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Clifford Chance underperforms Magic Circle with 9% drop in PEP

Clifford Chance (CC) has underperformed its Magic Circle rivals in its 2012/13 results as the firm today announced a 2.5% decline in revenue to £1,271m and a 9% drop in profit per equity partner (PEP) to £1m.

The firm, which has expanded the number of equity partners year-on-year from 379 in 2010-11 to 411 in the past financial year, pointed to factors including the predicted Eurozone crisis together with a slowdown in the Asia-Pacific market and a change of political leadership in China as having a negative impact on its bottom line.

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Guest post: You could up-skill them, instead you simply canned them – the secretarial canary in the law firm coal mine

‘A really far-sighted law firm would give its secretaries the chance to ‘skill up’ and take on more responsibility, accomplishing more advanced tasks. … Change ‘secretary’ to ‘workflow manager’ or ‘logistics director,’ and you’ve accomplished three great things at once: increased the role of software in handling clerical and financial duties, reassigned your valuable secretarial help up the productivity chain, and attended to an area in which you can find real efficiencies and carve out a true competitive advantage over other firms.’

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Financial Friday rolls on as Eversheds unveils increase in revenue and profits during 12/13

Eversheds became the fifth major law firm to confirm its 2012/13 results today (5 July) with the top 15 UK law firm seeing revenues edge up 3% to £376m, while profits per equity partner increased 2% to hit £642,000 for its 133 full partners.

The firm cited a strong performance in its litigation practice, while its financial institutions and energy and national resources sector groups respectively expanded by 20% and 14%. A statement from Eversheds said that it had seen ‘double digit’ growth in its network in Asia and the Middle East, where the firm has been investing.

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102 jobs to go as BLP redundancy consultation concludes – 58 legal staff depart

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has confirmed that it has cut 102 jobs that were placed under review in May, with 58 legal staff and 44 secretarial jobs being lost.

Of those laid off, 84% took voluntary redundancy, reflecting relatively generous severance terms on offer. The redundancy review was announced on 14 May and lasted for 45 days.

The redundancy programme also included a number of additional business service roles although the 735-lawyer firm could not confirm the number affected. It said that a targeted 15% reduction in salary costs was achieved. Continue reading “102 jobs to go as BLP redundancy consultation concludes – 58 legal staff depart”

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It’s now or… later. Hogan Lovells to make decision on dual chief executive structure

Hogan Lovells’ senior management has begun discussions over whether to retain the firm’s dual US-UK chief executive (CEO) structure or continue with a single head if UK CEO David Harris steps down as expected next year.

Harris and US counterpart Warren Gorrell have opened the discussion on succession plans with the transatlantic firm’s board, which in turn will canvass the appetite of partners to move to a single leader now the merger of UK firm Lovells and Washington DC’s Hogan & Hartson is three years down the line.

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Comment: Weil Gotshal and the narrative of the New Normal

Whatever the business case for announcing significant down-sizing, there is no doubt that in the field of modern communications Weil Gotshal & Manges scored a significant victory last week in its handling of job cuts.

Confirming its move to cut around 170 staff on 24 June and lower the compensation of 30 partners, Weil was joined up, transparent and eloquent, with executive partner Barry Wolf (pictured) on hand to put a jargon-lite case for its actions. The expected loss of 60 associates is equivalent to roughly 7% of Weil’s associate base. Continue reading “Comment: Weil Gotshal and the narrative of the New Normal”

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SJ Berwin creates new COO role with hire of McKinsey’s Baumgartner

Top 25 City firm SJ Berwin has announced the hire of Rick Baumgartner as the firm’s first-ever chief operating officer (COO). Baumgartner will join on September 9 from leading management consultancy group McKinsey & Company.

Baumgartner has over ten years’ experience with McKinsey, prior to which he worked at the Australian stock exchange and has held senior roles at accountancy giants Ernst & Young and Deloitte. Continue reading “SJ Berwin creates new COO role with hire of McKinsey’s Baumgartner”

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Double digit growth for Macfarlanes as firm disputes ‘new normal’

A depressed transactional market in the UK has had little effect on the financial performance of Macfarlanes, with the high-performing City firm posting a 12% increase in revenues for 2012/2013 from £102.2m to £114.16m.

