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Global 100 firms expand in Asia as Dentons and Goodwin establish new bases

Joe Andrew

Dentons has become the first global law firm to combine with a law firm in India, as it finalised its tie-up with full-service firm Link Legal in October.

Link Legal has five offices across India in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, as well as an existing New York office, which it launched in February 2022. It is ranked across nine practice areas in The Legal 500’s Asia-Pacific guide, with top-tier rankings in aviation and projects and energy. Continue reading “Global 100 firms expand in Asia as Dentons and Goodwin establish new bases”

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The Client profile: Claire Holdsworth, Marathon Asset Management

‘Frankly, what’s a boardroom compared to a regiment of soldiers?!’ Claire Holdsworth is philosophical about her journey from army officer to motorbike-riding GC of Marathon Asset Management.

Some say getting your foot in the door of a top law firm is often the hardest part for aspiring lawyers, but Holdsworth’s journey to her training contract interview definitely casts that sentiment in a whole new light. Continue reading “The Client profile: Claire Holdsworth, Marathon Asset Management”

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Life During Law: Robbie McLaren

University in my family was always something vocational. I hated science, so that was doctor and vet out the way. I did an accounting internship and found that just a bit dull. That really left law. That was basically it.

Studying law at university was awful. I enjoyed arts subjects at school, history and geography. I quickly realised that, when you’re studying at school, you’re rewarded for creativity. Studying law, you’re not. The first couple of years were just the building blocks of the legal system and it was very much – ‘this is what the rules are, you need to know them and apply them to the facts’. Overall, I’d give it a six out of ten, but the first two years were more like a three out of ten. Continue reading “Life During Law: Robbie McLaren”

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The Legal 500 View: Chart-toppers: the elite firms dominating this year’s UK Legal 500 rankings

UK editors Georgina Stanley (pictured) and Ben Wheway take a deep dive into the performance of the Legal Business 100 firms in the most recent UK Legal 500 research

Spotting trends across research as vast and wide-ranging as The Legal 500 UK Solicitors isn’t always straightforward. The research by Legal Business’s sibling title is unique in the depth and granularity with which it covers the UK market, identifying the market-leading law firms everywhere from the upper echelons of the premium private equity market in London to agriculture and estates in Scotland. Continue reading “The Legal 500 View: Chart-toppers: the elite firms dominating this year’s UK Legal 500 rankings”

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The Last Word: Market comment

‘A client said to me during the first Covid wave: “I stand in awe of the superior business model of law firms — because you will normally need a lawyer, whether you want one or not”.’ Penny Angell, Hogan Lovells

From innovation to economic headwinds to premature reports of the demise of the Magic Circle, leaders at Legal Business 100 firms give us their views on the past financial year and look ahead to the next

Continue reading “The Last Word: Market comment”

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The Ireland debate: Top GCs gather in Dublin to thrash out the strategic role of in-house counsel

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: What sector-specific challenges are you facing when it comes to strategic decision-making in-house?

Sally Anne Sherry (pictured), Bartra Group: There are a couple of challenges that are specific to real estate, and those are often related to legislative changes that happen quite quickly. For example, when co-living was introduced in Ireland and then effectively banned again with little warning. In the last few years, we have also been dealing with difficulties with the planning system and judicial reviews. A lot of the press coverage of it has gone quiet, but we are still stuck in judicial review cases where we are trying to deliver units and we cannot get out of the court system. Continue reading “The Ireland debate: Top GCs gather in Dublin to thrash out the strategic role of in-house counsel”

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Career changes: The measure of intelligence – Lawyers and the great career change-up

‘Quite unexpectedly, the skills and experiences you’ve had in your previous career make you a better lawyer and more successful. Having a completely different dimension to your personality makes you more interesting to the clients. It turns you into an asset.’ So observes James Anderson, almost-famous musician, and now head of Skadden’s European tax practice.

While Anderson may still be kicking himself over what he calls ‘the Radiohead misfire’, his view rings true for all of the lawyers interviewed for this piece. Perhaps his former career imbued in him a desire for recognition – he now features in the lofty ranks of The Legal 500’s Hall of Fame for corporate tax. Continue reading “Career changes: The measure of intelligence – Lawyers and the great career change-up”

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Sponsored briefing: M&A: Agility is key to support clients in complex transactions

Deals are becoming more complex as companies increasingly use mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to pursue ambitious strategic goals and new stakeholders disrupt the market. Successful M&A lawyers must be able to combine excellent legal knowledge and process management skills with in-depth business awareness to support clients in complex transactions.

PRAGER DREIFUSS has extensive experience and a longstanding tradition in supporting clients in complex M&A transactions, including acquisitions and sales, mergers, spin-offs and joint ventures. They are part of the firm’s core business. PRAGER DREIFUSS will take the client through the entire process, from structuring the deal to its execution. Its lawyers conduct legal due diligence at a target company, negotiate the necessary agreements, set up acquisition vehicles and optimise the capital and tax structure of the deal. Throughout this process, the firm can call upon excellent interdisciplinary knowledge. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: M&A: Agility is key to support clients in complex transactions”

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Sponsored briefing: Concerned about your PEP in market uncertainty?

