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How to improve a law firm in 17 easy steps – a blue print for innovation

While pundits are queuing up to pronounce the death of the industry’s model, Legal Business canvassed senior figures to devise some practical ideas to make a law firm work better.

You don’t have to look far in the legal profession to find causes for gloom. Battered by a sustained malaise in Western economies, more assertive clients and the threat of legal service liberalisation in the UK, a growing band of observers, general counsel and industry figures have argued that the traditional model of commercial law is fundamentally broken.
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The in-house survey: Buy-side stories

In
our second annual in-house survey, corporate legal teams are continuing to grow amid strong demand for their counsel. How high can general counsel build their empires?

And the growth story continues. Legal Business’s second annual in-house survey confirms again that, despite the prolonged economic headwinds afflicting the UK and Western economies, in a risky and turbulent commercial environment, corporate legal teams continue to expand.

Take one finding from our research: more than two thirds of in-house lawyers report that their teams have expanded over the last five years, with 43% seeing increases of over 10%. The remainder said their team has stayed static.

Continue reading “The in-house survey: Buy-side stories”

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The legal elite dominates big-ticket mandates including Vodafone’s $130bn Verizon sell off

The autumn deal-doing season kicked off in style in September as Vodafone announced the $130bn disposal of its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sold off its drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena for £1.35bn.

Slaughter and May, led by corporate partner Roland Turnill, took the lead for Vodafone on one of the biggest corporate deals in history, working alongside Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the US. Hogan Lovells had a secondary role advising Vodafone. Continue reading “The legal elite dominates big-ticket mandates including Vodafone’s $130bn Verizon sell off”

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Deal watch: September sees significant rise in deal activity

Lloyds privatisation

Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer led the line in September advising Lloyds Banking Group on the first stage of its privatisation after being taken over by the taxpayer during the financial crisis in 2008. Slaughters, led by capital markets partner Nilufer von Bismarck, is advising UK Financial Investments on HM Treasury’s disposal of a 6% stake in the banking group, worth £6bn. Freshfields, led by corporate partner Will Lawes, advised the joint bookrunners Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Cazenove and UBS on the sale.

Microsoft’s $7bn Nokia devices acquisition

One of the most talked-about deals of the month was Microsoft’s game-changing, $7bn acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business along with a ten-year patent licensing agreement. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, led by corporate partner Ken King, is advising Nokia on the deal, which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2014. Alan Klein of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York is advising Microsoft.

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Back to school: lateral hire market picks up with renewed vigour as autumn arrives

BLP sees three partners depart; London hires hit double figures for September

The lateral hire market in the City picked up sharply in September, with the number of notable hires announced in the first few weeks of the month comfortably into double figures.

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) saw a gloomy summer draw to a close with the departure of three significant names: head of managed legal services Patrick Somers to DLA Piper; contentious tax partner Liesl Fichardt to Clifford Chance; and commercial technology specialist Adam Rose to Mishcon de Reya.

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Eversheds, Pinsent Masons and DLA Piper lead the UK pack in The Legal 500

National heavyweights score for breadth of recommendations as CC shines in the City

Eversheds has once again emerged as the most recommended law firm in this year’s The Legal 500 UK edition, which was released at the end of September. The top-20 Legal Business 100 firm achieved 198 recommendations overall, thanks in part to its significant City and national coverage.

The three top-ranking firms in the 2013 directory are consistent with last year, when Eversheds gained 202 recommendations in total. Pinsent Masons again appeared in second place with 179 recommendations, while the world’s largest firm by revenue, DLA Piper, was placed third with 155. Two new entrants are featured in fourth and fifth places this year, largely due to significant consolidation. DWF, which rose dramatically to the top 25 of the LB100 after completing five mergers in around two years, came recommended 128 times, while Bond Pearce and Dickinson Dees, which combined to form Bond Dickinson on 1 May, managed 114 recommendations.

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The air of unreality – can the big deal deliver for Ashurst?

‘Historically, what killed Ashurst’s mergers has been apathy. Latham, Fried Frank, Clifford Chance – people were apathetic.’ So recalls one former veteran of the City firm.

As Legal Business goes to press Ashurst is finally about to vote on a transformative merger with its Australian partner. But even two years since the firm agreed a formal alliance with big six Australian outfit Blake Dawson, the idea of Ashurst going through with the tie-up still seems odd, unreal even, though this timeframe was always set out and the Australian practice immediately took the name of its City suitor.
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The in-house survey: The Last Word

Canvassed for our annual in-house survey, general counsel at some of the UK’s leading companies give their perspective on risk, fees and the future of law

Keep it in the family

‘As part of our evolution over the past five years, we are also doing more internally, particularly focusing on transactions that do not proceed or do not come to fruition. When you look at the statistics, because we get involved at a very early stage only one in ten deals goes all the way. Of those nine out of ten that do not proceed, we try and identify them as early as possible and ensure that we are handling those matters internally as far as possible.’

Khasruz Zaman, head of M&A legal, Barclays

Continue reading “The in-house survey: The Last Word”

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The in-house survey: Time and money

This year, we asked in-house counsel to name the best law firms across three core yardsticks. Amid pressure on budgets, we chart the advisers whose time is worth clients’ money

Asking law firms to rate their peers objectively is like nailing jelly to a wall — they are often either evasive or delusional. Researchers at The Legal 500 seek peer feedback as part of the process when ranking firms, but nothing beats considered feedback from the clients themselves, which is why we took the opportunity to ask a large in-house audience to single out individual firms for the quality of their service as part of our survey this year.

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The in-house survey: Through their paces

Increasingly assertive clients are making advisers jump through more hoops to secure lucrative work. Legal Business assesses if law firms are rising to the challenge.

