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”
Aedamar Comiskey has entered the race to become the next senior partner at Linklaters, facing off against corporate heavyweight Charlie Jacobs (pictured) and Belgium-based Jean-Pierre Blumberg in the battle to succeed Robert Elliott.
Eversheds, Reed Smith, Dentons and K&L Gates have landed spots on a seven-firm global panel created by US car rental giant Avis.
Continue reading “Eversheds, Reed Smith and Dentons land spots on inaugural Avis panel”
Longstanding adviser Davis Polk & Wardwell has acted for Markit again as the London-based data provider signed a deal with US firm IHS for a $13bn merger.
Continue reading “Data deal: Davis Polk advises Markit on US merger”
As Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) makes a key team hire in Singapore, Morrison & Foerster, Ince & Co and Ashurst have all added to their benches around the globe.
Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher are advising as Westin owner Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has called off its $12.2bn buyout agreement with Marriott in favour of a $13.2bn offer from a group of investors led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group.
Mining and commodities giant Glencore has instructed Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to sue Colombia over claims the government sought to revoke parts of a coal mining license.
Continue reading “Glencore picks Freshfields as mining giant sues Colombia over coal deal”
Within weeks of electing the firm’s new leadership, Allen & Overy has announced London corporate head Richard Browne has joined Dirk Meeus as joint leader of the firm’s global corporate practice.
Continue reading “A&O names new corporate heads as Ballheimer prepares to join senior leadership”
Barclays has put a ban on its 600 lawyers accepting corporate hospitality as it reviews its legal panel worth around £100m a year to law firms.
Continue reading “Barclays bans lawyers from corporate hospitality during panel review”
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the last Magic Circle firm to post its trainee retention rate this spring, posted a reduced figure, keeping on 82% of trainees this spring. The firm offered 33 of 38, or 87% of its trainees places.
Fresh from securing an 11-partner financial litigation team from now-defunct Matthew Arnold & Baldwin, Dentons has landed Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) partner Daren Allen (pictured) as it attempts to capture more banking litigation work.
Corporate head Charles Penney (pictured) has been appointed Addleshaw Goddard‘s new senior partner, replacing Monica Burch, who was first elected to the role in 2010.
Garrigues has hired its first English-qualified partner in the City with the arrival of Winston & Strawn‘s co-head of international arbitration, Joe Tirado, to launch its practice in London.
Fresh from sealing a landmark deal with Lawyers On Demand (LOD) to provide freelance lawyering services to its clients, DLA Piper will roll out the service in Australia following LOD’s merger with Asia-Pacific rival AdventBalance.
Continue reading “DLA Piper launches flexible working in Australia as part of LOD roll out”
Stephenson Harwood has formalised its association with Chinese law firm Wei Tu, while Allen & Overy has made a key hire into its finance practice in Hong Kong.
Former Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) corporate partner Frances McLeman has been made head of legal for ring-fencing at Lloyds Banking Group, a prominent in-house appointment made quietly by the bank nearly three months ago.
Let’s get this in context right off the bat. The Training for Tomorrow proposals by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) represent the most radical change in legal education for over 20 years. When one considers the massive structural changes in the legal services market in recent years, which have been covered extensively by Legal Business before, we are faced with a unique situation.
Fasken Martineau will close the doors of its Hanover Square office at the end of this week, relocating a significantly reduced 10 lawyer team to London’s Old Broad Street. Lawyer headcount at the firm’s City office has been cut by almost a third in just a few months, having 28 fee-earners at the beginning of this year.
Continue reading “Fasken Martineau slashes London lawyer headcount by a third ahead of office move”
Finance company Fairpoint Group, which in recent years has pushed into the legal market with the acquisitions of Simpson Millar and Colemans, has posted annual revenue of £31.6m from its legal services division. The figure is a 165% jump on the £11.9m brought in last year.
Continue reading “ABS Fairpoint Group legal revenues hit £30m as firm hunts further acquisitions”
The latest to release its partnership promotions, Slaughter and May has announced ten promotions all in the City, a big bump on last year’s round of four.
