US business reveal its c-suite took a £1.7m pay cut for the 2016/17 financial year, as the limited liability partnership (LLP) filing also reveals average remuneration per member rebounded slightly from the previous year’s drop. Meanwhile, staff costs for the legacy Eversheds business have continued to increase with double-digit percentage growth.

The firm’s key management team saw remuneration fall 22% to £6m in the 2016/17 financial year, according to the latest Eversheds Sutherland International accounts. The share of profit and salaries awarded to its chief executive, managing partner and members of the executive committee was £7.7m the previous financial year. Continue reading “LLP accounts: Executive belts tightened at Eversheds Sutherland International as profit lifts 5%”

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No politics, please – Macfarlanes names new head two years before high profile chief stands down

For most law firms, nailing down your c-suite successor two years in advance may look excessive, but when your leader is a veteran who could give Nigel Knowles a run for his money in industry prominence, it may be a wise move.

Such appears to be the logic at mid-tier thoroughbred Macfarlanes, which has confirmed today (8 January), that its print-friendly senior partner Charles Martin (pictured) will be succeeded in April 2020 when his latest term ends by private client partner Sebastian Prichard Jones. Continue reading “No politics, please – Macfarlanes names new head two years before high profile chief stands down”

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He took the high road: Brodies ushers in next generation as veteran leader Drummond steps down

Hyperbole and cliché over the end of an era can be justifiably deployed this morning (5 January) with news that Brodies’ figurehead Bill Drummond is to step down in April after 20 years as managing partner of the Scottish firm he joined as a trainee in 1980.

Drummond (pictured) will make way for current real estate head Nick Scott, representing a handover to a younger generation of leadership after a hugely successful run that has seen Brodies emerge as the most successful independent Scottish firm. After driving some phenomenal financial growth as managing partner, Drummond’s immediate plans include taking a break and spending time with family. Continue reading “He took the high road: Brodies ushers in next generation as veteran leader Drummond steps down”

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Letter from Paris: After the malaise, local counsel rediscover la joie de vivre

Paris

It was one of the defining moments of the year: on 7 May president-elect Emmanuel Macron strode towards the stage outside the Louvre to give his victory speech to Ode to Joy. Much has been written on what that moment meant for France as a more confident, globally-minded country. The triumph of a 39-year-old ex-banker who marked his success with the EU’s German-born anthem rather than La Marseillaise has done much to raise hopes in the French business community.

Rising confidence is obviously welcome for the profession with the French legal market remaining one of Europe’s key hunting grounds and – unlike Germany’s increasingly-price-sensitive sector – one that comfortably sustains Global 100-level profitability. Continue reading “Letter from Paris: After the malaise, local counsel rediscover la joie de vivre”

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Ex-Slaughters corporate veteran Randell appointed chair of FCA

Charles Randell

After an eminent career in later years dominated by picking up the pieces of the post-Lehman world, former Slaughter and May corporate veteran Charles Randell has been appointed chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Randell, who is currently an external member of the Prudential Regulation Committee of the Bank of England, will take up the role on 1 April for a five-year term, overseeing the City’s primary regulatory agency. He replaces outgoing chair John Griffith-Jones, a veteran accountant best known for running KPMG’s UK business. The role, which is contracted for three days a week, is one of the most prominent positions in public life to have been handed to a former City lawyer. Continue reading “Ex-Slaughters corporate veteran Randell appointed chair of FCA”

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A&O awash with cash as £48m forex boost offsets soaring staff costs

Allen & Overy

With Allen & Overy (A&O) comfortably leading its peer group in the 2016/17 reporting season, the release of its full accounts was always going to look rosy. As it is, the City giant’s limited liability partnership (LLP) filing demonstrates just how good business has been for its c-suite, partners, staff and the tax man with forex movements further supporting robust underlying growth.