Join a firm where PEP means Performance Equals (more) Pay

The last two years have seen enormous growth in the legal market. With reports of record profits for many firms, particularly in the top 100, equity partners have enjoyed a considerable boost to their earnings. However, the need to resource this surge in demand for legal services has created a battle for talent and a consequent increase in the salaries of employees and non-equity partners, in order to attract and retain that talent. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Concerned about your PEP in market uncertainty?”

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Sponsored briefing: Walker Morris achieves record results through new growth strategy

Walker Morris

Managing partner, Malcolm Simpson, explains how Walker Morris’ ambitious growth strategy has driven success

Walker Morris achieved record results last year, with a turnover of more than £60m, ending 30 April 2022, compared to £55.2m the year before. This follows four years of strong growth, with revenue increasing by almost 50% since 1 May 2017. Managing partner Malcolm Simpson explains how this follows the launch of the firm’s new strategy and what we can expect from the firm in the coming years. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Walker Morris achieves record results through new growth strategy”

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Sponsored briefing: The challenges and opportunities facing the aviation sector

The commercial aviation sector has proved to be remarkably resilient, having weathered monumental periods of disruption in close succession with the grounding of the Max, and then the worldwide fleet as a result of the pandemic as well as the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. The effects of these crises are still with us, but air traffic numbers have been recovering quicker than many predicted, with airlines struggling to cope with passenger demand over the summer (something readers in Dublin will be all too familiar with).

However, there are undoubtedly additional headwinds facing the industry with rising interest rates, increasing fuel prices, the impact of inflation and recessionary fears likely to erode demand for travel this winter. These were some of the themes discussed at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers London conference this September where I chaired the Banking Panel to discuss challenges, opportunities and risks for aviation banks in the current market. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: The challenges and opportunities facing the aviation sector”

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LB Awards and GC Powerlist UK 2022: A night to remember

Shoosmiths, Travers Smith and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners were among the major winners at the 2022 Legal Business Awards, which welcomed more than 800 guests to the Grosvenor House hotel on 27 September.

Before the Awards, in-house guests gathered for a reception to mark the launch of our annual GC Powerlist, with key representatives from FTSE 100 companies such as Adobe, FT and Vodafone in attendance. Continue reading “LB Awards and GC Powerlist UK 2022: A night to remember”

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LB100: Main table 2022

Return to Legal Business 100 contents

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Revolving doors: Gibson Dunn hires human rights president as OC adds two London litigators

Many of the City’s lateral recruiters may have taken a half term break this week, as disputes and IP were the busiest areas in a sluggish market domestically and overseas.

The headline arrival came at Gibson Dunn, which has recruited the current president of the European Court of Human Rights, Robert Spano (pictured), into its London disputes team. Spano, who will join the firm as of counsel from the beginning of 2023, will provide expertise in digital rights, having handed down a number of landmark judgments in relation to online content moderation and freedom of expression, while his practice will also span public international law and investor-state arbitration. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Gibson Dunn hires human rights president as OC adds two London litigators”

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Womble Bond Dickinson and BDB Pitmans table merger

City of London

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) and BDB Pitmans are continuing to pursue a strategy of development through consolidation, having confirmed they are in talks over a potential merger.

After RollOnFriday broke the news of the merger talks today (21 October), the firms said in a joint statement: ‘Leading transatlantic law firm Womble Bond Dickinson and leading UK firm BDB Pitmans confirm that they are in early discussions around a potential merger. Both firms regularly review opportunities to advance the best interests of their clients and their respective firms. Womble Bond Dickinson and BDB Pitmans are focused on where they see the greatest opportunities for a merged business, including those offered by complementary practice areas and office locations. Continue reading “Womble Bond Dickinson and BDB Pitmans table merger”

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The Horizon scandal: Legal Business in conversation with Post Office litigator James Hartley

Earlier this year, Legal Business sat down with Freeths’ disputes partner James Hartley to relive the headline-grabbing Post Office litigation. 

The litigation was born out of a high-profile scandal, in which more than 700 postmasters and sub-postmasters were handed convictions after a computer software system, called Horizon, incorrectly reported missing money in various Post Office branches between 2000 and 2014.  

Continue reading “The Horizon scandal: Legal Business in conversation with Post Office litigator James Hartley”

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Revolving Doors: Kirkland secures another Magic Circle head as US class action specialist launches Manchester boutique

riding on a Kirkland & Ellis wrecking ball

Kirkland & Ellis has cemented its commitment to building its European infrastructure practice with its fourth magic circle hire in two months.

Clifford Chance’s co-head of infrastructure Toby Parkinson is the latest of the City elite to move to the US rival to bolster its infrastructure coverage. This follows the arrivals last month of Allen & Overy’s former global co-head of infrastructure, Sara Pickersgill, and infrastructure funds partners James Boswell and Paul Sampson from Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy, respectively. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Kirkland secures another Magic Circle head as US class action specialist launches Manchester boutique”