2 February 2009
The Lawyer
A&O bucks City trend with plan to hike fees
Smaller clients set to suffer as firm forges ahead with strategy to focus on most active relationships.
A&O sacks erotic-fiction writing associate
The Allen & Overy Moscow senior associate who published an erotic novel on-line has been sacked.
A&O, Clifford Chance on Abu Dhabi banks deal
Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance and White & Case have advised on the Abu Dhabi Government's 16bn AED (£2.98bn) bail-out of five local banks.
Akin Gump loses 10 lawyers to Greenberg
Greenberg Traurig has snared a three-partner, seven-associate team from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Texas.
Akin posts rises in revenue and PEP in spite of exits
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has posted a sharp rise in average profit per equity partner (PEP) for the 2008 financial year, with PEP up more than 16 per cent to $1.4m.
Allen & Overy’s big ask
Allen & Overy’s big ask" /Here’s an exercise in persuasion. At a firm where average partner profitability was over £1m last year, how in a recession do you try to convince your clients to accept higher charge-out rates?
Bingham McCutchen London: profit up
The London office of US firm Bingham McCutchen has boosted profit despite a slight drop in turnover.
Cadwalader: Paul Hastings Seven ‘breached partnership agreement’
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has threatened to sue the seven London partners who are leaving for Paul Hastings, after initially promising an amicable separation.
CC named in property negligence claim
Clifford Chance is the latest City firm to be the subject of a professional negligence claim, with Jersey property company Al Salam UK Properties Investment taking action against the firm.
CC signs up key partners to manage India alliance
Clifford Chance has established a network of key partners to manage its newly formed best friends relationship with Indian firm AZB & Partners.
Cleary loses out to SEC for regulatory expert
A Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton partner is returning to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as general counsel and senior policy director.
Clifford Chance to cut partners in firmwide reshaping
Clifford Chance is to dramatically cut its partnership as its bid to become the world’s top international law firm continues.
Dentons, BDO called in to handle hotels sale
Denton Wilde Sapte has won a role advising the administrators of European hotel chain the Real Hotel Company.
Dewey to shut San Francisco base
Dewey & LeBoeuf is closing down its San Francisco office and combining its Bay Area legal and support staff.
Edwin Coe plans ahead with four-partner haul
Litigation boutique Edwin Coe has hired four partners to accommodate itsgrowing client list.
Evershed enlists Monro Fisher to fight New Star dismissal case
Fund manager Patrick Evershed has instructed West End firm Monro Fisher Wasbrough to launch a constructive dismissal claim against his former employer New Star Asset Management.
Fladgates and fingernails
10.48The lawyers at Fladgate Fielder will be nervously biting their fingernails this week. The firm is being sued by Land Securities.
Force of law: Edward Solomons, Metropolitan Police
Being under constant public scrutiny is just one of the challenges facing Metropolitan Police general counsel Edward Solomons.
Fox Hayes fall offers hard lesson in capital management
When Leeds firm Fox Hayes went into administration two weeks ago, the rate of its business decline was in direct contrast to its prior mercurial growth.
Freshfields Middle East star flies back to UK
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Middle East corporate chief Bruce Embley is returning to London in May, with regional co-head of corporate David Higgins taking charge of the group.
Freshfields wins London Olympic gold
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been appointed the official law firm of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Fried Frank: a series of unfortunate events
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson’s international ambitions have a habit of being thwarted. This is the firm that almost tied the knot with Ashurst back in 2003, only to be denied at the altar by quibbles over remuneration and power.
Garrigues network merger creates South American powerhouse
Spain’s largest law firm Garrigues will merge this year with its South Americanalliance firms, creating a new giant in the region.
Gatwick disposal gives legal advisers wings
At a time when transactions are few and far between, airline deals have been keeping their advisers busy, what with Ryanair looking to buy Aer Lingus then changing its mind, and British Airways’ talks with Qantas reaching a similar conclusion.
