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‘Collateral damage’: Profession gets a stark wake-up call on tech security in wake of crippling DLA cyber assault

Kathryn McCann assesses the impact of the cyber attack on DLA and the wider legal market

For years, the possibility of a major cyber attack on a leading law firm has been discussed. Inevitably, it finally materialised. On 27 June DLA Piper was crippled for days after the global giant’s systems were hit by what the firm terms a ‘particularly sophisticated strain of malware’. (In cyber jargon, malware is malicious software designed to disrupt, damage or gain access to computer systems.) Continue reading “‘Collateral damage’: Profession gets a stark wake-up call on tech security in wake of crippling DLA cyber assault”

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Client Intelligence Report: Data view

client intelligence report logo

Q: For a routine instruction, how important are the following criteria when selecting a firm?

(1 = not at all important, 5 = expected, 10 = essential)

Analysis of the responses to this question from clients in the UK and US exposes marked differences between client priorities in the two jurisdictions. Scores are illustrated proportionally on the graphs below and to the right. Continue reading “Client Intelligence Report: Data view”

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Ashurst pulls the plug on ill-fated 2009 move into US finance law with NY restructuring

Five New York-based partners left Ashurst in July for US finance firm Chapman and Cutler, with a sixth partner departing for Allen & Overy (A&O) last month.

Partners Patrick Quill, David Nirenberg, Steven Kopp, Doug Bird and Tom Glushko all left Ashurst, completing the full departure of the ten-partner team the firm hired from McKee Nelson in 2009 to launch a structured finance practice.

Continue reading “Ashurst pulls the plug on ill-fated 2009 move into US finance law with NY restructuring”

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Expansive Pinsents ships in four Norton Rose Fulbright partners for third Oz office launch

Perth Nightime CityScape

Pinsent Masons is continuing its sustained international expansion drive with a new Australian arm in Perth and the hire of four infrastructure and energy partners from Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF).

The UK law firm’s new Perth branch, to open in the autumn, will be its third Australian office after Sydney and Melbourne and its fifth international launch in the last 18 months.

Continue reading “Expansive Pinsents ships in four Norton Rose Fulbright partners for third Oz office launch”

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Eversheds opens fourth German office in Düsseldorf

Eversheds Sutherland expanded in Germany in August, opening its fourth office in the country after acquiring Düsseldorf-based firm Grooterhorst & Partner.

The new office, which is focused on real estate and insurance, opened with three partners: Johannes Grooterhorst, Marc Christian Schwencke and Ralf-Thomas Wittmann. The trio were joined by a team of 11 lawyers.

Continue reading “Eversheds opens fourth German office in Düsseldorf”

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Legal Business 100: Case study – Allen & Overy

Andrew Ballheimer

While Clifford Chance and Linklaters both recorded impressive increases in revenue and profit per equity partner (PEP) in 2016/17, Allen & Overy (A&O) blew its closest rivals away with a 25% rise in PEP, which jumped from £1.21m to £1.51m, while revenue saw a 16% increase to £1.52bn from £1.31bn. On a constant currency basis, A&O saw a 6% increase in its revenues and a 14% rise in PEP.

A&O is now the second-largest Magic Circle firm in revenue terms, overtaking Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in the Legal Business 100.

Speaking to Legal Business, managing partner Andrew Ballheimer says its offices in the UK, Africa, Middle East, Australia, the US and Hong Kong had been significant successes for the firm this year with a strong performance across litigation, arbitration, capital markets, banking, leveraged finance, M&A, restructuring regulatory and project finance.

Making a splash in automation, Ballheimer adds the firm’s derivatives-focused product, MarginMatrix, has performed particularly well after A&O teamed up with Deloitte in the first joint venture between a Magic Circle firm and a Big Four accountant.

We are proud of the results, given the volatile backdrop. Our real growth appears higher than the legal market and that’s pleasing.
Andrew Ballheimer, Allen & Overy

In terms of talent investment, the firm made several lockstep-breaking hires in the US, bringing on a five-lawyer finance team led by leveraged finance partner Scott Zemser from White & Case, and a three-partner Paul Hastings team led by the US firm’s leveraged finance head Bill Schwitter.

