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Post Clifford Chance role for Childs as Financial Reporting Council announce his appointment as Chair

Clifford Chance (CC) outgoing managing partner David Childs has been appointed by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as chair of its conduct committee, taking over the role from Herbert Smith Freehills consultant Richard Fleck.

The FRC is the independent regulator for the accounting and actuarial profession and its conduct committee oversees the conduct division, responsible for the monitoring of recognised supervisory and qualifying bodies, audit quality reviews, corporate reporting reviews, and professional discipline. Continue reading “Post Clifford Chance role for Childs as Financial Reporting Council announce his appointment as Chair”

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Merger Watch 2013 – The runners, riders and fallers at the last hurdle

‘I believe the market lends itself to opportunities for growth and successful law firms will take advantage of these opportunities. It is good for the market and clients. Let’s hope there are more [mergers] in the future.’ So says CMS Cameron McKenna’s managing partner Duncan Weston, who oversaw his firm’s successful tie-up with Scotland’s Dundas & Wilson during an autumn/winter period that has also seen the merger of Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham, Slater & Gordon’s acquisition of the personal injury business of Pannone, and Pennington’s takeover of beleaguered Manches, to say nothing of the talks announced and not yet concluded or that fell at the final hurdle. Continue reading “Merger Watch 2013 – The runners, riders and fallers at the last hurdle”

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Guest post: Where next for the Law Society after no-confidence vote?

The Law Society, if nothing else, is a decent host and members attending the special general meeting (SGM) on Tuesday (17 December) were treated to KitKats among the refreshments on offer. Appropriately enough they were the two-finger variety, which is certainly the gesture some see the vote of no-confidence in president Nick Fluck and chief executive Des Hudson to be. Continue reading “Guest post: Where next for the Law Society after no-confidence vote?”

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Leadership: Herbert Smith Freehills unveils new joint CEOs

After much speculation, Herbert Smith Freehills announced today that it has appointed Sonya Leydecker (pictured) and Mark Rigotti as joint chief executive officers (CEOs).

The appointments come after a recommendation by the firm’s governance body, the council and following ratification by partners. Leydecker and Rigotti will take their positions for a term of three years after current CEOs David Willis and Gavin Bell step down on 1 May 2014.

Continue reading “Leadership: Herbert Smith Freehills unveils new joint CEOs”

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In-house revolving doors: Senior hires for Co-op, Powa Technologies and Autoliv as BMA loses group legal director

A series of senior in-house moves and hires has this week seen The Co-operative Group appoint Lloyds Banking Group company secretary Claire Davies as group secretary, Yahoo’s senior legal director Manu Kanwar move to Powa Technologies, Swedish automotive safety systems manufacturer Autoliv appoint Andrew Nellis as interim general counsel and the British Medical Association (BMA) lose its legal director Jonathan Waters. Continue reading “In-house revolving doors: Senior hires for Co-op, Powa Technologies and Autoliv as BMA loses group legal director”

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US bonus season: Boies Schiller, Cahill Gordon and Sidley among leading US firms to unveil numbers

Since New York elite firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore kicked off the US bonus season at the start of December with its decision to hold bonus rates at 2012 levels, firms including Boies, Schiller & Flexner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Sidley Austin, as well as Kaye Scholer, Schulte Roth & Zabel and Ropes & Gray have unveiled how they measure up to the traditional market benchmarker.

Where Cravath’s associates are paid from $10,000 (the class of 2013) up to $60,000 (the class of 2005), Boies, Schiller is unusual in awarding significantly more, with the best-rewarded associates receiving $300,000 compared with a maximum bonus of $250,000 paid in 2012. The average young lawyer at the litigation-driven firm will take home a bonus of $85,000. Continue reading “US bonus season: Boies Schiller, Cahill Gordon and Sidley among leading US firms to unveil numbers”

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Guest post: Too close for comfort – Research concludes the Bar Council has ‘undue influence’ over regulation

The Bar may be collegiate, but are the Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) too close? Have you read last month’s Legal Services Board (LSB) report that found the Bar Council encroached on the BSB’s regulatory independence? I doubt it; it’s a lengthy document and it’s taken me three weeks to find the time. But for those questioning the continuing need for the LSB – chief among whom are, of course, the Bar Council and BSB – it is a must-read.

