City firm Ashurst has missed out to former partners at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher on the $1.2bn sale of London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group by private equity owner Terra Firma. Continue reading “Ashurst misses out as Gibson Dunn and Pinsents take front row seats on $1.2bn Odeon deal”
Ashurst to revamp lockstep and add bonus pool after financials disappoint
Following another disappointing round of financial results, Ashurst is considering implementing a raft of changes to partner remuneration.
Continue reading “Ashurst to revamp lockstep and add bonus pool after financials disappoint”
Comment: How KWM became Rogers & Wells II but with less staying power
A fêted global giant acquires a punchy mid-tier player to provide coverage in a key global region. Hopes are high. Yet just a few years later the combined firm is plagued by culture clashes, an identity crisis and damaging departures. Buyer’s remorse sets in and the ‘acquired’ firm longs for freedom or even just the good old days.
Continue reading “Comment: How KWM became Rogers & Wells II but with less staying power”
Latham ignores Brexit fears and continues City investment charge with Ashurst’s Baskerville
Just two weeks after taking Ashurst’s global co-head of financial regulation, Latham & Watkins has returned to the struggling City firm to hire restructuring partner Simon Baskerville. Continue reading “Latham ignores Brexit fears and continues City investment charge with Ashurst’s Baskerville”
‘Deepening ties’: Clyde & Co enters Germany with Düsseldorf hires
Just two months after announcing it will open an office in Miami, Clyde & Co has revealed it will open another international office in Düsseldorf.
Continue reading “‘Deepening ties’: Clyde & Co enters Germany with Düsseldorf hires”
‘Misrepresentations and promises’: Barristers latest to take Brexit action as 1,000 sign petition over article 50
In the latest legal lobby against Brexit, more than 1,000 barristers have signed a letter to urge MPs to pass an act of parliament before invoking article 50.
‘Natural next step’: Taylor Wessing opens in Hong Kong through local association
Weeks after cementing a Vietnamese tie-up, Taylor Wessing has launched a Hong Kong office, by entering an association with a local firm to expand its presence across Asia.
Continue reading “‘Natural next step’: Taylor Wessing opens in Hong Kong through local association”
When in Rome – Dentons follows Italy launch by opening in capital
After launching in Milan late last year, Dentons has continued its recent European expansion by announcing a second office in Italy with a new branch in Rome.
Continue reading “When in Rome – Dentons follows Italy launch by opening in capital”
Clifford Chance recruits new CFO as Purse retires after 11 years
Clifford Chance has hired Patrick Glydon, the global director of commercial initiatives from advertising agency Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), to succeed its current chief financial officer Stephen Purse, who is set to retire.
Continue reading “Clifford Chance recruits new CFO as Purse retires after 11 years”
‘Simpler and better’: CMA calls for more competition but stops short of recommending full legal services review
An interim report into the legal services market released by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has found that competition in legal services for individual and small business consumers is not working as well as it should, while upfront information on price and quality is often not available to consumers. However the investigation has stopped short of recommending a full review.
Revolving doors: K&L Gates and CC make key appointments as Pinsent Masons makes Magic Circle hire for new Düsseldorf office
In this week’s appointment round-up, Clifford Chance (CC) has added muscle to its New York office and K&L Gates has recruited in London, while Pinsent Masons has hired in Germany from CC.
Global 100: It’s hard going all over
The headline numbers from this year’s Global 100 report do not make upbeat reading, even before the Brexit effect and resulting vote began to chill the market in Europe. While total revenue moved forward 3% to $95.99bn and lawyer headcount grew 6% to 122,945, the per lawyer and per equity partner metrics are flat: average revenue and profit per lawyer (RPL and PPL) are down 2% to $781,000 and $308,000 respectively, while average profit per equity partner (PEP) stood still at $1.6m.
With income growth flattered by consolidation – primarily Dentons’ merger-mania and the digestion of Bingham McCutchen – the world’s 100 largest firms are not, as a breed, growing at all.
