Revenue at Linklaters has crossed £1.3bn for the first time, up 3% in 2015/16 to £1.31bn, as profits per equity partner hit a new high of £1.403m.
A mixed bag for Simmons & Simmons as firm posts record turnover but tumbling PEP
Results season has proved something of a mixed bag for Simmons & Simmons, with turnover up 2% in 2015/16 to hit a record £295.1m but partners suffered a sharp fall in profits as its cost base soared.
Continue reading “A mixed bag for Simmons & Simmons as firm posts record turnover but tumbling PEP”
Eversheds records 7% revenue bump but PEP stays flat
Eversheds has reported revenue growth of 7% to £405.5m for 2015/16. The increase follows a year of flat turnover for the firm after last year it posted £380.7m in revenue, up less than 1%.
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In-house: RBS latest to shake up internal function with summer review of legal team structure
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has kicked off a review of its 400-strong legal team to control costs and drive efficiencies, a move that could potentially lead to staff redundancies.
Big Bar boost: Fountain Court makes seven strong team hire, including two silks
Leading set Fountain Court Chambers has boosted its commercial offering and with the recruit of two silks and five junior barristers.
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The Brexit effect: BLP becomes the first City firm to freeze pay post EU referendum
City firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has become the first law firm to freeze pay for UK staff following the British referendum that saw the country vote to leave the European Union.
KWM mulls cash call after increasing Barclays facility to £25m
King & Wood Mallesons‘ (KWM) European and Middle East business is mulling a cash call months after increasing its loan facility with Barclays from £20m to £25m, as the firm strives to recover from a torrid 18 months.
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Maintaining growth: Bird & Bird keeps pace with 6% revenue hike
Bird & Bird has reported another year of solid growth, with revenue up 6% to €343.8m from €325.5m for the 2015/16 financial year.
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Travers Smith matches Slaughters associate base pay as indies beat Brexit woes to lift salaries
Despite post-Brexit referendum market turbulence, independent firms Travers Smith and Macfarlanes have both elevated their newly-qualified (NQ) pay levels, with the former matching Slaughter and May’s newly-qualified pay level of £71,500.
‘The time is right’: ENRC drops Debevoise for Quinn Emanuel on SFO probe
Mining giant Eurasian National Resources Corp (ENRC) has ceased its working relationship with Debevoise & Plimpton in favour of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in a major criminal investigation taken by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
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Deal watch: Corporate activity in June 2016
NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT AND A&O LEAD NUCLEAR JV
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Guest post: Don’t abuse the Brexit litigants – their action shows we live in a free country
The law firm Mishcon de Reya is bringing an action to force the Prime Minister, whoever she (or just conceivably he) may be, to obtain parliamentary approval before issuing that all-important article 50 notification.
‘Another milestone’: White & Case and A&O take roles in $1.3bn software deal as Avast buys AVG
White & Case, Allen & Overy, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek have won advisory roles as security software giant Avast Software buys AVG Technologies for $1.3bn.
Addleshaws votes through key partnership deed changes including wider exit provisions
After a drawn-out process, Addleshaw Goddard has voted through several changes to its partnership deed, including further restrictions on partner exits and changes to management terms.
‘Maintaining momentum’: Taylor Wessing posts UK income up 4.4% to £126.6m
Growth has stalled at Taylor Wessing as UK income is up 4.4% to £126.6m. The results follow an increase of 8.2% in UK revenues the year before.
Continue reading “‘Maintaining momentum’: Taylor Wessing posts UK income up 4.4% to £126.6m”
Anger over article 50: Protesters gather outside Mishcon over Brexit legal challenge
Protesters gathered outside the headquarters of City firm Mishcon de Reya today (7 July) in response to the firm’s plans to launch a legal action over the triggering of article 50 and the process of Brexit. However the City firm has also received over 1,500 emails of support of the action since the news emerged.
Freshfields rides out choppy deal market to outpace CC and A&O with £82m revenue hike
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer posted a revenue increase of 7% to £1.327bn for the 2015/16 financial year, clawing back from last year’s flat results when revenues rose just 1% to £1.245bn. The increase puts the firm well ahead of Magic Circle peers Clifford Chance (CC) and Allen & Overy (A&O), which posted revenue increases of 3% and 2.3% respectively.
In reverse: BLP the latest UK firm to report falling revenue as turnover drops 2% to £254m
After something of a revival in 2014/15, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) went into reverse last year as revenue dropped 2% to £254m.
Comment: The lexicon of inefficiency – in-house counsel’s artisan improvisation is out of date
It is not easy to be an in-house lawyer. Thank goodness, however, because if it was why on earth would any business want to employ a lawyer? In fact, why would any lawyer go to the trouble of that expensive and gruelling training and working hours that risk burnout; then, just when they reach the point they can capitalise on their powers, decide to hop into a featherbed of routine, low-risk work that is more ‘admin’ than law?
‘Do we believe in Africa?’
As we reported in our dispute resolution Insight ‘Clause and effect’ last year, Africa has become a disputes hotspot. With a fall in commodities prices leading to abandoned projects, disputes work is becoming even more plentiful.
Discussing dispute resolution in a developing continent comprising 54 disparate jurisdictions can lead to huge generalisations, but when it comes to arbitration there seems to be a case for a pan-African focus. The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration has been implemented in a number of African countries, while the Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) – covering 17 states in west and central Africa – has created a legal community with unified arbitration legislation and a common arbitration court. There has also been a proliferation of arbitration institutions throughout Africa. However, many of these institutions remain untested and do not have the support of the court system. Continue reading “‘Do we believe in Africa?’”