Posted on

Pinsent Masons’ post merger revenue up by 40%

Top 20 UK law firm Pinsent Masons has seen its year-on-year turnover increase by 40% from £221m to £309m thanks to its merger with McGrigors in June last year.

The firms, which would have had a combined turnover last year of around £294m, have in real terms seen a growth in revenue of 5%.

The increase comes after a year of international expansion during which Pinsents opened new offices in Munich, Paris and Istanbul, for the first time giving it more offices overseas than in the UK. Continue reading “Pinsent Masons’ post merger revenue up by 40%”

Posted on

Comment: Say what you like, City practices taking on larger real estate is a good sign

If upgrading your square footage is any litmus test of how City firms feel about the future then a raft of them including DLA Piper, Bird & Bird and Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) can be said to be in confident mood.

As reported by Property Week on Tuesday (11 June), top Global 100 firm DLA is the most recent UK firm looking to expand its City office space, hiring Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) to carry out a search for up to 200,000 sq ft of space, an increase on the 110,000 sq ft office it currently occupies in Noble Street. Continue reading “Comment: Say what you like, City practices taking on larger real estate is a good sign”

Posted on

Revolving Doors: Olswang, Macfarlanes, Dechert, DWF and Weightmans in strategic partner hires

game of hoopla with lawyers

Macfarlanes and Dechert have made key strategic hires in the past few days while top 35, 382-lawyer UK firm Olswang has bolstered its City tax practice with the arrival of partner Andrew Quale from Eversheds.

Specialising in employee incentives and rewards, Quale has experience of advising multinational companies on the implementation of global incentive plans. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Olswang, Macfarlanes, Dechert, DWF and Weightmans in strategic partner hires”

Posted on

Slaughters leads on Punch Taverns £2.4bn debt restructuring as pub group warns it could face administration

Slaughter and May is advising Punch Taverns on its £2.4bn securitised debt restructuring as the UK’s largest pub company warns creditors it could face administration.

On Monday (10 June) a powerful group of lenders rejected plans to reduce the pub group’s interest payments to £32m a year. Slaughters led by corporate partner David Johnson is advising longstanding client Punch, which owns around 5000 pubs across the UK. Continue reading “Slaughters leads on Punch Taverns £2.4bn debt restructuring as pub group warns it could face administration”

Posted on

Nabarro’s PEP up by 30% as firm posts modest growth in revenue

Nabarro’s profit per equity partner (PEP) has risen by 30% over the past financial year, figures released by the firm today (13 June) reveal.

Preliminary figures show the firm’s net profits increased by 11% from 2012-13, while PEP has risen from £332,000 to £430,000 during the same period.

The firm’s annual turnover is up by 2.6% from £113.4m in 2011/12 to £116.3m in 2012/13. Continue reading “Nabarro’s PEP up by 30% as firm posts modest growth in revenue”

Posted on

Consumer protection dragged into 21st century with new Bill that could open floodgates to class actions

A Consumer Rights Bill published on Wednesday (12 June) is set to radically overhaul the rights of consumers in the digital age but could open the door to US-style class actions, lawyers warn.

The Bill was one of many announced in the Queen’s speech at the state opening of Parliament in May, and if enacted, will enhance consumer rights by making them easier to understand and streamline complex areas of consumer legislation into a single bill. Continue reading “Consumer protection dragged into 21st century with new Bill that could open floodgates to class actions”

Posted on

Revolving Doors: Chadbourne, A&O, Trowers and Pinsent Masons boost City offering

London dominated the lateral hiring scene over the past week with firms including US Chadbourne & Parke, Allen & Overy (A&O), Eversheds and Pinsent Masons strengthening their City offering.

Chadbourne’s 36-lawyer London office, which acts a hub for the firm’s emerging and developing markets practice, has hired banking and finance partner Partha Pal from the City arm of top 15 US firm Sidley Austin. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Chadbourne, A&O, Trowers and Pinsent Masons boost City offering”

Posted on

Still the divorce capital of the world – Supreme Court orders businessman to hand over assets in key ruling

The landmark divorce battle between Yasmin and Michael Prest has come to an end as the Supreme Court  today (12 June) ruled Prest should hand over properties held by companies under his control.

The ruling – the most significant divorce case to reach the UK’s highest court since the 2010 judgment in Radmacher v Granatino – has been touted as instrumental in establishing whether London remains a key forum for resolving big-money divorce cases. The case has also been watched for its impact on the court’s treatment of the corporate veil, which protects company assets. Continue reading “Still the divorce capital of the world – Supreme Court orders businessman to hand over assets in key ruling”

Posted on

Sort of offshoring – Ashurst to create new Glasgow unit to lower costs as City leaders push for value

Major law firms continue to appropriate ideas from legal process outsourcing with Ashurst today (12 June) announcing a venture to create a 150-strong unit in Glasgow to support its practice.

The venture, which will launch later this year, will cover back office support and volume legal work, initially covering areas like document review in litigation and corporate. Continue reading “Sort of offshoring – Ashurst to create new Glasgow unit to lower costs as City leaders push for value”

Posted on

Guest post: What does thinking like a professional mean?

Ask yourself this question: do you think of yourself as a professional? For many readers of this blog, I suspect the answer to that question is a rather straightforward, Yes. Now ask yourself this question. Does thinking of yourself as a professional make you more or less ethical?

That is the fascinating issue explored in a new paper from Maryam Kouchaki from the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard. I urge all of you with an interest to read it. 
Continue reading “Guest post: What does thinking like a professional mean?”

Posted on

Clyde & Co continues to reap benefits of Barlows merger with 17% hike in revenue

Clyde & Co has posted a 17% hike in turnover for 2012-13 as the firm continues to reap the benefits of its 2011 merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.

The insurance focussed firm’s revenues have increased from £287m in 2012 to £336.6m in 2013, amidst a sluggish prevailing European economy. According to chief executive Peter Hasson, without including Barlow’s revenues, Clyde & Co would have reported a single digit growth of around 6%. Continue reading “Clyde & Co continues to reap benefits of Barlows merger with 17% hike in revenue”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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?”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”

Posted on

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”