The report, following an investigation lasting around five months, relates to changes made by the BSB to its regulatory arrangements, approved by the LSB, to bring into force the new contractual terms for barristers, including a controversial change to the cab-rank rule. Continue reading “Guest post: Too close for comfort – Research concludes the Bar Council has ‘undue influence’ over regulation”

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Countdown to closure as 117 law firms fail to obtain PII

Over 100 law firms have less than two weeks to obtain professional indemnity insurance (PII) failing which they must close their practice by 29 December, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced today (18 December).

The regulatory body has identified a total of 117 law firms still requiring insurance as of 16 December – none of which have been allowed under PII regulations to bring in new business since 1 November – and is helping them to prepare for closure. Continue reading “Countdown to closure as 117 law firms fail to obtain PII”

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Unsettled forecast for 2014 as MoJ unveils court fee consultation and CBA announces legal aid strike

Following a year of protests over legal aid cuts and court reforms from a profession better known for its quiet conservatism, 2014 promises more of the same after the government this month launched a consultation over the levying of sizeable court fees in commercial claims and the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) announced a half-day strike of its members on 6 January.

The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) consultation on fees includes a proposal for imposing percentage-based court fees that could see the cost of a £400,000 piece of commercial litigation increase by £20,000, with around five percent added on top of the total running costs. Continue reading “Unsettled forecast for 2014 as MoJ unveils court fee consultation and CBA announces legal aid strike”

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Revolving doors: Debevoise picks up second experienced HSF litigator

US firm Debevoise & Plimpton has announced that Tony Dymond, former co-head of Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) Seoul office, will be joining its London office.

Contentious construction expert Dymond (pictured) is the second high-profile HSF litigator to join Debevoise this year, with Kevin Lloyd joining the firm in July after resigning from HSF in December 2012.

Like Lloyd, Dymond is a renowned litigator with 20 years of experience advising international clients on complex, multi-jurisdictional disputes.

Continue reading “Revolving doors: Debevoise picks up second experienced HSF litigator”

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Leadership: Eversheds favours client management specialist Paul Smith in chairman vote

Eversheds has named litigator and former Tyco relationship partner Paul Smith as its next chairman as current incumbent John Heaps steps down.

The partnership voted in favour of Smith in the third week of November against corporate partner Robert Pitcher, who also stood for election. Smith will begin his four year term on 1st May 2014.

Smith (pictured) specialises in environmental law and disputes and has defended a number of multinational companies in criminal investigations in the UK, Europe and North America. However, he has been most commonly known as a pioneering client relationship partner for DuPont and Tyco, and was named Lawyer of the Year at the 2008 Legal Business Awards for his work in securing its revolutionary single-supplier agreement with Tyco.

Continue reading “Leadership: Eversheds favours client management specialist Paul Smith in chairman vote”

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Fraying consensus – Law Society mired in controversy again as leadership loses legal aid confidence vote

The fall-out over the Government’s highly controversial legal aid reforms continues as the Law Society‘s leadership today (17 December) lost a high-stakes confidence vote on its divisive ‘direct engagement’ policy with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The vote at the special general meeting (SGM) at Chancery Lane this morning saw a no confidence motion narrowly passed. The Law Society confirmed via twitter that the total votes equated to 228 for the motion, with 213 against. More than 500 attendees had descended on Chancery Lane this morning for the SGM.

Continue reading “Fraying consensus – Law Society mired in controversy again as leadership loses legal aid confidence vote”

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Comment: The battle for talent and other phoney wars

Since McKinsey & Co first coined the term in 1997, the ‘war for talent’ has been the focus of a stream of conferences, media articles and consulting assignments. It has spawned a new human resources specialism – talent management – and with that has come concepts such as ‘competency frameworks’ and ‘succession planning’.

One of the most hotly fought fronts in the war for talent is graduate recruitment. Professional service firms, including law firms, accountancy practices, banks and consultancies, pride themselves on battling with other firms, competing aggressively for a very limited number of ‘the brightest and the best’ graduates. Continue reading “Comment: The battle for talent and other phoney wars”

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Clifford Chance wins double pharma mandate as Merck buys AZ Electronic Materials and Amdipharm buys Acbur

With the pharmaceutical industry driving a number of recent high value M&A deals, Clifford Chance has won mandates on two significant instructions in the sector, including advising AZ Electronic Materials on a £1.57bn cash offer by German pharma giant Merck.

