Clifford Chance has started a review of its remuneration system at management level, a move which could see the firm deploy a more flexible lockstep to retain star partners.
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Feuding brothers: Leading Indian firm Amarchand splits after failing to settle ownership battle
India’s largest law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co has agreed to split the 600-lawyer firm after months of legal wrangling over unequal equity shares.
A €3.5bn arbitration: Shearman, Bakers and White & Case land roles on Finnish nuclear dispute
Finnish power producer TVO and construction consortium Areva-Siemens have gone to London’s International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC) in a bid to settle the ongoing €3.5bn Finnish nuclear arbitration over construction delays to the 1.6gw Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant.
What’s in a name? Companies House found liable in £8.8m negligence spelling mistake case
Companies House has today (26 January) lost a major argument at the High Court after a Cardiff businessman argued a blunder over a single letter on a document caused his 124-year old business Taylor and Sons’ to go into administration.
‘A statement of intent’: Can Layton’s strategy reinvigorate Clifford Chance?
Nearly three decades have passed since the game changing union of Coward Chance and Clifford Turner – a watershed moment in the evolution of global law famously executed by figureheads, Sir Max Williams and Geoffrey Howe. This week the firm’s managing partner Matthew Layton unveiled a strategy which will attempt to revive that audacious vision of brilliantly commercial partners and perhaps, a renewed breeding ground for imaginative thinkers.
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Targeting the UK: Slater & Gordon in talks with Quindell over division purchase
Alternative Business Structure (ABS) Quindell has entered negotiations to sell one of its operating divisions to Australian law firm Slater & Gordon.
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Mounting departures: Barclays’ global head of financial crime steps down
Days after Barclays global general counsel (GC) of corporate and investment banking Judith Shepherd announced that she will be stepping down in the first half of this year, Barclays global head of the financial crime legal team Jonathan Peddie has quit the banking giant after nine years.
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Team check-up: Co-op group reorganises legal team and starts panel assessment
The Co-operative Group‘s general counsel Alistair Asher and head of legal Jim Tully are to lead an assessment into the British consumer group’s panel firms as the group’s legal team undergoes a reorganisation.
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6,600 lawyers: Dentons set to combine with China’s largest law firm Dacheng
Dentons is set to create the biggest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount through a combination with leading Chinese firm Dacheng, a move that will establish a 6,600-lawyer giant operating under a Swiss verein structure.
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Clashing titans: Taylor Wessing acts as MetLife sues A&O client JP Morgan for $107m
Two giants of the US financial services market, insurer Metlife and investment bank JP Morgan, have begun a legal battle in the UK High Court over a $107m sum the insurance firm says it is owed after ‘breaches of contract’.
Dealwatch: Simpson Thacher leads for KKR as thetrainline.com opts for sale over IPO
Private equity powerhouse KKR has purchased travel ticket seller thetrainline.com, with its go-to law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advising on a deal that diverted the company from carrying out its announced IPO on the London Stock Exchange.
‘We have something to prove’: Raynor takes the top role at Shakespeares as Wilson departs
Chief client officer Andy Raynor will take the chief executive role at Midlands-based Shakespeares, as current incumbent Paul Wilson departs after almost nine years at the helm.
Q&A: Heineken UK’s Graeme Colquhoun and DLA Piper’s John McKinlay talk sole adviser mandates
Having appointed DLA Piper as principal legal adviser this month (January) in a bid to cut down on external spend, Heineken UK’s head of legal Graeme Colquhoun (pictured) and DLA Piper IP/IT partner John McKinlay talk to Sarah Downey to discuss the perks of having a one-stop-shop and its possible extension.
Under new leadership: Eversheds appoints senior partner in Paris as Brown departs after 18-year tenure
SRA indemnity report: Number of closing firms drops despite rejection of minimum cover cut
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed 12 law firms have been forced to close for failing to secure professional indemnity insurance (PII) while the status of a further 37 has yet to be determined.
US revenues 2014: Weil Gotshal & Manges bounces back with 16.5% PEP increase
US firm revenues for 2014 have kicked off with Weil, Gotshal & Manges showing a comeback in its results after profits and turnover plummeted in 2013.
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Change management: CC appoints new COO and innovation chief as Layton unveils new strategy
Clifford Chance (CC) managing partner Matthew Layton has laid out the firm’s international strategy, aiming at becoming the ‘global law firm of choice for the world’s leading businesses’; a vision that includes introducing fresh key performance indicators, making new leadership appointments, and increasing US and Asia revenues to approximately 20% and 25% respectively over five years.
Job openings: Vacancies at real estate legal teams expand quickest in the City in 2014 as legal job market grows
In an indication of the legal job market’s growing strength, research analysing vacancy rates at law firms has shown that job openings across England and Wales were up by 48% in 2014 compared to a year earlier, while real estate teams grew fastest in the City.
US-Russia relations: A&O, Skadden and V&E win roles as oil company EDC delists and sells $1.7bn stake
Despite the volatile economic conditions in Russia, Allen & Overy (A&O), Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Vinson & Elkins (V&E) remain active in the region after having scored roles on Eurasia Drilling Company’s (EDC) delisting and subsequent minority stake sale.
Paying the tab: Mishcon defeated as firm loses celebrity chef Ramsay’s High Court pub rent battle
Mishcon de Reya client and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has lost a High Court battle over the £640,000 annual rent of a London pub.