19 January 2009
The Lawyer
2Birds captures partner duo in volatile Frankfurt with Lovells, Willkie Farr raids
Bird & Bird has boosted its Frankfurt office with the hire of two partners, taking Wolfgang Hess and Sven-Erik Heun from Lovells and Willkie Farr & Gallagher respectively.
37 in second redundancy consultation at LG
LG has launched a second redundancy consultation which could see up to 37 members of staff lose their jobs.
A&O becomes second magic circle firm to make layoffs
Allen & Overy (A&O) has emerged as the second magic circle firm to announce a redundancy consultation, with 10 lawyers in its Hong Kong office expected to lose their jobs (TheLawyer.com, 16 January).
A&O, Slaughters advise on Britannia ‘super-mutual’ merger
Allen & Overy and Slaughter and May have won lead legal roles in Britannia Building Society’s merger with Co-op Financial services, creating a £70bn so-called super-mutual group.
Addleshaws shows 19 partners the door
Addleshaw Goddard has cut 19 from its partnership after deciding it has too many partners for its business needs.
Arthur Cox, MOP advise on Anglo Irish nationalisation
Irish firm Arthur Cox has been called in by the Irish Government to work on the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank.
Ashurst slashes 10 from equity partnership
Ashurst is set to cull 10 equity partners from its global ranks.
Bakers cuts 20 lawyers in London
Baker & McKenzie has made up to 20 associates redundant in the London office and put the entire support staff under review.
Bank-law firm relationships reach a whole new level
I’ve had a lot of calls over recent months from managing partners and law firm finance directors asking for a second opinion as to whether renewal terms offered by their banks are reasonable.
Beachcroft broadens international links
Beachcroft has unveiled a new international strategy that will include best friends in Europe, a presence in Dublin and a joint venture in India.
Bingham financials: PEP up 6 per cent, turnover up 3
Bingham McCutchen has announced a 6.4 per cent hike in profit per equity partner (PEP) for the 2008 financial year.
Bircham to steer £300m Leeds guided bus scheme
Bircham Dyson Bell has beaten off competition from two firms in a beauty parade to advise Metro, the West Yorkshire passenger transport executive, on a £300m transport system for Leeds.
BLP lays groundwork for move into Latin America
Berwin Leighton Paisner has created an 11-strong panel of Latin American referral firms, laying the groundwork for it to open its own office in the region.
BLP muscles in on Moscow law market
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has opened a Moscow office, poaching around 70 lawyers from top Russian firm and Gazprom adviser Pepeliaev, Goltsblat & Partners (PGP).
BLP, Hill dickinson on Hammers shirt deal
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Hill Dickinson have advised on West Ham United’s new sponsorship agreement.
Cads, Orrick get profit wake-up calls
PEPs take a hit, but revenue picture is mixed.
Cadwalader loses another NY partner
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has lost another partner from its New York office as news breaks of further cuts from the beleaguered firm’s lawyer ranks.
Cadwalader’s profit per point drops 38 per cent
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft’s profit per point dropped by 38 per cent during the last year, despite the firm reporting a profit per equity partner (PEP) slump of ‘only’ 30 per cent, The Lawyer can reveal.
Camerons in hunt for UK merger firm
CMS Cameron McKenna has set up a taskforce with the aim of finding a firm it can merge with in the UK.
Can Addleshaws hang on to its dominance in building societies?
Its clients are being taken over, but the firm remains a big hitter in the sector.
CC makes rivals green with Indian tie-up
Clifford Chance has followed the lead of fellow magic circle firms Allen & Overy (A&O) and Linklaters by forming a best friends relationship with an Indian firm.
Chadbourne to cut global headcount
Chadbourne & Parke has launched a global review of staffing levels in the wake of the financial meltdown.
Clifford Chance makes New York finance lateral
Clifford Chance has ramped up its New York corporate finance capabilities, snaring a partner from Cahill Gordon & Reindel.
Cobbetts upped borrowings by £4.3m in 2007-08 LLPs reveal
Cobbetts increased its bank loans and overdrafts by £4.3m from 2007 to 2008 - the equivalent of almost 10 per cent of total firm turnover - according to LLP accounts filed by the firm for the 2007-08 financial year.
