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A&O managing partner Price departs pre-merger as revenue passes £2bn

Allen & Overy today (13 July) announced the shock resignation of managing partner Gareth Price amid a set of financial results that saw the Magic Circle firm break £2bn in revenue for the first time.

The firm said Price’s resignation was due to ‘personal reasons’ and came as revenue jumped nearly 8% from £1.94bn last year to £2.1bn in 2022/23. While eye-catching, the level of turnover growth fell slightly short of the 10% uptick achieved last year, of which more than half was attributed to A&O’s US business. Continue reading “A&O managing partner Price departs pre-merger as revenue passes £2bn”

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‘Challenges and opportunities are interlinked’: revenue growth cools slightly at Ashurst as profits stall

Paul Jenkins

Ashurst has marked its seventh consecutive year of revenue growth, with a 10% increase in turnover for 2022/23 from £798m to £879m. While this represents slower growth than than last year’s 12% jump, this is still above its seven-year average of 8% annual growth.

However, PEP was down very slightly: £1.17m, compared to £1.175m last year. This stalling  stands in contrast to last year’s 13% increase, though it is offset by an increase in partner headcount, from 447 last year to 469 this year. The firm made 28 lateral hires in the last financial year, and lost six partners, for a net gain of 22. Continue reading “‘Challenges and opportunities are interlinked’: revenue growth cools slightly at Ashurst as profits stall”

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DWF in talks to delist as private equity buyer circles

20 Fenchurch Street (aka the Walkie Talkie)

The board of DWF Group Plc has confirmed market speculation that it is in negotiations with mid-market private equity firm Inflexion over a potential buyout.

The UK’s largest listed law firm, DWF, released a statement on the London Stock Exchange, detailing that DWF shareholders will be eligible to receive a total consideration of 100 pence per share, including a cash consideration of 97 pence per share and a three pence per share dividend for the six-month period ended 30 April 2023, reliant on the sale going through. Continue reading “DWF in talks to delist as private equity buyer circles”

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Revolving doors: More departures from Shearman as firms focus on financial services and infrastructure hires

Shearman & Sterling has lost another two partners in London, as infrastructure and projects partners Ben Shorten and Trinh Chubbock moved over to Gibson Dunn, where Shorten will head the firm’s EMEA projects team.

‘Gibson Dunn has a fantastic energy practice,’ said Shorten. ‘When the opportunity came up, it was too good to miss out on.’ Chubbock concurred: ‘The platform speaks for itself.’ Continue reading “Revolving doors: More departures from Shearman as firms focus on financial services and infrastructure hires”

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Financials 2022/23: Taylor Wessing sustains global growth for fifth year in a row

Shane Gleghorn

With the financial reporting season in full swing, Taylor Wessing has unveiled its latest results, becoming a €500m firm for the first time.

The firm experienced slower growth compared to the previous season, as it did not achieve double-digit growth as it did in 2021/2022. The firm saw a 4% increase in global revenue to £439m in this year’s financial results, up from £420.6m last year, which its highest recorded international revenue to date. Continue reading “Financials 2022/23: Taylor Wessing sustains global growth for fifth year in a row”

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Financials 2022/23: HFW posts best-ever results

Jeremy Shebson

HFW has posted its best-ever financial results for the financial year 2022/23. After a slight dip of 1% to £198.7m in 2022, revenue climbed by more than 13% to £225.3m. Profit per equity partner and revenue per lawyer were up too: PEP rose by more than 17% to £786,000, while RPL hit £455,000.

In London revenue increased by 16%, accounting for about 40% of the firm’s total revenue. The most impressive increases around the world, meanwhile, were in the Middle East (32%) and Australia (24%). Continue reading “Financials 2022/23: HFW posts best-ever results”

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Ince unable to pay creditors in full as administration draws to a close

Ince & Co

Following their appointment as joint administrators for Ince on 28 April 2023, Andrew Hosking and Sean Bucknall of Quantuma Advisory have filed a statement of administrator’s proposal (the Quantuma proposal) at Companies House.

