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SFO to recruit 10 more barristers in defence of Tchenguiz brothers multi-million pound claim

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is to recruit an additional 10 junior barristers to join the team involved in the defence of the multi-million damages claims brought by the Tchenguiz brothers.

Last year property tycoons Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz sued the SFO for more than £200m after the agency made serious mistakes in its investigation of their role in the collapse of Icelandic bank Kaupthing, of which they were executives. Continue reading “SFO to recruit 10 more barristers in defence of Tchenguiz brothers multi-million pound claim”

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Merger watch – Norton Rose Fulbright Dubai team in talks to join rival

It’s a cliché that you can’t do large legal mergers without some fallout, a truism that Norton Rose Fulbright now has the chance to contemplate, as it emerges that its Festival Towers Dubai office is likely to move in the wake of its merger this month.

Dubai is one of the few international jurisdictions where Norton Rose and US partner Fulbright & Jaworski had overlapping offerings, which has resulted in a clash of personalities. The two firms combined on 3 June forging a top 10 global practice in revenue terms. Continue reading “Merger watch – Norton Rose Fulbright Dubai team in talks to join rival”

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RPC second City firm today to announce high double digit revenue increase

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has become the second City firm today (11 June) to announce a high double digit increase in revenue, with turnover up by 20% for 2012-13.

The top 50 LB100 firm has seen its revenue rise from £68m in 2011-12 to £82.1m this year. Its profits are yet to be announced. Continue reading “RPC second City firm today to announce high double digit revenue increase”

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Deal Watch: Clutch of US firms including Skadden, Cleary and Kirkland secure high value corporate mandates

After the slowest opening M&A quarter for a decade the past week saw signs of the forecasted uptick in M&A activity as a clutch of US firms including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Kirkland & Ellis and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton secured high value mandates.

In what is said to be the largest Chinese takeover of a US company, Hong Kong-based meat processing giant Shuanghui International Holdings has acquired the world’s largest pork processor, Smithfield Foods, in a deal worth $4.7bn, or $7.1bn including assumed debt. US Paul Hastings led by Hong Kong-based partner Raymond Li advised the buyer alongside LB Global 100 US firm Troutman Sanders, led by corporate partners Mason Bayler, David Myers and Coburn Beck. Smithfield Foods was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett led by M&A partners Robert Spatt and Patrick Noughton and McGuireWoods led by corporate partners David Oakey and James Anderson.

Continue reading “Deal Watch: Clutch of US firms including Skadden, Cleary and Kirkland secure high value corporate mandates”

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Comment: The ABS dilemma – join them sure, but shouldn’t you be beating them?

Amid all the hype surrounding alternative business structures (ABS) one story that emerged last month stood out – the aggressively-marketed Riverview Law’s eye-catching alliance with 48-partner practice DMH Stallard.

In an ABS market heavily focused on the high street and volume insurance work, the deal stands out for aiming to provide something different to corporate buyers of legal services. Continue reading “Comment: The ABS dilemma – join them sure, but shouldn’t you be beating them?”

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After Travers defeat, Linklaters faces discrimination claim by former paralegal

Linklaters is being sued by a former paralegal for unfair dismissal and discrimination just weeks after top 50 law firm Travers Smith was found to have discriminated against a former trainee because she had fallen pregnant.

The case against Linklaters started today (10 June) in the London Central Employment Tribunal and the hearing is scheduled to run for six days. Continue reading “After Travers defeat, Linklaters faces discrimination claim by former paralegal”

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Guest post: Legal aid reform – a fiscal realist’s view

Even I’m concerned about Chris Grayling’s proposals for criminal legal aid. When the government announced cuts to civil legal aid, I broadly backed them, in contrast to most lawyers. Now, the government’s proposing some further cuts to civil legal aid as well as major changes to the criminal legal aid system most dramatically, a move to competitive tendering of publicly-funded criminal defence work. Continue reading “Guest post: Legal aid reform – a fiscal realist’s view”

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Asia round-up: K&L Gates, Akin Gump, Addleshaws and Milbank bolster presence

A raft of leading UK and US firms boosted their East Asian presence this past week, including K&L Gates, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy and Addleshaw Goddard, with Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo a continuing focus of international attention.

On 31 May, Hong Kong corporate partner Virginia Tam moved from White & Case to US rival K&L Gates’ established 19-lawyer office, set up as its first Asian post 15 years ago. Continue reading “Asia round-up: K&L Gates, Akin Gump, Addleshaws and Milbank bolster presence”

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Dundas cancels vacation scheme as trainee intake is deferred

Dundas & Wilson’s beleaguered City office has deferred its 2014 trainee intake by a year and cancelled its London summer vacation scheme just weeks before students were due to arrive.

Around 24 students who were due to spend two weeks at the Scottish firm’s London office next month have been told the scheme will no longer go ahead, which it blames on the ‘firm’s strategic business objectives.’ Continue reading “Dundas cancels vacation scheme as trainee intake is deferred”

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Reports season 2013 – DWF’s acquisition trail sees bumper revenue and profit increase

It has swiftly moved from obscure regional player into one of the most closely watched practices on the national scene and financial results announced today (6 June) confirm the extent of its dramatic ascent. DWF, which has completed five mergers in under 18 months, has unsurprisingly reported significant revenue and profit increases for the 2012/13 financial year.Turnover at the law firm is up 84% to £188m, while the firm’s net profit is up 41%, with profit per equity partner standing at £429,000, against £408,000 the previous year.

