French oil major Total has launched a review of its current global legal panel and has informed lawyers involved in the process that it will cut the roster as it seeks to increase price competition between firms.
Continue reading “After four years, oil giant Total looks to slim down panel as it launches review”
Trowers & Hamlins has chosen to build on its representative office in Malaysia, following the country’s legal market liberalisation, by applying for a qualified foreign law firm (QFLF) licence.
Continue reading “Opening up new markets: Trowers applies for foreign firm licence in Malaysia”
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have advised two of the world’s largest beverage can makers on an acquisition worth £4.3bn as Rexam agreed an offer from Ball Corporation.
Continue reading “A £4.3bn deal: Skadden and Freshfields take lead roles on Rexam takeover”
After losing two Magic Circle firms as clients, the University of Law has managed to retain Linklaters with the duo announcing a five-year partnership which continues the trend of further integrating business and management modules in courses taken by trainees.
The UK legal arm of French insurer AXA is set to look at its relationships with Magic Circle and international firms and how they can work more effectively for the company. It follows a review of the UK specific ‘business-as-usual’ panel which has been cut from seven to two and now comprises Pinsent Masons and DAC Beachcroft.
MacRoberts has defied the depressed Scottish legal market by expanding to 49 partners, the highest in its history, after poaching four partners from DWF.
Continue reading “Significant departures: DWF loses four-partner team to Scottish firm MacRoberts”
Having carried out the high profile re-election of its global chief executive Peter Martyr in autumn, Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has decided to stay the course with its LLP chair position and has re-appointed longstanding partner Stephen Parish as chair of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.
Here at Adam Smith, Esq, we cover the array of law firm management issues from strategy and finance to compensation and cultural issues – ‘an inquiry into the economics of law firms,’ to coin a phrase. But there’s much more to life.
Continue reading “Guest post: Meaning in your career – or how to keep lawyers satisfied”
The High Court has this morning (18 February) found in favour of Grant Thornton in relation to its high profile auditors’ negligence dispute brought against it by Barclays Bank.
The Law Society received a blow today (18 February) as its challenge to the government’s controversial plans to overhaul criminal legal aid was dismissed in the High Court.
Not wanting to be outdone by their US colleagues, who recently launched DLA Piper’s first non-legal entity selling cybersecurity software subscriptions for $25,000 a year, the firm’s London office is preparing to rollout an e-learning product for both associates and clients.
Partners at Bird & Bird have joined the rush to expand into consultancy work, launching an IT project consultancy Baseline in a joint venture with Lancashire-based ASE Consulting.
Continue reading “‘A more comprehensive solution’: Bird & Bird creates IT consultancy”
Shearman & Sterling and Slaughter and May are among firms to have landed roles advising on Canadian insurance group Fairfax’s £1.2bn takeover of specialty insurer Brit as the group looks to boost its presence in the City.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s UK registered limited liability partnership (LLP) has recorded a near 4% increase in profit for the 2013/14 financial year alongside a 6.3% reduction in total borrowings while Fieldfisher’s net debt nearly doubled as the firm saw its profits decline.
US firms’ financials are continuing their positive trend, with recent releases showing revenue spikes and profit boosts including for Davis Polk & Wardwell and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison which both broke the billion-dollar mark in gross revenues last year.
Continue reading “US revenue round-up: Paul Weiss and Davis Polk surpass the billion-dollar mark”
German food flavourings maker Symrise and its Mexican subsidiary are suing Baker & McKenzie for £11.7m at the High Court, arguing that the law firm’s advice on ‘aggressive financial engineering’ to avoid tax in Mexico failed when the company paid out £11.2m.
Matthew Elliott’s long-mooted arrival at Kirkland & Ellis from Linklaters stole headlines last week, but LB 100 firms including DLA Piper, Eversheds and DWF also all made hires.
Eversheds has expanded its consulting services business, Eversheds Consulting, with the launch of a financial services regulatory compliance offering, and recruited six senior consultants and a team of compliance contractors, including Jean-Paul Simoes and Jonathan Steward from EY and KPMG respectively.
The battle between Argentinian bondholders and the South American government rattles on after RPC failed to convince a High Court judge to order the trustee, The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), to release $257m to four holdout investors.
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe have become the latest firms to announce how many of their spring 2015 qualifiers they are set to retain, with BLP seeing its rate slip from 89% in 2014 to 70% this year.
