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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”

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Departures from Shearman and Allen & Overy as merger is unveiled and energy dominates lateral hiring

Following the announcement of the proposed A&O Shearman merger, news came that Shearman & Sterling had lost two partners to Ashurst in London, which leads the headline moves – dominated by energy and infrastructure hires – in recent weeks.

London-based Shearman partners Sanja Udovicic and Julia Derrick moved over to Ashurst to expand the firm’s global energy team. Continue reading “Departures from Shearman and Allen & Overy as merger is unveiled and energy dominates lateral hiring”

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Clifford Chance names Cohen first New York managing partner amid fresh bid to crack America with Houston office opening

In the wake of Allen & Overy’s stated ambition to merge with Shearman & Sterling, announced in May, Magic Circle peers have found themselves in the unenviable position of having to demonstrate to the market that they also have a coherent US expansion strategy.

Clifford Chance (CC) did not disappoint, on 15 June naming Ness Cohen as the first ever managing partner of its New York office. Cohen, a real estate lawyer by trade, has worked at CC since 1998 and was promoted to the partnership in 2007. He has also held the positions of regional practice area leader of the Americas real estate practice and chair of the Americas personnel committee. Continue reading “Clifford Chance names Cohen first New York managing partner amid fresh bid to crack America with Houston office opening”

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Getting its mojo back: How A&O Shearman could redefine the Magic Circle

The proposed merger of A&O and Shearman & Sterling has got the market talking about the biggest news in the legal industry for decades. LB finds commentators sanguine on the deal – but management will have much work garnering partner support this summer ahead of the vote.

‘Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling to create the first fully integrated global elite law firm,’ proclaims the 21 May joint statement from the two firms, stating their intent to merge to create Allen Overy Shearman Sterling. Thankfully, the branding gurus also came up with the far snappier (and not quite so ampersand-devoid) A&O Shearman, ‘for short’. The combined firm would boast 3,900 lawyers across 49 offices and roughly $3.4bn in combined revenues. Continue reading “Getting its mojo back: How A&O Shearman could redefine the Magic Circle”

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‘Carveouts are here to stay’: green energy deals dominate as major players see signs of a bounceback

Early 2023 has been a tough time for deals. In our 2023 Deals Yearbook, for instance, citing Dealogic, we noted a decline in both the volume and value of deals. Q1 2023 saw just 601 deals totalling $19.6bn in the UK, while globally there were 9,400 deals worth a little under $591bn. This marks the lowest UK Q1 since 2009, and the lowest global Q1 since 2012.

Recent weeks, though, have seen an uptick in multibillion-dollar activity. And, while it is certainly too early to declare that we are out of the woods, the mood among corporate lawyers has lifted: more ‘cautious optimism’ than ‘doom and gloom’. Continue reading “‘Carveouts are here to stay’: green energy deals dominate as major players see signs of a bounceback”

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The ESG Report: Overview – From buzzword to bona fide?

‘Greenwashing is a new phrase, but it’s quite an old idea. It’s fundamentally, are you doing what you say you’re doing? While it has a new title, the advice is still as it has always been. We say to clients, how are you backing up your claims? It’s that level of clarification that companies need to focus on.’

The words of Anna-Marie Slot, Ashurst’s global ESG and sustainability partner, apply not only to the dilemma faced by clients when tackling thorny issues around environmental, social and governance (ESG) but also to analysing the credentials of the top 25 Legal Business 100 and top 25 Global London firms advising them. Continue reading “The ESG Report: Overview – From buzzword to bona fide?”