Continue reading “Reports season 2013 – DWF’s acquisition trail sees bumper revenue and profit increase”

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TLT announces 10% hike in turnover as Maclay Murray kicks off redundancy round

As Bristol-based TLT yesterday posted a double-digit hike in turnover and announced a dual hire to launch an office in Manchester, in contrasting fortunes Glasgow-based Maclay Murray & Spens became the latest UK firm to announce a redundancy consultation in a move that could affect up to 30 roles. Continue reading “TLT announces 10% hike in turnover as Maclay Murray kicks off redundancy round”

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We’ve implemented the Legal Services Act – how about another review of legal regulation?

One man’s slashing red tape is another’s endless tinkering. Either way, the much-meddled field of legal regulation may face more intervention with news this week that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is to conduct a wholesale review of the profession’s regulatory landscape, little more than a year after the Legal Services Act (LSA) came into full force. Continue reading “We’ve implemented the Legal Services Act – how about another review of legal regulation?”

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Leadership: Linklaters elects four new partners to its most senior board

Linklaters has elected four new members to its most senior governance board responsible for strategic and other major decisions at the Magic Circle Firm.

The new members of the international board are London capital markets partner Paul Lewis in place of outgoing City partner Michael Kent, Düsseldorf corporate partner Klaus Hoenig who takes over from Frankfurt partner Eva Reudelhuber, Moscow capital markets partner Dmitry Dobatkin in place of retired former Moscow colleague John Goodwin, and Antwerp corporate partner Jean-Pierre Blumberg in place of Brussels-based litigation head Francoise Lefevre. Continue reading “Leadership: Linklaters elects four new partners to its most senior board”

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Revolving Doors: Osborne Clarke, Eversheds and Bryan Cave among firms to make key strategic hires

Europe has been the focus of much lateral partner activity over the past week, as firms including Eversheds and Osborne Clarke make senior hires across the continent.

On 3 June, Osborne Clarke announced it is to open in Brussels with a two-partner, five-lawyer team from former Belgian ally De Wolf & Partners, led by De Wolf’s head of employment Thierry Viérin and commercial partner Stefan Deswert. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Osborne Clarke, Eversheds and Bryan Cave among firms to make key strategic hires”

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Strategic Recruitment: King & Spalding continues City drive with Steptoe hire

King & Spalding has continued its City recruitment drive with the hire of Steptoe & Johnson’s London dispute resolution partner and co-head of the Russia and CIS group, Egishe Dzhazoyan.

Listed by Legal 500 as a leading arbitrator with ‘excellent common sense’, Dzhazoyan is a UK and Russian-qualified lawyer who has represented clients in more than 50 arbitration and litigation proceedings across a host of international jurisdictions. He has a particular focus on the banking, telecoms and energy sectors. Continue reading “Strategic Recruitment: King & Spalding continues City drive with Steptoe hire”

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Guest post: #SAVEUKJUSTICE and whoring justice to Russian chavs – a few observations from a sardonic law blogger

The #SAVEUKJUSTICE demonstration outside the Ministry of Justice yesterday (4 June) was well attended. Coverage of the event has been extensive and well dealt with in the law blogs.

A few observations…

The unified stance taken by the Bar and Law Society has been a remarkable feature of the campaign.Leading lights from the legal profession have given time and thought to putting the message across through blogs and on twitter. Many bloggers have written on the subject. Patrick Tornsey has a comprehensive listing of blogs written by lawyers and others from the legal blogging community.

 

Continue reading “Guest post: #SAVEUKJUSTICE and whoring justice to Russian chavs – a few observations from a sardonic law blogger”

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Global Expansion: Bingham continues recruitment drive with hire of HSF London funds partner

Bingham McCutchen has expanded its transatlantic offering to European fund managers with the hire of Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) rated partner Thiha Tun, only weeks after seven White & Case funds lawyers joined in Tokyo.

Tun, who works with private equity, real estate, infrastructure and hedge funds, will join Bingham’s investment management practice in September, in line with the top 30 Legal Business Global 100’s firm’s stated ambition to bolster its international funds and financial regulatory capabilities. Continue reading “Global Expansion: Bingham continues recruitment drive with hire of HSF London funds partner”

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Comment: In defence of big – the maths are favouring two + two

How many times do you hear lawyers roll out the line about mergers having to be two-plus-two-makes-five? True in many regards. Getting bigger doesn’t make you better or necessarily solve structural and strategic issues and mergers are hard to pull off effectively.

But when it comes down to it, this truism has become pretty misleading in Law Firm Land 2013.

Because scale does indeed matter in law, all things being equal. Bigger firms have the economies of scale – and these advantages are only getting more important given the continual shift towards smaller and more process-driven panels. Continue reading “Comment: In defence of big – the maths are favouring two + two”

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Reports season 2013 – Bird & Bird and Olswang post healthy revenue increases

Two international firms with strong European practices and a core media focus, Bird & Bird and Olswang, have posted solid revenue increases for the 2012/13 financial year.

Bird & Bird has announced revenue growth of 6%, from £235m to £249m, marking 25 years of continuous growth. Profit figures are yet to be released although a firm spokesperson said that the expectation is that net profits will have risen again in 2012/13.

The performance was described by the firm as solid and in line with budget ‘in the face of challenging economic conditions in our major markets’. Continue reading “Reports season 2013 – Bird & Bird and Olswang post healthy revenue increases”

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CC bumps starting pay to £63,500 with bonuses giving junior associates chance to earn over £100,000

Despite generally gloomy market conditions there were renewed signs of underlying confidence at top London firms with Clifford Chance (CC) joining its peers today (4 June) in announcing rises in associate and trainee pay and bonuses for the year ahead.

The firm is the last of the Magic Circle to announce pay changes across the board, adding an extra £2,000 to newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers’ pay packets, up to £63,500 from last year’s £61,500, a rise of 3%. Continue reading “CC bumps starting pay to £63,500 with bonuses giving junior associates chance to earn over £100,000”