ChatGPT has drunk the Kool-Aid on A&O Shearman – let’s see what it makes of Paul Weiss

ChatGPT has drunk the Kool-Aid on A&O Shearman – let’s see what it makes of Paul Weiss

So much ink has been spilled over game-changing developments in recent weeks – namely the partnership vote in favour of the A&O Shearman deal, and Paul Weiss’ assault on the talent pools of the Square Mile – that it can be difficult to find an angle that isn’t hackneyed to within an inch of its life.

Nevertheless, a ring around senior contacts for a different take paid dividends, even if some of the suggestions are more about playing devil’s advocate and mischief-making. Continue reading “ChatGPT has drunk the Kool-Aid on A&O Shearman – let’s see what it makes of Paul Weiss”

Silence is not golden as Legal Business 100 firms need a different tune

Silence is not golden as Legal Business 100 firms need a different tune

A glance at our Legal Business 100 table this year shows the post-Covid, frothy corporate market conditions have finally come to an end. The significant number of red, downward pointing arrows for profit metrics in particular means the leaders of the top 100 firms by revenue in the UK have reason to be nervous.

The choice of a music chart theme for our report is no accident – this year has seen more movement up and down the table than there has been since the pandemic hit hard. Continue reading “Silence is not golden as Legal Business 100 firms need a different tune”

Women deal stars prove you can have it all – but don’t worry men, you are Kenough

Women deal stars prove you can have it all – but don’t worry men, you are Kenough

Chatting with a male managing partner recently about – what else – the hire of Kirkland’s debt superstar Neel Sachdev into Paul Weiss in London, talk eventually turned to the Barbie movie (obviously).

With the managing partner intending to see the film soon, I ask him to report back on whether he thinks its messaging is as anti-male as many critics have suggested. His reaction? ‘Isn’t it about time something was not all about how great men are, for a change?’ This is an interesting point, and segues us nicely into our cover feature this issue on the City’s standout women dealmakers, five years on from our influential ‘Alphas’ analysis. Continue reading “Women deal stars prove you can have it all – but don’t worry men, you are Kenough”

Paul Weiss’ hire of Kirkland rock star is the shake-up we didn’t know we needed

Paul Weiss’ hire of Kirkland rock star is the shake-up we didn’t know we needed

‘Paul Weiss hasn’t got enough partners in London for doubles ping pong!’ scoffed a senior source at the beginning of August when it emerged that the Wall Street powerhouse had lost its City managing partner, Alvaro Membrillera, to Kirkland & Ellis.

What a difference a few short weeks make. While the political skirmishes inside Kirkland that prompted the exit of private equity star Roger Johnson can only be guessed at – and, ringing around the market, there is no shortage of such rampant speculation – what followed has been nothing short of extraordinary. Continue reading “Paul Weiss’ hire of Kirkland rock star is the shake-up we didn’t know we needed”

The Last Word: Gender agenda

The Last Word: Gender agenda

‘Firms have to be flexible and acknowledge they may have fantastic senior associates who want to put their partnership ambitions on hold for a few years while they have a family.’ Isabella Roberts, Simmons & Simmons

Following on from our Alphas 2.0 feature, we ask female deal stars to talk about the challenges they have faced and still plague the industry today

Continue reading “The Last Word: Gender agenda”

Big Law’s diversity stats remain uninspiring – time to revisit the problem of social mobility

Big Law’s diversity stats remain uninspiring – time to revisit the problem of social mobility

As we go to press on Legal Businessthird 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”

A&O Shearman is a marriage of necessity, not convenience

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”

The Last Word: On message

The Last Word: On message

‘I’m of the view that there’s no such thing as an ESG lawyer. What we can do, by educating the trainees as they come in, is help them to understand ESG, so that it can permeate their practices throughout their careers.’ Rachel Richardson, Macfarlanes

On the back of our third annual ESG report, key decision makers share their perspectives on key issues affecting law firms

Continue reading “The Last Word: On message”

Oversharing? Navigating social media can be fraught but there is much to admire

Oversharing? Navigating social media can be fraught but there is much to admire

It’s surprising how much conversations around social media have shifted over the last three years. There used to be a tacit understanding that LinkedIn was for professional posts only, deal announcements, partner moves, conferences, market commentary and the like, while Facebook (and Twitter, if you really must) was for everything else. Hilarious memes and posts about your children/pet/culinary experiment/exercise humblebrag had no place on a professional networking platform.

That all changed dramatically with the onset of Covid and nothing to do but use social media as the main means of communicating with the outside world. One contact, who is rather more Gen X than Millennial, bemoaned an internal memo instructing people to show more of a human side in the curation of their Zoom backgrounds and on LinkedIn. Wasn’t this a bit awkward? Do I really want my clients knowing (horror of horrors) the ins and outs of my domestic life? It was a particularly British quandary, a cultural aversion to oversharing; the online equivalent of maintaining a professional stiff upper lip. Continue reading “Oversharing? Navigating social media can be fraught but there is much to admire”

Cautionary tales: The downfall of Ince – a lesson in how not to run your law firm

Cautionary tales: The downfall of Ince –  a lesson in how not to run your law firm

‘In the event of a recession, the lawyers will be fine. They always are. Unless you work at Ince.’

Reflecting now on this remark made by a senior contact last August, it is clear that the writing has been on the wall for Ince for quite some time and that its parent company, Ince Group, going into administration was probably the only realistic outcome of this sorry saga. Continue reading “Cautionary tales: The downfall of Ince – a lesson in how not to run your law firm”