Redundancy is a word that has been heard rather less over the quieter summer months but yesterday (9 September) Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens confirmed it has made a total of 28 staff redundant. Meanwhile, Midlands firm Shakespeares this week confirmed the launch of a consultation over 19 secretarial roles as Ashurst completes the first stage of a redundancy process affecting 350 roles.
Comment: If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?
We’ve had five years of unforgiving conditions for law firms, everyone agrees. And in many respects that squeeze has had predictable results on the upper echelons and lower half of the LB100. But this year it’s the mid-tier which has had the most interesting 12 months. This group should by rights and conventional wisdom be on its knees, yet judged on 2012/13 results they aren’t. Looking at organic growth, plenty of firms in the 26-50 range out-shone larger rivals and many of the stand-out performances this year – among them Mishcon de Reya, Holman Fenwick Willan, Macfarlanes and RPC – hail from this segment. Continue reading “Comment: If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?”
Latin America pulls in insurance firms as Kennedys launches in Bogota
Following recent news that insurance specialist Kennedys is to merge with Simpson & Marwick in Scotland, the firm announced on Friday (6 September) that it is to extend its reach into Latin America through an association with Bogota insurance boutique Botero Salazar Tobón & Abogados (BST).
Kennedys now has four associations in Latin America, complementing existing associations in Brazil with Fabio Torres & Associados Advocacia Empresarial in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in Chile with Santiago based Acuña & Cia and in Mexico with Bufete Solís Marín. Continue reading “Latin America pulls in insurance firms as Kennedys launches in Bogota”
Glaxo reviews advisers as A&O & CC take lead roles on £1.35bn Ribena and Lucozade sale
As GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) reviews its preferred law firms in a decision that could see the healthcare giant create a formal panel, Allen & Overy (A&O) has won the lead role to advise on its £1.35bn sale of drinks brands Lucozade and Ribena to the Japanese consumer goods company Suntory Beverage and Food (Suntory).
A&O won the deal after a series of GSK’s preferred firms pitched for the role. The corporate team at A&O will include partners Edward Barnett and Andrew Ballheimer, with assistance from senior associate Nigel Parker and associate Matthew Appleton, alongside anti-trust partner Alasdair Balfour and employment partner Mark Mansell. Continue reading “Glaxo reviews advisers as A&O & CC take lead roles on £1.35bn Ribena and Lucozade sale”
Deal watch: Hogan Lovells, RPC in key work for Kodak and AstraZeneca as DLA Piper reveals major High Court win
This week has seen two of the larger global challenger firms reveal significant wins on behalf of major international clients. Hogan Lovells closed a $650m acquisition for the trustees of the Kodak Pension Plan and DLA Piper secured victory for China Southern Airlines in the High Court. Meanwhile, one of the top performers in this year’s LB100, RPC, is advising AstraZeneca on its move to a new purpose-built HQ in Cambridge.
Guest post: A fight to the death- can the Law Society and its regulatory arm continue as now?
‘My terms of reference include a requirement to propose a framework that promotes the public and consumer interest, promotes competition, promotes innovation and is transparent,’ wrote Sir David Clementi in 2004. ‘I do not believe that the current combination of regulatory and representative powers, in particular within the Law Society and the Bar Council, permit a framework that gets close to meeting this requirement…A key recommendation of this review is that the regulatory and representative functions of front-line regulatory bodies should be clearly split.’ Continue reading “Guest post: A fight to the death- can the Law Society and its regulatory arm continue as now?”
Lateral movement: Martin explains Macfarlanes’ current hiring spree
One of the biggest surprises to come out of Macfarlanes lately is not that it was one of the strongest performers in the LB100 this year, but rather the significantly accelerated rate of lateral hires joining the firm, bringing an increased risk of upsetting traditionalists at the City blueblood.
With the recent re-hire of one its former lawyers, Michael Parkinson from Russell-Cooke, 71-partner Macfarlanes has made seven lateral hires in around two years, as opposed to its typical average of one per year. Managing partner Charles Martin says the firm will continue to add to this number over the next 12 months. Continue reading “Lateral movement: Martin explains Macfarlanes’ current hiring spree”
Comment: The lingering enigma of BLP’s bad year
Success is a mysterious beast. Hard to define, built up over years and often the result of a formula even its creators struggle to understand. But failure, well, that’s simple. When a law firm runs into difficulties you can point to bickering partners, problem offices, a weak client-base or an unworkable strategy. Whatever it is, there’s usually a clear narrative to explain the situation.
As such, the current rough patch at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is striking less in itself than because the firm seems surprised by – and unable to entirely explain – the situation.
Continue reading “Comment: The lingering enigma of BLP’s bad year”
Legal aid reform: Grayling scraps competitive tendering plans
Fears that the government is reducing the justice system to a ‘stack it high and sell it cheap’ model were today further allayed as the Justice Secretary backtracked on his proposals to award legal aid contracts to the lowest bidders.
In a deal reached with the Law Society after listening to the concerns of dozens of criminal practitioners, Chris Grayling has dropped price competitive tendering (PCT).
Continue reading “Legal aid reform: Grayling scraps competitive tendering plans”
Return of the accountants: KPMG and EY consider ABS
Global accountants including KPMG and EY have the UK’s legal sector firmly in their sights as they consider their options under the Legal Services Act (LSA) in a move said by one tax partner at a leading City law firm to be ‘clearly a threat’.
Last month it emerged that KPMG is looking at an alternative business structure (ABS) conversion in a bid to expand its legal services capability. EY, meanwhile, has the position ‘under review’ and PwC is also understood to be considering its position. Deloitte was the only one of the Big Four accountants to deny any plans to set up an ABS.
