Posted on

Comment: paradigm shift or just the mother of recessions? 2014 should answer the profession’s big question

It’s been obvious that something fundamental happened to the world economy during 2008, ushering in the worst relative trading conditions since the 1930s. It is, likewise, demonstrable that this shift has had a material impact on the legal profession in terms of reduced growth prospects, changing corporate buying habits and pressure on the conventional model of law.

The point that has yet to be resolved – and which has huge significance to the western legal industry – is whether that change represents a permanent structural shift underwritten by technology and the rise of non-law firm providers, or merely a severe cyclical depression from which the profession will in time recover. Continue reading “Comment: paradigm shift or just the mother of recessions? 2014 should answer the profession’s big question”

Posted on

South eastern promise: Baker & McKenzie unveils launch in touted Myanmar market

As international law firms continue their strategic push into south east Asia, Baker & McKenzie has become the latest global player to launch an office in Myanmar.

Bakers today (18 February) confirmed the launch of a branch in the city of Yangon to be led by infrastructure and corporate partner Chris Hughes, who is currently based in Sydney. The decision was made at the firm’s Asia Pacific partners meeting held in Tokyo this year, handing Bakers its 16th office in the wider Asia region.

Continue reading “South eastern promise: Baker & McKenzie unveils launch in touted Myanmar market”

Posted on

FTSE 100 leadership: BG Group’s Vinter takes over as head of GC100 as Centrica’s Dawson steps down

Recognised as a heavyweight among in-house advisory and lobbying groups, BG Group’s general counsel (GC) Graham Vinter has taken over as chair of the GC100 group, which brings together the most senior legal representatives from over 80 of the UK’s FTSE 100.

Vinter, who succeeds fellow energy giant Centrica’s GC and company secretary Grant Dawson, was voted in on 14 January and will now head a high-level executive committee responsible for the overall strategic direction of the GC100. Continue reading “FTSE 100 leadership: BG Group’s Vinter takes over as head of GC100 as Centrica’s Dawson steps down”

Posted on

New frontiers for Quinn Emanuel as US litigation leader sets up in Brussels

Following a year of rapid international expansion that saw highly profitable litigation outfit Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan dominate the global litigation agenda with launches in jurisdictions such as Sydney and Hong Kong, the top 35 Global100 firm today (18 February) confirmed to Legal Business that it is to broaden out its capability with a launch in the heart of the European Union (EU), in Brussels.

The new office, its seventh in Europe, will focus on EU and member state competition litigation and investigations and will be managed by Nadine Herrmann, head of the firm’s European competition practice. Continue reading “New frontiers for Quinn Emanuel as US litigation leader sets up in Brussels”

Posted on

Taking London – Latham on the offensive in the Square Mile with hire of third private equity partner from CC

As our Taking Manhattan cover feature underlines, the Los Angeles-bred Latham & Watkins continues to make major inroads in the key global hubs of New York and increasingly London. Making the point again, the global giant has today (18 February), announced the recruitment of high-profile Clifford Chance (CC) partner Kem Ihenacho, the third private equity partner to join Latham’s City arm from CC in the last 12 months.

The move follows the departure of former CC global head of private equity David Walker in April last year and another CC partner Tom Evans in October.

Continue reading “Taking London – Latham on the offensive in the Square Mile with hire of third private equity partner from CC”

Posted on

Guest post – Client retention: give credit where credit’s due

Winning a new client for the firm—there’s little that can match that for excitement, sense of accomplishment and visible contribution to the firm. More so if the client is big or prestigious. A pitch is often a hard-fought battle against many worthy foes. There are numerable, maddening unknowns in pitching a new client: which lawyers at which levels should be presented? What’s the optimal pricing? What services will distinguish your firm from the others? etc., etc. Continue reading “Guest post – Client retention: give credit where credit’s due”

Posted on

Premier League: Gateley advises West Ham on sale of Upton Park as DWF gets behind Everton on Umbro signing

The fast-paced Premier League last week handed two lucrative deals to LB100 firms Gateley, Howard KennedyFsi, Hill Dickinson and DWF, as West Ham sold its iconic Upton Park ground and Everton Football Club (FC) entered a five-year partnership with Umbro.

