Ordinarily a week advising on the AIM flotation of luxury cake and cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, which formally starts trading on Monday (19 May), could be viewed as relatively successful. But Osborne Clarke’s corporate partner Jonathan King has trumped his own efforts by also leading the top 35 firm in acting for Carphone Warehouse on its £3.6bn all-share merger with Dixon Retail, announced today (15 May). Continue reading “A good week for…Osborne Clarke, advising on the £3.6bn Carphone Warehouse/Dixons merger and IPO of Patisserie Valerie”
Guest post: Sorry tech apostles – law firms do get Twitter (that’s the whole problem)
People occasionally ask me if I tweet (I don’t) and what role I think Twitter has in law firm marketing (none).
I probably owe an explanation.
I believe Twitter has always been a niche service and always will be; it will never go mainstream in the way that (say) Facebook or LinkedIn has. Continue reading “Guest post: Sorry tech apostles – law firms do get Twitter (that’s the whole problem)”
HMRC LLP rule change – Kennedys calls on fixed-share partners for 30% capital injection
Kennedys has become the latest UK firm to call on its fixed-share partners (FSPs) to make a 30% capital contribution in light of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) decision to overhaul the way salaried partners are taxed, giving the firm some ‘headroom.’ Continue reading “HMRC LLP rule change – Kennedys calls on fixed-share partners for 30% capital injection”
Leadership: Hogan Lovells shakes up international management committee as it ends co-head structure
Hogan Lovells has re-shuffled its international management committee (IMC), with incoming CEO Steve Immelt stepping down as co-head of litigation, arbitration and employment as he succeeds outgoing chiefs David Harris and Warren Gorrell.
‘The right to be forgotten’: Google led by Cleary dealt a blow by ECJ’s privacy ruling
After years of attempts by Brussels to tighten up Europe’s data privacy rules in the face of US lobbying, yesterday (13 May) the European Court of Justice (ECJ) achieved that effect by backing a ‘right to be forgotten’ against Google, in a blow for the search engine and advisers Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Continue reading “‘The right to be forgotten’: Google led by Cleary dealt a blow by ECJ’s privacy ruling”
Nabarro launches in Manchester with hire of Addleshaws trio; CMS brings in BLP partner to head aircraft finance
Nabarro is set to launch an office in Manchester with the hire of a trio of real estate partners from Addleshaw Goddard as CMS Cameron McKenna also announced today (14 May) that it has hired Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) asset finance partner Keith Wilson, who joins to head up the top 10 UK firm’s aircraft finance practice. Continue reading “Nabarro launches in Manchester with hire of Addleshaws trio; CMS brings in BLP partner to head aircraft finance”
Legal reform: SRA unveils plans to cut red tape and promote competition
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has unveiled ambitious plans to overhaul key pillars of the regulation of the profession in order to cut red tape, improve competition, cut costs and ensure that regulation is properly targeted. Continue reading “Legal reform: SRA unveils plans to cut red tape and promote competition”
Financial results 2014: TLT’s ascendancy continues as it posts 18% revenue growth
The second top-60 UK firm to unveil a high double-digit turnover increase this week, TLT today (13 May) announced that its 2013/14 revenue has increased by 18% from £49m to £57.9m, almost doubling the 10% growth posted last year. Continue reading “Financial results 2014: TLT’s ascendancy continues as it posts 18% revenue growth”
Associate pay: Shearman raises English-qualified lawyers’ salaries by up to 6.4% across the board
Shearman & Sterling has announced a salary boost for its English-qualified lawyers, increasing pay levels across the firm’s three-tier merit based system by up to 6.4%. Continue reading “Associate pay: Shearman raises English-qualified lawyers’ salaries by up to 6.4% across the board”
Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling brought in on landmark ‘Opcotton’ legal aid appeal
The Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling has been brought in on today’s (13 May) landmark appeal challenging a Crown Court decision to stay a high value publicly funded serious fraud trial, after the defendants failed to find any barrister prepared to represent them on reduced legal aid rates. Continue reading “Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling brought in on landmark ‘Opcotton’ legal aid appeal”
Election fever: Clifford Chance corporate head Tinkler steps down as Nabarro prepares for first MP elections in 15 years
Clifford Chance (CC) private equity partner Simon Tinkler has stepped down from his role as London head of corporate after a four-year term, as top 30 LB 100 firm Nabarro gears up for its first managing partner elections in 15 years this summer, with current head Andrew Inkester expected to stand again.
