13 October 2008
The Lawyer
A&O and co’s marriage disavowals
MERGER RUMOURS
A&O revisits HSBC tower sale with debt refinancing brief
Allen & Overy (A&O) has scored the lead role on a deal to refinance the debt from the sale of the UK’s most expensive building, the HSBC Skyscraper at Canary Wharf.
Abu Dhabi media city hires first GC
The Newly launched Abu Dhabi media city twofour54 has turned to Dubai-based pay-TV operator Showtime Arabia for its first general counsel.
Addleshaws cuts 16 jobs across its offices
Addleshaw Goddard made 16 employees redundant this year, including two fee-earners - the highest single number made since 2003.
Addleshaws names managing associates
Addleshaw Goddard has promoted 22 lawyers to the role of managing associate.
Addleshaws’ scran élan
Tulkinghorn has never attended the Great Northern Cook-Off. But if he did, he would try to get onto Addleshaw Goddard’s team. The lawyers took the competition by storm, winning four awards, despite calling themselves The Inedibles.
Bittersweet
Bittersweet17 October 2008 With the credit crunch causing a commotion in the legal world, there's nothing quite like a holiday in the tabloids to brighten the mood.
BLG taps Allen & Overy for first COO
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) has hired Allen & Overy global head of knowledge management David Jabbari to become its first chief operating officer.
Browne Jacobson
UK 200 Position: 74UK ...
Cadwalader restructuring partner to join Latham
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has suffered its third defection since it laid off 96 lawyers in July this year.
CC's surprising redundancies
Clifford Chance's announcement yesterday that it was making 20 lawyers redundant in New York and Washington DC is not the first time lawyers in the US have faced the chop this year (see story).
Challinors adds bodies to aid expansion
Midlands firm Challinors has appointed a new management team as it bids to expand its footprint in the region. Helen Jarvis has joined the senior management team as HR director, while Jonathan Gamble has been appointed finance director. Both are former employees of regional rival Fraser Brown.
City firms scramble to offload office space as market drops
City law firms moving to new premises are facing the uncomfortable reality of paying above-market rents on new office buildings while struggling to sublet existing premises.
Cleary handed Fortis sale
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has joined in the sale of struggling Benelux bank Fortis, securing the instruction for BNP Paribas on its €14.5bn (£11.3bn) offer.
Clegg Manuel
For a small property firm founded just eight years ago, these could be dangerous times. But being small has its advantages, says Simon Manuel, joint managing partner at Clegg Manuel.
Clifford Chance makes US litigation layoffs
Clifford Chance announced it was laying off 20 associates in its US offices.
Cobbetts
Turnover crept forward at Cobbetts this year by just over one per cent. Managing partner Michael Shaw claims that the firm was focusing on profitability and average PEP is up by 25 per cent, hitting £300,000 and so fulfilling Shaw’s 2006 pledge to reach that target within two years. But then that goal is easier to achieve if you reduce headcount and overhaul your partnership system. Cobbetts lost 83 fee-earners last year, while the equity has become slimmer. Twenty-eight out of 93 partners, ...
Coca-Cola legal head takes GC role at William Grant
Whisky company William Grant & Sons has created a global general counsel role, hiring rated Coca-Cola Enterprises legal chief Eva Bishop to lead its new-look legal team.
Conyers sets up Mauritian outpost
Offshore firm Conyers Dill & Pearman has opened in Mauritius in a bid to bag work coming out of Asia.
Crunch widens law firm gap
What an astonishing month it’s been.
Curtis Mallet-Prevost opens in Dubai
New York firm Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle is the latest international firm to open in the United Arab Emirates through the launch of an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Davenport Lyons steers yachting sale
Davenport Lyons has acted for yacht brokerage company Yachting Partners International (YPI) in its sale to BRS Yachting.
Davis Polk advises UK Govt on banking bailout
Davis Polk & Wardwell is advising the UK government on US aspects of its financial institution bailout.