KWM becomes Rogers & Wells II but with less staying power
A fêted global giant acquires a punchy mid-tier player to provide coverage in a key global region. Hopes are high. Yet just a few years later the combined firm is plagued by culture clashes, an identity crisis and damaging departures. Buyer’s remorse sets in and the ‘acquired’ firm longs for freedom or even just the good old days.
As we report this month in our cover feature on King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), the painful reality is that SJ Berwin has become, for the global legal market, the modern equivalent of Rogers & Wells, the troubled US acquisition that halted Clifford Chance (CC)’s once unstoppable momentum.
Continue reading “KWM becomes Rogers & Wells II but with less staying power”
Freshfields leads the pack as London’s big four continue flat financial trajectory
Firm posts impressive 8% PEP hike and 7% revenue increase despite headcount drop
With the unaudited results of firms in, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has produced the standout 2015/16 financial performance in what was another muted year for the City’s most powerful law firms.
The profession takes stock as Brexit vote sends UK crashing out of EU… and into years of uncertainty
Tom Moore and Matthew Field size up the immediate impact of the vote on City lawyers
It was the result the profession and the City feared but did not expect as the referendum on European Union (EU) membership on 23 June ended in a shock vote to exit the grouping, triggering political and market shocks set to reverberate for years to come.
Barclays slashes number of firms by over 60% in global review
DLA Piper misses out as bank sets out new categories
Barclays picked a raft of firms, including Clifford Chance, Ashurst, Simmons & Simmons, Hogan Lovells and Reed Smith, as the banking giant overhauled its global roster last month and slashed its number of go-to advisers by over 60%.
Continue reading “Barclays slashes number of firms by over 60% in global review”
Under fire: Linklaters and Olswang in the spotlight as dealmakers face parliament over BHS collapse
City lawyers faced the wrath of MPs during May and June in an inquiry over the sale of BHS. The April collapse of the retailer, following its sale by Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group for £1 to Dominic Chappell’s Retail Acquisitions, caused political fallout for advisers on the deal, including law firms.
Partners from Olswang, Linklaters, Eversheds and Nabarro all appeared before a joint committee of MPs from the Work and Pensions and the Business, Innovation and Skills departments.
Allen & Overy beats UK rivals to top 2015 deal table for European private equity
Allen & Overy (A&O)’s growing private equity (PE) team has had a strong year, topping Dealogic’s European PE table after advising on 31 deals across the 2015 calendar year for clients including Apollo Global Management, The Blackstone Group and Carlyle Investment Management. The firm advised on deals equal to 21% of the European buyout market last year, acting on $23.95bn worth of deals.
The A&O team, led by co-heads Stephen Lloyd (pictured), Karine Kodde and Robin Harvey, edged out Magic Circle counterparts as well as US firms in the City.
Continue reading “Allen & Overy beats UK rivals to top 2015 deal table for European private equity”
A&O teams up with Deloitte for pioneering joint venture targeted at banking giants
Axiom and Ashurst follow with similar service to meet regulations
In the first marquee joint venture between a Magic Circle firm and a Big Four accountant, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Deloitte have teamed up to create a tech-driven service to help banks handle post-Lehman regulation.
‘Natural choice’: long relationships see Freshfields and Linklaters bag roles on Poundland bid
Both Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer scored lead roles on an attempt by South Africa’s Steinhoff International Holdings to take over British retailer Poundland. Steinhoff, a $22bn homeware and clothing conglomerate, made a bid to take over Poundland, which it already had a 23.26% stake in. At press time, Poundland had rejected Steinhoff’s initial bid, but Steinhoff upped its holding in the UK discount retailer to 23.52%.
Steinhoff already owns PEP, which sells discount clothing, footwear and homeware across 1,800 stores in Africa, as well as UK chain Harveys Furniture.