While the prolonged struggle for understanding between in-house counsel and their external providers has seen general counsel (GCs) lose many small battles with law firms over the years, the signs are there that clients are increasingly winning the war. After pressing for years to get value for money through sensible service delivery and flexible pricing, in-house teams are reporting greater goodwill towards their external legal providers this year, perhaps because the threat of reduced panel slots has become a reality.

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Financial results 2013: BLP reveals PEP slump of 39%

Following an unusual waiting game that has ensured Berwin Leighton Paisner’s profit figure has remained a topic of growing interest since the financial reporting season ended, the top 50 firm has confirmed that its profits are down by nearly 40%.

The 786-lawyer firm has revealed a 39% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP) from £660,000 to £401,000 and a 38% drop in net profits to £39.4m. This is the most significant drop in PEP of the LB100 top 50 firms over the past year, following 332-lawyer Trowers & Hamlins, which saw its PEP fall by 37% to £304,000. It is the second largest drop in PEP of both halves of the LB100 after Manches in 93rd place, which recently confirmed it is in merger talks with Penningtons and which saw its PEP fall by 43% to £134,000. Continue reading “Financial results 2013: BLP reveals PEP slump of 39%”

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Into the light

Still demonised by Western governments for aiding tax evasion, major offshore centres have in recent years ushered in substantive moves to bolster standards and transparency. Will it be enough?

Britain’s prime minister David Cameron wrote to the leaders of several UK Crown dependencies and British overseas territories in May, confirming his support of their low-tax status, but insisting they establish new rules that complement international initiatives against tax avoidance. Continue reading “Into the light”

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Status update: Gibson Dunn partner hired as Facebook deputy GC

Social media giant Facebook has appointed Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s co-head of IT and data privacy Ashlie Beringer as deputy general counsel (GC), just weeks after Twitter announced Vijaya Gadde will take over as GC of the online social networking group.

Beringer takes over from Colin Stretch, who this summer succeeded Ted Ullyot as vice president and GC, following Ullyot’s announcement in May that he would be stepping down. Continue reading “Status update: Gibson Dunn partner hired as Facebook deputy GC”

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Sailing for Boston – Freshfields’ managing partner quits to join US buyout house

One of the most respected law firm leaders in the City has called it a day ahead of time with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s managing partner Ted Burke today (30 September) confirming his decision to leave the Magic Circle firm. The move, which sees Burke stand down a year early, was announced internally today. Continue reading “Sailing for Boston – Freshfields’ managing partner quits to join US buyout house”

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Through the maze

Complex and controversial, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive has finally emerged, with huge regulatory implications for global funds. Legal Business asks if offshore jurisdictions can chart their way through

In force since 22 July, the EU directive on alternative investment fund managers (AIFMD) marks a huge change to the European private equity and venture capital industry. Developed to regulate hedge funds and private equity and the promotion of alternative investment funds within the EU, the AIFMD is set on advancing the stability and transparency of investment vehicles.

Continue reading “Through the maze”

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Layton leads the field as CC set for managing partner election

The race to fill the shoes of Clifford Chance (CC)’s longstanding global managing partner David Childs has reached a decisive stage, with the initially reluctant Matthew Layton widely cited as the favourite as the firm takes soundings on potential candidates.

Layton is widely tipped to be running alongside three other likely candidates: Paris-based office managing partner and M&A corporate specialist Yves Wehrli; global head of tax, pensions and employment David Harkness; and City-based banking and finance partner Andrew Carnegie. Continue reading “Layton leads the field as CC set for managing partner election”

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Guest blog: Do you heart QualitySolicitors?

I’ve spent the last two days at the QualitySolicitors conference in Manchester. I was invited to chair the opening session of the event and stayed to listen to the rest.

This was on the basis that I would not report on product development that was discussed but is not yet in the public domain, so I can’t tell you everything I heard.

But having done this and had the chance to speak to the chiefs of several QS firms, it may come as a disappointment to the QS knockers out there (and there is no shortage of them) that I sensed the network is heading into a positive new phase. Continue reading “Guest blog: Do you heart QualitySolicitors?”

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Asia Pacific: DLA hires four-strong Jones Day team in Beijing

DLA Piper has further bolstered its Asia Pacific offering with the hire of a four-lawyer IP team from Jones Day in Beijing, led by the US firm’s former head of IP in China, Horace Lam.

Lam will join DLA’s Beijing office in October along with counsel Stacy Yuan and associates Alicia Ma and Helen Ding, together with the additional hire of IP lawyer Miya Wen from Rouse.

Prior to joining Jones Day in May 2011, Lam was the Beijing managing partner of Hogan Lovells and head of the firm’s IP practice. He focuses on IP disputes, protection strategies and licensing. Continue reading “Asia Pacific: DLA hires four-strong Jones Day team in Beijing”

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Bircham Dyson Bell ex-partner struck off for £2m client overcharging and false expenses

A former Bircham Dyson Bell partner has been struck off the Roll after knowingly overcharging clients, misusing client funds and making false expense claims to the tune of nearly £2m.

William Pencharz was asked to leave Bircham Dyson in February 2010 after a routine review of a file relating to the estate of ‘Ms JB’ raised concerns and led to the review of a further 181 files by the firm.

Of those files, 83 raised suspicions of client overcharging – with one client overcharged by as much as 1100% on a worst case scenario costs draftsman’s estimate. Thirty one files revealed misuse of client funds for minor expenditure and 85 files showed inadequate accounting to clients. Pencharz was also found to have forged three clients signature. Continue reading “Bircham Dyson Bell ex-partner struck off for £2m client overcharging and false expenses”