The transaction was led by corporate partner Tim Lewis and includes antitrust partner Alex Nourry, Luxembourg corporate partner Pierre Gromnicki, employee benefits partner Sonia Gilbert and tax partner David Harkness. Continue reading “Clifford Chance wins double pharma mandate as Merck buys AZ Electronic Materials and Amdipharm buys Acbur”

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Commercially minded: Allen & Overy chooses BPP for business-focused LPC

In what constitutes a major overhaul of its training programme, Allen & Overy (A&O) has announced today (16 December) that it will work with BPP law school to provide its young lawyers with an enhanced Legal Practice Course (LPC) with a Masters business component from 2015. The firm has also chosen BPP to run its Graduate Diploma in Law course from September next year.

The change in legal training institution came after a competitive tender process in which BPP was selected over the firm’s incumbent provider, the University of Law.

Continue reading “Commercially minded: Allen & Overy chooses BPP for business-focused LPC”

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Consolidation watch: serial acquirer Shakespeares targets City practice through Davenport Lyons merger

It may not have attracted as much attention as DWF this year but Midlands challenger firm Shakespeares shows no sign of easing up on an acquisitive streak that has seen it pick-up a handful of firms since 2007. This time it is looking to establish a credible London presence through a merger with 80-lawyer West End firm Davenport Lyons.

As reported on RollonFriday today (16 December), the two firms are currently in discussions with a view to a tie-up. Continue reading “Consolidation watch: serial acquirer Shakespeares targets City practice through Davenport Lyons merger”

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Comment: The New New Normal – a changing market beckons for 2014

The last three years have drawn to a close heralding another 12 months much like those that went before: depressing. The eurozone flirting with break-up, fiscal woes holding back Western economies and a subdued legal market. Check, check and check.

But drawing to the end of 2013, commercial lawyers are facing an outlook that is, in highly relative terms, not half bad. The word from senior City partners has been generally upbeat since the summer. The first half financial results have, if anything, exceeded those raised expectations. We are looking at the best set of like-for-like financial results seen for five years from major UK law firms. Continue reading “Comment: The New New Normal – a changing market beckons for 2014”

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LLPs face hike in tax bills as legislative changes target salaried partners

Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are facing significantly increased tax bills after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) issued draft legislation this week confirming that salaried partners with little or no share in the equity will be classed as employees for tax purposes.

The draft Finance Bill, which will come into effect in April next year, says that partners with less than 20% of their remuneration linked to the profits of the firm will be regarded as having a ‘disguised salary’ and subject to both income tax and national insurance.

Continue reading “LLPs face hike in tax bills as legislative changes target salaried partners”

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Quinn makes record number of promotions as US firms announce partner elections

US firms have begun to announce their partnership promotions with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan making the largest number of partner promotions in the firm’s history, while Sidley Austin, Bingham McCutchen and Dechert all announced a decrease in associates to be made up on 1 January.

Quinn Emanuel announced today (13 December 2013) it is appointing 13 new partners in the firm’s largest promotion round yet. For the last three years, the firm has steadily increased its number of partner promotions with 10 new partner elections in 2012, up from eight in 2011 and seven the year before.

Continue reading “Quinn makes record number of promotions as US firms announce partner elections”

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Buy-side story: how CMS and Dundas & Wilson finalised their surprise merger

Talk to any partner at Dundas & Wilson in the early 1990s – when Cameron McKenna launched its fledgling oil and gas outpost in Aberdeen – and any suggestion that the City firm could challenge the Scots leader on its own turf would elicit snorts of derision. The notion that the two most prestigious law firm brands in Scotland – Dundas and McGrigors – would be consumed by Cameron McKenna and Pinsent Masons in 20 years’ time would have been seen as laughable.

But the recent confirmation of a tie-up between CMS Cameron McKenna and beleaguered Dundas still came as a surprise to many in the profession. Continue reading “Buy-side story: how CMS and Dundas & Wilson finalised their surprise merger”