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The tide is high – the report card on the world’s top offshore players

With global corporate markets experiencing a resurgence in 2014, the strongest offshore law firms had key roles to play in the world’s most high-profile deals and disputes. Legal Business’ annual offshore survey assesses recent highlights and profiles the leading offshore law firms.

In many ways, the last 12 months have represented another robust year for the ten largest global offshore law firms. In our first annual report on those firms last year, a number cited double-digit increases in revenues on the previous year. This year, a number are again reporting significant growth.

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Guest post: Dentons/Dacheng – A theory and rationale

I wasn’t going to write about Dacheng/Dentons until I was. When I first heard about the mega tie-up creating the largest law firm in the world – records are made to be broken, as any number of athletes will happily confide in you – I had only two thoughts: First, this will get everyone’s attention; and second, there is no way any rational person can forecast whether it will succeed or fail or muddle through.

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Saudi relations: Clifford Chance special adviser resigns to head public regulator

Clifford Chance’s (CC’s) special adviser in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, founding partner of local firm Al-Jadaan & Partners with which the Magic Circle firm holds a cooperation agreement, has resigned from his role to chair the Capital Market Authority as it oversees the liberalisation of the country’s financial markets.

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Revolving doors: OC and Boodle Hatfield both hire in the City while BLP and Pinsents focus on the Middle East

Osborne Clarke started last week with a hire from King & Wood Mallesons in the City but other laterals saw a focus on the Middle East with Boodle Hatfield’s London hire dealing with clients in the region as well as central Asia while Pinsent Masons and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) both hired in the UAE.

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Q&A: A year on – Shell’s legal director Donny Ching on handling oil industry pressures and a 1000-strong team

Donny Ching (pictured) replaced Peter Rees as Royal Dutch Shell’s legal director in February 2014. After almost a year in the top role, Ching talks to Legal Business about law firm collaboration, appropriate fee arrangements and pressures facing in-house teams in volatile industries.

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‘A challenging year’: DAC Beachcroft profit falls as firm hit by rising staff costs and IT failure

DAC Beachcroft’s latest LLP fillings at Companies House have revealed the firm’s profits available for division among members fell by 18.3% from £31.2m in the 2012/13 financial year to £25.5m in the year to 30 April 2014 as staff costs rose and the firm booked the cost of an IT failure.

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