A pre-pack sale of Ince’s business and assets to Axiom Ince has now been completed. The Quantuma proposal states: ‘Of the total sale consideration of £2,200,000, £1,000,000 has been received to date and the remaining £1,200,000 will be collected as and when it falls due for payment.’ Continue reading “Ince unable to pay creditors in full as administration draws to a close”

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‘The legal industry isn’t immune’: Profits rise again at Eversheds following record performance in 2022

Lee Ranson

Eversheds Sutherland has revealed a 17% increase in its net profit from £150.3m to £175.2m in this year’s financial results. The rate of growth is six percentage points lower than last year’s bumper 23% spike, reflecting the challenges which law firms currently face. Revenue also grew from £678.4m to £730.9m, matching last year’s 8% rise.

In contrast to the significant 26% jump in profit per equity partner (PEP) in 2022, this year’s performance shows a far more modest 4% increase from £1.2m to £1.29m, despite the significantly higher rate of net profit growth. Continue reading “‘The legal industry isn’t immune’: Profits rise again at Eversheds following record performance in 2022”

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‘It would be remarkable for us to deliver 20% growth’: Turnover still up at Osborne Clarke following last year’s outstanding performance

Osborne Clarke has kicked off this year’s financial reporting season, revealing a 9% international revenue increase from €407m in 2022 to €442m in 2023, which the firm sees as real progress against the backdrop of weaker global economic conditions and a stagnant deals market.

In the UK, the firm’s income also grew by 9% from £199.1m in 2022 to £217.3m, which is a notable contrast to last year’s revenue increase of 19% and 20% respectively for international and domestic growth, and an indicator of the obstacles that many firms are facing. Continue reading “‘It would be remarkable for us to deliver 20% growth’: Turnover still up at Osborne Clarke following last year’s outstanding performance”

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Revolving Doors: More hires in Houston as London’s energy, employment and corporate sectors witness key moves

Leading the high-profile moves this week, Baker McKenzie has recruited Allen & Overy partner Fernando Torrente to head up its M&A and capital markets practice in Madrid. Torrente currently leads A&O’s corporate, M&A and capital markets practice and has built a strong track record spanning three decades in takeovers, IPOs, flotations, and other equity financing structures.

Meanwhile, Clifford Chance has revealed the name of the sixth partner to join its recently opened Houston office. Partner David Sweeney joins after spending six years at Akin Gump, acting for clients on M&A, energy finance transactions and operational matters across the globe. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: More hires in Houston as London’s energy, employment and corporate sectors witness key moves”

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Pride Month 2023: ‘There is a real risk we are retrenching the hard-fought rights of our LGBTQ+ populations’

BCLP global inclusion and diversity client relationship partner Daisy Reeves on why the UK can’t rest on its laurels in the fight for inclusion and the role Big Law needs to play in change. 

What was your experience like coming out in the professional world and were there any challenges you faced? Continue reading “Pride Month 2023: ‘There is a real risk we are retrenching the hard-fought rights of our LGBTQ+ populations’”

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The Client Profile: Aleksandra Schellenberg, UBS

Aleksandra Schellenberg, UBS’ global head of legal sustainable finance, knew she wanted to be a lawyer from the age of 14, revealing that she made her decision after watching the first episode of American legal comedy drama Ally McBeal, while growing up in Poland in the late 1990s.

She recalls: ‘I remember after watching the show, going to my mum and telling her I wanted to be a lawyer and she said, “Hey honey, we don’t have any lawyers in the family, that might be a bit difficult!” Continue reading “The Client Profile: Aleksandra Schellenberg, UBS”

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Big Law’s diversity stats remain uninspiring – time to revisit the problem of social mobility

As we go to press on Legal Business’ third annual ESG report, the data points gathered on firms’ ethnicity and gender diversity make for disheartening reading, not least because they are entirely predictable in their lack of substantive progress from last year.

In truth, the continued lack of engagement on diversity data as part of our ESG survey among many of the top 25 Legal Business 100 and top 25 Global London firms is wearing a little thin now. Continue reading “Big Law’s diversity stats remain uninspiring – time to revisit the problem of social mobility”

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A&O Shearman is a marriage of necessity, not convenience

The most enjoyable part of analysing the proposed merger of Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling has been hearing the reactions of leaders at peer firms to the video featuring senior partners Wim Dejonghe and Adam Hakki.

Hot-takes from around the City have been often amusing. Says one US firm leader: ‘It’s clearly not a merger, is it? It’s a takeover of Shearman by A&O, isn’t it?’ And it certainly does feel like A&O’s Dejonghe is in the driving seat of what is undeniably a slick pitch, even if it does, at times, look like Hakki is in a hostage situation. Continue reading “A&O Shearman is a marriage of necessity, not convenience”