A year since it edged past the £100m barrier, revenue at tech-heavy law firm Fieldfisher rose by 9% to reach £113m in the last financial year and put its spate of flat results following the financial crisis behind it.
News in brief – June 2015
CLYDES AND SIMPSON & MARWICK IN ANGLO/SCOTS MERGER BID
Clyde & Co is in merger talks with former Kennedys target, Scottish firm Simpson & Marwick. Simpson’s five Scottish offices plus outposts in Newcastle, Leeds and London could be added on to Clydes’ office network, although its 15-strong family law team exited the firm last month for Brodies.
EY LAW HIRES FINREG LAUNCH TEAM AND SENIOR ADDLESHAWS DUO
Accountancy giant EY made a further push into legal services in May, hiring Baker & McKenzie financial services partner Steven Francis, plus a 12-strong team of lawyers to launch a financial regulatory business. It also announced the hire of former Addleshaw Goddard managing partner Paul Devitt and corporate partner Richard Thomas to its Manchester office with plans to grow a team servicing the North West.
DAC Beachcroft set for defining post-merger management election
DAC Beachcroft is gearing up for a management election this summer between both insurance and non-insurance partners as the firm looks to select its first new executive team since the merger of Davies Arnold Cooper and Beachcroft in October 2011.
Continue reading “DAC Beachcroft set for defining post-merger management election”
Gateways – the lawyer’s view on gaining access to North Africa
While Morocco stands apart as a portal into Africa for foreign investors, neighbour Algeria starts to open up. We ask international law firms to share their experiences of working in the region.
In the globalisation race, Casablanca has established an early lead as one of the primary entry points into Africa, along with Johannesburg. It is akin to the emergence in the last decade of Hong Kong and Singapore as the key finance centres for Asia. But can Morocco and neighbouring Algeria achieve a position of genuine global influence, when Paris, London and also Dubai remain places where many African transactions are executed?
Continue reading “Gateways – the lawyer’s view on gaining access to North Africa”
After downsizing Germany Orrick bucks trend with Geneva launch as US firm bolsters arbitration credentials
Having recently shut two out of four of its German offices as it refocuses its European strategy, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is opening a new base in Geneva to build its arbitration presence on the continent with the hire of Vanessa Liborio from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Defendants shift advisers in favour of Quinn Emanuel in Arcadia $335m oil trading case
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s Ted Greeno has been brought in to defend ex-Arcadia Petroleum chief executive Peter Bosworth and former chief financial officer Colin Hurley against a $335m fraud suit at the High Court from their past employer after Allen & Overy (A&O) was dropped from the case.
Having lost two Magic Circle clients, University of Law sold to GUS less than three years after purchase
Europe’s largest law school The University of Law (ULaw) has been sold by Montagu Private Equity to Global University Systems (GUS), less than three years after the private equity house acquired it and after losing two Magic Circle clients to rival BPP last year.
Financials 2014/15: Bond Dickinson passes the £100m revenue mark with 7% growth
In its first full financial year since its May 2013 merger, Bond Dickinson has surpassed the £100m mark with a 7% growth rate and a revenue figure of £106.4m for the financial year 2014/15.
Continue reading “Financials 2014/15: Bond Dickinson passes the £100m revenue mark with 7% growth”
Garrigues in Latin America: a step ahead – Javier Ybañez discusses the firm’s international position.
We would like to think that staying one step ahead is one of Garrigues’ hallmarks – one of our obsessions. Garrigues was the first Spanish law firm to become an institutional organisation and leave behind the traditional model of an inherited family business to become a firm owned purely on merit, and this some decades before our competitors chose the same route.
Being the first to take such a difficult step is probably what instilled our enduring pioneering spirit. Many years ago we were the first major Spanish law firm to open an office in New York and, more recently, the first to publish a corporate social responsibility report. To some extent, this background has undoubtedly driven us to be the first major Spanish law firm to open its own offices in the principal Latin American cities.
