After establishing a global two-tier panel last year, Barclays has launched a procurement process to formalise its flexible resourcing usage and establish its first contract-lawyer only panel.
Continue reading “Going mainstream: Barclays breaks ground to forge first contract lawyer panel”
Mayer Brown has hired Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP) head of EU and competition, David Harrison, ten years after he joined the firm from Allen & Overy (A&O) to help start the stand-alone group. Meanwhile, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer City antitrust partner Andrea Gomes da Silva is leaving the firm after 14 years to join the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Traditionally a bellwether of trainee and associate salaries among the Magic Circle, Slaughter and May has made significant hikes to the salaries it pays junior lawyers.
Continue reading “Slaughter and May raises associate pay with NQs getting £5,000 boost”
Pinsent Masons‘ John Cleland (pictured) takes up the reins as the firm’s new managing partner today (Friday 1 May). He talks to Legal Business about his three priorities for the business, his preparations for taking on the role and whether he will miss fee earning.
Two weeks ago, Labour pledged to tax as income the performance fees (known as the ‘carried interest’) paid to certain investment managers. This rather than the much lower capital gains tax rate enjoyed hitherto. The pledge followed Labour’s promise, earlier in the week, to remove the centuries old non-dom tax break and, last month, to restrict pension tax relief for high earners.
Shearman & Sterling’s London office has outpaced the rest of the firm, with revenue last year growing 7% in the City to hit $145m compared to the 3% rise achieved by the firm as a whole in the 12 months to 31 December 2014. Two years into a three year plan to restore the firm’s fortunes, Europe chief Nick Buckworth (pictured) talks firing up the firm’s international offering.
Taylor Wessing, Olswang and CMS Cameron McKenna are amongst a host of firms to sign up to Apperio – a platform designed to create transparency on legal fees.
Despite the spate of large scale settlements banks continue to set aside large provisions for legal spend with the latest, Barclays, setting aside £800m for investigations and litigation primarily relating to foreign exchange manipulation while Deutsche Bank put aside €1.5bn in the first quarter of 2015.
Joining the spate of firms to bolster their offering in Singapore in recent months, Nabarro has today (30 April) announced the appointment of senior disputes partner Steven Lim, the founder and managing director of Clyde & Co’s joint venture partner Clasis, to head its Singapore office.
Continue reading “Asia: Nabarro hires Clyde & Co senior disputes partner to head Singapore office”
Bankruptcy pioneer Harvey Miller, one of America’s leading commercial lawyers of the post-War period, has died at the age of 82, it was announced this week.
The Weil Gotshal & Manges partner was America’s most prominent bankruptcy practitioner, playing a pivotal role in a string of landmark cases, including the wind-up of Lehman Brothers, the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history.
Continue reading “One of the giants – Bankruptcy legend Harvey Miller dies at 82 after defining US workouts for decades”
Clifford Chance has this year made up 25 lawyers to partner in its annual promotions round, with six associates across corporate, finance, and real estate practices making the cut in London.
Continue reading “Global promotions increase at Clifford Chance as it makes up six in the City”
White & Case has been granted renewal for its Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licence. The Singapore government has extended the firm’s QFLP licence for four years to April 2019, following the firm’s request for renewal.
Continue reading “Staying local: White & Case wins foreign licence renewal in Singapore”
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has shaken up its global council to bring in two non-executives. The move sees Commonwealth Bank of Australia director Jane Hemstritch and senior independent director of insurer at RSA Johanna Waterous become the first external members on HSF’s main oversight body.
Continue reading “HSF brings in two senior non-execs amid shake-up to governance board”
The apparent international retrenchment of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe continues with the top 40 US law firm announcing this week that it is closing its Frankfurt and Berlin offices.
Continue reading “Orrick strips down on global stage as two German branches are shut”
The latest round of partner promotions among international firms sees Clyde & Co and Dentons announce 13 and ten new partners respectively.
Continue reading “Promotions round: Clyde & Co and Dentons increase partner intake on last year”
With a mandate to increase its Asia revenues, Hogan Lovells continues to recruit at partner level, today (28 April) announcing the hire of Wataru Kamoto from local boutique Hibiya-Nakata to its corporate practice in Tokyo. Continue reading “Hogan Lovells expands Tokyo practice with corporate hire from local boutique”
On the back of robust financial growth for the 2013/14 year, high-flying boutique Signature Litigation is exploring developing a trainee scheme, with a proposal to match itself with non-competing firms and ‘facilitate a programme of reciprocal secondments’.
Continue reading “Grow your own – Signature Litigation plans trainee scheme with other law firms”
In a sign that the Magic Circle firm has renewed confidence in its traditional M&A stronghold, Linklaters has promoted nine corporate lawyers to the partnership, nearly 40% of the 23-strong round, spread across the City, Shanghai and its European offices.
Following a round of redundancies last year which saw 33 roles cut, Ince & Co is restructuring its partnership and support staff with six partners and ten secretarial staff set to depart.
Continue reading “Redundancy watch: Six partners and 10 staff set to leave Ince & Co”
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has today (27 April) announced a total of 51 lawyers were made up to partner across the US, Canada Europe, Asia and Africa in what constitutes its largest promotions round since its 2013 combination.
