Kennedys has continued with its aggressive Latin America (LatAm) expansion, opening two more offices in Chile and Colombia, following the opening in July of its first greenfield sites on the continent in Brazil and Peru. Continue reading “‘Driven by client need’: Kennedys continues aggressive LatAm expansion with Chile and Colombia offices”
Irish ambitions: Pinsents eyes Dublin base as UK firms look to capitalise on post-Brexit market
Pinsent Masons is eyeing up a Dublin base, to complement its existing offering in Belfast and provide a full UK and Ireland presence for the firm.
In-house energy switch: senior BG Group lawyer Thomas Smith moves to Centrica
With BG Group having been taken over by Shell for £35bn in February, BG’s deputy general counsel Thomas Smith has departed to become North America energy supply and services general counsel at Centrica.
Continue reading “In-house energy switch: senior BG Group lawyer Thomas Smith moves to Centrica”
Working smarter – eight ideas to upgrade your team
As in-house teams handle more complex work, GCs are coming under pressure to rethink their tactics. Here are eight ideas to upgrade your legal team
Let’s start with an assumption: we will reach peak in-house. Though the in-house profession has hugely expanded over the last 15 years – those in the private sector growing threefold since 2000 to over 16,000 solicitors in England and Wales by 2015 – in-house legal teams cannot keep growing forever.
Continue reading “Working smarter – eight ideas to upgrade your team”
GC perspectives: Dan Fitz, BT
I love my career. I haven’t loved it at all times. Over the years it was tough. But over time I became more confident, the anxiety passed and I got into the interesting aspects of what I was doing. I got to enjoy it very much.
Macfarlanes gets the gig as firms line up on Verizon’s $2.4bn purchase of Fleetmatics
Just days after the headline grabbing acquisition of Yahoo!, Goodwin Procter, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, A&L Goodbody and Macfarlanes are among those who have landed roles advising on Verizon’s purchase of Fleetmatics Group.
Revolving doors: Mishcon makes key City hire as K&L Gates boosts Fintech practice
Ahead of the expected summer slowdown, UK firms have made a spate of City hires, with Mishcon de Reya, K&L Gates and Excello Law all recruiting. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Mishcon makes key City hire as K&L Gates boosts Fintech practice”
‘Cut through the noise’: Nextlaw partners with AI firm for Brexit contracts system
In the latest play for Dentons‘ tech joint venture, Nextlaw Labs has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) programme with London IT firm RAVN Systems to assess the impact of the Brexit vote on companies’ contracts.
Growing the Pi: Gibson Dunn and A&O act on improved US offer for Premier Farnell
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher have advised on an improved bid for UK-based electronics manufacturer Premier Farnell.
Continue reading “Growing the Pi: Gibson Dunn and A&O act on improved US offer for Premier Farnell”
Weightmans performance disappoints as PEP slips 19% and revenue misses £100m target
Weightmans managing partner John Schorah has slapped a £100m revenue target on the firm for 2016/17 after a year of underachievement, with revenue up just 7% in 2015/16 to £95m despite a major merger and a 19% tumble in profit per equity partner (PEP).
Woodward’s deal streak continues as Linklaters takes first instruction for BC Partners in $1.6bn acquisition
Linklaters has landed its first private equity mandate for BC Partners, with private equity star Alex Woodward leading alongside Vincent Ponsonnaille on a $1.6bn deal for a majority stake in Israeli furniture maker Keter Plastic.
Mishcon de Reya City PEP climbs to £1m as firm undergoes Brexit review
High flying City firm Mishcon de Reya has announced robust profits for the 2015/16 financial year, with profit per equity partner up 5% to £1m as revenue in London climbed to £127.9m from £110m.
Continue reading “Mishcon de Reya City PEP climbs to £1m as firm undergoes Brexit review”
Making it in Manhattan: A&O pulls off four-partner finance hire to boost US presence
Allen & Overy (A&O) has made a major addition to its US finance practice with the lateral hire of four partners in New York. The Magic Circle firm took three partners from White & Case, one from Proskauer Rose, as well as adding an associate from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy as partner.
Upping the ante: Latham appoints former A&O leadership contender Kensell
Latham & Watkins‘ unrelenting assault on the City market has seen the US firm land one of London’s most high-profile banking lawyers, Allen & Overy’s Stephen Kensell.
Continue reading “Upping the ante: Latham appoints former A&O leadership contender Kensell”
Growing pains: ongoing investment sees PEP at Penningtons Manches tumble 16%
Sustained investment and the costs of bedding down a merger impacted on profits at Penningtons Manches, which posted a lift in revenue but a tumble in profits per equity partner (PEP) for the financial year 2015/16.
Continue reading “Growing pains: ongoing investment sees PEP at Penningtons Manches tumble 16%”
Paying up: KWM partners vote to inject £14m of extra capital
An overwhelming majority of King & Wood Mallesons‘ (KWM) European and Middle East partnership has voted in favour of recapitalising the firm, committing £14m in a cash call to put it on a firmer footing.
Continue reading “Paying up: KWM partners vote to inject £14m of extra capital”
Travers Smith and Norton Rose face off in Lehman’s multimillion dispute with ExxonMobil
Commerical litigation heavyweights Travers Smith and Norton Rose Fulbright have been instructed by the administrators for Lehman Brothers International Europe and ExxonMobil Financial Services respectively as the parties battle it out at London’s High Court over a multimillion dollar loan.
A tale of two law firms: Charles Russell sees PEP grow 20% as Trowers records dip in profits
Top 50 Legal Business 100 firms Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) and Trowers & Hamlins have posted mixed results this reporting season, with the former recording a 21% rise in profit per equity partner (PEP) and the latter seeing partner profits fall 7%.
Merger mania: Addleshaws and CMS discussed combination before entering current talks
Despite both firms now being in merger talks with other suitors, Legal Business understands CMS Cameron McKenna and Addleshaw Goddard considered merging with each other earlier this year.
‘A natural and necessary next step’: Pinsents to launch infra-focused practice in Johannesburg
Pinsent Masons is to launch an infrastructure-focused practice in Johannesburg, with two partners hired from local firm Bowman Gilfillan.