The jewel in the crown of The Legal 500’s in-house focused events calendar, Enterprise GC, took place on 25 and 26 April at Syon House in West London. It saw elite UK general counsel and heads of legal come together to learn and engage with each other in a professional but light-hearted environment. Continue reading “In-house legal reimagined”
ESG imperatives have never been more at the fore for partners, GCs, or indeed any professional with exposure to related reputational risk. A webinar, hosted by The In-House Lawyer and sponsored by Travers Smith brought together partners, experts from in-house, the Bar and a crisis-management guru for a diverse and challenging debate on the ESG-related risks – and rewards – at the top of the agenda. Continue reading “Advising and acting for clients on ESG-related risks”
Clare Francis, Pinsent Masons: We want to look at the change agenda and what that means for GCs, especially given the unprecedented events that have hit us over the last two or three years which have really disrupted business. Given that our clients are looking at things differently, having different priorities in the boardroom, and seeking to make progress in areas such as ESG and D&I [diversity and inclusion], it will be interesting in our debate to look at how that flows through into what you expect from law firms. To kick off, we thought it would be good to start by asking, what is high up on your priority list today and how have you seen that evolve over the last few years? Continue reading “Walking the talk”
Tumultuous is possibly an understatement when describing the past few years, not least the global Covid-19 pandemic proving a major game-changer socially, culturally, economically and politically. Significant shifts in all these categories of life have had profound employment law implications, pushing it ever higher up the corporate agenda. Continue reading “On your toes”
Andrea Coscelli’s leadership of the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) has been highly consequential. Since his appointment in 2016, the agency has become one of the most interventionist competition agencies in the world, challenging more than 30 transactions, including transactions that had little nexus to the UK and, in some cases, had been approved by other agencies. Continue reading “The harder line”
‘The current market is very different to what it was like this time last year. There are many more opportunities for investors to be looking at, and that will only become greater as the year develops.’ Continue reading “New world”
I was interviewed last year about how our legal department coped with the pandemic hit. I talked about how we adapted to remote work far better than expected, and the big role that tech played in making it all pretty seamless. That type of story is well told now. But, let’s be honest, there are a few more chapters on hybrid working to be written yet. Continue reading “The pandemic has transformed legal work… to an extent. But the journey must continue”
There is an international flavour to this week’s round-up, as a muted City market was offset by a flurry of movement on the global stage.
The headline London arrivals came at King & Spalding, which has welcomed partners Richard Kitchen and Amin Doulai into its corporate, finance and investments group. Both arrive from Paul Hastings and have significant experience in the private credit field, having advised on leveraged acquisition and corporate finance transactions. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: King & Spalding expands City private credit group as Kirkland recruits two from Latham in Chicago”
Everything started off so friendly – in the weeks leading up to our visit, Assurety Training had kindly sent Legal Business some branded chocolate. And on the morning of our visit, my fellow reporter Megan Mayers and I were welcomed with coffee and snacks. I naively assumed our visit would be a largely academic affair, where we would be calmly taken through the typical day’s training for a future witness. I was wrong.
Pleasantries were quickly dispensed with, and resident cross-examiner (and co-founder of Assurety) Ed Williams QC sat ominously opposite. In front of him were various documents I had been asked to provide in the days before: my latest CV, a document outlining my interests and a psychological profile based on a questionnaire. Continue reading “Witness training: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”
If market commentators thought the world was ready to get back on an even keel after two years of global pandemic, events of recent months have very much put paid to that notion. But while law firms and their clients still have much volatility to contend with, the 2022 financial results season has once again underlined the resilience of the global legal market, with a steady stream of firms posting more than healthy revenue and profit hikes.
And the leading offshore law firms are no exception, with booming deal markets, post-pandemic restructuring work and emerging trends such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) contributing to a landmark year for many. Continue reading “Ports in a storm – the offshore leaders thriving in turbulent times”
‘Sitting on your computer in your bedroom all day isn’t culturally enriching. When we see how our junior lawyers operate now, you can tell they’ve been trained during the pandemic. They’ve missed out on the day-to-day, hearing the titbits of conversations, the lift discussions, the conversations on the way to and from meetings,’ laments Slaughter and May M&A partner Sally Wokes.
Wokes is far from alone in her assessment of the challenges firms currently face getting both trainees and junior associates up to speed. Continue reading “Face value – mentoring in the hybrid work era”
The news that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has directed partners, associates and trainees in London and Manchester to come into the office at least three days a week will have piqued interest around the market recently.
The move to increase office time from the 50% requirement the firm set out last year won’t have come as a surprise to many law firm leaders. They have been grappling with the thorny issue of how best to give staff the flexibility on offer pretty much everywhere else in the market while simultaneously avoiding ennui prompted by looking around at an empty office each day. Continue reading “Work in progress – Big Law’s existential office conundrum still needs fixing”
‘In the event of a recession, the lawyers will be fine. They always are. Unless you work at Ince.’ So quips one senior market commentator when discussing early indications from our Legal Business 100 research this year.