A&O also made a substantial investment in IP, picking up three partners from Simmons & Simmons this year, including its former IP head Marc Döring following the hire of former colleague Marjan Noor, who moved to the firm in June last year.

There were, however, some high-profile losses, with Latham & Watkins picking up heavyweight banking lawyer Stephen Kensell and M&A partner Edward Barnett, while Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy also took on a three-partner team in New York, including the firm’s US senior partner, Kevin O’Shea.

LB: How do you view your performance?

Andrew Ballheimer: We are proud of the results, given the volatile backdrop, especially Brexit, the election of President Trump and stock market uncertainty. Our real growth appears higher than the legal market and that’s pleasing.

LB: Have you had any big pay days to bring revenues up?

Ballheimer: Nothing material. All of our practice areas and offices have done well in a challenging market. It’s a combination of our investments over the years, our geographies and our product base. Our footprint is now broader than our peer group.

LB: Headcount has stayed the same. Were there any partnership changes that would explain a 25% increase in PEP?

Ballheimer: If your question is asking whether we have played around with our denominators, the answer is absolutely not. It’s exactly how it’s always been; it’s full equity partners as a divisor of our profit and in the financial year we’ve achieved a significant growth of profit before tax with a small increase in the average number of full equity partners.

LB: You’ve had a number of impressive hires over the last year, how has that contributed to the firm’s success?

Ballheimer: The Americas has grown, our IP team has hit the ground running and we’ve made some other hires. We have made 31 lateral hires net and that has helped. It’s a constantly evolving business offering, adding on high-quality people with a cultural fit and we will continue to do that.

LB: What is the firm going to do over the next 12 months?

Ballheimer: We have to stay close to our clients and deliver at the highest standard in terms of what our clients require. The period ahead is going to be equally as uncertain, but our business is broad based, well hedged, and ultimately it’s about the quality of our offering and our client proposition. You have to evolve all the time because the demands are changing. It’s challenging, but if we continue doing all the things that we’re doing across all fronts, at least our business is in the best position that it can be in an uncertain world.

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Legal Business 100: Case study – Eversheds Sutherland

2017 has been a good year for Eversheds, which made significant strides internationally – first through its tie-up with US firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in February and then in gaining Singapore Ministry of Law approval and merging with local firm Harry Elias Partnership in June.

In a year of significant international change, the firm also posted its best growth in revenue terms for some time although profit per equity partner (PEP) dipped slightly. Turnover was up 8% to £438.6m for 2016/17, just eclipsing the 7% growth achieved on the top line in 2015/16. PEP now stands at £725,000, down £17,000 or 2% from the previous financial year but is up 16% from the £642,000 posted in 2011/12. Overall, Eversheds’ top line has grown 20% in the last five years, from £366m. Continue reading “Legal Business 100: Case study – Eversheds Sutherland”

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Legal Business 100: Case study – Fieldfisher

michael chissick

Another of 2016/17’s standout performers, Fieldfisher had an impressive year underpinned by considerable geographic expansion. The firm recorded a 34% increase in turnover for the last financial year, rising from £121.5m to £165m against a 10% increase in lawyer headcount, to strengthen its position in the upper mid-market.

The firm’s profit per equity partner has also grown significantly, rising 16% from £551,000 to £639,000, while profit per lawyer increased 19% from £78,000 to £93,000.

It is clear that Fieldfisher’s rainmakers have benefited from the firm’s financial success, with the top-of-equity figure shooting up 72% from £1.16m to £2m. Bottom-of-equity figures suggest a much wider gap in partner earnings now, with the amount falling 31% from £333,000 to £230,000.

On a five-year track revenue is up 69% for a firm that shifted its strategy in June 2016 to a three-year business plan called ‘Our Future Refocused’, which placed an emphasis on technology, energy and natural resources, and finance and financial services.

Managing partner Michael Chissick says that corporate and disputes performed particularly well, pointing out an uptick in arbitration work. The firm’s corporate practice is now worth £27.5m while disputes is worth £37.6m.

The main driver for Fieldfisher’s rapid rise has been the number of new offices that the firm has opened during the past financial year. Beginning with a tie-up with Chinese boutique firm JS Partners in November 2016, the firm then solidified its presence in the country by opening a four-partner Shanghai office in February.