Birmingham-based firm Gateley and West End firm Howard KennedyFsi advised on West Ham’s sale of Upton Park to Galliard Group after the team won the rights to use the Olympic Stadium for its new ground from 2016. Continue reading “Premier League: Gateley advises West Ham on sale of Upton Park as DWF gets behind Everton on Umbro signing”

Posted on

Wragges announces post-merger management line-up but Addleshaws faces scrutiny over leadership team

Gowling WLG

For Addleshaw Goddard the timing could have been more flattering. On the day that national rival Wragge & Co confirmed a new look management line-up in anticipation of its tie-up with Lawrence Graham (LG) in May, uncomfortable attention has been focused on the leadership of national rival Addleshaws.

In the wake of Wragges’ announcement in December that its £171m merger will go ahead, with Wragge Lawrence Graham expected to edge ahead of Addleshaws in the LB100 top 25 for the first time, the firm today (17 February) confirmed that its five core practice group heads have now been decided, all who will sit on the management board, with four of the appointments coming from Wragges and one from LG. Continue reading “Wragges announces post-merger management line-up but Addleshaws faces scrutiny over leadership team”

Posted on

Arbitration heavyweights – Freshfields group head Partasides and Paris partner Petrochilos resign to form boutique

Breakaway arbitration boutiques are increasingly common but they rarely have the gravitas of the latest entrant, as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s London arbitration group head Constantine Partasides resigns alongside Paris-based partner Georgias Petrochilos, to form a heavyweight trio alongside former co-arbitration chair Jan Paulsson.

Dispute resolution partner Partasides spent 10 years practising in the Magic Circle firm’s Paris office before returning to the UK in 2007 to head up the top-tier arbitration team. Continue reading “Arbitration heavyweights – Freshfields group head Partasides and Paris partner Petrochilos resign to form boutique”

Posted on

US results season: Sidley posts a 7% increase in turnover as Mayer Brown sees a return to 2007 PEP levels

A year of expansion has seen top 15 Global100 firm Sidley Austin post solid 2013 results, with revenue up by around 7% to $1.6bn from $1.49bn and net profits up by around the same margin to $547m from $510.5m. The firm’s profit per equity partner (PEP) and revenue per lawyer both rose by approximately 4% to $1.87m and $954,000 respectively. Continue reading “US results season: Sidley posts a 7% increase in turnover as Mayer Brown sees a return to 2007 PEP levels”

Posted on

City hire: Reed Smith takes on Travers Smith leverage finance partner Ben Davis

With Reed Smith’s London office results touted to break the $200m mark next week, the top 30 global law firm has hired Travers Smith leverage finance partner Ben Davis to join its City office in March.

Davis advises on corporate facilities, refinancings, debt restructurings and general banking matters. Last year he advised Pace on its US law $470m financing for the acquisition of Aurora Networks, and thetrainline.com, backed by Exponent Private Equity, on its £190m unitranche and super senior refinancing facilities. Continue reading “City hire: Reed Smith takes on Travers Smith leverage finance partner Ben Davis”

Posted on

DLA Piper, Slaughters and Vodafone shine in 2014 Legal Business Awards

In what has proved the largest Legal Business Awards ever held, DLA Piper, Slaughter and May and Vodafone were last night (13 February) among the winners of major prizes in front of well over 1,000 guests.

DLA Piper was named Law Firm of the Year, ahead of a shortlist including RPC, Holman Fenwick Willan, Mishcon de Reya, Stewarts Law, PwC Legal and Axiom in the wake of two years of renewed global growth and ambition.

The night was also marked by the return of Legal Business’ GC Power List report in an expanded format, with a reception held alongside the main awards to mark the report’s 2014 launch, attended by 100 corporate counsel from bluechip companies.

Continue reading “DLA Piper, Slaughters and Vodafone shine in 2014 Legal Business Awards”

Posted on

Davenport Lyons and Howard Kennedy FSI take another chance on the mid-market merger game

After a relatively quiet few weeks for mid-tier merger mania, Davenport Lyons and Howard Kennedy FSI have done the decent thing by confirming they are in discussions regarding a tie-up. The talks come after a potential union between Shakespeares and Davenport Lyons reportedly fell through last month.

Howard Kennedy confirmed the latest discussions. A spokesperson commented: ‘We have been approached and are currently at the initial stages of talking to Davenport Lyons with a view to exploring the possibilities of a merger. We are at a very early stage in those discussions but we remain open-minded as to what may come from looking at this in more detail. We remain committed to the vision of growing HKFsi, be it through bolt-ons, mergers or lateral hires and will look at all opportunities presented to us.’

