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In-house Round-up: Swiss Re GC to DAC, Co-op’s Gulliford to Pannone, FACT appoints first GC and Auction.com takes on senior legal team

If it had seemed that the flow of UK hires between private practice and in-house was very much one-sided in the corporates’ favour a recent run of high profile moves has gone some way to evening out the score.

Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) co-founder Jonathan Gulliford has joined Pannone Affinity as a consultant as part of an ongoing growth drive at the Manchester firm’s white label legal arm. Continue reading “In-house Round-up: Swiss Re GC to DAC, Co-op’s Gulliford to Pannone, FACT appoints first GC and Auction.com takes on senior legal team”

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European expansion – Osborne Clarke continues international drive with Paris launch

At the start of 2012 Osborne Clarke (OC) had little in the way of a direct international presence but the top 40 UK firm has continued its assault on Europe with a Paris launch, marking its fourth office opening in just over a year.

The office, which opened last Monday (15 July), is headed by Legal 500 recommended IT lawyer Béatrice Delmas-Linel, who joins the firm after four years as a partner at De Gaulle Flaurence, prior to which she was associate general counsel at Microsoft and before that managing partner at top-tier employment firm August & Debouzy. Continue reading “European expansion – Osborne Clarke continues international drive with Paris launch”

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Comparing apples with, err, pears: Dentons’ financials show slight increase in revenue as Withers and Travers reveal numbers

If the financial results of 2013 are useful for one thing, it will be to remind us of the sheer volume of transcontinental mergers, nearly-ran mergers, and the growth in popularity of the Swiss verein model.

The tail end of the financial reporting season has seen Dentons post its first, broadly flat set of results since the three-way merger of SNR Denton, Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain, while Withers and Travers Smith (which stands out all the more for its fierce independence) have both seen a small increase in turnover. Continue reading “Comparing apples with, err, pears: Dentons’ financials show slight increase in revenue as Withers and Travers reveal numbers”

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Why the Serious Fraud Office should now be left to get on with its knitting

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is an organisation under pressure. Pressure from MPs over the severance packages of former executives, pressure after its annual report this week revealed that it has taken on and won fewer trials, and pressure to redefine itself within a highly politicised arena where it is an easy scapegoat for any number of financial ills.

First, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday published its 10th report in relation to the SFO’s redundancy and severance arrangements, finding that former director Richard Alderman had undermined the reputation of the SFO while he was director between 2008-2012. Continue reading “Why the Serious Fraud Office should now be left to get on with its knitting”

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Turns out not all publicity is good as law firm admits it revealed JK Rowling’s secret crime novel side-line

Media law firms have long received a profile far outranking their small size thanks to their close proximity to celebrity clients and headline-friendly stories. For once, that brand visibility has disastrously back-fired as it emerged this week that entertainment boutique Russells Solicitors was responsible for revealing the fact that its client JK Rowling had penned the crime novel The Cuckoo’s Calling under a pseudonym.

Commercial and corporate partner Chris Gossage disclosed the crime novelist’s true identity to his wife’s best friend Judith Callegari. It is understood that Callegari then disclosed the information to a Sunday Times journalist through Twitter earlier this month. Continue reading “Turns out not all publicity is good as law firm admits it revealed JK Rowling’s secret crime novel side-line”

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Financial results 2013: Dundas & Wilson fails to halt the slide as profits fall 21%

It was once Scotland’s most revered firm but Dundas & Wilson continues to experience misery heaped upon misery, rounding off a second  annus horribilis by announcing a successive double-digit drop in turnover today (19 July).

Turnover was down 11% at the end 2012/13 to £48.7m from £54.5m, with profit down 21% to £12.8m from £16.2m the previous year. Profits per equity partner have also fallen significantly, down to £164,000 from £210,000 – a fall of 22%. Continue reading “Financial results 2013: Dundas & Wilson fails to halt the slide as profits fall 21%”

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Financial results 2013: BLP confirms bad year as revenues drop by 5%

It appears today (19 July) is a good day to try and bury bad news. With Dundas & Wilson earlier revealing significant falls in revenues and profit, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has confirmed suspicions that it has had a bad year: revenues are down 5% from £246m to £233m.

