Antony Townsend, the man who led the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) through its controversy-strewn separation from the Law Society, has today (2 May) confirmed that he is to leave the body.
Chief executive Townsend announced that he is stepping down later this year once a successor has been appointed. He commented: ‘I have headed up the SRA from its inception. The pace of change has been relentless; the challenges have been formidable.
Born of an inquiry into a scandal-hit industry and mired in controversy – the cross-party deal on press regulation promises to be the biggest shake-up of the media law landscape for decades. Legal Business asks if a workable deal can emerge from the headlines.
After so much talk of the rise of Latin America since the 2008 banking crisis gripped Western economies, there is no doubt that 2012 felt like something of a disappointment.
The region’s powerhouse economy, Brazil, saw growth slow considerably, cooling the market that has by far the greatest regional pulling power for multinationals and international law firms. The result, in relative terms against a 2010 and 2011 dominated by record levels of inward investment and a string of big-ticket deals, was a low-key year for advisers.
Continue reading “Laterally Latin – a sideways year for a hot market”
Once one of the most lauded transatlantic players, Mayer Brown has struggled to find its form over the last five years either globally or in the City. Legal Business asks if the firm knows what it wants to be in the Square Mile.
A little over four years ago Mayer Brown went through the latest in a series of reboots aimed at repositioning the firm. Back in 2009 that desire to begin a new chapter was understandable. Mayer Brown had recently weathered a turbulent period dominated by a partner restructuring, problems in its Chicago and New York arms and, of course, the fallout generated by the global banking crisis. The message the firm sought to articulate was that it was determined to reposition itself as a more performance-driven outfit, geared more strongly towards a globalising but increasingly competitive market.
Continue reading “Altered Images – will the real Mayer Brown stand up?”
On 1 April the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was replaced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). What are the implications for firms’ financial services practices?
There are plenty of editors who live on the conference circuit but I’ve never been one of them. Still, I did accept a spot on a recent Georgetown panel discussion hosted at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s London office to talk about the wider issues facing the profession. You know the kind of stuff: recession, diversity, Google Law.
As often happens on these occasions, I was struck by the strong emotions that are triggered if you dispassionately describe how the legal industry works. In this case the trigger was my argument that the law firm model and the tournament of partnership, in pure economic terms, functions perfectly fine while losing large numbers of female associates. Continue reading “It’s your profession – accept it, change it but be honest”
The worlds of business, politics and sport have since the 1970s fallen increasingly under the spell of the star individual and law has been anything but an exception. As partnership mitigates the heaviest excesses of the winner-takes-all compensation cultures seen in banking, sports and plc management, in law the star culture has manifested to a considerable extent via the partner recruitment market.
Continue reading “A star signing is one thing but who needs a lateral?”
It wasn’t so long ago that law firm risk teams fought an endless, fruitless battle to get partners and senior management to pay much attention. Traditionally, compliance has been anathema to senior lawyers, who see the box-ticking hordes from their risk teams as an expensive encumbrance to client work. Well, it is pretty boring… until, of course, it isn’t.
Continue reading “Boring until it isn’t – sharper risk teams deliver commercial edge”
Hiring star partners remains the main tactic for firms hoping to move up a division. Legal Business talks to four of the select few who have moved and excelled to find what it takes to drive a new team.
It was just a few disorientating days into his new job at Ashurst Morris Crisp and up-and-coming banking partner Mark Vickers was facing a minor but embarrassing dilemma: with a tight deadline, he had no idea how to order a taxi.
Continue reading “The I in Team – what it takes to turn a lateral into a star player”
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has demonstrated that US firms in the City are not the only ones to be making high-profile partner hires, announcing the recruitment of respected Shearman & Sterling partner and head of global project development and finance Tim Pick in April.
The arrival of Pick, described as ‘outstanding in all respects’ in the latest edition of The Legal 500, is a significant appointment for Freshfields. He will join as a finance partner in London and will focus on advising clients in the energy and natural resources sector in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Continue reading “Freshfields Pick ‘outstanding’ energy hire”
US firms in the City continue to demonstrate their appetite for big name lateral hires from leading UK firms, with Latham & Watkins and Reed Smith picking up experienced partners from Clifford Chance (CC) recently, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan announced the hire of disputes expert Ted Greeno from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF).
Latham & Watkins’ acquisition of CC’s global head of private equity, David Walker, particularly caught the eye last month. This is one of the most significant blows to CC’s corporate practice since the departure of Adam Signy to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in 2009.