DLA Piper makes Kuwaiti connection
DLA Piper has expanded its presence in the Gulf through a joint venture with the international division of Kuwaiti firm Al Wagayan Al Awadhi & Al Saif.
Downturn puts squeeze on staff numbers
More than a fifth of law firms have had to lay off staff as a result of the economic climate, a new study has found.
DWF bags second Weightmans team in a month
Weightmans team in a month" /A seven-strong team is to leave Weightmans for DWF, joining six insurance partners that announced last month they were making an identical move.
Eversheds’ pensions dept gains Leeds chief
Eversheds has hired one of the partners who left Hammonds at the end of its lock-in period to head its Leeds pensions group.
Federal reserve leaves Wachovia deal in stasis
It was literally a last-minute intervention. At 11.59am on Wednesday 8 October, the Federal Reserve extended its standstill on Citigroup’s lawsuit over Wells Fargo’s bid for US bank Wachovia.
Finger pickin’ good
Tulkinghorn has seen law firms sponsor some strange events in his time, but he thinks Midlands firm Needham & James Solicitors may have trumped everyone.
Fladgate
West End firm Fladgate showed its confidence for the future with the decision this year to into a new office for the first time in its 248-year history. It will take on an extra 10,000ft of space in Great Queen Street.
Focus: Philip Trott, Taking the rap
Bates Wells & Braithwaite head of immigration Philip Trott has made a name for himself standing up for rappers’ rights
Four Bircham Dyson Bell lawyers face axe
Bircham Dyson Bell lawyers face axe" /Bircham Dyson Bell has made three lawyers redundant, while another is in redundancy talks.
Freshfields installs new financial institutions co-head
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer banking partner Sean Pierce has been appointed co-head of the firm’s financial institutions group (FIG) following the departure of previous co-head Perry Noble last month.
Global Islamic finance chief quits DLA Piper
DLA Piper’s Dubai-based head of global Islamic finance Oliver Agha has left the firm, taking a three-lawyer team with him.
Go East
It's difficult being a UK lawyer if you have the fear of redundancy hanging over your head. But all hope is not lost. For those willing to make the move, the Middle East can be a safe haven for your career - not to mention your bank balance.
Graduate recruitment details for Bircham Dyson Bell
FirmAddress:Web:Telephone:Email:The Lawyer UK 200Ranking:Turnover:Profit per eq...
Hammonds - Payback Time?
When Hammonds rev-ealed last June that it was suing 14 of its former partners for £3m of overdrawings, one of the firm’s insiders predicted that “there’s going to be an almighty spat”. His forecast has come true.
Irwin Mitchell strengthens partnership
Irwin Mitchell strengthens partnership" /Irwin Mitchell has boosted its ranks with the hire of Bracher Rawlins litigation partner Jeremy Marshall and Davenport Lyons employment partner John Hayes in London.
Italy
It seems there’s never a dull moment in Italy at present, and the legal market is no different.
Judicial appointments diversity failure prompts calls for more solicitor input
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has reinforced its call for more women and black minority ethnic (BME) people to apply to become judges after five places in the latest competition were allocated to women but no BME person was given a seat.
Katten Muchin Rosenman makes 21 redundant
Katten Muchin Rosenman has become the latest US law firm to announce layoffs.
Kennedys takes eight from DLA’s Brum office
Insurance firm Kennedys has raided DLA Piper’s Birmingham office for eight fee-earners to ramp up its liability and professional negligence capabilities in the region.
Kirkland & Ellis’ City base wins five partners in latest round
US firm Kirkland & Ellis has made up five partners in London this year as part of a global round that saw 67 promoted.
Kirkland launches Asia fund practice
Kirkland & Ellis has launched an Asia funds practice, moving UK and US partners moving to Hong Kong.
Know your rights
If you have been given the unfortunate news that you are “at risk” of redundancy what are your entitlements? And what should you do if you believe your rights have been breached? Here's a quick guide.
