A host of figures within the legal profession including former Allen & Overy (A&O) senior partner Guy Beringer QC (pictured) have been recognised in 2016’s New Year honours.
Checking in: Freshfields and Stephenson Harwood advise on £1.3bn sale of the Priory
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Stephenson Harwood have led on the sale of the Priory, the rehab clinic known for its celebrity clients, having treated the likes of supermodel Kate Moss, pop star Robbie Williams and rocker Pete Doherty.
Twice as nice: Fieldfisher doubles pay to highest earning member, LLP accounts reveal
The highest-paid LLP member at Fieldfisher took home £1.24m last year, almost twice as much as last year, following back-to-back years of strong revenue growth for the firm.
Comment: The 2015 edit – our favourite Legal Business pieces from this year
As the Christmas wind-down approaches inertia, in time-honoured tradition along with ghastly jumpers and inappropriate comments on social media, we signal the closing down of Legal Business HQ with a look back at the stories that made our year.
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Revolving doors: A&O and Linklaters make key lateral hires as Clydes picks up Aussie team
Allen & Overy (A&O) has made a key hire for its US securities practice with David Flechner joining the firm’s New York office. Flechner joins from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton where he worked for a decade.
Property panel: Freshfields, Herbert Smith and Addleshaws make British Land roster
Magic circle heavyweight Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has joined Addleshaw Goddard, Herbert Smith Freehills, Jones Day, King & Wood Mallesons, Mayer Brown and Simmons & Simmons on British Land’s first panel.
‘A powerful message of deterrence’: Court of Appeal dismisses Libor scandal trader Hayes’ appeal, while reducing sentence
In a decision that will provide little comfort for those facing similar charges, the Court of Appeal has refused the appeal of former derivatives trader Tom Hayes, who in August was found guilty of manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor).
Comment: After the Harvard Kool-Aid and lost years can Moore galvanise Linklaters?
Allen & Overy‘s veteran leader David Morley remarked sometimes that in running a law firm, success or failure is less about the decisions you make and more the ability to communicate what you are doing and why. Though directed at his own firm, the observation speaks to much of what ailed Linklaters over the last four years as a chasm opened between its leadership and partnership.
US partner promotions: Jones Day makes up two in London from 47-strong round
Jones Day has become the latest US firm to announce its partner promotion round with 4% of the 47-strong round making the ranks in London.
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Guest post: Law firms going public – one way to stop a Dewey-style run on the ‘bank’?
It has become commonplace – I have bowed to convention and endorsed the notion myself – to observe that law firms are labour not capital – intensive, and that (here’s the dangerous and subtle segue) therefore there would be no benefit to them in taking on outside investors, much less going public.
In-house: Singh steps down from GC post at Indian energy giant Essar Global Fund
Raminder Singh, the London-based general counsel and chief compliance officer of Indian conglomerate Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the holding company for Essar Energy, is to depart at the end of the year.
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Closing Cologne: Freshfields restructures German offices to create broad offering
In a bid strengthen its platform in Germany, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is closing its Cologne office, with the bulk of its staff transferring to the firm’s existing Düsseldorf outpost.
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In-house: Morton Fraser big winner as firms line up for Edinburgh City Council panel
Morton Fraser has picked up four places on Edinburgh City Council’s £3.1m panel, being appointed alongside larger firms such as Pinsent Masons and CMS Cameron McKenna.
Switching sides: Eversheds Manchester banking head departs to take GC role
Eversheds Manchester banking head Nigel Dale is leaving the firm after 20 years to join specialist lender Together as its general counsel (GC).
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‘I’m less and less keen on the generalists’: Simmons posts modest half-year revenue rise as firm targets high-growth sectors
Reduced commercial activity has slowed growth at Simmons & Simmons after a record-breaking 2014/15, with the firm reporting a modest 1% rise in revenue for the first half of the current financial year.
Simmons & Simmons picked to defend RBS against £800m rate-rigging claim
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has instructed Simmons & Simmons to defend a £800m claim from former Sheffield lawyer turned property mogul Glenn Maud over alleged losses from Euribor rigging.
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In-house: DWF, Eversheds, Addleshaws and Clydes win places on Tata Chemicals inaugural panel
DWF, Eversheds, Addleshaw Goddard and Clyde & Co have been awarded places on Tata Chemicals Europe’s first panel following a review led by the company’s general counsel Phil Davies, the legal and estates manager Sally Evans and a team from external adviser GC Hub.
DWF opens in Germany through local acquisition while Pinsents strengthens Munich with four-partner team
Just a week after launching its first office in continental Europe in Brussels, DWF has acquired the four-partner German arm of commercial and tax outfit BridgehouseLaw to establish a footprint in Europe’s biggest market.
‘The most stringent data laws in the world’: European Union agrees on penalties to protect personal data
Lawyers are warning of substantial change following the European Union’s agreement last night to regulate data collection and punish companies that violate EU data protection laws with penalties of up to €1m or up to 4% of the global annual turnover of a company.
Comment: The limits of culture – WLG needs more than common ground to fulfil its ambitions
Let’s get this out of the way up front. The least expected new entrant to the Global 100, Gowling WLG, is going to have to work very hard to avoid being the classic 2 + 2 = 4 union when its tie-up goes live in January.