It’s been a long career. I’m amazed at being here 27 years. People think that must be dull but I’ve had time abroad as a trainee in New York, in management in the Middle East, on secondment at the Takeover Panel. I don’t regret any of it.
Continue reading “Life during law: Guy Norman, Clifford Chance”
You cannot change the past. Move forward. Be constructive. Focus on making things better. Pick your cliché. And, like most clichés, they are built on the basis of common sense… and can still sometimes be beside the point.
Take Ashurst, which, having delivered a very poor 2015/16 trading period, is arguing once again that things will come good tomorrow. What else can leadership say? With Ashurst having been probably the worst-performing major City player since the banking crisis, such appeals are the only option.
Theresa May’s claim from the distant history of July that ‘Brexit means Brexit’ has already become famous for answering nothing about the uncertainties facing the UK other than the government proposes to ultimately leave the EU.
Welcome to the uncharted waters of modern British politics – a claim often made but usually untrue. I don’t even follow the logic of those claiming Brexit is inevitable – you can as easily imagine an EU departure abandoned entirely as ending up with a hardline exit. There is nothing binding about the mandate – the public has had their say, but probably not their final say. No commitments – including indications from Downing Street that article 50 will not be triggered until well into 2017 – clear up the point.
Continue reading “Brexit: a pragmatic position for the worried managing partner”
With human rights issues entering the mainstream of business practice, we teamed up with Herbert Smith Freehills to assess how new standards are changing the way in-house counsel operate
It turns out that the next risk front facing business and promising to reshape the role of general counsel (GCs) is a piece of legislation notorious among lawyers for having no teeth and little direct liability for companies.
LB100 LAW FIRMS
The firms that appear in the Legal Business 100 (LB100) are the top 100 law firms in the UK, ranked by gross fee income generated over the financial year 2015/16 – usually 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016. We call these the 2016 results. Where firms have identical fee incomes, the firms are ranked according to highest profit per equity partner (PEP).
The headline isn’t great, but it’s not bad either. Judging our annual Legal Business 100 (LB100) results, the industry has done better than expected overall, at least compared to 2015, when the group barely achieved growth despite a relative rebound in the UK and global economy.
This year, revenues across the LB100 dipped 2% to £20.2bn, heavily influenced by the removal of Dentons and Squire Patton Boggs from our tables. Back-of-the-envelope calculations show the group managed to hike income by roughly 3% on a like-for-like basis. Given the slowing of deal activity since the start of 2015 and some easing of investment ahead of the EU referendum, it could have been worse.
Continue reading “LB100 firms forced to make own luck as tough times continue”
Regional firms are reporting patchy performances overall but the arrival of new entrants to the LB100 shows firms outside the capital are holding their own
National and regional firms are historically outperformed by their London equivalents in the bottom 50, but this year these firms are holding their own. There are 30 non-City firms in the 51-100 bracket, compared to 20 London firms, with a combined revenue of £1.14bn, down on the £1.2bn shared between 32 firms last year. Average revenue for this peer group is unchanged at £38m – the same as for the London-based firms. Profit per equity partner (PEP) has increased 9% to £329,000, compared to the City firms, which managed 7% growth to £435,000.
Brexit-related woes aside, City firms in the second 50 enjoyed a bumper year
When a firm depends on a signature practice area or specialism in certain sectors, a boom year can quickly turn bust during periods of economic turbulence. However, a number of the London-based practices and boutiques that occupy the second 50 of the Legal Business 100 (LB100) were the standout performers over 2015/16, despite Brexit-related headwinds during the second half of the year.
Continue reading “The LB100: The second 50 – Sterling performances”
The big four Magic Circle firms have posted their strongest performance in this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) since the recession, despite a subdued market overall. Although average revenue for the top 25 is down 3% to £622m, the combined revenue of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy (A&O) stands at £5.33bn, up 4% on last year, while average profit per equity partner (PEP) jumped 5% to £1.33m.