Competition push sees 3 raid Simmons
Mobile phone operator 3 has created the new role of head of competition and regulatory, hiring Simmons & Simmons senior associate Jane Jellis to lead the group.
Conveyancing slump claims Hammonds Direct, Walker Morris appointed
Hammonds Direct, the conveyancing business spun off from Hammonds in 2001, will enter administration this week.
Debevoise sues lawyer for confidence breach
US firm Debevoise & Plimpton has launched a legal claim against solicitor Joan Leopold in relation to work she undertook for the firm in 2007.
Dentons to make up to 80 staff redundant
Denton Wilde Sapte has launched a redundancy consultation, which could see up to 80 members of staff lose their jobs.
DLA Piper loses Bergen office to local firm
DLA Piper loses Bergen office to local firm" /DLA Piper has lost one of its Norwegian offices following the departure of its Bergen lawyers to a local firm.
Eastern magic
Following on from the prospect of redundancies at the magic circle, City-based Middle East recruiters I spoke with this week are being inundated with CVs from fee-earners at the big four, looking to move out to the Middle East.
Ecclestone ditches Withers for Manches in divorce
Withers for Manches in divorce" /Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has parted company with his divorce lawyers at Withers in favour of Manches' Helen Ward, The Lawyer can reveal.
Eversheds unveils revamped senior team
Eversheds unveils revamped senior team" /Eversheds has overhauled its management team following the election of Bryan Hughes as chief executive.
Exclusive: Linklaters to axe up to 70 partners in massive shake-up
Linklaters to axe up to 70 partners in massive shake-up" class="inline_image inline_image_left" src="/pictures/web/images/15828_links-office.jpg" /Linklaters’ top management is to drastically overhaul the firm’s structure, slashing up to 70 partners and 10 per cent of associates in a bid to become a smaller, more profitable operation.
Former Fannie Mae GC joins Paul Weiss
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has scooped one of the best-known litigators in the Washington, DC market as a partner.
Freshfields launches US litigation practice
Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has launched a US litigation practice after hiring a trio of partners from two leading US practices.
Freshfields out in the cold as L&G unveils new panel
Magic circle firm ditched despite FSA triumph; BLP clings on after Veneik debacle.
Fried Frank hit by another European raid
French independent De Pardieu Brocas Maffei has raided the Paris office of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, snaring a seven-lawyer team.
Friends in high places
12.02Sometimes the nice guys finish first. For its first ever GC, the Serious Fraud Office has hired criminal and fraud specialist Vivian Robinson QC - one of the Bar’s more genial white collar crime silks.
Herbert Smith advises on Nortel administration
Herbert Smith has won another instruction on an administration with a Canadian element, advising Ernst & Young (E&Y) on the administration of the European businesses of Canadian telephone manufacturer Nortel Networks.
Herbies gets Ernst & Young call as downturn swallows first oil company
Herbert Smith is advising Ernst & Young on the administration of one of the first oil companies to fall victim to the credit crunch.
Hot 100 2009 Photo Gallery
Hot 100 2009 Photo Gallery
Howes Percival lays off six in conveyancing
Howes Percival has made six fee-earners redundant in its residential conveyancing and remortgaging department.
In this week’s issue…
A spate of litigation over copying has taken the catwalk into the courtroom, marking a new trend in designers actively pursuing rival fashion houses.
In-house lawyers take textbook approach to art of legal panels
A group of leading in-house lawyers is launching a start-to-finish guide to creating a legal panel, which is to be offered free to members.
IP special report: Crimes of fashion
Copying has long been viewed as part and parcel of the fashion industry. But as the downturn bites, designers and retailers are increasingly taking action to protect their brands.
Ireland Special Report: Ireland’s Chinese medicine
A memorandum of understanding between Ireland and China looks set to breathe new life into the republic’s investments funds industry – possibly at the expense of rival domicle Luxembourg.
Ireland Special Report: Shore bank redemption
Ireland may have gone out on a limb when it announced its state-funded bank guarantee scheme last autumn, but it wasn’t long before the country’s EU neighbours followed suit.
