Greenberg Traurig has announced a 6% increase in revenue, reaching $2.3bn, while PEP rose 4%, climbing from $2.32m to $2.4m.
While slightly slower than last year’s 9% revenue increase, this growth still marks Greenberg’s tenth consecutive year of record revenue. Continue reading “‘Activity was phenomenal after a slow start’: Greenberg sustains global growth for tenth consecutive year”
In what will be viewed by rivals as a further shot across the bows, Freshfields has continued to make determined inroads with its US strategy, this time hiring private equity M&A partners Neal Reenan and Ian Bushner in New York from Latham & Watkins.
The investment is another coup for a firm that has become no stranger to putting its money where its mouth is on executing a bullish American strategy, and is especially striking, given the increased demand for quality private capital practitioners as client demand continues to escalate. Continue reading “‘Feels good to be bold’ – Freshfields executes on New York private capital ambitions with hire of Latham PE pair”
In keeping with Hogan Lovells’ recently released financial results, Akin has reported strong financials for 2023, contradicting fears of diminished returns for the global elite.
Revenue at the firm is up 11% to $1.37bn from $1.23bn, while profit per equity partner (PEP) has jumped 22% to $3.15m from $2.58m. This follows a sluggish 2022 for the firm, which saw global revenue grow by only 1% and PEP drop by 17%.
The firm highlighted its financial restructuring, private credit, traditional energy, energy transition, international trade and litigation practices as particularly high performers over the last financial year. Continue reading “‘Firing on all cylinders’: Akin sees double-digit growth in revenue and PEP”
Skadden, Fried Frank, Kirkland and Debevoise have all taken lead advisory roles as BlackRock announced on Friday (12 January) that it will buy Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for an eye-watering $12.5bn. The transaction will give BlackRock a total of $150bn in infrastructure assets, rocketing it to the top tier of infra funds.
The transaction sees BlackRock acquire 100% of GIP’s business and assets, which include Gatwick, London City, and Edinburgh airports as well as the Port of Melbourne and a raft of LNG assets around the world. The total deal value includes $3bn in cash and 12 million in BlackRock shares, with around 30% of the total consideration deferred, expected to be issued in approximately five years ‘subject to the satisfaction of certain post-closing events’. Continue reading “Dealwatch: Global 100 advisers take centre stage on BlackRock-GIP $12.5bn mega deal”
Ahead of our annual Global 100 report in our November/December issue, firms have made concerted efforts to consolidate and expand in the Middle East and Asia in recent months.
Bird & Bird has announced a new office in Shenzhen, to be led by the firm’s Greater China intellectual property practice co-head Hank Leung, a Legal 500 leading individual for IP in Hong Kong. The new office will work closely with lawyers from the firm’s international network, including its offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Continue reading “International round-up: Global 100 firms expand in the Middle East and Asia”
Alex Novarese, Legal Business: Let’s get some observations on how people think their businesses are performing.
Charlie Jacobs, Linklaters: If you look at the last three years, conditions for law firms have been pretty benign. For a lot of our clients, it has been a tough environment, but the law firms have performed well. There are more people competing, yet the top law firms all seem to be performing well. Complexity is good for our business. But most would say it feels a little softer this year. On a global basis, given the various tensions, it feels there are fewer of the big, transformative deals we all love. This year looks slightly more challenging. Continue reading “The Global 100 debate – Decision time”
A number of contacts have been telling me of late that Legal Business is gaining a reputation for being ultra-bearish on the Magic Circle. So entrenched is this view becoming that one Freshfields partner has apparently taken to claiming to colleagues that LB is talking down the Magic Circle in favour of US players because recruiters tell us to.
For the record, we have a church-and-state divide here and if any commercial partner wants to try to dictate our editorial line, I’d say: ‘Give it a try… and see what happens.’ But, more to the point, such comments misconstrue the basis on which we critique top City firms. London leaders have been a huge success story for corporate Britain – one that has failed to get the credit it was due in business circles. And, as a born Londoner, in as much as I get attached to law firms, there is an instinctive leaning towards wanting the local boys to do good. In short, we are not pointing out City leaders have faltered to revel in that failure. It is to make constructive arguments about what must be addressed if they are to renew themselves. We come not to bury the Magic Circle but to save it. Continue reading “Comment: We come not to bury the Magic Circle but to save it”
In the summer of 2017 the world’s top law firms were looking at their next financial year with scant optimism given a turbulent geopolitical backdrop and uncertain economic headwinds. As it turned out, driven by a robust global economy, bullish investors and a re-born enthusiasm for cross-border transactions, the 2017/18 season proved kinder than forecast, equating to one of the stronger years seen by the Global 100 since the banking crisis recast the industry.
Assisted by consolidation, the 100 drove their collective top line up $6bn to reach $104.4bn. US-centric firms heavy on marquee transactions and private capital made the best showing – it was a relatively subdued 12 months in the vast US disputes market, hitting firms overly exposed to it. Continue reading “Comment: A new Global 100 elite emerges as the old ones decline”
In the summer of 2017 the world’s top law firms were looking at their next financial year with scant optimism given a turbulent geopolitical backdrop and uncertain economic headwinds. As it turned out, driven by a robust global economy, bullish investors and a re-born enthusiasm for cross-border transactions, the 2017/18 season proved kinder than forecast, equating to one of the stronger years seen by the Global 100 since the banking crisis recast the industry.
Assisted by consolidation, the 100 drove their collective top line up $6bn to reach $104.4bn. US-centric firms heavy on marquee transactions and private capital made the best showing – it was a relatively subdued 12 months in the vast US disputes market, hitting firms overly exposed to it. Continue reading “A new Global 100 elite emerges as the old ones decline”
From Trump and Brexit to debt and tech, we ask Global 100 leaders for their assessment of a turbulent 12 months
‘Confidence is pretty high, but there are some significant challenges ahead. The growth of tech is going to have a transformational impact, which is going to increase in velocity over the next year or two. At some point we are due for a recession. It is going to happen soon and Trump’s trade war could provoke it.’
Peter Martyr, global chief executive, Norton Rose Fulbright Continue reading “The Last Word: The Big Long”
