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.
‘A more comprehensive solution’: Bird & Bird creates IT consultancy
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.
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A £1.2bn deal: Shearman, Slaughters and Paul Weiss advise on Fairfax’s takeover of Brit
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.
Accounts: NRF shows 4% profit bump as borrowings fall while Fieldfisher’s profit slides
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 revenue round-up: Paul Weiss and Davis Polk surpass the billion-dollar mark
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.
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‘Aggressive financial engineering’: Baker & McKenzie sued for £11.7m by company seeking to avoid tax in Mexico
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.
Revolving Doors: DLA Piper continues Asia rebuild as Eversheds bulks up its Swiss offering
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.
Bringing lawyers and consultants ‘under the same roof’: Eversheds launches financial services consulting arm
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.
Hunting Titans: RPC fails to convince judge to order BNY Mellon to release Argentinian bondholders
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.
Trainee retention: BLP’s rate slips to 70% while Orrick keeps on all four of its cohort
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.
Accounts revealed: Pinsent Masons’ headcount and net debt jumps as turnover rises
Pinsent Masons’ latest accounts, filed at Companies House, reveal a 3.7% profit increase alongside a 5.9% rise in headcount in the financial year to 30 April 2014, while the firm’s net debt nearly tripled.
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Grand designs: DLA Piper to move City operation to Cameron McKenna’s old office
Seeking to expand its office space in the City, DLA Piper has signed a lease to move into CMS Cameron McKenna’s old London base at Mitre House.
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Referred to the SDT: Fieldfisher partner pursued by SRA after criminal conviction
Fieldfisher partner Michael Harte has been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) which alleges he broke multiple aspects of the SRA Principles 2011.
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‘We have renewed momentum’: Hogan Lovells sees PEP edge up 0.8% after 3.6% revenue increase
As Hogan Lovells prepares to celebrate its fifth anniversary in May, there may be mixed reaction from the partnership today (13 February) over its 2014 financial results, as revenue for the calendar year modestly increased by 3.6% to $1.779bn from $1.718bn in 2013, while revenue per lawyer (RPL) rose 1.5% to $753,974 from $742,613 in 2013.
Accounts revealed: Profits rise 10.8% in Ashurst’s first post-merger filings
Ashurst‘s first post-merger limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts show the firm’s operating profit increased 10.5% from £193.8m to £214.2m for the financial year ending 30 April 2014 as it contained staff costs and increased turnover.
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PwC Legal’s Stewart Room: ‘New year, new privacy and security strategy’
New year is traditionally the time to change our ways. As we reflect back on the year just gone, perhaps we see that an inch has gone on to the waistline, or we’re more out of breath as we run for the train, or the savings have diminished even further. All good prompts to change our ways and come up with new life strategies?
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In-house reshuffle: JPMorgan hires Goldman Sachs’ John Tribolati as new EMEA general counsel
US banking giant JPMorgan Chase continues its strategic expansion of its legal function, and has recruited Goldman Sachs heavyweight counsel John Tribolati as its new EMEA general counsel (GC). Tribolati succeeds Piers Le Marchant, who has now been appointed as global head of compliance for corporate and investment banking.
World’s largest airport operator: Mayer Brown and Davis Polk help Spain’s €4.3bn AENA float take-off
Mayer Brown and Davis Polk & Wardwell have won roles advising Spanish airport operator Aena (Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea) on its €4.3bn float on the Madrid Stock Exchange.
Building a ‘global oil and gas practice’: Latham & Watkins hires HSF energy partner in London
Latham & Watkins has continued its hiring spree in London with the hire of Herbert Smith Freehills‘ energy partner Simon Tysoe.
‘An extremely tragic situation’: Police name DLA Piper associate as victim stabbed in Washington DC hotel
Police have identified a man killed in a stabbing at a Washington DC hotel on Tuesday 10 February as 30-year old DLA Piper associate David Messerschmitt.