In a ‘strategic play’ to build its debt capital markets offering, Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has hired a pair of finance partners from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s City office.
Continue reading “Watson Farley hires Fried Frank London duo to launch structured finance practice”
As the firm ramps up for a defining election, DAC Beachcroft has announced its financial figures for 2014/15 saying it had seen a 3% rise in its total billings to £200m up from £194.4m last year.
The Bar is set to avoid further reductions in advocacy fees as the Ministry of Justice confirmed that it would make further cuts to criminal legal aid but for solicitors only – a move condemned by The Law Society which said it was ‘deeply concerned not only for the immediate future of the justice system but for its continued survival.’
In a conspicuously early move by Dentons‘ chief executive Elliott Portnoy and global chairman Joe Andrew, both have revealed they will stand as candidates for the firm’s scheduled management elections in 2017.
Continue reading “Forward planning: Dentons management Portnoy and Andrew to stand in 2017 election”
An interesting battle is raging in Scotland on levels large and small. In early May, the Scottish National Party (SNP) swept to victory in 56 of the 59 seats available to it in the General Election and party leader Nicola Sturgeon pressed prime minister David Cameron to revisit the draft legislation on devolving more powers to Holyrood.
Continue reading “Comment: Be wary of vaulting ambition as competition ramps up in Scotland”
A trio of LB100 firms –Travers Smith, Clifford Chance, Pinsent Masons – have lined up alongside Debevoise & Plimpton in landing key roles on Patron Capital’s recent £500m sale of one of the UK’s biggest independent petrol station operators, Motor Fuel Group, to US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).
The High Court has today (9 June) handed down its judgment in favour of Barclays Bank in a long running battle to secure repayment of a $540,000 loan together with interest from former Dewey & LeBoeuf partner Londell McMillan. Continue reading “‘Not a naïve or vulnerable consumer’: Barclays wins capital loan claim against former Dewey partner”
Within days of Clifford Chance (CC) announcing its pay bands in the associate salary race to match Magic Circle peers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has decided to freeze salaries for junior lawyers at 2014’s levels.
Teams at the London offices of Paul Hastings; Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy all took on key roles in the three-year negotiations over Simmons & Simmons-client General Healthcare Group’s (GHG) £1.5bn debt restructuring.
Gateley’s partners are set to receive £25m, more than 80% of the £30m total raised, as the West Midlands firm started its first day of dealings on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Continue reading “Gateley’s partners take home over 80% of £30m raised in landmark law firm listing”
Just five months after making the final two to succeed Neville Eisenberg as managing partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner, corporate chief David Collins has resigned from the firm.
Continue reading “‘A personal decision’: BLP’s David Collins resigns after missing out on top job”
National firm Weightmans is looking to establish an offering in Yorkshire, announcing it is in final merger negotiations with single office, Leeds-based Ford & Warren.
Continue reading “Weightmans targets July for merger with Leeds-firm Ford & Warren”
Shepherd and Wedderburn’s chief executive Stephen Gibb (pictured) has hailed 2014/15 a ‘cracking year’ as the firm posted a revenue increase of 26%, from £38m last financial year to £48m in the year to 30 April.
Continue reading “Tods acquisition helps boost revenue 26% to £48m at Shepherd and Wedderburn”
Continuing its recent significant push into Asia, private client specialist Withers has launched a Tokyo tax practice- Withers Japan, Zeirishi Houjin (Withers Japan) – and hired Morrison & Foerster’s (MoFo) Singapore-based Eric Roose to head up its regional corporate tax practice.
Continue reading “Big in Japan: Withers pushes further down the Silk Road with MoFo tax hires”
It is 2025 and the view from the nominal head office of the leading City law firm remains as uncertain as it has for the last 15 years. Not that there hasn’t been progress at what would once have been called a Magic Circle firm.
Continue reading “Comment: A vision of Big Law come 2025 – will the dust ever settle?”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided to relax the Separate Business Rule, allowing law firms to own outside businesses which are not regulated by the SRA and provide accounting services, and making it easier for them to compete with alternative business structures (ABSs).
After Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer veterans Edward Braham and Christopher Pugh (pictured) canvassed separately and were set to go head-to-head for the firm’s senior partner elections, the duo have united on a single platform and are campaigning to lead the firm together.
In a sign of the travails facing law firms doing business in ‘unusual jurisdictions’, Enyo Law has established an in-house business intelligence unit to help conduct due diligence and build business while it has also bolstered its ranks after partner Annabel Thomas exited for Mishcon de Reya earlier this week, hiring Eversheds partner Jonathan Brook.
DLA Piper is to launch a flexible working unit to rival Allen & Overy’s (A&O) Peerpoint and other alumni-based ventures following criticism over the lack of flexibility within the firm’s remuneration structure.
Clifford Chance’s (CC) ambition to build its New York office have suffered a setback with the loss of M&A duo Ivan Presant and Joseph Cosentino to US firm Greenberg Traurig.
Continue reading “Clifford Chance’s New York office loses corporate duo to Greenberg Traurig”
