With an election for the top leadership job looming at CMS Cameron McKenna, the firm’s incumbent managing partner Duncan Weston (pictured) talks to Sarah Downey about the firm’s performance, targeting Asia and securing an elusive US merger.
‘There are still things I want to achieve’: Q&A with former law firm leader Tony Angel
Tom Moore talks to Tony Angel, the former Linklaters managing partner who stepped down as global co-chair of DLA Piper on 1 May. Widely regarded to have been one of the outstanding law firm leaders of the past 25 years, he discusses diversity, harnessing technology and gifting Simon Levine a genie’s lamp.
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What advice would you give to the profession?
First, operating a global business with a single business model is going to be an increasing challenge. We’re all struggling with how to make our organisations more efficient and aligned to client needs. But those needs are increasingly varied and a one-size-fits-all model cannot any longer meet them all. The accounting firms have been very good at managing different business models in a single organisation; law firms need to learn how to do that too or really narrow their focus.
Q&A: Dechert’s Miriam González Durántez on how City firms missed a trick on EU law, the WTO legacy and ‘Inspiring Women’
Miriam González Durántez’s profile is sky-high. She’s one of the most successful EU lawyers in the City, has persuaded over 15,000 women to volunteer for her Inspiring Women campaign and is the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. In an interview with Tom Moore she argues that the EU is undervalued in the City and how law can smash its glass ceilings.
Your practice is something of a rarity outside Brussels. Why have City law firms neglected EU law?
Q&A: Pinsents new managing partner Cleland on priorities, understanding the numbers and what he will miss most
Pinsent Masons‘ John Cleland (pictured) takes up the reins as the firm’s new managing partner today (Friday 1 May). He talks to Legal Business about his three priorities for the business, his preparations for taking on the role and whether he will miss fee earning.
Q&A: Shearman’s Nick Buckworth talks keeping a focused business, peer pressure and climbing Mont Blanc
Shearman & Sterling’s London office has outpaced the rest of the firm, with revenue last year growing 7% in the City to hit $145m compared to the 3% rise achieved by the firm as a whole in the 12 months to 31 December 2014. Two years into a three year plan to restore the firm’s fortunes, Europe chief Nick Buckworth (pictured) talks firing up the firm’s international offering.
Q&A: A long-term commitment – Severn Trent’s in-house team share the thinking behind the new five-year sole adviser mandate with Eversheds
FTSE 100 water company Severn Trent recently re-appointed Eversheds as its sole adviser for a five-year term, commencing 1 April. Deputy general counsel Stuart Kelly and legal counsel Kristin Garret talk to Kathryn McCann about the mandate, getting monthly updates and the key performance indicators (KPIs) the firm will be judged on.
Q&A: New IBA president Rivkin talks protecting legal privilege and tackling judicial corruption
Debevoise & Plimpton co-head of arbitration David Rivkin has set himself up for a busy two years as the president of the International Bar Association (IBA), the largest legal network in the world with more than 40,000 members, as he seeks to win climate change sufferers refugee status, dent judicial corruption and protect legal independence from government hacking. Rivkin talks to Tom Moore on his plans for the body.
Q&A: Heath Tarbert, US banking partner at A&O, talks competing for regulatory work and if US regulators are setting the pace
A year on from his move to Allen & Overy (A&O) from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, US bank regulatory head Heath Tarbert talks to Jaishree Kalia about the expanding influence of US regulators and why it’s easier for Magic Circle firms to compete for regulatory work.
Q&A: A year on – Shell’s legal director Donny Ching on handling oil industry pressures and a 1000-strong team
Donny Ching (pictured) replaced Peter Rees as Royal Dutch Shell’s legal director in February 2014. After almost a year in the top role, Ching talks to Legal Business about law firm collaboration, appropriate fee arrangements and pressures facing in-house teams in volatile industries.
Q&A: Heineken UK’s Graeme Colquhoun and DLA Piper’s John McKinlay talk sole adviser mandates
Having appointed DLA Piper as principal legal adviser this month (January) in a bid to cut down on external spend, Heineken UK’s head of legal Graeme Colquhoun (pictured) and DLA Piper IP/IT partner John McKinlay talk to Sarah Downey to discuss the perks of having a one-stop-shop and its possible extension.