The Legal 500 view: Employment

The Legal 500 view: Employment

Howard Kennedy, Dentons and Mishcon de Reya have emerged as some of the firms doing the best job at keeping their London employment clients satisfied, according to new research from The Legal 500 that canvassed the opinions of hundreds of clients.

Howard Kennedy, Dentons and Penningtons Manches Cooper top a table of firms achieving the highest overall client service scores for London employer work, with Mishcon, Shoosmiths and CM Murray among other firms achieving high enough scores to appear within the top ten. Continue reading “The Legal 500 view: Employment”

Success or failure? The push for gender equality is no longer a binary matter

Success or failure? The push for gender equality is no longer a binary matter

Talking about diversity in law is hard. While there has been widespread progress when it comes to driving up the number of women in law, it is clear there is still much to be achieved with regards to other underrepresented groups. It is a particularly challenging task given both the scarcity of useful data and the related privacy considerations that make it hard to capture.

Put simply, we know there is much more to diversity than the issue of women in law – and that gender is not binary. That said, to ignore the progress women are making in the upper echelons of the legal market (and, in turn, The Legal 500 rankings) would mean we were failing to do justice to those breaking the glass ceiling and the profession more broadly. Continue reading “Success or failure? The push for gender equality is no longer a binary matter”

The Legal 500 View: Why allegations of ‘woeful mismanagement’ and a ‘chronic lack of investment’ at the SFO aren’t stopping the white-collar lateral hiring carousel

The Legal 500 View: Why allegations of ‘woeful mismanagement’ and a ‘chronic lack of investment’ at the SFO aren’t stopping the white-collar lateral hiring carousel

Despite intense scrutiny of the SFO and a slowdown in new cases, the market for white-collar expertise is as hot as ever, as Georgina Stanley discovers

The last 12 months may not have been as busy as they could have been for the white-collar community, but that has not stopped the practice grabbing more than its fair share of headlines. Continue reading “The Legal 500 View: Why allegations of ‘woeful mismanagement’ and a ‘chronic lack of investment’ at the SFO aren’t stopping the white-collar lateral hiring carousel”

The Legal 500 IP: Validity in the opposition

The Legal 500 IP: Validity in the opposition

A cursory glance at The Legal 500’s IP coverage – which was recently split into a distinct patents table alongside a trade mark, copyright and design table – makes for a head-scratching read. In a legal discipline that attracts sophisticated, technical expertise, fortune favours the innovative as much as the who’s who of the City elite, or indeed the prestigious US names that are continually encroaching on London territory in the corporate space.

But even within this diverse, cutting-edge practice area, comprising teams as unique as the clients instructing them, there is much contention as to which approach fits best in a rapidly changing environment. Continue reading “The Legal 500 IP: Validity in the opposition”

The 500 View: Restructuring hires are in vogue but is there enough work for everyone?

Georgina Stanley assesses a City restructuring scene offering rewards for some but a lack of clear direction

‘You can only grow this business when people aren’t busy – when everyone’s flat-out, you can’t hire for love nor money,’ reflects Paul Hastings restructuring veteran David Ereira of his chosen trade. Continue reading “The 500 View: Restructuring hires are in vogue but is there enough work for everyone?”

‘There are Formula 1 drivers and other drivers’ – who’s winning the race for London’s lev fin work?

‘There are Formula 1 drivers and other drivers’ – who’s winning the race for London’s lev fin work?

Georgina Stanley and Ben Wheway cast an eye over one of the City’s most contested practice lines

‘Leveraged finance is an industry that thinks in American,’ notes one former veteran of the Magic Circle, now with a US outfit, reflecting on the much-changed dynamics of Europe’s credit markets. Continue reading “‘There are Formula 1 drivers and other drivers’ – who’s winning the race for London’s lev fin work?”

‘Reflecting the market right now, not several years back’ – The Legal 500 UK launch unveils a new approach

‘Reflecting the market right now, not several years back’ – The Legal 500 UK launch unveils a new approach

Late last month we published the first Legal 500 UK guide since I took over as editor. While changing something the size of the UK guide is going to take time (for context we include some 1,300 UK and US firms across more than 10,000 individual rankings) readers will have already noticed some improvements.

The legal industry has never had a reputation for being the fastest-moving sector, and the same criticism has at times been levelled against the analysts that assess the profession. As a research business we always start with the quantitative data and tangible evidence as the basis of our research – this means there will inevitably be some time lag between what we are ranking firms on and what is happening within their practice right now. Continue reading “‘Reflecting the market right now, not several years back’ – The Legal 500 UK launch unveils a new approach”

Dynamic forces – The Legal 500 UK launch unveils new approach

Dynamic forces – The Legal 500 UK launch unveils new approach

Late last month we published the first Legal 500 UK guide since I took over as editor. While changing something the size of the UK guide is going to take time (for context we include some 1,300 UK and US firms across more than 10,000 individual rankings) readers will have already noticed some improvements.

The legal industry has never had a reputation for being the fastest-moving sector, and the same criticism has at times been levelled against the analysts that assess the profession. As a research business we always start with the quantitative data and tangible evidence as the basis of our research – this means there will inevitably be some time lag between what we are ranking firms on and what is happening within their practice right now. Continue reading “Dynamic forces – The Legal 500 UK launch unveils new approach”