Indeed and notwithstanding the unfortunate Ince (if you’ve missed it, more of its embattlement in ‘Ince owns up to pensions gaffe as cyber attack wreaks £5m havoc‘), the message coming through from the UK’s top 100 law firms by revenue is positive. In fact, it is very bullish indeed. Continue reading “A sneak preview of the LB100 – the lawyers are always fine, aren’t they?”
‘400 lawyers, 25 services, 19 sectors, one ethos.’ So says the mysteriously titled ‘Our Little Book’, which adorns the table in the meeting room greeting Legal Business after the short journey from Fleet Street to Keystone Law’s Chancery Lane office. The very idea of there being an office might raise eyebrows, given the firm’s reputation as a ‘virtual law firm’. The London location is the only physical space owned by the company and, with its abundance of meeting rooms and hot-desking spaces, is not designed to house everyone at once.
A lack of a conventional workspace is only the start. The firm breaks from tradition in all manner of ways, and yet has grown apace in recent years. Revenue rose 27% to £69.6m in the 2021/22 financial year, and scarcely a month passes without a flurry of new recruits announced. After several pandemic-hit years in which people from all walks of life reassessed their working habits, the model is viewed with a good deal less suspicion than it once was. Continue reading “Keystone Law: Our Little Book”
‘The global Magic Circle is all American. The reality is that the English Magic Circle are now competing with the next tier down of US firms. So, for a UK Magic Circle firm to merge with a lower tier US firm would likely be accretive.’
So says Charlie Geffen, formerly a partner at Ashurst and Gibson Dunn. He expresses a common pessimism on this side of the pond about the chances of an elite UK and US merger. Continue reading “History of mergers: State of the union”
As prime minister Jacinda Ardern declared New Zealand’s borders fully open on 31 July for the first time since March 2020, commentators have reckoned on a whole new talent pool.
Overseas experience (OE) had long been a rite of passage for many qualified New Zealand lawyers, with nearest neighbour Australia being the obvious choice for such experience. Indeed, Allens was among the firms known to actively recruit talent from the New Zealand market. Continue reading “London calling? Recruiters eye New Zealand talent market as borders reopen”
Akin Gump has made impressive strides in the City over the past eight years. With James Roome, the driving force behind its fêted City restructuring practice set to retire, can the firm continue its London trajectory?
The 2014 Bingham McCutchen deal that brought James Roome to Akin Gump is described as ‘one of the transformative events’ by the firm’s chair, Kim Koopersmith (pictured). In the first full year after his arrival, City revenue more than doubled, jumping from $35.8m in 2014 to $91m in 2015. And far from being a one off, London revenue has since grown 65% to hit $150.4m for 2021 – significantly outpacing Akin Gump’s global revenue growth of 31% over the same period. Continue reading “No Roome for growth? A new chapter for Akin Gump’s City office”
Despite the typical summer slowdown of the global lateral recruitment market, there have still been plenty of eye-catching hires. Many of the headline moves have a transatlantic hue as US firms continue to attract top talent in the City, while UK firms have had mixed results in the States.
In London, Latham & Watkins’ banking vice-chair Ross Anderson and fellow partners Mo Nurmohamed, Karan Chopra and Rob Davidson joined Paul Hastings in July. The team brings a breadth of experience in leveraged finance and direct lending deals, having led on recent high-profile transactions; recent examples include acting for the arrangers of the TLB financing to support Blackstone’s acquisition of Huws Gray, and the arrangers of the financing to support Bain’s acquisition of ITP Aero, a carve out from Rolls-Royce. Continue reading “Strategic recruitment: Paul Hastings taps Latham City banking team as Pallas launches in New York”
The annual torrent of financial results has swept the market once more, with all eyes as usual on how the Magic Circle firms fared against City peers.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy (A&O) both racked up 10% revenue growth, with Clifford Chance (CC)’s turnover growing 8%, and Linklaters’ increasing by 7%. In absolute terms, CC recorded the largest fee income of £1.97bn, narrowly ahead of A&O’s £1.94bn. Linklaters and Freshfields followed with £1.78bn and £1.7bn respectively. Continue reading “Show us the money: 2021/22 financial results show strength in numbers”
Allen & Overy, Latham & Watkins and Reed Smith are among the firms competing to be named Law Firm of the Year at this year’s Legal Business Awards.
Also shortlisted in the flagship category for the awards, which will take place at Grosvenor House Hotel on 27 September, are Bird & Bird, gunnercooke, RPC and Shoosmiths. Continue reading “A&O, Latham and Reed Smith up for the top prize as shortlists unveiled for 25th Legal Business Awards”