Law ambiguous if client money gets lost in the crunch
Trawling through the Solicitors Account Rules (SAR) is not fun, even for a hardened managing partner, general counsel or director of risk. But that is exactly what most of them have been doing in the past few weeks in an attempt to deal with the possibility that the money held by law firms in client accounts could be unprotected in the event of a bank insolvency.
Layton takes Clifford Chance corporate crown
Clifford Chance private equity partner Matthew Layton will today be voted into the post of global corporate head.
Legal aid climate puts paid to Peel Court
Manchester-based common law set Peel Court Chambers, headed by Northern Circuit leader Richard Marks QC, is to disband as a result of the legal aid crisis.
Lord Hunt to lead Law Society review
The Law Society has appointed Lord Hunt of Wirral to lead a wide-ranging review of how the profession is governed.
Lovells checks in for Deloitte to aid on buy-to-let hotel group wind-up
Lovells has been drafted in by liquidator Deloitte to advise on the administration of buy-to-let hotel group GuestInvest.
Magic circle defies downturn as top billers bump up hourly rates
Hourly partner rates at the UK’s largest firms have hit £750 on average this year despite the economic crisis, research carried out for The Lawyer has found.
Maples Teesdale sets US Embassy up in new site
A trio of firms have sealed the US Embassy’s move south of the Thames from its iconic 20-34 Grosvenor Square location in Mayfair.
Mixed troubles
Tulkinghorn has noted that the credit crisis and the unstable economic climate have different consequences for different firms. At Davies Arnold Cooper (DAC) the turmoil has hit the in-house football league the hardest.
Moves roundup: 13 October 2008
•Former McGrigors partner Christopher Shaw has left the Scottish firm to join the London office of Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo.
Ofgem brings in 20 Essex Street barrister
Energy watchdog Ofgem has recruited 20 Essex Street barrister Colleen Hanley as the second-in-command of its legal team.
Opinion: Law firms need to take advantage of tough conditions
The current downturn is starting to bite hard on the legal profession following a near 15-year bull run. The position looks bleak, and this will be brought home when firms prepare first-half figures and realise that the second half will, for most, be worse.
Orrick brings Heller veterans on board
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has become the latest firm to snap up a group of lawyers from collapsed firm Heller Ehrman.
Pack mentality
The management information circulated to law firm partners is frequently of limited value – but its potential for driving behaviour means firms could benefit from taking a fresh look at what they are handing out, argues Jeremy Black.
Partnerships
These days being a partner at a law firm can be a strange experience.
Partnerships: Age-old questions
The need to effectively manage the workforce is the most common justification given by firms for having a fixed retirement age. But, argues Peter McMaster, it is far from being watertight under current legislation.
Paul Marsh: Downs
Who would you least like to be stuck in a lift with and why?Gordon Brown. No explanation needed.
Paulson chooses Simpson Thacher to mastermind US bank bailout
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has won a beauty parade to advise the US government on its $700bn (£412bn) financial markets bail-out package.
Pills and thrills: Alex Thrower, Teva
As legal affairs director of the biggest supplier of drugs to the NHS, Teva’s Alex Thrower believes that, when it comes to practising law in-house, prevention is better than cure.
PwC recruits ex-HMRC tax litigation head
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has recruited former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer Ebrahim Ali to its tax litigation team.
Reed Smith Brum soloists aim for rapid expansion
Reed Smith Brum soloists aim for rapid expansion" /The managing partner of Reed Smith’s Birmingham office, which is set to split from the firm in January next year, has set his sights on achieving rapid expansion.
Regional property firms in second wave of culls
Several regional residential conveyancing practices have begun a second round of redundancies, taking the total number of job cuts in The Lawyer’s UK 200 to 730.
