Norton Rose Fulbright has enhanced its top tier energy practice in South Africa with the hire of energy specialist Lizel Oberholzer, following recent expansion by other international law firms in the market.
Guest post: Wild Boys: Why some at the Tax bar need to learn to say no
It’s quite a rarity for a practising lawyer to suggest serious unethicality on the part of his or her colleagues, so when it happens it’s worth taking notice.
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Financial results 2013/14: Slater and Gordon unveils UK revenue jump
Australian-listed firm Slater and Gordon (S&G) has today (12 August) announced financial results for the 2013/14 year, with UK revenues jumping to £100m (A$182.5m) due to multiple acquisitions last year, and has voiced plans for further expansion.
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Former News International legal duo face solicitors tribunal
More than three years after it emerged that the phone of murdered teenager Milly Dowler had been hacked – leading to the closure of The News of the World and the launch of the Leveson inquiry – the reverberations from the scandal continue to rumble on.
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Harper Macleod merges with Bird Semple to create top 100 firm
Scottish firm Harper Macleod, the legal advisor to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, has expanded by merging with private client boutique Bird Semple to create a firm with a combined turnover of more than £23m.
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Dechert gains Singapore licence after 8 month wait
Eight months after applying for a Foreign Legal Practice licence to open in Singapore, US law firm Dechert has been given the nod to launch its fourth Asian office.
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Trainee Retention: Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills reveal retention rates
Following a spate of healthy trainee retention rates in recent weeks, magic circle firm Clifford Chance (CC) and international firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) are the latest to unveil results, recording 75% and 87% respectively.
‘Clients are more confident about the market’: Baker & McKenzie becomes world’s largest law firm
Baker & McKenzie has overtaken DLA Piper as the world’s largest law firm, with revenues for the year ending 30 June 2014 climbing by 5% to $2.54 billion after a transactions bonanza.
Guest post: Stop being proactive, stop being commercial, stop being nice
I made a mistake. It was in 1989. I went in-house and found I was good at my job. It was the first time in my life I truly felt I was good at something. Until then I had found everything hard. Exam results were never adorned with flying colours and my CV, such as it was, looked more apologetic than full of promise.
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Slaughters posts high trainee retention rate while BLP keeps on 83%
Slaughter and May, which is well known for its high retention rates, has kept on 33 out of its 34 qualifying trainees, giving it a retention rate of 97%. In March, the firm retained 36 people from a cohort of 38, a rate of 95%.
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‘The overall benefits are potentially enormous’: Bucks County Council granted ABS licence with emergency services group
In a move that has been welcomed by the Legal Services Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has granted an alternative business structure (ABS) licence to local authorities for the first time, as Buckinghamshire County Council enters into a joint venture with Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority.
Ashurst starts out-of-hours worker redundancies
The past year has seen a number of UK firms scale back their back-office support teams to become more efficient and save costs, with international firm Ashurst being the latest and placing half of its overnight support team in London at risk.
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Wachtell, A&O and Gibson Dunn lead on Walgreens acquisition of Boots
The largest drug retailer in the US, Walgreens, has instructed Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy to handle its full combination with Nottingham-based chemist Alliance Boots.
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HSF snatches Freshfields former energy co-head
Herbert Smith Freehills has landed a blow on Magic Circle firm Freshfields with the hire of the firm’s former co-head of energy and natural resources Dirk Hamann as the Anglo-Australian firm looks to build out its German offices.
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Former Freshfields lawyers open boutique following Magic Circle firm’s Barcelona exit
Two of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s lawyers have set up an IP/IT specialist boutique in Spain following the closure of the firm’s Barcelona office in April this year.
Financial results 2013/14: Burness Paull posts 20% revenue increase alongside 25% profit rise
Scottish firm Burness Paull is the latest to release its 2013/14 financial results and has today (7 July) announced a hefty 20% turnover increase to £46.3m while profits have risen to £20.7m from £16.5m, constituting a 25% increase.
Guest post: Change is neither good nor bad: It is
‘Call it the Great Recession, the Great Reset, or whatever, the world palpably shook in September 2008 and the repercussions are still very much with us.’
Bruce MacEwen wrote the above in his 2013 book Growth is Dead, and while changes have been made, much of it still rings true today – including for law firm technology.
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Dealwatch: Travers Smith and Baker Botts lead on $1bn demerger; Mills & Reeve and Burges Salmon advise on Co-op farm sale
A healthy uptick in transactional activity has brought a handful of players in line for a windfall, as City-firm Travers Smith and US-firm Baker Botts secured leading roles advising on the $1bn demerger of Paragon Offshore from drilling company Noble Corporation. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Travers Smith and Baker Botts lead on $1bn demerger; Mills & Reeve and Burges Salmon advise on Co-op farm sale”
Trainee retention: Nabarro and Fieldfisher maintain high rates while Trowers & Hamlins drops to 64%
Nabarro and Fieldfisher have kept on a high number of trainees this month with the latter firm retaining 100% of its intake, while Trowers & Hamlins posts a lower rate of 64%.
Dentons picks up partner as Chadbourne closes Kiev office
Chadbourne & Parke’s Adam Mycyk has moved to Dentons following Chadbourne’s decision to close its Kiev office.
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