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The quality of life report: Pursuits – Steve Cooke, Slaughter and May

‘We have a reasonable word-of-mouth reputation as purveyors of miserable music for gut-wrenching films.’

 

Many City lawyers have outside interests, few combine being at the very top of their profession with another career outlet. But Slaughter and May senior partner Steve Cooke is one such individual. Since 1993 the M&A veteran has worked with cartoonist Russell Taylor – famed for creating the comic strip Alex – to produce soundtracks for over 50 films and documentaries. Among others, they composed the music for Bafta-winning and Bafta-nominated documentaries such as The Lost Girls of South Africa, China’s Stolen Children, Chosen, Orphans of Nkandla, and the recent BBC series about Country Life magazine titled Land of Hope and Glory. Cooke plays and composes on the keyboards and guitar.

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The quality of life report: Pursuits – Edward Braham, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

‘What makes a photograph is the light – you’ve got to get everything else there, but if the light isn’t right it will never work.’

Freshfields senior partner Edward Braham has taken photographs all his life. The walls of his office are covered with photographs from his trips to South Africa, Paris, Kyoto and Tanzania. For this respected City corporate lawyer, photography is the hobby that ‘clears the brain’ when he takes time out.

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The quality of life report: Perspectives – Samantha Brown, Herbert Smith Freehills

‘Being open about my experience has not held back my career. If anything, it’s enhanced my relationship with my colleagues and clients.’

 

In 2015 Herbert Smith Freehills pension partner Samantha Brown suffered a depressive episode. She returned to work after three months, but found herself off again because she had not fully recovered. Brown eventually returned to practise as a partner at the firm.

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The quality of life report: Perspectives – Richard Martin, Byrne Dean

‘It’s the stigma that stops people talking and that same stigma prevents anyone else from learning.’

 

 

In 2011, then Speechly Bircham partner Richard Martin suffered a major panic attack followed by a breakdown and almost two years of therapy. Having left City law, Martin now works for workplace and HR consultancy Byrne Dean, advising on mental health issues. For him, the stigma around mental health in the City has prevented people speaking out.

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The quality of life report: Pursuits – Ian Bagshaw, White & Case

‘This is a hard career, but everything’s hard. Work hard, be the better you and enjoy yourself.’

 

 

In 2012 White & Case’s global private equity co-head Ian Bagshaw lost his younger brother, Dan, then aged just 27. He died suddenly on the finish line of an ITU Olympic distance triathlon in Hong Kong. That same year, while Bagshaw was a partner at Linklaters, his family set up Dan’s Trust to raise money for research and to help the local community.

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The risk debate – The coming storm

On the day Brexit officially began, our annual Legal Business/Marsh round table found risk managers on the front line of a series of cataclysmic events

29 March 2017 will be a date that will remain ingrained in the memory, with Prime Minister Theresa May invoking article 50, formally triggering the Brexit process. Later that evening it was inevitable that the real effects of Brexit would dominate the discussion at our annual risk management round table.

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The last word: This life

‘One evening I found six cans of Red Bull on an associate’s desk. I just sent him home. People get tired, people make mistakes.’

David Trott, Freshfields

To coincide with LB‘s quality of life special, senior lawyers discuss stress, wellbeing and what makes it worth it

DEEP BREATHS

‘If there’s a deadline or things are blowing up on a deal, you need to take a deep intake of breath. As you go through these episodes of stress it gets easier. There are peaks and troughs for stress in any job but it gets easier.’

Andrew Ballheimer, managing partner, Allen & Overy

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New look Linklaters – cuddly inclusiveness proves oddly compelling

It has been a long, long time since one of London’s elite law firms has genuinely shifted direction. So the shake up currently unfolding at Silk Street under the newish teaming of managing partner Gideon Moore and senior partner Charlie Jacobs is, professionally speaking, a big deal.

The mood music from Moore’s 2015 election had already signalled a more consultative stance – a welcome shift after a series of bruising post-Lehman restructurings.

