Insurance specialist Kennedys is the latest in line of large English firms conducting raids north of the border over the last year-and-half, sealing a merger with Scotland’s Simpson & Marwick after over a year of negotiations.
The 220-partner firm will be initially be known as Kennedys worldwide and Kennedys Simpson & Marwick in Scotland and is the most significant Anglo-Scottish tie-up since McGrigors was acquired by Pinsent Masons in May 2012.
Lawyer count passes 60,000 but profits fall at top UK firms
The latest Legal Business 100 results show the total revenue of the UK’s top 100 law firms has topped £19bn for the first time, while the number of lawyers across those firms has passed the 60,000 mark, also a first. However, this top-line growth is largely the result of another year of fervent merger activity, masking the fact that on a granular level many firms are struggling to achieve revenue and profit growth.
Total revenue for the LB100 for 2012/13 is £19.1bn, an increase of 8%, while total lawyer headcount swelled 10% to 61,299. However, average revenue per lawyer (RPL) is down 2% to £312,000, while profit per lawyer (PPL) and profits per equity partner (PEP) are down 2% and 4% to £95,000 and £622,000 respectively.
The primary cause for this year’s drop in RPL and PPL is the swathe of mergers over the past year, particularly among firms in the top 25.
Continue reading “Merger frenzy hikes LB100 income but growth masks another tough year”
David Stevenson and Alex Novarese assess SJ Berwin’s audacious Asia-Pacific tie-up and ask if the union can truly propel the firm into the global premier league
‘This isn’t about doing anything with our backs against the wall,’ says Jonathan Blake, the former senior partner of SJ Berwin, and one of the architects of his 165-partner firm’s impending tie-up with King & Wood Mallesons (KWM).
Despite some well publicised reverses in recent years for the mid-pack City player, Blake’s comment is undoubtedly true. But as to what the deal that goes live on 1 November does signify, well, opinion is sharply and starkly divided. Continue reading “SJ Berwin’s high stakes tie-up with KWM dares to bring a new equation to global law”
If you had reached the impression that Slater & Gordon’s acquisitive streak had come to a natural pause, if only for breath, that impression would be wrong.
Having last week officially declared it is to acquire leading UK claimant personal injury firm Fentons, its fourth buyout in two years, chief executive Neil Kinsella (pictured) tells Legal Business that the ASX-listed group has no intention of stopping any time soon.
‘We continue to look at acquisitions that might make sense strategically –without rushing,’ he explains. ‘We look at who is right for us [and consider whether] it fixes the geographical gap. It’s not just about personal injury either, it’s [also] about consumer legal services. We’re pretty optimistic. We’ll continue to grow.’ Continue reading “Keeping up with Kinsella: Slater & Gordon’s slowly but very surely approach to mergers set to continue”
Further consolidation in the personal injury market looks set to take place next week after it emerged that acquisitive Australian-listed firm Slater & Gordon (S&G) is in talks with London and Manchester personal injury firm Fentons.
As first reported by RollOnFriday, S&G is expected to announce the deal on Tuesday (20 August). If the acquisition goes through it will nearly double S&G’s 146-lawyer UK arm, adding 120 lawyers, including 36 partners and 30 fee-earners. Continue reading “Personal injury: Slater & Gordon in talks to acquire Fentons”
Forming a ground-breaking union between a leading City firm and an Asia powerhouse, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) partners confirmed this morning (31 July) that the Hong Kong-headquartered firm would merge with the UK’s SJ Berwin.
KWM partners in Australia and China voted simultaneously in favour of the merger at 1pm Hong Kong time and 3pm Sydney time in person, while SJ Berwin partners have voted electronically over the last five days. The merger will go live on 1 November, creating a firm with combined revenues over $1bn and 2,223 lawyers, including 553 partners.
KWM operates three separate partnerships in China, Hong Kong and Australia and although the Chinese partnership was given a longer time to consider the deal, all votes were in by today’s deadline. Continue reading “What’s in a name? SJ Berwin and King & Wood Mallesons seal union”
Good strategy is rarely dictated by old wives’ tales but the adage ‘if you can’t beat them join them’ certainly rings truer than ever in the regions and this week has seen the merger between two of Kent’s best-known law firms, Cripps Harries Hall and Vertex Law, as Midlands firm Geldards also pushes its public law brand in the City with the acquisition of TPP Law.
Property specialist Cripps, which the Legal 500 gives top-tier recommendations for commercial property and property litigation in the South East, will combine with corporate and commercial-focused Vertex Law to strengthen its position in Kent and extend its reach across the region and into London.
The merger will create a firm of 45 partners and 260 staff and is said by the firms to create ‘an enhanced joint client offering across core areas.’ Continue reading “If you can’t beat ’em… Cripps Harries merges with Vertex as Geldards acquires TPP Law”
Arguably the most ambitious deal to hit the global legal market since the 2010 tie-up between Hogan & Hartson and Lovells looks set to go ahead as it emerges that SJ Berwin is to vote next week on its proposed merger with Asia-Pacific giant King & Wood Mallesons.
Legal Business understands that SJ Berwin partners were given a week’s notice this morning of the vote, which will close at the end of the month. Continue reading “A high-stakes global play – SJ Berwin to vote next week on tie-up with Asian giant King & Wood Mallesons”
If you are going to finally do a global merger, it would be fitting for one of the most distinctive City practices to hook up with the great outlier of the Global 100. That is what is on the agenda for SJ Berwin as it this summer mulls an outline deal to combine with King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), the ground-breaking union between the top commercial law firms in China and Australia. Continue reading “Comment: SJ Berwin’s choice – to soar or crash with an Asian giant”
It’s been three years since the trailblazing transatlantic pairing of Hogan & Hartson and Lovells. Legal Business assesses if the much-touted marriage is living up to expectations
Rarely for a June evening in London, the sun was shining on the rooftop bar as the Legal Business journalist by chance ran into a senior partner at Hogan Lovells. ‘I have to ask, as we’re doing a piece on the firm, three years on, how do you think it’s going?’ The reply was to the point: ‘I saw the e-mail telling us not to talk to your journalists. Well, what do you want to know?’