Hogan Lovells second top 10 firm to exit Prague in under a month
Transatlantic firm Hogan Lovells has become the second top ten LB 100 firm in recent weeks to announce it is withdrawing from Prague, blaming difficult market conditions. Continue reading “Hogan Lovells second top 10 firm to exit Prague in under a month”
Comment: Whose money making machine? Not all law firms will be richer in a bank-lite world
Cov-lite, cov-loose and even now cov-lame – in some pockets of the finance market we are back to the boom days. All we need is a couple of headstrong private equity partners to quit Linklaters for a more sponsor-facing platform and we’ll be right back to 2006. On second thoughts… Continue reading “Comment: Whose money making machine? Not all law firms will be richer in a bank-lite world”
Revolving Doors: Strategic UK hires for Irwin Mitchell; Simmons; Speechly and Winckworth Sherwood
A series of lateral hires across the UK last week saw Irwin Mitchell take on a trio of commercial litigation partners from Eversheds, DLA Piper and Matthew Arnold Baldwin (MAB), while Simmons & Simmons bolstered its information technology team with a hire from DLA, and Speechly Bircham and Winckworth Sherwood hired into their planning and real estate practices respectively. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Strategic UK hires for Irwin Mitchell; Simmons; Speechly and Winckworth Sherwood”
Comment: Shock horror – economic revival makes it as impossible as ever to make partner
It’s not going to come as a huge shock to our readership of jaded veterans to hear this but the 2014 promotion rounds from the UK’s top law firms have confirmed that the striking revival in business confidence over the last 12 months has made pretty much no improvement in partnership prospects. Continue reading “Comment: Shock horror – economic revival makes it as impossible as ever to make partner”
Financial results 2014: double-digit growth in UK as Osborne Clarke unveils 26% turnover rise
Following a year of further international expansion and lateral hires, Osborne Clarke (OC) today (12 May) announced that its global revenue for 2013/14 has jumped by 26% to €169m, thanks to a ‘more confident’ market and its targeted sector focus.
Loss and gain: Ashurst loses City corporate partner as KWM finance partner joins in Sydney
Ashurst yesterday (12 May) saw both sides of the lateral hiring coin as it announced the hire in Sydney of King & Wood Mallesons finance partner Jennifer Schlosser but lost London corporate partner Fabio Pizzoccheri, who has left the firm to launch Grimaldi Studio Legale’s (GSL’s) new City office. Continue reading “Loss and gain: Ashurst loses City corporate partner as KWM finance partner joins in Sydney”
Irwin Mitchell’s outgoing chief executive John Pickering on change in the sector and why it was time to hang up his boots
Announcing his retirement last month, Irwin Mitchell’s longstanding head and current group chief executive John Pickering pointed to ‘the changing legal sector’ and his desire for the firm to have settled long-term senior management.
Speaking to Legal Business, Pickering (pictured), who joined the firm as an articled clerk in 1977 and now plans to pursue non-executive director positions elsewhere, explains his reasoning behind the decision. Continue reading “Irwin Mitchell’s outgoing chief executive John Pickering on change in the sector and why it was time to hang up his boots”
Guest post: Pfizer’s bid for AstraZeneca – what can the government do?
On April 28, Pfizer announced a possible offer to buy AstraZeneca, presumably having thought an announcement was required by rule 2.2 of the Takeover Code. The result is that, under the relatively new ‘put up or shut up’ rule now embodied in rule 2.5 of the Code, Pfizer has until 5 o’clock on May 26 – the 28th day after its announcement – in which to make a firm offer.
Continue reading “Guest post: Pfizer’s bid for AstraZeneca – what can the government do?”
Wedlake Bell’s acquisitive streak continues as Christopher Tite and Louise Gowman join from LG; Clive Thorne from RPC
The recent acquisitive streak by Wedlake Bell has seen the UK top 100 firm bring in legacy Lawrence Graham’s (LG’s) former head of corporate Christopher Tite and projects and infrastructure partner Louise Gowman, alongside RPC IP and technology partner Clive Thorne. Continue reading “Wedlake Bell’s acquisitive streak continues as Christopher Tite and Louise Gowman join from LG; Clive Thorne from RPC”