US financial results 2013: Latham sees moderate growth in PEP and revenue

Posted on |

Still basking in London in the news that it has hired leading Clifford Chance (CC) private equity partner Kem Ihenacho, Latham & Watkins yesterday (19 February) released moderate US growth figures for 2013, with revenue up by 2.7% to $2.29bn.

Profit per partner has increased by almost 2% to $2,490,000, up from $2,443,000 the previous financial year. Revenue per lawyer has also increased by a modest 1.4% to $1,110,000 from a 2012 figure of $1,095,000. Continue reading “US financial results 2013: Latham sees moderate growth in PEP and revenue”

Taking Manhattan – can the Wall Street elite hold out in the age of the $5bn law firm?

Posted on |

As the banking crisis and collapse of Dewey fade from memory, a band of emerging giants continue their long-term push into the once impenetrable New York market. Legal Business asks if the Wall Street elite can hold out

January 2014 marked the 100th ‘birthday’ of ‘Mother Merrill’, the affectionate nickname given to New York finance house Merrill Lynch thanks to its reputation for training and taking care of its staff. That name had particular significance for Wall Street lawyers, in view of the avalanche of work the institution bestowed on its favoured local law firms.

Continue reading “Taking Manhattan – can the Wall Street elite hold out in the age of the $5bn law firm?”

Reed Smith set for record year in London thanks to lateral push and sector focus

Posted on |

David Stevenson reports on Reed Smith’s evolution into credible global contender

For a 1,500-lawyer, top-30 Global 100 firm, Reed Smith has a habit of quietly getting on with its business. This is despite having conducted three mergers since 2001; grown by around one jurisdiction a year; and made a series of high-profile City hires as it builds out from its core shipping and litigation foundations in the UK – in so doing significantly boosting its 2013 London revenues.

The resignation in October of global managing partner Greg Jordan was a rare senior departure for the nearly 700-partner law firm, which in London this year hired Clifford Chance (CC) structured finance and derivatives partner Claude Brown (after hiring his former colleague Peter Zaman in 2012); McDermott Will & Emery City energy partner Rashpaul Bahia; and DLA Piper media partner Askandar Samad.

Continue reading “Reed Smith set for record year in London thanks to lateral push and sector focus”

Enhancing the brand: US IP specialist launches in London

Posted on |

One of the strongest intellectual property firms in the US, Washington DC-based Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner, has launched an office in the highly competitive London market in a bid to strengthen its European patent practice.

The launch follows the closure of the firm’s Brussels practice announced in August, which will officially shut down early next year once the logistics of transferring to London have been finalised.

Two partners have relocated from Brussels to London to set up shop at 16 Old Bailey – previously home to litigation shop Quinn Emanuel, while a further lateral hire is set to join in January 2014.

Continue reading “Enhancing the brand: US IP specialist launches in London”

SJ Berwin star David Ryland moves to Paul Hastings as US firms reap benefit of UK vets

Posted on |

Only four days after its merger went live with King & Wood Mallesons and SJ Berwin has lost leading real estate partner David Ryland to Paul Hastings in London, as US firms also continue to reap the benefit of offering better later life partner opportunities than their UK counterparts.

Ryland, who was the relationship partner for clients including Hilton and private equity fund Evans Randell, specialises in commercial real estate with a focus on UK and European property funds. Continue reading “SJ Berwin star David Ryland moves to Paul Hastings as US firms reap benefit of UK vets”

Forget Dewey – in Wall Street star power is greater than ever

Posted on |

I flew into Manhattan to The New Yorker chronicling the death of Big Law with a pacey dissection of the fall of Dewey & LeBoeuf. Three days later I flew out to The New York Times covering the fee bonanza for Wall Street lawyers generated by J.P. Morgan’s regulatory nightmare.

There you have it – Manhattan’s legal market remains as contradictory and seductive as ever. Eighteen months since Dewey collapsed, it’s not apparent that the world’s largest legal failure has had much impact at all. Certainly, there has been no discernible hard look in the mirror or serious questioning of the elevation of the star system that contributed – combined with a score of other failings – to Dewey’s final chapter.

Continue reading “Forget Dewey – in Wall Street star power is greater than ever”

Shifting sands – Largest US firms losing market share, report claims

Posted on |

The United States’ largest firms are losing market share to the band of firms below, according to a study by LexisNexis released yesterday (22 October) for the three years ending 30 June.

The CounselLink Enterprise Legal Management Trends Report shows that the 50 largest US firms, with at least 750 lawyers, have seen their share of client fees paid in the US drop to 20%, down from 26% three years ago. Continue reading “Shifting sands – Largest US firms losing market share, report claims”

London launch: Boies Schiller hires Bingham heavyweight Harrison to spearhead City practice

Posted on |

US litigation powerhouse Boies, Schiller & Flexner has hired Bingham McCutchen star partner Natasha Harrison to head the firm’s foray into the London market, its first office outside of the US.

Harrison has been a partner at Bingham since 2004 and is described by the The Legal 500 as an ‘incredibly commercial for a litigator’. She was instrumental during the Icelandic bank crisis, acting for bondholders of the three collapsed Icelandic banks, Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir, the world’s second largest insolvency. Continue reading “London launch: Boies Schiller hires Bingham heavyweight Harrison to spearhead City practice”

And the most upwardly mobile law firm is? Client feedback pushes Latham to the top of Legal 500’s US edition

Posted on |

Often hailed as one of the greatest US success stories of the last 25 years, new research underlines the elevated position Latham & Watkins has attained in the world’s largest legal market.

The Legal 500 United States 2013 edition shows Latham as the highest ranked law firm judged by the total number of recommendations, putting the Los Angeles-bred giant ahead of a string of top Wall Street firms.

Continue reading “And the most upwardly mobile law firm is? Client feedback pushes Latham to the top of Legal 500’s US edition”

Global London: Andrews Kurth becomes latest Texan in City gold rush

Posted on |

The appetite of Texan firms for the UK energy market shows no sign of abating with news that Houston-based Andrews Kurth is to follow neighbours Bracewell & Giuliani and Locke Lord into the City.

The Andrews Kurth launch is spearheaded by UK energy specialist Peter Roberts, who is leaving Ashurst two years after becoming partner. Continue reading “Global London: Andrews Kurth becomes latest Texan in City gold rush”