Key beneficiaries include A&O’s management team, which saw a collective remuneration hike of 16% to £15.8m, according to its LLP filings. The Magic Circle law firm’s senior partner, managing partner, global practice heads and support directors’ combined earnings for 2016/17 compare with £13.6m for the previous financial year. Continue reading “A&O awash with cash as £48m forex boost offsets soaring staff costs”

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A flying start – Eversheds Sutherland nears first anniversary with trio of corporate deals

As the transatlantic Eversheds Sutherland tie-up approaches a year since going live, the firm has enjoyed a robust start to 2018 with some meaty corporate instructions and has incorporated its Dutch arm into its international LLP.

Leading off the end-of-year deal book was Shell’s December move into the UK residential energy market with its agreement to buy energy and broadband provider First Utility, which serves about 800,000 homes in the UK. Continue reading “A flying start – Eversheds Sutherland nears first anniversary with trio of corporate deals”

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Partner promotions: Hogan Lovells makes up five in London amid 31-strong drive

hogan lovells office

Hogan Lovells has made up five partners in London as part of a New Year promotions round that ushered in 31 new partners globally.

The London promotions include Alex Harrison, finance partner in Infrastructure, energy, resources and projects and corporate partner Jeremy Pickles in the firm’s investment funds team. Continue reading “Partner promotions: Hogan Lovells makes up five in London amid 31-strong drive”

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Rich rewards on offer – Fieldfisher accounts show top earnings soar over £2m as profits surge

Matthew Lohn and Michael Chissick

It has become established in recent years as one of the most potent performers in the UK top 50 but recent accounts illustrate just how much that means for a select few partners at Fieldfisher. Most strikingly, on the back of a year of substantial financial and geographic growth, Fieldfisher’s top-earning partner took home over £2m for the period, a 70% increase on the previous figure.

According to the filings with Companies House, Fieldfisher’s highest-paid partner earned £2.03m for the 2016/17 financial year, a £837,000 increase on the previous year’s tally of £1.19m. Continue reading “Rich rewards on offer – Fieldfisher accounts show top earnings soar over £2m as profits surge”

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LLP accounts: Clifford Chance leadership team pockets £16m following strong year

The 13-strong executive leadership team at Clifford Chance (CC) took home £16m for the 2016/17 financial year, according to its latest LLP accounts filed with Companies House.

While the combined remuneration package is up 7% on the previous year, it represents only a slight per head increase on last year’s figure, where the 12-person executive received £15m. The firm’s 2014/15 accounts showed that leadership took home £14m, meaning the figure has increased in £1m increments for the past two years. Continue reading “LLP accounts: Clifford Chance leadership team pockets £16m following strong year”

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‘Totally out of the blue’: Slaughters’ von Bismarck awarded New Year OBE

Slaughter and May corporate luminary Nilufer von Bismarck has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list for services to financial services.

Von Bismarck (pictured), who is a corporate partner and head of the magic circle firm’s financial institutions group and equity capital markets, told Legal Business that the gong came ‘totally out of the blue’. Continue reading “‘Totally out of the blue’: Slaughters’ von Bismarck awarded New Year OBE”

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Tough times, new entrants and mobile talent – A Legal Business year in review

pop art woman with the word Brexit reflected in her sunglasses lens

It’s been another eventful year on the front lines of the City and global legal profession marked by mergers, expensive transfers of big-name partners and sharply-dividing fortunes of individual law firms. Underpinning this are ominous structural shifts in the industry thanks to changing buying behaviour and technology. A consultant friend of mine asked last week if I thought the profession was being complacent because dramatic change has yet to happen. My view is that the problem is not that change has yet to be felt, it is that it is clearly happening already but many prestigious law firms remain in denial.

Anyway, to chart a turbulent 2017, we took a quick look back through our coverage this year to pick out a few pieces that highlighted the key issues impacting the profession. We have divided the list below into a section on some of our set-piece features for subscribers and a second set of recommendations of shorter comment pieces that we have also made available in open access form online. Continue reading “Tough times, new entrants and mobile talent – A Legal Business year in review”

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Deal watch: Linklaters and Simpson line up on £6bn KKR deal as Ashurst leads on £575m float

Capping off another busy year for European buyouts, Linklaters lined up opposite Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Dentons as Unilever agreed to sell its spreads business to private equity giant KKR for €6.8bn (£6bn).