Jones Day ventures down Mexico way
Jones Day has opened its first office in Latin America by launching an eight-partner branch in Mexico City.
K&L Gates promotes 28 to partner
K&L Gates has made up 28 lawyers to its partnership in the firm’s latest round of promotions.
K&L Gates revenue up more than a quarter
K&L Gates has announced a 27 per cent increase in global revenues for the last financial year.
Keystone Law
Keystone Law" class="inline_image inline_image_left" src="/pictures/web/images/15733_P7_keystone.jpg" /Despite the economic downturn straining many firms, the regenerated Keystone Law is in full swing.
Kueppers in the frame to take over from Seisler
Lovells Germany tax head Christoph Kueppers looks set to replace Harald Seisler as Continental Europe managing partner after the firm’s partnership council recommended him for the post.
Leeds’ Fox Hayes goes into administration
Leeds-based firm Fox Hayes has gone into administration a month after the departure of its commercial and private client teams for Lupton Fawcett.
Let the good times roll
Oh look, some green shoots. No, I’m not being deluded. I know it’s bloody out there, but it’s heartening to be running not one, but two stories about major law firms in expansionist mode. It’s certainly a welcome change from the ghastly litany of redundancies and insolvencies.
Lewis Onions beats Brum rival to Viyella mandate
Niche Birmingham insolvency firm Lewis Onions has been instructed in the administration of clothing chain Viyella – the recession’s latest high street casualty.
Lord Hunt seeks inputs on regulation review
Lord Hunt of Wirral has kicked off his wide-ranging review of law firm regulation with a 54-page call for evidence.
Lovells unveils latest New York head
Lovells has appointed partner Pieter Van Tol as its New York office managing partner.
Lovells, Olswang take prime roles on £100m New Star sale
Olswang take prime roles on £100m New Star sale" /Lovells and Olswang have won key finance mandates as bidders circle troubled asset management group New Star.
Macfarlanes opens new jobs consultation
The total number of legal jobs under threat in The Lawyer’s UK 200 is 2,071 following the news that Macfarlanes has launched a redundancy consultation with 14 members of staff.
Macfarlanes reacts to downturn with redundancy consultation
Macfarlanes has launched a redundancy consultation that could affect up to 14 staff, including seven fee-earners.
Masseys founder quits to set up rival
A founding partner of litigation boutique Masseys has broken away to launch a rival firm because of ‘philosophical differences’ over how the firm should grow.
Mcgrigors, Kirkland bag fund sale roles
McGrigors and Kirkland & Ellis have scored the lead roles on the wind-down of a £434m fund containing the Bank of Scotland’s investments in UK PFI/PPP infrastructure assets. Almost half of the fund was sold to a group of four UK pension fund investors. The McGrigors team advising the Bank of Scotland was led by partner Michael Watson with assistance from partner Euan McVicar. Kirkland & Ellis ...
Mishcons lays off 17 after consultation
West End firm Mishcon de Reya is to cut 17 from its staff base, including two partners, following a redundancy consultation launched last December.
Moves roundup: 19 January 2009
Asset finance specialist Paul Jarvis has been promoted to the partnership at Denton Wilde Sapte and has relocated to Abu Dhabi. He is the fourth partner at the firm to move to the Middle East since October.
Obama names DLA's Mitchell as special envoy
DLA Piper partner George Mitchell was named as President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Middle East today.
O'Melveny taps private equity house for Asia hire
O'Melveny & Myers has hired a former director of private equity house Actis to bulk up its Asia practice.
Over 100 jobs go at Cooley Godward
Cooley Godward Kronish has laid off 52 associates and 62 support staff due to the economic slowdown.
Paul Weiss: revenue and PEP up
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has announced revenue growth of 6.3 per cent for the 2008 financial year.
Pitch perfect
Taking part in a successful client meeting has never been so important and learning simple lessons on self presentation can help win business, says Jack Downton.
Reed Smith revenue up 10 per cent, PEP falls
Reed Smith has announced a 10 per cent revenue hike for the 2008 financial year, just missing the $1bn mark.