The firm has yet to announce profit figures but PEP is widely expected to be down substantially from last year’s figure of £660,000. Continue reading “Financial results 2013: BLP confirms bad year as revenues drop by 5%”

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European movers: Bakers bolsters Madrid office with team of 20 as Hogan Lovells launches in Luxembourg and Wragges takes on Paris team

In many ways it is a curious time to be building up corporate and finance capability in the depressed Spanish market but Baker & McKenzie has significantly bolstered its strength in its largely third-tier Madrid office with the hire a local team of 20 lawyers from Mayer Brown’s former Spanish ally, Ramón y Cajal, including five partners.

Two of the founding members of the Spanish firm; Alberto Ureba, co-head of Ramón y Cajal’s corporate team, and Francisco Bauzá, co-head of the firm’s finance practice, are leaving to join the global behemoth by the end of the month. Continue reading “European movers: Bakers bolsters Madrid office with team of 20 as Hogan Lovells launches in Luxembourg and Wragges takes on Paris team”

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Judicial watch: Sir John Thomas handed top judicial role as Lady Justice Hallett misses out

Despite speculation that the UK could be set for the first woman Lord Chief Justice, it was this week confirmed that Queen’s Bench Division president Sir John Thomas has been appointed to replace retiring Lord Judge, who steps down at the end of September after completing five years in the role.

Thomas, who was recently involved in the high profile cases of Abu Hamza and Julian Assange, will take up his role on 1 October following his 66th birthday. Continue reading “Judicial watch: Sir John Thomas handed top judicial role as Lady Justice Hallett misses out”

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If you can’t beat ’em… Cripps Harries merges with Vertex as Geldards acquires TPP Law

Good strategy is rarely dictated by old wives’ tales but the adage ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ certainly rings truer than ever in the regions and this week has seen the merger between two of Kent’s best-known law firms, Cripps Harries Hall and Vertex Law, as Midlands firm Geldards also pushes its public law brand in the City with the acquisition of TPP Law.

Property specialist Cripps, which the Legal 500 gives top-tier recommendations for commercial property and property litigation in the South East, will combine with corporate and commercial-focused Vertex Law to strengthen its position in Kent and extend its reach across the region and into London.

The merger will create a firm of 45 partners and 260 staff and is said by the firms to create ‘an enhanced joint client offering across core areas.’ Continue reading “If you can’t beat ’em… Cripps Harries merges with Vertex as Geldards acquires TPP Law”

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Guest post: There is a market for judges emerging – but only winning with the oligarchs is not the answer either

Moses LJ has set his satirical pen a scribbling in a recent speech reported in the Gazette. It simplifies, as satire must I suppose, but it got me thinking about something that has been bothering me for some time. Before I come to that, let me set the general theme. There is already a market for judicial services. It may not bite as hard or as dangerously as price competitive tendering, and it may not as directly influence the judges, but it is there nonetheless. It works on a number of levels. Forum shopping from judges can be a form of market for influence. Arbitration is a more obviously economic market in competition with the courts. Continue reading “Guest post: There is a market for judges emerging – but only winning with the oligarchs is not the answer either”

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Reed Smith set to earn nearly £1m from Savile mandate as BBC criticised for £5m bill

Reed Smith has received nearly a million pounds in legal fees as a result of assisting in the BBC’s investigation into the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal as the corporation comes under criticism for spending a total of £5m of licence fee payers’ money on three reviews.

The BBC’s annual report today (17 July) revealed that the cost of the Pollard Review – one of three reviews set up in the wake of the Savile scandal – was £2.8m, of which £893,500 went to Reed Smith. Continue reading “Reed Smith set to earn nearly £1m from Savile mandate as BBC criticised for £5m bill”

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A high-stakes global play – SJ Berwin to vote next week on tie-up with Asian giant King & Wood Mallesons

Arguably the most ambitious deal to hit the global legal market since the 2010 tie-up between Hogan & Hartson and Lovells looks set to go ahead as it emerges that SJ Berwin is to vote next week on its proposed merger with Asia-Pacific giant King & Wood Mallesons.

Legal Business understands that SJ Berwin partners were given a week’s notice this morning of the vote, which will close at the end of the month. Continue reading “A high-stakes global play – SJ Berwin to vote next week on tie-up with Asian giant King & Wood Mallesons”

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Benchmarking global law firms is getting harder – HSF issues partial post-merger results suggesting PEP down to £750k

Pity the reporters covering the legal industry as the rash of international mergers and differing profit structures has seen law firms increasingly attempt an ad hoc approach to disclosing their financial performance.