Continue reading “Davenport Lyons and Howard Kennedy FSI take another chance on the mid-market merger game”

Posted on

Partner exits: NRF corporate partner Cathy Pitt and head of climate change Hobley move on

Top 10 LB100 firm Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has said goodbye to two further senior partner departures as longstanding London-based corporate finance partner Cathy Pitt last month (January) moved to CMS Cameron McKenna to head up its investment management funds group, while the firm’s global head of sustainability and climate change Anthony Hobley left to join the Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) as its first chief executive officer on 1 February.

Having spent 18 years at the 2,647-lawyer firm, Pitt was involved in corporate finance work within the asset management practice, including the establishment of investment funds and corporate advisory work. She also spent seven months on secondment as a legal advisor to financial institution HSBC in 2006, followed by a stint as interim head of group legal at insurer Prudential in 2010.

Continue reading “Partner exits: NRF corporate partner Cathy Pitt and head of climate change Hobley move on”

Posted on

Comment: So what’s wrong with BigLaw anyway?

The term BigLaw has been around in the US for a while but in recent years this catch-all tag for corporate lawyering in the world’s biggest law market has taken on a decidedly pejorative tone. From the pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to prominent blogs and comments by industry observers, a popular view has taken hold to the effect that the US legal industry – in particular in New York – is a fundamentally broken model in a profession facing terminal decline. Continue reading “Comment: So what’s wrong with BigLaw anyway?”

Posted on

Litigation funders seek greater credibility with introduction of new complaints procedure

The UK’s leading litigation funders have taken further steps to improve their PR and attack head on suggestions that they lack transparency by introducing a new complaints procedure and capital requirements, which could see funders given public warnings or struck off their voluntary quasi-regulatory body. Continue reading “Litigation funders seek greater credibility with introduction of new complaints procedure”

Posted on

Redundancy watch 2014: Ince & Co announces consultation over 16 jobs

While the last few months have not brought with them the level of job cuts first feared at the start of 2013, when the rash of City redundancies at one stage looked to approach 2009 levels, Ince & Co has today (13 February) confirmed that it has entered a redundancy consultation in respect of sixteen staff, with the firm blaming economic conditions in its shipping business. Continue reading “Redundancy watch 2014: Ince & Co announces consultation over 16 jobs”

Posted on

In-house: MasterCard appoints new GC; UBS regulatory chief exits for Gibson Dunn; and HSBC hires Cleary partner

The start of the year has seen much lateral movement both in-house and out, with MasterCard naming Tim Murphy as general counsel and chief franchise officer as incumbent Noah Hanft retires from the company. Meanwhile, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher announced the hire of the former Americas general counsel and global head of investigations at UBS, Mark Shelton, as a partner in its New York office, while HSBC has confirmed that Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partner Shawn Chen officially joined the bank this week to jointly oversee its litigation and regulatory enforcement department with co-general counsel Guy Nielson.

Continue reading “In-house: MasterCard appoints new GC; UBS regulatory chief exits for Gibson Dunn; and HSBC hires Cleary partner”

Posted on

Asia round-up: DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells and Stephenson Harwood move to bolster regional networks

Despite the bearish mood that last year gripped many international law firms regarding Asia, and sustained tremors this year running through emerging market securities, a host of major advisers have kicked off 2014 with significant investments in the region, including DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells and Stephenson Harwood.

DLA Piper has hired O’Melveny & Myers partner Mark Fairbairn to head its restructuring group in Asia. Fairbairn was based in O’Melveny’s Hong Kong arm, having joined in 2008 following a five-year tenure at White & Case. Continue reading “Asia round-up: DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells and Stephenson Harwood move to bolster regional networks”

Posted on

US results season: White & Case sees revenues increase 4% as PEP hits $1.87m

Despite the recent relative economic revival in the US, the world’s largest legal market remains turbulent but early numbers from major US players do indicate many firms are now sustaining growth. Early out of the gate, White & Case has published its 2013 financial results reporting a steady 4.1% increase in global revenues with profits per equity partner (PEP) rising 10%.

Gross turnover at the top-15 global firm increased to $1.44bn in 2013 from $1.38bn in the previous year. The New York-based law firm’s revenue per lawyer grew at a similar level of 4.4% to $760,064 from $711,000, while its PEP rose to $1.87m from $1.7m, climbing 10%.

Continue reading “US results season: White & Case sees revenues increase 4% as PEP hits $1.87m”