A&O managing partner Andrew Ballheimer said: ‘The year has seen mixed markets around the world. In that context these are another set of solid results which highlight our people’s ability to spot opportunities for growth.’
Previously outpaced by US rivals and the UK mid-tier, some optimism has been restored by the global elite in London. Legal Business decides where to place its bets
‘I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy.’
Warren Buffett
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As brewing giant SABMiller’s global general counsel (GC) John Davidson prepares to stand down in 2017, up to 35 staff in the UK-based legal team are to be made redundant.
In 2015, the world’s second-largest brewer became the focus of a takeover approach fromAnheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) (at press time valued at £79bn). Since the deal was signed, a review was held and the company’s structure overhauled in August.
Continue reading “SABMiller legal team faces autumn redundancies as £79bn AB InBev deal closes”
In this table we blend together the three key profitability metrics, PEP, profit per lawyer and profit margin, to discover which of the top 100 firms are the most profitable. The firms have been ranked according to their aggregate score across all three measurements.
The drawn-out legal battle between property billionaires, Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz, and those they hold responsible for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)’s botched investigation into their business dealings has proved a costly affair. It has emerged they have already paid out a collective £5.1m legal bill to date in their £3bn litigation against Grant Thornton and others, surpassing the SFO’s £4.5m settlement to the pair two years ago.
First filed by Vincent Tchenguiz after a settlement with the watchdog in 2014, the pair allege defendants, includingGrant Thornton, conspired to pass information, dishonestly, to the SFO in order to instigate and encourage an investigation by the watchdog into his relationship with collapsed Icelandic bankKaupthing, and that they did so for their own commercial gain.
Continue reading “Tchenguiz brothers’ legal bill hits £5.1m in court battle against Grant Thornton”
Five years on from its controversial Australian combination – and after a punishing 2015/16 – the storied City firm is still far from finding the form it needs in a competitive global market
‘We had known that the firm had been struggling for a while but we didn’t know, and certainly weren’t expecting, a 20% decrease to our [profit per equity partner] PEP,’ a recent Ashurst leaver tells Legal Business.
Lee Ranson clear favourite to take chief executive role
Eversheds has begun talks to forge a new leadership team as the firm strives to avoid a divisive contest after current chief executive Bryan Hughes steps down next May. Current managing partner Lee Ranson is expected to take Hughes’ role in a management structure with two other partners.
Legal Business understands that current international managing partner Ian Gray’s post will change or a new role may be created, while global company commercial head Keith Froud is likely to be appointed as the new managing partner by Ranson.
Continue reading “Eversheds consults on new management structure”
New software boosts expansion plans for firm’s start-up
RPC’s insurance management consulting arm is pursuing significant expansion as it bids to hit a £50m turnover target within the next five years.
RPC Consulting managing partner Rory O’Brien said the start-up had been boosted by its acquisition of financial modelling tool Tyche last year, which has led to new deals with high-profile insurance clients.
Continue reading “RPC Consulting targets £50m turnover in plans to challenge Big Four”
After years of strong growth, the City’s mid-tier saw more mixed results in 2016
With Brexit looming large over the UK legal market, many of the second 25 of the LB100 have lost momentum. Outpacing the growth of leading players ranked in the top 25, last year firms including Macfarlanes, RPC and Nabarro defied critics who suggest the City mid-tier are in structural decline. This year, however, many firms have posted subdued results.
Continue reading “The LB100: The second quartile – Short changed”
Large mid-tier firms in the UK were some of the first to feel the sting of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, with Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Trowers & Hamlins, Addleshaw Goddard and Gowling WLG all putting their summer salary reviews on hold.
In July, BLP postponed all UK staff pay reviews to November 2016.
The decision came on the back of a sluggish financial performance for 2015/16, with fee income falling 2% to £254m in 2015/16. The firm said in a statement: ‘Following market uncertainties arising out of the recent EU referendum vote, BLP has decided that the responsible and prudent thing to do is to defer making UK salary decisions for a further four months.’
Continue reading “Brexit effect hits home as mid-tier reveals job cuts and pay freezes”