Chissick says that a key goal for Fieldfisher is to have an office in every major European capital city, and the firm has set about achieving that aim, already opening in Amsterdam in May with an office staffed by five partners from respected Dutch tech boutique Kennedy Van der Laan. There were also openings in Italy in July 2016 and Birmingham in March, and the firm has plans to open in Barcelona and Madrid before the end of this financial year.

Fieldfisher will also be hoping that its Condor business, launched in January, will be a major source of revenue going forward. Headed by former Ashurst head of securities and derivatives Christopher Georgiou, Condor is an alternative legal services platform focused on the derivatives and securities financing markets. Three large banks and two global investment banks have so far signed up to use the service.

Chissick contends that Condor will be a major asset to the firm, describing client interest in the business as ‘phenomenal’ and stating: ‘We’ve got something special there.’

Post-Brexit, we are trying to be more European. We don’t want to retreat into our little island.
Michael Chissick, Fieldfisher

LB: What do you attribute Fieldfisher’s standout year to?

Michael Chissick: A lot of long-term plans came to fruition: Birmingham, Italy and Amsterdam, they didn’t happen overnight, but most of them came in within the last financial year. There’s a real sense of momentum and togetherness, and we were aided by having a partnership that suffered few departures.

Are clients expecting a more technology-driven service now?

Chissick: Clients want great legal services at great value. Interestingly, huge investments in technology that enable us to do things much quicker could lead to a perception from clients that they should pay less. You have to be careful, and make sure clients don’t see investment in technology as leading to a hugely discounted price. It’s expensive to create these systems.

Do you have any long-term fears about the impact of Brexit?

Chissick: We’re making the best of Brexit. There will be an upturn in legal work for an international client base that wants to understand the UK regulatory environment and the UK as a global legal centre will continue. When the regulatory environment becomes clearer for the many industries affected by Brexit, we’re positioning ourselves as the go-to firm for advising on that.

Was there a conscious choice to be more international to hedge against any potential post-Brexit uncertainty in the UK?

Chissick: I wish I could say I had a crystal ball but I didn’t! Post-Brexit, we are trying to be more European. We don’t want to retreat into our little island.

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‘Unprecedented in scale’: City bluebloods advise as Tata separates UK pension scheme

tata steel

Travers Smith, Slaughter and May and Hogan Lovells all advised as Tata Steel last month signed a long-awaited agreement to separate its business from the £15bn British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), in what is the largest pensions scheme restructuring ever in the UK.

As a result of the separation, achieved through a regulated apportionment arrangement, Tata will pay £550m to BSPS, which will also be given a 33% equity stake in the steel company. With the support of The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), a new BSPS will be created after an assessment period.

Continue reading “‘Unprecedented in scale’: City bluebloods advise as Tata separates UK pension scheme”

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Legal Business 100 overview: Your story

lawyer makes worried phonecall about brexit

This year’s Legal Business 100 coincides with the most inauspicious of anniversaries after a year with the most inauspicious of beginnings. A decade since the start of the global financial crisis and just over a year since the result of the Brexit referendum, the perception is that political and economic uncertainty has ultimately had little impact on the performance of top 100 UK law firms. Particularly on those at the top.

The drama has been well documented. UK and European markets continued to show resilience, mainly aided by foreign investment, despite the last financial year starting off with six to eight weeks of post-referendum impact. By Christmas, transactional practices were upbeat and grew stronger into 2017. Then article 50 was triggered just before the end of the financial year and unease settled in again. Continue reading “Legal Business 100 overview: Your story”

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Pinsents secures £1.3bn Carillion HS2 mandate

Pinsent Masons

Pinsent Masons picked up the key advisory mandate as embattled British construction company Carillion was handed a lifeline this summer thanks to the award of two contracts worth £1.3bn on the High Speed Two (HS2) project.

Carillion is to build two sections of the UK’s second high-speed rail project from London to Birmingham along with its joint venture partners Kier Group and France’s Eiffage Génie Civil, which will take at least five years to complete.