The firm, which recorded an 8% rise in revenues in 2011/2012, continues to be one of the most profitable firms in the City, with net income up 16% from £42.44m to £49.25m, equating to a PEP of £985,000 – an increase of 9% on 2011/2012. Profit per lawyer at the firm stands at £158,000 – a rise of 7%. Continue reading “Double digit growth for Macfarlanes as firm disputes ‘new normal’”

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Reporting season floodgates open as four major City firms reveal 2012/13 revenues

Reporting season has opened in earnest in the City as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer today (5 July) reveals it has bucked the trend towards flat revenue growth among its Magic Circle rivals while Linklaters, Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright disclose a varying set of 2012/13 numbers.

In a year that has already seen a number of managing partners blame challenging market conditions for flat revenue streams, Freshfields reported a 7.2% revenue increase from £1.139bn to £1.22bn, while its profit per equity partner (PEP) rose by 7.6% to £1.398m. Continue reading “Reporting season floodgates open as four major City firms reveal 2012/13 revenues”

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Slaughter and May steps in for Siemens on €1.7bn sale of stake in NSN

Shearman & Sterling has led for Nokia on its €1.7bn buyout of Siemens’ stake in Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) in a deal that has seen Slaughter and May step in for the German engineering giant.

Announced on 1 July, Shearman fielded a multi-disciplinary team across London and New York led by City M&A partner Jeremy Kutner for longstanding client Nokia. Slaughter and May led by London corporate partner Tim Boxell advised the Siemens team led out of its German headquarters.

NSN was formed in 2006 in a €16bn joint venture between Nokia and Siemens aimed at offering innovative mobile broadband technology and services. Advising on its formation was former Shearman City-based partner Jonathan Coppin opposite Clifford Chance (CC). Continue reading “Slaughter and May steps in for Siemens on €1.7bn sale of stake in NSN”

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Litigation drives growth as Stewarts Law sees PEP break the £1m barrier

The success of litigation-focused firms is again in evidence today (3 July) as Stewarts Law announced an increase in turnover of 29.5% to £45.2m for 2012/13 and average profits per equity partner of £1.1m.

The litigation boutique has seen its turnover almost quadruple from £11.9m in 2007/08 while net profit has hit £20.5m, following a year of key lateral hires and international expansion. Continue reading “Litigation drives growth as Stewarts Law sees PEP break the £1m barrier”

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Litigation watch: Weil and Quinn Emanuel successful in high profile Barclay brothers Court of Appeal case

A high profile Court of Appeal decision has today (3 July) seen Weil Gotshal & Manges and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan see off a challenge against the Barclay brothers and their associated companies over the ownership of three iconic London hotels.

Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay, represented by Weil Gotshal’s head of litigation Matthew Shankland, successfully defended an appeal by Irish developer Patrick McKillen in a long running dispute over the ownership and control of Claridges, the Berkeley and the Connaught. Continue reading “Litigation watch: Weil and Quinn Emanuel successful in high profile Barclay brothers Court of Appeal case”

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After the surge a pause – expansive A&O sees a lull in growth as first Magic Circle player confirms 2013 results

Having been the stand-out City player in its weight class since the 2008 banking crisis re-shaped the global legal market, Allen & Overy (A&O) has this year seen a relative slow-down in growth as the firm becomes the first Magic Circle practice to unveil its 2012/13 results.

The 525-partner law firm saw a 0.6% increase in revenues for its year to April 2013, with income hitting £1.19bn. Profit per equity partner was also flat at £1.1m while total profits before tax were up 2% to £496.7m. Continue reading “After the surge a pause – expansive A&O sees a lull in growth as first Magic Circle player confirms 2013 results”

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Guest post: Criminalising corporate law – proposed UK fraud penalties take a leaf out of the US sentencing guidelines

Tough new proposed sentencing guidelines for bribery have been published in a consultation which closes in early October.

The proposals are contained in a document running to 130 pages which deals with proposed sentencing guidelines for fraud, bribery and money laundering offences. Continue reading “Guest post: Criminalising corporate law – proposed UK fraud penalties take a leaf out of the US sentencing guidelines”

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White & Case continues capital markets drive as Milan boasts full DCM suite

White & Case has made no secret of its strategic objective to boost its global capital markets capability and last week saw a debt capital markets (DCM) team join in Milan from Magic Circle rival Allen & Overy (A&O).