Continue reading “Return of the accountants: KPMG and EY consider ABS”
Revolving doors: Linklaters boosts Asia restructuring practice while SJ Berwin makes key disputes hire
In the second recruit to its Hong Kong office in the last couple of weeks, Linklaters has hired former Allen & Overy (A&O) partner David Kidd to lead its restructuring & insolvency (R&I) practice as the Magic Circle firm strengthens its finance and litigation teams in the region.
Kidd, who has operated under his own banner for around a year since leaving A&O in 2012, will make the move to Linklaters next month, joining former Herbert Smith Freehills Asia disputes head Gavin Lewis, whose appointment as partner to Linklaters litigation team was announced in August.
Clydes and Charles Russell establish new footprints while Kinstellar snares 10-lawyer team from Dentons’ expanding Kazakhstan operation
The start of September has seen international firms reinvigorate their expansion plans, with Clyde & Co revealing an Indonesian alliance after joining forces with Indonesian law firm, while Charles Russell has extended its global footprint with the opening of an office in Qatar. Elsewhere, central and eastern European focused firm Kinstellar launched its seventh office located in Kazakhstan, hiring a team from Dentons, which has just opened a second office in the CIS state.
Clifford Chance snares BLP’s contentious tax head
Senior exits from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) continue apace as Clifford Chance has confirmed the hire of Liesl Fichardt, the head of BLP’s contentious tax practice.
Announced today (4 September), the loss is a blow to the tax team at the 782-lawyer BLP as heavyweight Fichardt, who joined the firm in 2008, is a veteran of the legal market. Acknowledged in the Legal 500 as a ‘masterful team head,’ she also practised as a tax barrister for 13 years before joining Dorsey & Whitney in 2006.
Continue reading “Clifford Chance snares BLP’s contentious tax head”
European expansion: Speechlys opens second Swiss base as Pinsents and OC bolster Euro offices through lateral hires
It’s been a year of highs and lows for private client firm Speechly Bircham which, after enduring flat revenues for 2012/13 and unsuccessful merger talks with rival private client firm Withers earlier in the year, has opened an office in Geneva this week. Meanwhile, both Pinsent Masons and Osborne Clarke have made key strategic hires to European offices.
US lateral spree: Jones Day closes in on 50 hires for 2013 as King & Spalding continues to crank up City offering
In its 49th lateral hire of 2013, Jones Day has hired Latham & Watkins finance partner Brian Conway to its London banking and finance practice. His hire comes amid a spate of lateral hires to take place between US-based international firms recently.
Conway is the tenth partner to join one of the firm’s global banking and finance practices this year, following the hire of former co-chair of Miami-based firm Akerman Senterfitt’s Rafael Aguilar who joined Jones Day’s recently launched Miami banking and finance practice in July.
Analysis: upheaval in Scots legal market continues as Kennedys takes over Simpson & Marwick
Insurance specialist Kennedys is the latest in line of large English firms conducting raids north of the border over the last year-and-half, sealing a merger with Scotland’s Simpson & Marwick after over a year of negotiations.
The 220-partner firm will be initially be known as Kennedys worldwide and Kennedys Simpson & Marwick in Scotland and is the most significant Anglo-Scottish tie-up since McGrigors was acquired by Pinsent Masons in May 2012.
If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?
We’ve had five years of unforgiving conditions for law firms, everyone agrees. And in many respects that squeeze has had predictable results on the upper echelons and lower half of the LB100. But this year it’s the mid-tier which has had the most interesting 12 months. This group should by rights and conventional wisdom be on its knees, yet judged on 2012/13 results they aren’t. Looking at organic growth, plenty of firms in the 26-50 range out-shone larger rivals and many of the stand-out performances this year – among them Mishcon de Reya, Holman Fenwick Willan, Macfarlanes and RPC – hail from this segment. Neither is this a one-year deal – there are plenty of firms in this weight class that have maintained a robust five-year growth track, powered by strong niches in areas like private client, TMT and insurance and a general affinity for contentious work.
It is a reminder that there is nothing inherently wrong with a domestic or mid-market focus. It is just one model with its own strengths and weaknesses. Executed with a genuine feel for those strengths it delivers not just well but sometimes spectacularly.
Continue reading “If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?”
Accept no substitute: Legal Business hits the iPad with the law app you’ve been waiting for
We take a sizeable step in the evolution of Legal Business today with the launch of a new iPad edition, which we will be rolling out to our subscribers.
The app launches after months of development to coincide with our September edition, traditionally the largest of the year in which we publish our annual LB 100 coverage of the financial results of the UK’s largest law firms.
Real estate round up: Macfarlanes, HSF, Slaughter and May and Hengeler Mueller each win key commercial property mandates
It’s been a week for the traditional corporate bluebloods to shine in real estate-related work, with Macfarlanes, Slaughter and May and German royalty Hengeler Mueller individually winning significant transactions.
Macfarlanes secured a key role advising CBRE Britannica on the sale of its shopping centre portfolio for £250m to US investor Kennedy Wilson, advised by Herbert Smith Freehills.
Deal watch: telecoms stays on front pages as Skadden and Simpson Thacher lead on Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business
Following Monday’s $130bn deal between Vodafone and Verizon, yet another blockbuster telecoms transaction has emerged to keep M&A lawyers enthralled, with US firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett taking the lead in Microsoft’s $7bn acquisition of Nokia’s Devices & Services business along with a ten-year patent licensing agreement. Continue reading “Deal watch: telecoms stays on front pages as Skadden and Simpson Thacher lead on Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile business”