Continue reading “Pinsents secures £1.3bn Carillion HS2 mandate”

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Legal Business 100: The second 50 Regional view – After the bang

l b 100 logo

The strain of macroeconomic conditions on UK firms is starting to show, as the immediate impact of last year’s Brexit vote meant many firms experienced a slow summer and a dip in confidence that carried on for many until the end of 2016 and even into the new year with the triggering of article 50 in March.

This uncertainty is reflected in some individual and regional results for this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100). However, overall figures look strong. There are 31 non-City firms in the 51-100 bracket, compared to 19 London firms, with a combined revenue of £1.26bn, up 11% on last year’s £1.14bn. The number of regional firms in the bottom 50 has increased by one: a new entrant comes in the form of Scots insurance litigation firm Digby Brown, which has total revenues of £27.3m, while national firm Thompsons has dropped a few places this year to enter the bottom half of the table.

Continue reading “Legal Business 100: The second 50 Regional view – After the bang”

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Legal Business 100: The second 25 – Faster, pussycat

While the second quarter of the Legal Business 100 (LB100) has seen a 7% increase to £2.93bn in its combined revenue over 2016/17, the group has been impacted by further consolidation at the start of the calendar year, which will see around £230m stripped from this total in our 2018 report. This group is starting to feel the squeeze from those above and below in the LB100 – making it the most variable section of the top 100.

Over the last financial year the second 25 accounted for 13% of the LB100‘s combined revenue, with average turnover increasing 5% to £117m. Average revenue per lawyer saw a 7% leap to £272,000, while profits per equity partner (PEP) also increased by 2% to £495,000 (see ‘Core Stats‘). Continue reading “Legal Business 100: The second 25 – Faster, pussycat”

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Legal Business 100: Methodology and notes

Pop art car, LB100

LB100 LAW FIRMS

The firms that appear in the Legal Business 100 (LB100) are the top 100 law firms in the UK (usually LLP partnerships), ranked by gross fee income generated over the financial year 2016/17 – usually 1 May 2016 to 30 April 2017. We call these the 2017 results. Where firms have identical fee incomes, the firms are ranked according to highest profit per equity partner (PEP).

SOURCES

An overwhelming majority of firms that appear in the LB100 co-operate fully with its compilation (see ‘Transparency’) by providing our reporters with the required information. A limited number of firms choose not to co-operate officially with our data collection process and in these circumstances we rely on figures given to us by trusted but anonymous sources.

LAW FIRM STRUCTURES

We recognise that, as firms have expanded globally, they have developed a number of ways of structuring their businesses, for instance using Swiss Vereins, European Economic Interest Groups, and partial and full profit-sharing models. For consistency’s sake, we now publish the global firm-wide financials for all of the firms in the LB100, regardless of how they internally structure themselves or share profits. So the turnover, profitability, PEP and headcount figures published for Ashurst, CMS, Herbert Smith Freehills, Norton Rose Fulbright, Hogan Lovells, Taylor Wessing and DLA Piper are all global, firm-wide figures.

DEFINITIONS

Turnover/revenue/gross fees

Revenue figures do not include VAT, disbursements, interest or anything other than the worldwide fees generated by lawyers for their work during the last financial year.

Net income

We define net income as the total profits that are available to be shared among equity partners. We treat profit sharing with non-equity partners or fixed-share equity partners as an expense and it is therefore not included in the net income figure.

Total lawyers

Total lawyer numbers include partners, trainees, assistants, associates, of counsel and all other fully qualified lawyers, but do not include legal executives, paralegals or other support staff. We ask firms for actual full-time equivalent headcount at the end of the last financial year. Lawyer and partner numbers are rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Equity partners

We define full-equity partners as partners that are full participants in the firm’s profits. Fixed-share equity partners are considered non-equity partners for the purposes of this survey.

Non-equity partners

Non-equity partners, be they fixed-share, salaried, or laterals on probationary periods, are those that are not full participants in the firm’s profits, though they may have voting rights.

HOW WE CRUNCH THE NUMBERS

Profit per equity partner

We calculate PEP by dividing net income by the whole number of full equity partners at the end of the last financial year. PEP is an average figure used to benchmark the profitability of firms, which is not necessarily the same as saying that any partners take home this amount of money.