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The true capitalist case for a new work/life deal

It would be hypocritical for the legal media to complain about the lack of serious debate on work/life balance but since no-one got into this game to be consistent, we will not let that stop us.

Attempting to make up for lost time this month with a focus on quality of life, the core question is how can the profession help its staff make work more rewarding and achieve some measure of balance in their lives?

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Quality of life – law can give it… and take it away

Legal Business‘ team and contacts have had to put up with me banging on about my intention to do an issue focused on quality of life for quite some time. It is a difficult topic to write about without descending into generality or banality but this remains a people business to the bone.

Law firms obsess about getting bright kids through the door, how to engage and develop (and sometimes exit them) – how to retain and corral partners (and attract new ones) – how to keep the favour of clients (and attract the gaze of new ones). Lawyers can seem curiously stiff to those previously unacquainted with the profession but it does not take long to realise that this is an intensely social industry shaped in the village of modern London.

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‘Some firms do it very well’: Top City outfits embrace flexible working

The City’s leading firms have formally embraced flexible working, with the percentage of fee-earners working part-time at the top ten of the Legal Business 100 ranging between 2% and 10%.

Our quality of life survey, published this month, found all of the UK’s top ten law firms have policies around flexible working. Many of the partners interviewed said their firms also allowed teams to develop their own strategy of flexible working, with partners asked to use their own discretion as to whether members of their team needed time off.

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‘We need to be stimulated’: Disruptive GC group asks law firms to pitch to host its events

Baker McKenzie and Wilson Sonsini first sponsors for in-house legal club

While pitching to general counsel (GCs) is hardly a foreign concept for private practitioners, an elite group of GCs for fast-growth companies has invited a pre-selected list of law firms to bid to host its events.

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‘A reaction’: Deutsche Bank to establish new EMEA anti-fraud, bribery and corruption team

After being hit by a number of recent financial crime and anti-money laundering scandals, Deutsche Bank moved to establish a new anti-fraud, bribery and corruption team for the EMEA region last month.

The bank is looking to fill 400 positions this year globally in anti-financial crime and is recruiting for a new team in Europe to be led by regional head of anti-financial crime, Thomas Altenbach. The team will sit outside of the legal function, with four new recruits: one hire at director level and three other individuals with experience in anti-fraud, bribery and corruption matters. Deutsche Bank anti-fraud teams have historically comprised both legal and compliance professionals.

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‘It’s good to talk’ – Linklaters repositions with focus on team work, innovation and a lot more soft stuff

Matthew Field meets Linklaters leadership as City giant outlines a much-changed agenda

For observers familiar with the legacy of former Linklaters chief Tony Angel, the rhetoric coming out of Silk Street right now could not be more of a break from the past.

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Playing catch-up: CC to push on with remuneration changes

While its Magic Circle peers have made significant progress with modifying their locksteps to attract and retain talent, Clifford Chance (CC) is dragging its feet on implementing proposals voted in nearly two years ago.

In 2015 CC made amendments to its pay structure to allow leading partners to go up to 130 points, while plateau partners, as well as teams and geographies contributing less may be brought down and capped at 70. The ladder previously ranged from 40-100.

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Gateley makes approaches to secure new Scottish tie-up

With the merger between its former Scottish arm and Addleshaw Goddard due to go live on 1 June, Gateley is looking at options for a new Scottish tie-up and has approached a number of firms in the market.

According to one Scottish partner, Anderson Strathern, which has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and East Lothian, would be the most likely option for a tie-up.

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‘This latest round has been disappointing’: A&O vows to address lack of diversity as Magic Circle announces new partners

Allen & Overy (A&O) promoted just two women to partnership last month, 8% of its total round, with the firm stating it is working towards three clear 2020 targets to address the diversity concerns.

The targets include having 20% female partners; at least 30% women in each promotion round; and 30% of women in its partnership in non-elected leadership roles.

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