Salans on course for 20 per cent revenue jump
Salans has boosted its turnover by 20 per cent in the first three quarters of 2008, bringing in e150m (£117.97m) in its first year of reporting in euros. For the same period last year the firm’s revenue was £94.38m.
Samsung appoints European GC to create centralised command
Korean technology company Samsung Electronics has created the position of European general counsel, hiring Jeremy Shewring from French IT provider Steria to fill the post.
Separated at birth
Famed for his England strike partnership with Alan Shearer, footballer Teddy Sheringham has made an unconventional move into the legal industry. Footballers generally open pubs once they retire from the beautiful game, but Sheringham, in the guise of Walkers marketing man David Byrne, has opted for a new challenge.
Shackleton squares up to Manches' Ward on Madonna divorce
The battle for the assets from Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s marriage is to be fought out by heavyweight family lawyers Helen Ward of Manches and Fiona Shackleton of Payne Hicks Beach.
Shearman bulks up arbitration in Washington, DC
Shearman & Sterling has bulked up its US international arbitration group, moving Singapore partner John Savage to its Washington DC office.
Shearman loses partner in Germany - again
Shearman and Sterling has lost another partner in Germany, leaving its Munich office with just one partner.
Shearman sends NYC partner to head Europe
Shearman & Sterling has named New York M&A partner Creighton Condon as its European managing partner.
Small is beautiful for Freshfields, but it isn’t enough to crack the US
The list of Freshfields’ referral firms makes for fascinating reading, says Julia Berris.
Sonnenschein makes second round of redundancies
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has laid off 24 lawyers as well as support staff in its second round of staff cuts this year.
Splash course
Tulkinghorn considers himself to be one of the most environmentally friendly people he knows, on account of him not owning anything electrical, or moving much beyond his drawing room.
SRA and Law Society face off over review
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has accused the Law Society of overstepping its remit by launching a review of the regulation of the profession.
Stay flexible
Flexible working is as necessary now as it was in the boom.
Steeles Law takes F1 chief’s privacy battle to Europe
Norfolk-based Steeles Law has been retained by Formula 1 chief Max Mosley to take his privacy case to the European Court of Human Rights.
The zero options
As the dissolution of Heller Ehrman shows, the reality of trading conditions can overtake even the largest law firms. But what courses of action are open to you if it’s your firm’s future that’s at stake?
Thring Townsend at centre of foot and mouth action
Bath firm Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons has launched a £1.5m claim for 14 farmers against the two laboratories at the centre of last year's foot and mouth outbreak.
TLT Solicitors
UK 200 Position: 68UK ...
Trio breaks away from A&O's Indian alliance firm
Allen & Overy's Indian referral firm, Trilegal, has lost three of its 10 partners, with the trio leaving to set up an independent firm with a senior banking partner from Indian firm Kochhar & Co.
Two ton test
The creation by merger of two 100-plus lawyer firms looks set to test the decade-long dominance of the top three Italian practices.
Wachtell and SullCrom step up for Morgan Stanley
Wachtell Lipton and Sullivan & Cromwell have snared the lead roles on Morgan Stanley’s $9bn (£5.2bn) injection.
Wall St Woes: Banking it
A good chunk of New York’s elite firms shied away from the US Treasury bailout mandate because of conflicts.
Wall St Woes: Dodging Rodgin
Careful conflict checking is more relevant than ever on Wall Street.
Wall St Woes: Leaving litigation
News that Clifford Chance is to lay of a fifth of its US litigation workforce was met with amazement by the Stateside legal community. Hardly surprising given that the firm has shed a total of 20 litigation associates at a time when litigation is expected to grow.
Web Week
The Lawyer’s Web Week is a weekly commentary on legal activity on the web. This includes an overview of the best of the week’s blogs. If you want to direct us to useful links, email webweek@thelawyer.com.
Wedlake Bell lays off
Wedlake Bell has launched a redundancy consultation with six lawyers and 11 support staff.
Wharf waiting for...
Good news at last: someone’s hiring.