A&O’s DCM and regulatory partner Paola Leocani (pictured) joins the Milan office alongside counsel Elena Radicella Chiaramonte, two senior associates, an associate and two trainees.

Rated by Legal 500 as third-tier for ECM and DCM in Italy, White & Case claims that it is now one of the only firms in the region with a full spectrum of capital markets and regulatory services across products, at a time when Italy has seen a decrease in bank lending and a corresponding growth in DCM. Continue reading “White & Case continues capital markets drive as Milan boasts full DCM suite”

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Litigation watch: SJ Berwin wins IP battle for Sky against Microsoft

SJ Berwin has scored a significant victory in the important tech area of intellectual property rights in cloud data storage, successfully representing broadcaster Sky on its successful trade mark infringement claim against US software giant Microsoft.

In a dispute dating back to 2011, the High Court ruled last week that the IT giant’s ‘SkyDrive’ cloud service infringed Sky’s brand in the UK and Europe. Sky had filed a claim over a breach of UK and Community trade marks following Microsoft’s use of ‘SkyDrive’ for cloud storage solution. Continue reading “Litigation watch: SJ Berwin wins IP battle for Sky against Microsoft”

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Financial results round-up: Freshfields tops UK elite firms

Magic Circle firm shines with 7% revenue spike in flat market

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has led the Magic Circle for 2012/13 financial results in a year that has seen the UK’s elite turn out flat annual turnover and profits, while many of the UK’s top 50 reveal spikes in revenue largely generated by international expansion.

Freshfields has revealed a 7% revenue increase from £1.139bn to £1.22bn, with profit per equity partner (PEP) rising by 11% to £1,439,000.

Headline deals for the firm have included its role advising the government on the long-running IPO of Royal Mail, and advising Betfair on CVC Capital Partners’ £910m takeover bid. For Q1 of 2013, Freshfields was ranked by mergermarket in third place for global M&A behind US firms Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and second for global buyouts behind Kirkland & Ellis.

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It’s now or… later. Hogan Lovells to make decision on dual chief executive structure

Hogan Lovells’ senior management has begun discussions over whether to retain the firm’s dual US-UK chief executive (CEO) structure or continue with a single head if UK CEO David Harris steps down as expected next year.

Harris (pictured) and US counterpart Warren Gorrell have opened the discussion on succession plans with the transatlantic firm’s board, which in turn will canvass the appetite of partners to move to a single leader now the merger of UK firm Lovells and Washington DC’s Hogan & Hartson is three years down the line.

The ten-strong board includes longstanding legacy Lovells City partners Nicholas Cheffings, who also acts as global chair, and finance partner Emily Reid. US members include new appointees Cole Finegan (Denver) and Dan González (Miami), who replaced New York-based Marc Gottridge and Hamburg-based Andreas Meyer respectively in May.

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BT moves to extend its use of legal outsourcing in the UK

BT has begun an extensive legal process outsourcing (LPO) tender for its work in India and the US and is expecting to introduce a new provider for UK work as the telecoms giant moves to outsource over 30% of its UK global services legal work.

The move comes as the FTSE 100 company’s alternative business structure (ABS) arm, BT Law, has won three new contracts and looks to be used as a platform to turn the legal department from a cost to a profit centre, including potentially offering employment law advice.

BT general counsel (GC) Dan Fitz and new director of compliance Gareth Tipton say they are midway through the tender with providers including incumbent UnitedLex – which already takes on 30% of the global services division’s legal work in the UK. The process will take up to three months to complete.

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Ashurst’s new Glasgow unit ‘part of a continuing trend’

Law firms look outside City to meet client cost expectations

It is a sign of the times that the majority of City partners can’t understand the fuss around Ashurst’s new low-cost base in Scotland.

The top-15 UK firm announced in mid-June that it is to create a 150-strong unit in Glasgow, headed by former Dundas & Wilson partner Michael Polson, which will cover back office support and volume legal work, initially document review in litigation and corporate.

The move echoes earlier initiatives, launched to more fanfare, by Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) (then just Herbert Smith) and Allen & Overy (A&O), which set up volume support operations in Belfast in 2011 and 2012 respectively as a means of lowering client costs.

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