Corporate partners are forecasting a robust transactional market this year as the value of M&A deals has reached its highest level in eight years with greater use of debt finance and more benevolent market conditions, but dealmakers remain cautious about bumps in the road.
The importance of tech: Foot Anstey promotes IT director to partner
Highlighting the growing importance of technology for law firms, south west firm Foot Anstey has used its alternative business structure (ABS) licence to bring IT director Duncan Eadie into the partnership, promoting him to equity partner.
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Olswang’s new German focus, Munich, sees team of five exit for US IP firm
Olswang’s German offering has been served a further blow after losing its entire Berlin office, with intellectual property (IP) partner and head of the filing and prosecution team, Herbert Kunz, leaving the firm’s Munich outpost along with one other lawyer and three staff.
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DLA Piper ends South African alliance as it eyes Jo’burg launch for first foray into Africa
DLA Piper and its South African affiliate, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, are ending their formal alliance as the international firm looks to strengthen its presence in the country.
Bringing AI to a law firm near you: Dentons’ NextLaw venture invests in IBM Watson app to answer lawyers’ questions
Dentons’ NextLaw Labs, having launched in May to focus on developing and investing in new technologies for the legal profession, has signed a deal with its first portfolio company, ROSS Intelligence, a start-up developing a legal adviser app powered by IBM Watson.
Addleshaw Goddard’s top of equity nears £1m goal as it rises 67% to £936k
Addleshaw Goddard’s top of equity figure has edged closer to the £1m goal unveiled in John Joyce’s (pictured) revamped strategy last year, soaring 67% from £560,000 to £936,000.
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Financials 2014/15: PEP dives 16% at DWF as revenue growth stalls
DWF, suffering a second year of lacklustre performance, is the latest law firm to report evidence of difficulties for those with large insurance practices as it posts financial results showing a 1% rise in revenue and a 16% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP).
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1.8 a year: Solicitors take less than half the national average of sick days
A report by the Law Society published today (6 August) into the health and well-being of solicitors has found that solicitors took an average of 1.8 days a year due to illness or injury in 2014, less than half the national average recorded in 2013 of 4.4 days.
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Cleary, Cahill, Slaughters and A&O share a Coke on bottler’s €28bn three-way merger
A raft of Global 100 firms, including Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May, have won work as three of Europe’s bottlers combine to form the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler.
PEP plunges 15% to fall below £500k at Holman Fenwick as revenue drops
Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) has seen a 15% slide in its profits per equity partner (PEP) for the 2014/15 financial year as the firm increased its partnership ranks but saw turnover and profit fall.
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Insurance sector woes hit Hill Dickinson as revenue falls by £8m and PEP slides 4%
After having carried out two redundancy rounds over the year, Hill Dickinson has seen its revenues for 2014/15 fall 6% from £112m to £104m while profit per equity partner (PEP) is down 4% from £271,000 last financial year to £261,000.
University of Law brings in Lord Grabiner as president following chief exec’s departure
In its reshuffle of senior management, The University of Law (ULaw) has appointed Lord Grabiner QC (pictured) as president after the departure of the incumbent-holder and chief executive, John Latham, by ‘mutual consent’.
Kirkland picked to defend Baxalta as Slaughters and Ropes take the lead on Shire’s $34bn hostile takeover
Shire has turned to longstanding adviser Slaughter and May in the UK while Ropes & Gray won the mandate in the US as it looks to takeover rival drug company and Kirkland & Ellis-client Baxalta in a hostile $33.9bn deal.
SFO opens investigation into Quindell as company revises 2014 legal profits down by £312m
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it is investigating Quindell’s ‘business and accounting practices’ as the company published revised annual accounts for 2014 showing a £312m swing from profit to loss in its Professional Services Division (PSD).
ULaw’s chief exec departs as university woos students with job guarantee
The University of Law’s (ULaw) chief executive John Latham has left the institution by ‘mutual consent’ after having lost several key clients to rival BPP and as the university seeks to win more business from students without training contracts by offering a money-back guarantee.
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Simmons & Simmons to shut Rome office as firm focuses on ‘doing it all out of Milan’
Simmons & Simmons is set to shut its nine-partner office in Rome following a ‘detailed review’ and focus on clients in Italy’s industrial heartland in the north of the country.
Europe’s re-emerging CLO market sees Sidley and Ropes turn to Weil Gotshal to boost structured finance teams
Weil, Gotshal & Manges‘ structured finance practice in the City has been hit by the departure of two lawyers with partner Rupert Wall heading to Sidley Austin and senior associate Chris McGarry making partner at Ropes & Gray.
Cooley continues London expansion with launch of City patent practice
With a mandate to generate London revenues of upwards of $40m, Cooley is making good on its City ambitions and hired a trio of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo lawyers to bulk out its London offering and launch a patent practice.
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62% of revenue from legal services: Fairpoint adds Colemans-ctts to law firm stable
Having entered the legal services market in 2014 by buying Simpson Millar, Eversheds-client Fairpoint group has added a second law firm to its holdings with the acquisition of Colemans-ctts for £9m.
Funding issue sees Signature Litigation replace Fladgate on RBS litigation
Having helped secure third-party funding, City boutique Signature Litigation has been instructed by the RBS Shareholders Action Group in its high profile £1.2bn court battle against the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the second change for the case and a move which has replaced Fladgate.
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