Team moves – Alec Harvey and Richard Nicolle discuss the risks
Team moves in London’s legal market are on the rise, particularly among US law firms establishing new offices or practice groups.
The potential benefits of a team move are not limited to critical mass – the new employer may gain a significant competitive headstart by acquiring a ready-made team, client relationships and increased market credibility.
Even where single partners are targeted, they are frequently asked whether they require support from existing team members and acquiring junior lawyers, who often service the daily needs of clients, can enhance the ability to leverage client relationships. Continue reading “Team moves – Alec Harvey and Richard Nicolle discuss the risks”
Dealwatch: Freshfields and Mayer Brown win roles on Blackstone’s Centre Parcs sale
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Mayer Brown have won key spots on Blackstone’s sale of a majority stake in Centre Parcs UK to Brookfield Property Partners after the holiday-village operator had looked at carrying out an initial public offering (IPO).
Linklaters finance practice knocked as firm loses leading partners in Germany and Hong Kong
Linklaters has suffered senior exits in two key financial centres, with former German international board member Eva Reudelhuber departing for Gleiss Lutz in Frankfurt and Davis Polk & Wardwell hiring capital markets partner Jon Gray in Hong Kong.
Mishcon de Reya hires Enyo Law partner in ongoing disputes push
After having left Addleshaw Goddard in 2010 to join high-end disputes boutique Enyo Law, partner Annabel Thomas (pictured) is returning to a full service LB100 firm and joining Mishcon de Reya’s disputes practice.
Continue reading “Mishcon de Reya hires Enyo Law partner in ongoing disputes push”
‘A Chinese firm for Chinese clients’: Michelmores supports first UK launch by Chinese-owned law firm
YangTze Law has become the first wholly Chinese-owned law firm to launch in London, targeting Chinese corporates investing in Europe as China’s outbound direct investment overtook investment into the country for the first time earlier this year.
Mayer Brown teams up with ULaw to launch first ‘direct to solicitor’ apprenticeship
Mayer Brown has announced that it will be the first City law firm to offer the University of Law’s (ULaw) Articled Apprenticeship scheme, which enables candidates to obtain a degree, postgraduate qualification and the recognised training required for full solicitor status.
City moves: Kirkland sees another exit as Proskauer hires Howe while Hogan Lovells builds its high yield offering with Dentons hire
Proskauer Rose has continued to build its London corporate offering, bringing in M&A partner James Howe from Kirkland & Ellis, while Hogan Lovells has strengthened its debt capital markets (DCM) team in the City with the hire of high-yield partner Sylvain Dhennin from Dentons.
‘Not job done but it is the first step’: Addleshaws’ turnaround emerges as revenues grow 12% to £193m
After having elected managing partner John Joyce (pictured) to help turnaround what had been a string of lethargic results following the financial crisis, Addleshaw Goddard has posted double digit revenue growth of 12%, up from £171m in 2013/14 to £193m for the financial year 2014/15, while profits per equity partner (PEP) are expected to return to 2012/13 levels.
Withers takes its pick of McKenna Long partners ahead of Dentons tie-up as firm launches three US offices
Withers has launched three new offices in the US with the hire of a nine partner team – the majority of which come from McKenna Long & Aldridge as the US firm carries on leaking partners ahead of a combination with Dentons.
Doing it differently
Many leading GCs feel that heads of legal are ideally placed as influencers in their corporation to encourage policies and processes that foster diversity of thought – and to move away from the stereotype of a corporate world filled with middle-aged, straight, white males. Continue reading “Doing it differently”
What I want from my general counsel – a CEO’s perspective
Luis Alvarez is CEO of BT Global Services, one of the global market leaders in managed network IT services for businesses. Luis joined BT in April 1999 as multimedia and internet director, then as country manager for BT’s Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American operations. Continue reading “What I want from my general counsel – a CEO’s perspective”