Very much in this spirit, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) today (17 July) took the unusual step of releasing its financial performance for just seven months – the period since the union between Herbert Smith and Australian leader Freehills went live on 1 October – but refused to disclose the proceeding five months of the legacy City firm’s financial year. Continue reading “Benchmarking global law firms is getting harder – HSF issues partial post-merger results suggesting PEP down to £750k”

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Into the Breach: Investigations work on the rise as Linklaters takes on G4S tagging role

Big ticket M&A may be in short supply but both defensive and regulator-instigated investigations into corporate behaviour is burgeoning, as Linklaters becomes the latest leading law firm to secure a high profile mandate, advising G4S on its recent tagging scandal.

The Magic Circle firm led by corporate partner Richard Godden and litigator Tom Lidstrom has been called in to advise the private security company, which recently returned to the public eye after the justice secretary Chris Grayling called for it and rival security firm Serco to be investigated for overcharging for the electronic tagging of offenders. Continue reading “Into the Breach: Investigations work on the rise as Linklaters takes on G4S tagging role”

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Can’t make an omelette – newly-merged Norton Rose Fulbright sees exodus in Middle East

So far the high-stakes merger between Norton Rose and US practice Fulbright & Jaworski has been sealed with minimal fall-out but a prominent exception has been confirmed in the Middle East with an eight-partner team quitting the legacy Houston law firm’s Dubai arm for a rival.

Baker Botts today (16 July) confirmed the hire of a 14-lawyer team, which includes the bulk of the legacy Fulbright & Jaworski’s Dubai branch. Continue reading “Can’t make an omelette – newly-merged Norton Rose Fulbright sees exodus in Middle East”

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Deal Watch: sporting metaphor alert as Dechert, HSF and DLA Piper score high-profile football roles

The balance sheets of most English clubs may be shakier than Villa’s back four, but when it comes to raising your deal-doers’ profile there’s still nothing like acting for major football teams.

Among the advisers getting off the bench (sorry) are Dechert, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Squire Sanders on the sale of Fulham Football Club while DLA Piper is working on the £260m regeneration of Liverpool’s Anfield ground. Continue reading “Deal Watch: sporting metaphor alert as Dechert, HSF and DLA Piper score high-profile football roles”

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Reappointing and renewables – the newly-merged Norton Rose Fulbright and Bond Dickinson in again on Crown Estate energy panel

Norton Rose Fulbright and Bond Dickinson have been reappointed to the Crown Estate’s energy and infrastructure panel in what will be regarded as an important win for both law firms.

The Crown Estate said that the move ‘consolidated legal advice across an extremely diverse portfolio’, cutting the body’s previous specialist panel from five to two advisers after a competitive tender process. The appointments will be considered as trophy roles for both firms, in particular underlining their credentials in the renewable energy sector, which remains a coveted area for advisers despite protracted challenges in Europe’s sustainable energy sector. Continue reading “Reappointing and renewables – the newly-merged Norton Rose Fulbright and Bond Dickinson in again on Crown Estate energy panel”

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Risky business: BAE’s compliance head to direct risk at Rolls Royce as Lord Gold’s monitor role comes to an end

BAE Systems compliance and regulation chief counsel Mark Serfozo has moved to Rolls-Royce as director of risk after nearly 20 years at the defence, security and aerospace giant in a move said by BAE’s high profile general counsel Philip Bramwell to be ‘a good career move’.

Serfozo was appointed to head compliance in 2007 as part of Bramwell’s move to beef up that function shortly after his arrival at BAE and during the height of long running investigations by the Serious Fraud Office into the al-Yamamah arms deal.Since then, the compliance function at BAE has quadrupled to around 100 staff and the legal team doubled to 250, while the company’s litigation costs have dropped by 80%. Continue reading “Risky business: BAE’s compliance head to direct risk at Rolls Royce as Lord Gold’s monitor role comes to an end”

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Comment: Hogan Lovells was right to get hitched. It needs to remember that

I’m not a big fan of comparing law firm mergers to marriages. All those torturous metaphors and incongruous imagery. But in assessing the three-year old union between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson, it’s hard to escape the nuptial motif. The deal was forged amid high expectations and a simple analysis: both firms were better off together as neither looked compellingly positioned for an emerging elite of global law. Putting together a transatlantic merger of equals with two large firms that ranked just below the top tier in their respective markets made sense and was arguably a first for the profession. Continue reading “Comment: Hogan Lovells was right to get hitched. It needs to remember that”