Corporate partner Matthew Bland (pictured) led the Magic Circle law firm’s team for the consumer goods group, which announced on Friday (15 December) that it had received a binding offer to sell brands including Becel, Flora, Country Crock, Blue Band, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Rama and ProActiv. Linklaters partner John Crozier also worked on the deal. Continue reading “Deal watch: Linklaters and Simpson line up on £6bn KKR deal as Ashurst leads on £575m float”

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Buyout star David Higgins quits Freshfields for Kirkland in landmark $10m transfer

Despite a recent overhaul of its partnership to reward top performers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has lost private equity heavyweight David Higgins to Kirkland & Ellis in one of the most expensive lateral hires ever in the City.

Higgins is set to join the US law firm as London co-managing partner in a deal worth around $10m a year, in one of the most significant UK departures ever from an elite London law firm. He will sit alongside finance playmaker Stephen Lucas on Kirkland’s core executive committee as its second London-based member. Continue reading “Buyout star David Higgins quits Freshfields for Kirkland in landmark $10m transfer”

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‘Established where we need it’: Singapore tie-up sees Watson Farley & Williams round off standout year  

Watson Farley & Williams has capped off an impressive year of financial growth with international expansion, securing a formal law alliance (FLA) with Singaporean firm Wong Tan & Molly Lim (WTL).

The tie-up, which will be known as WFW & WTL, will allow WFW integrated marketing, billing, client and legal services thanks to the FLA. The FLA structure was introduced by the Singapore government to allow greater flexibility between local firms and their international colleagues. Continue reading “‘Established where we need it’: Singapore tie-up sees Watson Farley & Williams round off standout year  “

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Better Call Saul: Osborne Clarke re-elects veteran senior partner

andrew saul

Osborne Clarke (OC), one of only three firms in the current UK top 100 to have more than doubled its revenue organically since 2012, has seen Andrew Saul re-elected as senior partner for a second four-year term.

Saul (pictured), a corporate partner at the firm for more than 21 years and head of that team for seven years, was voted in unopposed to the position he first took on at the start of 2014. He will remain a member of OC’s international council with his re-election. Continue reading “Better Call Saul: Osborne Clarke re-elects veteran senior partner”

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Comment: Super growth or decline? Which firm are you?

data variation

Everyone knows the legal industry has been a different place since the banking crisis but it is only when you take the long view that you realise how dramatic these changes have been.

For this month’s cover feature, we looked at three mid-tier law firms that have sustained above-trend growth for ten years. To identify our trio we looked long term at the performance in the LB100, focused on organic growth. Our working assumption was that, while top firms dominated until the credit boom, in relative terms smaller practices excelled over the last ten years. It turned out we had underestimated just how wrenching that post-Lehman shift has been. Continue reading “Comment: Super growth or decline? Which firm are you?”

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Dentons re-elects Cohen as UKME chief as UK managing partner steps down

Dentons

Jeremy Cohen will lead Dentons’ UK and Middle East operations until 2021 after the partnership approved him for a second term following an election in which he stood unopposed.

Meanwhile, the firm also announced today (14 December) that UK managing partner Brandon Ransley has decided to step down from his role in April 2018 and retire from the partnership. Continue reading “Dentons re-elects Cohen as UKME chief as UK managing partner steps down”

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Mouse grabs a Fox: Global 100 firms take centre stage as Murdoch sells empire to Disney for $52.4bn

Star Wars film premiere 2017

A raft of transatlantic firms have won roles advising on The Walt Disney Company’s $52.4bn acquisition of 21st Century Fox, including Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Allen & Overy and Hogan Lovells.

The deal includes the Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television studios, as well as the company’s cable and international TV businesses, in addition to its 39% stake in satellite broadcaster Sky. Disney will also add 21st Century Fox’s entertainment properties such as X-Men, Avatar and The Simpsons to its portfolio. Continue reading “Mouse grabs a Fox: Global 100 firms take centre stage as Murdoch sells empire to Disney for $52.4bn”