Results positive at both White & Case and Wilmer
White & Case has reported a 7 per cent hike in global revenues for the 2008 financial year.
Safe hands: Søren Lundsberg-Nielsen, G4S
Being the top lawyer at a company active in 120 countries is no easy task, but G4S’s Søren Lundsberg-Nielsen has worked hard to create unity across the group.
Salans passes E200m milestone
Salans has defied the economic downturn to post a 16 per cent jump in turnover for 2008, passing the E200m (£179.37m) barrier for the first time.
Secretarial adversarial
For a long time Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW), had the biggest number next to its name on our Legal Job Watch table, weighing in at a hefty 180 (see story).
Shipman trial judge takes Atkins tenancy
The former judge in charge of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has joined Atkins Chambers as a door tenant.
Sidley loses first London real estate partner
Sidley Austin has parted company with its first real estate finance partner in London since the global financial crisis savaged the practice area.
Simmons advises oligarch on Evening Standard deal
The Daily Mail and Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev have called on Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Simmons & Simmons to advise on the sale of the Evening Standard.
Simon Allen, Russell Jones & Walker
What’s the worst partner conference location you’ve attended and why? Slough, because it was Slough.
SJ Berwin in redundancy talks with 50
SJ Berwin in redundancy talks with 50" /SJ Berwin has launched a series of redundancy consultations that could see up to 50 members of London staff lose their jobs.
Slaughters, Freshfields advise on latest bank bailout
Slaughter and May has cemented its close ties to the Treasury, advising on the Government's latest bank bailout package as well as a further governmental investment in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
SullCrom, Schulte in driving seat on Chrysler Fiat JV
Schulte Roth & Zabel and Sullivan & Cromwell have snared lead roles on the joint venture between Chrysler and Fiat.
Thacher Proffitt & Wood: bitter end
The manner in which Thacher Proffitt & Wood was wound up has left a sour taste with those left out in the cold, but that tells only half the story…
The Lawyer’s new litigation blog on the Northern Rock case kicked off…
As the world collapses around us like so much flat-pack furniture, litigation begins its rise as the UK’s most important legal practice area of 2009. In response, The Lawyer has launched a weekly litigation email and revamped the litigation page on TheLawyer. com to feature a weekly blog. We start with Northern Rock in the dock.
Trevor Faure quits Tyco
Tyco's Europe, Middle East and Africa general counsel Trevor Faure has quit the company causing a wholesale reorganisation of the legal department.
Tulkinghorn: fold-up eager beaver
Spare a thought for the lawyers at Hill Dickinson’s brand spanking new Liverpool office. The building, which is completely clad in glass, offers spectacular views over the city.
UK trio dominate on £8.4bn RWE-Essent deal
It was one of the biggest deals of the past 12 months and, excluding the banking mergers hastily agreed last autumn, one of the largest since the credit crunch began in 2007.
Value lawyering
Far from being a period of gloom and inaction the recession is the perfect time for lawyers to reevaluate their own careers and strike out on their own, says David Bargman.
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.
Weil Gotshal figures reveal slight revenue rise
Weil Gotshal & Manges has reported a 4 per cent hike in global revenue for the 2008 financial year.
Welsh Assembly names external counsel
Barristers at chambers 4-5 Gray's Inn Square have scooped four places on the first panel of barristers set up by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Wild Boys at Blackstone
09.56Brainteaser: what two things do boy band Busted, ‘80s pop combo Duran Duran, indie rockers Snow Patrol and law firm Hammonds have in common?
Williams F1 GC quits for Italian in-house role
Williams F1 general counsel Jane Moffat has left the Formula One racing team to join GE Oil & Gas in Italy.
WilmerHale moots Shanghai launch
WilmerHale is in the early stages of applying for a licence to practise in Shanghai, part of a strategy aimed at extending the US firm's Asian platform.
Your law firm dissolution: what next?
Law firm dissolutions are occurring at an alarming rate. But any law firm contemplating dissolution will quickly learn that the limited liability partnership act governing their particular partnership agreement provides very little guidance.
