David Chance and Andreas Raffel have joined Olswang today (1 September) as the firm’s first non-executive directors to monitor and support the firm’s executive, develop Olswang’s international strategy and bring an outside perspective.
Continue reading “Olswang appoints first board non-executives as it continues management overhaul”
Simmons & Simmons has created a specialist trade mark practice in China, hiring George Chan as a partner from Asia Pacific IP agency Rouse to head the new agency.
Allen & Overy (A&O) is getting closer to becoming the first Magic Circle firm to launch a South Africa base following the hire of banking head Lionel Shawe from local firm Bowman Gilfillan, along with a team of partners.
Continue reading “A&O closer to launching new South Africa office with Bowman team”
High-yield expert Jonathan Bloom has quit Ropes & Gray after five years to join rival US firm Jones Day’s London office in a bid to develop the firm’s high yield practice.
While the headline Legal Business 100 (LB100) results are once again inflated by significant merger activity at every level, there is evidence that many of the top 100 grossing firms in the UK are enjoying organic growth again.
Continue reading “Reviving deal market lifts LB100 as top UK firms edge up profits and fees”
All of the Magic Circle firms have unveiled their trainee retention rates for the September 2014 intake with Allen & Overy (A&O) being the last to announce a retention rate of 82%, giving Slaughter and May the highest rate of the pack at 97% with Clifford Chance at the back with 75%.
Mishcon de Reya has appointed commercial partner Adam Rose as head of international development following Rita Jardim’s exit in July to launch Portuguese private client boutique Mayer Jardim.
Winckworth Sherwood and Richard Buxton have won roles advising on the judicial review of planned development works to Barts hospital’s Grade I-listed North Wing.
Shearman & Sterling has advised European private equity group Bridgepoint on its £212m acquisition of Moneycorp, a foreign exchange provider, owned by SOF Investments which was advised by Slaughter and May.
I finally got round to reading this report from John Maule on the Legal Services Board research pages. It sells itself a little short with the title: Helping Legal Services Consumers Make Better Decisions: Methods to Identify and Respond to Legal Problems, because it also looks at professional decision making and strategic decision making. There’s an interesting section on what might make law firms bad at strategic and management decision making.
The top jobs in the legal sector are still dominated by private schools, with ‘patchy evidence of Law, Medicine and Accountancy attempting to widen their search for talent’, according to a report published today by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty (SMCP) Commission.
Continue reading “Government body’s report criticises ‘slow’ move from elitism in legal sector”
The Law Society has forecasted the UK legal industry will return to pre-Lehman levels of growth by next year, according to a report published by the regulator yesterday (28 August).
Continue reading “Law Society foresees return to pre-recession growth for industry by 2015”
Property tycoons are preparing to hit UK’s courts over allegations that some of the UK’s leading lenders mis-sold hedging products including those involving LIBOR.
Continue reading “Withers wins roles representing property investors suing banks over swaps”
City firm Travers Smith has lost heavyweight private equity partner Phil Sanderson who is set to join US firm Ropes & Gray.
Baker & McKenzie has become the latest law firm to open a legal services office in Belfast as greater differentiation between high and low value work appears within mandates.
Continue reading “Baker & McKenzie to open legal services outpost in Belfast”
Lateral hires last week have seen Mayer Brown, DLA Piper and Reed Smith make key hires in their US practices, while a Bingham McCutchen partner exits to go in-house.
Continue reading “Revolving doors: US sees spate of lateral hires”
Scottish firm Burness Paull is awarding a 10% bonus to all its eligible employees across the firm’s three offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow following a strong set of annual results which saw a 20% rise in turnover and a 25% increase in profit.
Clyde & Co has hired Kennedys’ aviation liability and insurance star David Johnston with further lateral hires expected.
Continue reading “Clydes hires Kennedys aviation heavyweight as it builds practice”
As the fallout from the demise of Dewey & LeBoeuf continues, liquidators of the UK arm are assessing paying an interim dividend to unsecured creditors of the City office having finished disbursements to secured and preferential creditors. Continue reading “Dewey liquidators confirm payout while Cobbetts’ payments are postponed”
With Magic Circle firms still vowing to break ground in the US legal market, Manhattan-based corporate partner Matthew Jacobson has left Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and joined top-40 US firm King & Spalding while in the Netherlands, well-respected Robert ten Have has joined Rutgers & Posch.