Revenue per lawyer (RPL)/profit per lawyer (PPL)

RPL is calculated by dividing turnover by the total number of lawyers at the end of the last financial year. PPL is calculated by dividing net income by the total number of lawyers.

Profit margin

Profit margin is net income as a percentage of turnover.

Change 2012-17

This figure is the simple percentage change in revenue between the 2011/12 financial year (as reported in the 2012 LB100) and the 2016/17 financial year.

FOOTNOTES

  1. DLA Piper and Sacker & Partners operate a year-end to 31 December 2016.
  2. On 1 May 2017, CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang merged to form a UK LLP named CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang. For the 2017 LB100, each legacy firm is treated separately for the full 2016/17 financial year. Figures for CMS Cameron McKenna are global financials for the CMS group as a whole. Data for Nabarro and Olswang was supplied by neither firm nor CMS.
  3. Eversheds Sutherland – on 1 February 2017, Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan formed a UK company limited by guarantee. Data in the report refers to legacy Eversheds only.
  4. Gowling WLG – in February 2016, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co merged with Gowlings to form Gowling WLG. Headcount and revenue information here is for the global entity combined, while profit calculations are based on the WLG UK LLP only.
  5. Taylor Wessing – as the firm operates separate profit pools in each jurisdiction, the PEP figure provided is illustrative rather than actual and is based on a global net income figure of £99.8m.
  6. Irwin Mitchell does not operate a traditional law firm partnership and partners are remunerated according to salaries and bonuses, not profit shares. The PEP figure is illustrative for the purposes of the LB100 and is not supplied by the firm.
  7. Gateley became the UK’s first listed law firm in 2015. In June 2017 HBJ Gateley, the firm’s Scottish arm, spun off to become Addleshaw Goddard in Scotland. Revenue figures published here are for Gateley plc only and year-on-year comparisons on key financial metrics are not possible. Gateley does not operate a traditional law firm partnership and profit is not distributed among equity partners. As such, the figure for PEP published in the table is for published net profit per partner and is not provided by the firm.
  8. Royds Withy King – on 1 September 2016, Bath-based Withy King merged with London practice Royds to form Royds Withy King. Data supplied here includes additional revenue and headcount from the combination, making a year-on-year comparison unrealistic.

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Transparency

Legal Business takes the compilation of the LB100 very seriously. We make every effort to ensure that the figures we publish are accurate.

The overwhelming majority of firms co-operate fully with us in this regard. Among the 100 firms featured in the survey, seven declined to provide any financial information formally. These were: Dickson Minto; Digby Brown; Keoghs; Nabarro; Olswang; Slaughter and May; and Thompsons.

A further nine firms did not disclose profitability and/or equity partner numbers. These were: Browne Jacobson; Gateley; Gowling WLG; Ince & Co; Irwin Mitchell; Norton Rose Fulbright; Payne Hicks Beach; Winckworth Sherwood; and Veale Wasbrough Vizards.

A further ten firms were unable to provide us with their top and bottom of equity: Ashurst; BLM; Clifford Chance; DAC Beachcroft; DLA Piper; Hogan Lovells; Simmons & Simmons; Macfarlanes; Mishcon de Reya; and Travers Smith.

The following ten firms did not provide UK fee income: Allen & Overy; Bird & Bird; CMS; DLA Piper; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Hogan Lovells; Linklaters; RPC; Simmons & Simmons; and Travers Smith.

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Legal Business 100: Core stats

LB100 revenue averages:

£220.6m

Average revenue

9%

Average revenue growth

Ten fastest growing firms by revenue:

Ten fastest growing firms by profit per equity partner:

Ten fastest shrinking firms by revenue:

Ten fastest shrinking firms by profit per equity partner:

LB100 average earnings:

Revenue per lawyer £342,000
Profit per lawyer £108,000
Profit per equity partner £738,000

Firms 1-25:

Average revenue per lawyer £385,000 (+5%)
Average profit per lawyer £130,000 (+6%)
Average profit per equity partner £873,000 (+8%)
AVERAGE REVENUE £686m (+10%)

Firms 26-50:

