In its latest plea for independence, The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) is making its case for separation from the Law Society in its response to Treasury’s call for information on its re-evaluation of the anti-money laundering (AML) supervisory regime.
Revolving doors: Osborne Clarke and RPC strengthen City practices as WFW makes major New York hire
Several LB100 firms have announced a range of lateral hires this week, with Osborne Clarke, Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), RPC and DAC Beachcroft all adding new partners.
Holman Fenwick continues recruitment drive with HSF litigator Foster
Holman Fenwick Willan has recruited another key lateral to its City practice, this time with Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) solicitor advocate and partner Christopher Foster.
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Financials 2015/16: Revenue growth slows at CMS as group posts 8.4% lift
CMS has reported revenue and profit growth for 2015, with turnover increasing 8.4% year-on-year to £735.2m, and profits up 6.8%. The revenue figure includes fees from CMS’s ten member firms which operate under the CMS brand as part of a European Economic Interest Grouping.
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Comment: The Legal 500 perspective on EMEA – more ways than ever to skin a cat
The shifting interests of international business are echoed in recent law firm moves across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and reflected in the recently published 2016 The Legal 500 EMEA, which added 15 countries to its coverage over the past two years to address growing interest in Africa, as well as the return of international work to jurisdictions such as Iran and Iraq.
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Guest post: US associate pay – welcome to the New Mediocre
‘New York To $190!’ was the long-running headline Above The Law printed frequently in more innocent and/or palmier days, with (we suppose) a combination of hope and bemusement. Well, Cravath’s pre-emptive strike of going to $180k didn’t quite get us there. Welcome to the New Normal – or the New Mediocre, the version I’m fond of because of its pith.
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Making it official: ISDA appoints Tew Darras to GC role six months after the departure of longstanding Geen
Three months after it was confirmed the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s (ISDA) longstanding general counsel (GC) David Geen had stood down, the trade organisation has announced a replacement, appointing Katherine Tew Darras to the role.
‘It’s all over now’: Terra Firma drops £2.3bn EMI claim against Citi
Terra Firma Capital Partners has withdrawn its £2.3bn claim against Citigroup just days after the trial started at London’s High Court.
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Another lateral for White & Case as it appoints Freshfields finance partner Rubinoff
White & Case has continued its rapid recruitment drive, hiring Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer real estate finance partner Jeffrey Rubinoff.
In-house: Transport for London extends current panel by two years
Transport for London (TfL) has extended its current panel by two years with a plan to re-tender in 2018, Legal Business understands.
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Updated: Keeping up with the US – Freshfields and Clifford Chance match Cravath associate pay rates
In a bid to compete with its US rivals, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance have followed in the footsteps of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, matching the salaries of its US-based associates, bringing pay to $180,000.
‘A fundamental change’: Bar Council sets out legal impact of Brexit in neutral report
The Bar Council has published an analysis of the impacts of Brexit in an attempt to provide a neutral analysis of the debate. Leaving the European Union would be ‘extremely complex’ with the need to introduce new rules if Britain is to remain in the European Single Market, according to the report.
Barclays panel latest: More firms to pay up as bank extends value account scheme
Barclays is planning to extend the value account system it introduced in 2014, where law firms are required to pay a rebate if they fail to hit their value targets, to all external advisers as part of its current panel review.
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‘A transformed business’: Mishcon de Reya unveils ten-year strategy
Following a year-long consultation with the partnership and external advisers, high-flying City firm Mishcon de Reya has revealed a refreshed business strategy for the next decade, with a target to lift UK revenue by 40% to £175m within the next three years. Unaudited figures for 2015/16 project revenue to be in excess of £125m.
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Following suit: Four firms match Cravath associate pay boost
Predictions of a pay war have proved correct after four US firms followed Cravath, Swaine & Moore into bumping up their associate pay.
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Financials 2015/16: Disputes drive Fieldfisher’s 7% revenue growth
Fieldfisher, which recently released new a strategy homing on in three sectors, has posted a 7% increase in firmwide revenues for 2015/16, up to £121.5m from £113.3m. The result comes after the firm posted an 8% rise in revenue at the half-year point in November.
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Olswang silent as inquiry reveals Linklaters billed £1.2m to Arcadia in BHS sale
After MPs in the BHS inquiry called on the law firms involved to disclose further details of their dealings, Olswang has failed to provide details of its fees, while Linklaters and Nabarro have released what they billed.
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Revealed: SFO records £2.1m spend on Forex investigation
Having closed its investigation earlier this year due to ‘lack of evidence’, it has emerged that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) spent £2.1m investigating alleged rigging of the foreign exchange (forex) market in less than two years.
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Elite indies carve out role as the one-stop shop shuts in Europe
Much like British voters ahead of this month’s vote on EU membership, City law firms have been shaped in recent decades by mainland Europe, even as they have become increasingly ambivalent about that mingled destiny. It was the huge bet on European integration that gave birth to the global law firm as pioneered by London’s legal elite through the 1990s. At the turn of the millennium, the key strategic battles among City law firms were as likely to be fought in Frankfurt or Milan as London.
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Not ‘looming’, the judiciary is already in crisis
If there was much to celebrate amid the continued rise of London as an international disputes centre at Legal Business‘ second Commercial Litigation Summit on 24 May, the cloud on the horizon was apparent: the mounting conviction that the UK judiciary is near crisis.
Growing administrative burdens, earlier retirements, cuts to judges’ pensions and court funding – not to mention far higher earnings on offer for commercial silks. Chairing our debate on the state of the judiciary, Sir Bernard Eder remarked: ’80-100-hour working weeks are nothing to commercial judges.’ Ashurst partner Ed Sparrow picked up the theme, highlighting terrible morale in the 2014 judicial attitudes survey – a report which the veteran litigator branded a ‘terrifying document’ for those concerned with the reputation of the London courts. Sparrow added that thanks to the loss of kudos for judges in austerity Britain: ‘Judges feel that they are treated like assets and I would say sweated like assets.’
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