A Manhattan jury has found former Dewey & LeBoeuf executives Steven Davis, Stephen DiCarmine and Joel Sanders not guilty on multiple criminal charges related to the largest law firm collapse in legal history, although it is still deliberating a number of more serious charges.
Dechert results: revenue slides by £2m in London as highest earner takes home £2.7m
The highest take-home pay at Dechert’s London office rose by 16% last year to £2.69m, despite income at the City office sliding by 4%.
Comment: The fundamental things – SJ Berwin and the problem with legal conglomerates
At the time that SJ Berwin combined with King & Wood Mallesons there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The firm had eyed a global merger for years, KWM was a much-fêted Asia-Pacific giant with a commanding position in China’s fast-growing legal market and the deal was in general welcomed by its partnership (in contrast to the smoke and mirrors surrounding the abortive discussions with Proskauer Rose).
Quinn fastens up for multibillion-euro shareholder claim against Volkswagen in Germany
US litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has been instructed in a shareholder lawsuit against car maker Volkswagen (VW) after the company lost as much as $33bn in market value in ten days after it admitted to cheating emissions tests.
King & Wood Mallesons departures continue as Ashurst hires Hong Kong corporate heavyweight Joshua Cole
King Wood & Mallesons (KWM) is to lose senior corporate partner Joshua Cole from its Hong Kong office to Ashurst.
Name partner departs arbitration boutique Volterra Fietta
Four years after leaving Latham & Watkins to launch arbitration and international law boutique Volterra Fietta, Stephen Fietta has resigned to set up his own shop.
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Guest post: Asking the big question – what do clients want?
Engineers and theologians know how to find out. I listened with great interest last week to a presentation about a soon-to-be released survey of client attitudes.
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Austrian law student’s case against Facebook results in landmark ECJ decision to scrap safe harbour regime
An Austrian law student has won a legal challenge over the US safe harbour scheme, in a decision which will impact some 4,000 US companies which transferred personal information across the Atlantic.
Legal Services Board green lights removal of annual solicitor endorsements for sole practitioners
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has agreed to the removal of annual solicitor endorsements for sole practitioners, in a move which the Solicitors Regulation Authority said will simplify arrangements.
White & Case steps up private equity march with hires from Clifford Chance and Debevoise
White & Case’s march on the London private equity market has stepped up another gear with the hire of Caroline Sherrell from Clifford Chance and Kenneth Barry from Debevoise & Plimpton.
Q&A: Jenner & Block’s Charlie Lightfoot talks about leadership, White & Case, and ‘getting my hands dirty’
Chicago litigation firm Jenner & Block’s launch of its first overseas office earlier this year in London was as soft as they come. Is there space for another litigation firm or will London be its graveyard? Charlie Lightfoot (pictured), the man tasked with growing the firm’s London office, talks of the firm’s prospects.
Entering Italy: Dentons opens in Milan with 21-strong team from DLA and local boutique
Guest Post: Michael Gove – the barrister’s best friend?
Legal Futures has gained exclusive access to what is believed to be the transcript of a secret meeting held recently between Lord Chancellor Michael Gove (pictured) and a delegation from the Bar Council.
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RPC makes key finance hire with former Worldpay corporate GC
City firm RPC has hired former Worldpay corporate general counsel Matthew Griffith as a partner in its corporate insurance and financial services team, in a bid to ‘sharpen client focus’ in the sector.
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Super Dadds: West End firm rescues Jeffrey Green Russell from pre-pack administration
West End firm Gordon Dadds has rescued another ailing firm by acquiring Jeffrey Russell Green (JGR) following a pre-pack administration, creating a full service firm.
Revolving doors: DAC Beachcroft, Osborne Clarke, Baker & McKenzie among those announcing new recruits
A number of firms including Osborne Clarke, Baker & McKenzie, CMS and Simmons & Simmons made key hires last week.
Watson Farley hires Clyde & Co corporate partner Nigel Taylor
Watson Farley & Williams continues to build its City offering through lateral hires, by hiring Clyde & Co corporate partner Nigel Taylor to join the firm.
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Fragmented and naïve: the profession’s failure to penetrate Whitehall
Two pieces this month touch on a common theme: the profession’s failure to influence government. The first touches on the policy issues that have most commonly put the profession into conflict with government: the provision of legal aid, in our coverage of the unprecedented strike by publicly-funded lawyers. In the second, in our Global 100 debate, Slaughter and May’s Nigel Boardman rightly highlights the profession’s glaring lack of influence in shaping business law, while senior figures cite mounting concerns over the future of the judiciary and courts.
The UK profession’s lack of clout has long been bizarre. English law has huge influence globally both in terms of foreign businesses deploying it and choosing English lawyers and courts but also in terms of soft power. The UK is a global leader in legal services, home to the world’s second-largest legal market and a substantial contributor to exports and tax revenues.
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The fundamental things – SJ Berwin and the problem with legal conglomerates
At the time that SJ Berwin combined with King & Wood Mallesons there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The firm had eyed a global merger for years, KWM was a much-fêted Asia-Pacific giant with a commanding position in China’s fast-growing legal market and the deal was in general welcomed by its partnership (in contrast to the smoke and mirrors surrounding the abortive discussions with Proskauer Rose). And yet, as we report this month, the firm has suffered a challenging few years since the deal went live, marked by significant departures.
Part of the problem is the inevitable consequence of the legacy UK firm’s reputation in private equity and funds, areas under siege from US law firms. That is a known quantity and the firm has been proactive in addressing that challenge.
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The Last Word: Fighting your corner
Our recent International Arbitration Summit in London provoked lively discussion and, ahead of a full report on the debate next month, here is a taster of some of the key points
SELF-AWARENESS REQUIRED
‘The once preoccupying debate about what issues you can arbitrate has become of ever-diminishing relevance in the modern world. Almost all commercial disputes today are now arbitral, with fewer and fewer exceptions.
We need to ask ourselves again and again why users are complaining that modern arbitration is, all too often, failing to fulfil the promise of international arbitration as a flexible and streamlined form of dispute resolution, in which the particular process is tailored to the particular issues in play, in a particular case. We need to ask ourselves why mainstream public opinion is often expressing a very open level of criticism about the legitimacy of investment arbitration, which is inevitably spilling over into the commercial arbitration mainstream.’
Constantine Partasides QC, founder, Three Crowns