Average revenue per lawyer £272,000 (+7%)
Average profit per lawyer £67,000 (+6%)
Average profit per equity partner £495,000 (+2%)
AVERAGE REVENUE £117m (+6%)

Firms 51-100:

Average revenue per lawyer £214,000 (-1%)
Average profit per lawyer £51,000 (-4%)
Average profit per equity partner £345,000 (-7%)
AVERAGE REVENUE £40m (+5%)

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Legal Business 100: Partner earnings

Top 50 firms ranked by highest top of equity (1-50*) Equity partners: non-equity partners & of partners that are equity partners PEP Equity spread
1 Slaughter and May 107:08 93% £2,400k £1,575k to £3,200k
2 Hogan Lovells 542:277 66% £924k £275k to £2,750k
3 Stewarts Law 19:36 35% £1,916k £968k to £2,459k
4 Allen & Overy 441:87 84% £1,510k £927k to £2,318k
5 DLA Piper 480:739 39% £940k £300k to £2,250k
6 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 396:08 98% £1,545k £358k to £2,237k
7 Linklaters 441:14 97% £1,507k £800k to £2,100k
8 Clifford Chance 403:165 71% £1,375k £660k to £2,000k
9 Norton Rose Fulbright 813:364 69% £472k £315k to £2,000k
10 Fieldfisher 67:95 41% £639k £230k to £2,000k
11 Macfarlanes 54:32 63% £1,376k £800k to £1,820k
12 Mishcon de Reya 40:70 36% £1,100k £510k to £1,650k
13 CMS 516:261 66% £509k £132k to £1,571k
14 Berwin Leighton Paisner 80:117 41% £630k £300k to £1,500k
15 Watson Farley & Williams 70:75 48% £620k £255k to £1,500k
16 Eversheds Sutherland 116:252 32% £725k £333k to £1,400k
17 Clyde & Co 196:198 50% £651k £336k to £1,344k
18 Simmons & Simmons 145:111 57% £637k £300k to £1,200k
19 Stephenson Harwood 84:69 55% £707k £380k to £1,189k
20 Travers Smith 50:22 69% £962k £405k to £1,100k
21 Taylor Wessing 246:107 70% £405k £305k to £1,033k
22 Herbert Smith Freehills 337:141 71% £760k £441k to £1,020k
23 RPC 82:0 100% £322k £175k to £1,000k
24 Nabarro 70:30 70% £606k £300k to £950k
25 Pinsent Masons 172:243 41% £638k £338k to £933k
26 Osborne Clarke 62:165 27% £652k £395k to £930k
27 Bird & Bird 105:186 36% £503k £313k to £905k
28 Ashurst 243:127 66% £672k £345k to £900k
29 Gowling WLG 400:166 71% £415k £160k to £880k
30 DWF 70:209 25% £300k £185k to £870k
31 Addleshaw Goddard 93:95 49% £504k £277k to £776k
32 Irwin Mitchell 75:174 30% £627k £250k to £750k
33 Kennedys 67:134 33% £406k £193k to £660k
34 Holman Fenwick Willan 87:81 52% £490k £316k to £632k
35 Withers 83:78 52% £392k £160k to £600k
36 Charles Russell Speechlys 79:86 48% £428k £124k to £593k
37 DAC Beachcroft 90:154 37% £432k £250k to £550k
38 Olswang 70:0 100% £374k £145k to £550k
39 Ince & Co 80:22 78% £255k £140k to £550k
40 Burges Salmon 64:16 80% £436k £239k to £531k
41 BLM 56:133 30% £232k £141k to £520k
42 Mills & Reeve 61:46 57% £407k £317k to £465k
43 Trowers & Hamlins 69:80 46% £312k £180k to £450k
44 Shoosmiths 41:118 26% £361k £165k to £437k
45 TLT 37:72 34% £254k £200k to £400k
46 Weightmans 37:141 21% £297k £191k to £342k
47 Bond Dickinson 68:60 53% £265k £151k to £336k
48 Hill Dickinson 57:91 39% £274k £134k to £309k
49 Blake Morgan 44:73 38% £202k £81k to £304k

* Does not include Gateley. See methodology.

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