The Legal Services Board, along with the other legal sector regulators, has published suggestions to reform the Legal Services Act 2007 to make enforcement action easier to undertake and to cut red tape for alternative business structures (ABS).
Continue reading “Regulators look to cut ABS red tape in Legal Services Act reform push”
Standard Chartered has appointed an acting global head of legal and compliance as incumbent Jamie Kelly goes on sabbatical while the bank’s group general counsel (GC) office has been reorganised amid the large scale overhaul of management by new chief executive Bill Winters.
With an election for the top leadership job looming at CMS Cameron McKenna, the firm’s incumbent managing partner Duncan Weston (pictured) talks to Sarah Downey about the firm’s performance, targeting Asia and securing an elusive US merger.
Momentum versus quality. That’s the question for the upper reaches of the legal industry that is never on the lips of managing partners but probably should be. The industry likes to focus on partnership models, strategies, practices, geographic spread and culture. These are all fine up to a point but as major determinants of success, they get too much air time.
Continue reading “Comment: Momentum – the little-discussed magic that can lead to big success”
In a move to widen it offering to its insurance clients, RPC’s consulting arm has branched out from a legal and management focus and into insurance and financial consultancy work with the purchase of UK-based software business Marriott Sinclair.
A four-partner team from Linklaters advised France’s Schneider Electric on its £1.3bn reverse takeover of UK engineering software company and Ashurst-client Aveva.
The Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) annual report has shown improvements on last year, both in its levels of activity and the number of convictions achieved but white collar crime specialists are worried that planned budget cuts of 34% will ‘put that progress at risk.’.
As firms move to finalise their lateral hires before the holiday season starts, a string of US hires were wrapped up last week as Cooley brought in Reed Smith’s global head of corporate and securities in a four-partner hire to grow on both sides of the States, while Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton launched an antitrust practice in the City. Meanwhile, UK firm Clyde & Co went in the other direction to grow its US offering.
Continue reading “Revolving Doors: US firms kick-on with big hires as Clydes invests Stateside”
The first Magic Circle to report its trainee intake numbers for autumn 2015, Slaughter and May has revealed it is keeping on 33 trainees out of a cohort of 37 – unusually low for the firm which regularly posts rates of over 90%.
Continue reading “Slaughter and May’s trainee retention slips to 89% for 2015 autumn intake”
Magic Circle duo Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as the bidding battle for online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment came to an end today (17 July) with 888 beating GVC to acquire the FTSE 250-listed rival for £898m.
Continue reading “A&O and Freshfields win big on 888’s £900m purchase of Bwin after bidding battle”
The annual report issued by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) has seen the number of complaints made against judicial office holders rise by 20% last year, with those concerning the High Court rising 88%.
Following a record financial year that has seen Allen & Overy (A&O) move ahead of Magic Circle rivals Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in turnover, the firm’s associates will see a £20,000 increase in their base salaries as the firm incorporates bonuses into the annual pay packet.
Continue reading “£20k pay hike for A&O associates as firm folds bonuses into salary bands”
Following on from the launch last month of consultancy, paralegal and flexible lawyer offerings, DWF has entered into the growing legal product market by launching a wholly owned subsidiary, 15squared, to sell and develop technology products for in-house clients.
Continue reading “DWF launches subsidiary to enter burgeoning legal product market”
After having brought in Bain & Co last year to advise on the firm’s strategy, Ashurst’s chairman and New Zealand-born litigator Ben Tidswell (pictured) talks to Legal Business about the firm’s new direction and its renewed focus on financial institutions, energy and infrastructure, and the Asia-Pacific.
Following its recent landmark move to become the UK’s first listed law firm, West Midlands-based Gateley has stated in its first trading statement that revenues had increased by 10% to ‘not less than’ £60m for the 2014/15 financial year.
Continue reading “Gateley plc’s first trading statement reveals 10% revenue bump for 2014/15”
US firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has bolstered its funds practice as it continues to build its City presence with DLA Piper’s London head of funds Gawain Hughes – adding to the structured finance trio hired from K&L Gates last week.
Continue reading “Morgan Lewis continues City ramp-up with DLA Piper’s head of funds”
In a ‘sign to the market of our commitment to grow our private equity practice’, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has rehired Adrian Brown from Nabarro, where he formerly led the firm’s financial services regulation group after having joined from SJ Berwin in 2010.
After more than two decades operating in the Swiss city, Winston & Strawn is to shut its Geneva office at the end of September as the firm looks to service arbitration work from London and Paris.
The Minstry of Justice (MoJ) has launched a consultation on plans to close one fifth of courts and tribunals across England and Wales in a bid to tackle the issue of ‘underused’ court buildings and to cut costs.
Michael Gove’s performance before the justice select committee on Wednesday was a skilful one. Thoughtful, reasonable, non-dogmatic – two months into his time as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, he continues to win plaudits simply by virtue of not being Chris Grayling.
