The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has gained approval from the Legal Services Board (LSB) to become a licensing authority for alternative business structures (ABS) almost two years after it announced its intention to obtain a licence.
Continue reading “Bar regulator gets green light to approve alternative business structures”
Despite a poor global performance last year, London revenue at Baker & McKenzie rose 9% in the same period to £145m, as the firm’s City headcount remains flat.
DLA Piper has ended its formal relationship with Venezuelan firm InterJuris, reducing its presence in Latin America to Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.
Doughty Street Chambers barrister and human rights campaigner Martha Spurrier has been appointed as the new director of Liberty, where she will succeed incumbent Shami Chakrabarti.
Continue reading “Doughty Street Chambers barrister to take over civil rights group Liberty”
English law took ‘a wrong turning’ in favouring the use of international arbitration to resolve commercial disputes, the lord chief justice of England and Wales said in a lecture earlier this month.
While a handful of high-profile departures has meant Kirkland & Ellis has been the subject of much speculation in the City lately, the firm’s non-US revenue is up around 10%, growing faster than the firm’s overall revenue, driven by London growth.
Continue reading “City office grows faster than US as Kirkland posts 7% global revenue hike”
Confirmed just days ago, 3 Verulam Buildings‘ (3VB) heavyweight silk Adrian Beltrami QC has pulled out of moving to One Essex Court, deciding to remain at his current set.
Continue reading “A change of mind: 3VB’s Beltrami QC pulls out of move to One Essex Court”
Australian-listed Slater and Gordon‘s general counsel (GC) and company secretary Moana Weir has resigned after spending less than two months at the troubled firm.
Continue reading “Slater and Gordon general counsel jumps ship after less than two months”
In a bid to improve its City TMT offering, Ashurst has hired TMT duo Nick Elverston and Amanda Hale from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) in London.
Despite axing 24 partners from its legacy SJ Berwin practice, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has hired one in London, while Hogan Lovells has made a key appointment in the US.
With the litigation market soft and the deal market at least momentarily out of breath, there may be more lawyers finding themselves leaving their firms sooner than they had planned. Law firm managers have started using the dreaded O word again – O for overcapacity – and such talk is often a prelude to firings and other forced departures.
Continue reading “Guest post: How to reduce head count without making new enemies”
In a run of new leadership announcements, Allen & Overy (A&O) has elected Philip Bowden and Andrew Thomas as the firm’s new global co-heads of banking.
Continue reading “Allen & Overy leadership latest: banking co-heads step down”
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Michael Shaw (pictured) as its next general counsel with the former Barclays and Herbert Smith veteran taking on one of the most prominent GC roles in the UK.
Sheffield City Council is targeting the UK’s top 100 law firms in a bid to entice them to establish offices in its business hub.
Continue reading “Sheffield reaches out to Magic Circle with northshoring campaign”
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) told its London partnership this morning that 15% of its European and Middle Eastern partners will be axed, with an additional 45 business services roles in London to be made redundant.
National firm Pinsent Masons has won a place on FTSE 100 firm Land Securities’ legal panel, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has come off the roster following a review.
Continue reading “Adviser review: Pinsent Masons added to Land Securities panel”
Against sluggish levels of transactional activity of late, Travers Smith and Kirkland & Ellis have landed lead advisory roles on the $540m acquisition by Micro Focus of US firm Serena Software.
One Essex Court has hired banking silk duo Adrian Beltrami QC and Sonia Tolaney QC from 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB), just weeks after announcing Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer disputes veteran Ian Terry will also join the set.
Continue reading “One Essex Court takes banking silk duo from 3VB”
With Japan’s ageing population and cheap debt forcing its biggest corporates to look outside the country for growth, Debevoise & Plimpton has become the latest US law firm to launch in Tokyo.
Counter to the UK’s trade deficit widening at the end of 2015, the UK’s legal industry has again outperformed the rest of the country with its contribution to the economy rising 8% to £25.7bn and its net exports rising rapidly.
Continue reading “State of the industry: UK legal services sector grows 8% as exports rise”