Continue reading “Lateral push sees key UK players switch to US firms”
Beware the Ides of March: for two weeks earlier this year, the world held its collective breath as Cyprus teetered on the brink. What began with Cypriot banks closing their doors to prevent a run ended with recently installed president Nicos Anastasiades signing a bailout deal with the Troika that he hopes will save the country from bankruptcy.
Anastasiades walked into the crisis with his eyes open. Cyprus, which has been in dire straits following successive ratings downgrades last year, sought financial aid and support in June, and entered negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission and the European Central Bank. However, Cyprus was unlikely to face the embarrassment of bankruptcy negotiations until its six-month tenure of the EU presidency ended last December. Inertia prevailed until the new government was elected in February, tasked with saving the nation’s economy. Not since the violent partition of the island in the mid-1970s has the country so dominated world headlines. Continue reading “Keep Calm and Carry On – Cyprus’ lawyers face up to the worst”
As infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty signs up Pinsent Masons as its sole legal adviser for general matters, Legal Business asks why the trend for single-supplier deals hasn’t really taken off yet.
The single-supplier legal advisory model pioneered by Tyco International has resurfaced yet again. In April, infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty announced a radical overhaul of its panel arrangements, selecting Pinsent Masons as its sole adviser for all its ‘business as usual’ legal work. The three-year contract with Pinsents, which was agreed for an undisclosed amount, will cover all repetitive and predictable legal work that the firm faces on a daily basis.
Continue reading “Three steps forward… will Tyco-style deals ever sweep the market?”
When the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG)’s general counsel (GC) Terry Miller won Legal Business Lawyer of the Year 2013, it was little wonder that it was the most popular award of the night.
Met by rapturous applause from guests that included her boss – LOCOG chair Lord Coe – Miller was recognised for her outstanding work on London’s internationally lauded 2012 Olympics, leading a team of 36 lawyers in setting up the entire Olympic Games legal framework and acting as LOCOG’s ethical compliance officer.
Three insurance companies announced significant moves into the legal services market in April after sealing alternative business structure (ABS) joint ventures with law firms.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) granted Admiral, Ageas and RAC ABS licences to extend their services beyond insurance to provide legal services for customers making no-fault personal injury claims.
Continue reading “Insurance giants move into legal services market”
The trend of mid-market consolidation continues apace, with two major non-City players, Mills & Reeve and Thomas Eggar, announcing separate deals to strengthen their national coverage last month.
With the merger of Bond Pearce and Dickinson Dees going live on 1 May and Withers and Speechly Bircham confirming merger talks in March, partners at Mills & Reeve were due to vote at press time on a potential tie-up with Manchester-based George Davies. This news came just days after Thomas Eggar announced its own merger with City firm Pritchard Englefield.
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) opened in Seoul last month, becoming the third UK firm to open in Korea, after Clifford Chance and DLA Piper.
The office will be co-headed by London disputes partner Tony Dymond and Singapore corporate partner Lewis McDonald, both of whom are relocating to the region.
The Seoul office will primarily focus on outbound work. It opens with two partners, three associates and a paralegal.
Continue reading “HSF becomes third UK firm to open its doors in Seoul”
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is to end its five-year exclusive tie-up with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ghazzawi Professional Association (GPA), as international activity in the region shows no sign of slowing down.
The two firms’ association formally ends on 1 August, but HSF will continue to co-operate with GPA on a non-exclusive basis. Neither firm has plans to enter into another exclusive association at this time.
Continue reading “HSF ends exclusive association in Saudi Arabia”
A number of global firms boosted their white-collar defence practices last month with a spate of hires from US and UK government agencies. The hires come as regulators on both sides of the pond continue to tighten their grip on domestic and international businesses.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer hired Matthew Friedrich, former acting head of the criminal division at the US Department of Justice (DoJ), to bolster its white-collar practice based in Washington DC.
Continue reading “Global firms strengthen white-collar practices”
Third-party funder Argentum has agreed to bankroll a multimillion-pound claim against The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in London’s High Court.
The floodgates have opened for cases against RBS following its £20bn government bailout in 2008, as investors seek to recoup their losses following its nationalisation.
The group of 21 claimants includes a number of UK and international financial institutions and pension funds suing the bank over a rights issue in April 2008, in which RBS sold its shares at £2 per share. The claimants allege that the prospectus on which the rights issue was based was ‘defective’ and contained material misstatements and omissions. Continue reading “RBS investors secure litigation funding for action against bank”