Gibson Dunn revenue up, PEP dips
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has announced a 5.44 per cent revenue hike for the 2008 financial year.
Hackney swoops for Kensington legal boss
The London Borough of Hackney has poached former Kensington and Chelsea legal chief Gifty Edila to head its team of in-house lawyers.
Hammonds redundancy talks end: 77 to go
Hammonds has completed a redundancy consultation, which has seen 77 members of staff lose their jobs.
Hip hop on the Trott
3.06pmThe courts just can’t get enough of LA rapper Snoop Dogg, otherwise known as Calvin Broadus Jr. But it's not his songs that they’re after.
Howard Kennedy boosts litigation team
Howard Kennedy has recruited Mayer Brown’s London head of property litigation. Michele Freyne joins as a partner and will be in charge of Howard Kennedy’s four-partner property litigation practice.
In this week’s issue…
Never has it been more important to take care of the pennies.
India debates liberalisation after Anglo-Indian tie-ups
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has scheduled talks on liberalisation following the signing of a number of allegiances between Indian and UK firms.
Latham 2008 revenues projected to slump
Revenues at US firm Latham & Watkins fell by up to $400m during the 2008 financial year, a drop of around 20 per cent.
Law Soc halts rollout of new membership database
The Law Society has shelved a £500,000 IT project, citing “technical issues”.
Legal profession’s elitism gap gets wider
The legal profession is even more elitist than other professions – and the gap has widened in the last decade.
LG helps Met secure New Scotland Yard freehold
LG has advised the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) on its purchase of the freehold interest in its New Scotland Yard headquarters from Land Securities.
Linklaters and Sullivan: The missing link
Like teenagers who won’t admit their mutual crush despite an ardour plain for everyone to see, Linklaters and Sullivan & Cromwell should surely get it together.
Linklaters chief justifies ‘New World’ clearout
Linklaters managing partner Simon Davies has defended the firm’s decisionto slash up to 270 jobs in London along with numerous roles around its global network, claiming the move is vital if the firm is to emerge as the “leading global law firm”.
Links, Lovells oil the wheels as TNK-BP partners make peace
Linklaters and Lovells have thrashed out the details of a peace deal between the warring partners in the TNK-BP energy venture in Russia.
Locke Lord confirms Morgan & Finnegan mass hire
US firm Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell confirmed today that it had hired a group of around 30 lawyers from New York IP boutique, Morgan & Finnegan.
Lovells Dubai head quits, London partner flies out
Lovells' Dubai head, banking and project finance partner Shibeer Ahmed, is to leave the top 10 firm at the end of April after more than nine years.
Lovells staff costs jumped 20 per cent in 2007-08
Lovells, one of the few firms yet to make redundancies, increased staff costs by nearly a fifth during the last financial year, its LLP accounts reveal.
Manchester launches Admin Court
Manchester’s new Administrative Court was officially launched last week as part of a campaign for more judicial representation outside London.
Mayer Brown London revenues up 8 per cent
Mayer Brown London revenues up 8 per cent" /The London office of Mayer Brown managed to weather the economic downturn reasonably well in 2008, posting a revenue rise of 8 per cent to hit £111.6m.
McDermott lays off 149 across US network
McDermott Will & Emery has laid off 60 associates and 89 support staff in the US due to the economic downturn.
MoFo nudged towards traditional tech work
Waning life sciences market prompts firm’s hunt for new corporate partners.
Mourant shelves NY office as finance arms go on sale
Offshore firm Mourant has closed its New York office as part of an overhaulof its strategic growth plans.
Moves roundup: 3 February 2008
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer counsel Reza Mohtashami has moved to Dubai from Paris to run the firm’s Middle East dispute resolution team.
Norton Rose banking head to be next chair
Norton Rose has handed banking head Stephen Parish the role of chairman following a contested election.
Norton Rose installs Russia banking head
Norton Rose has transferred London banking partner Caroline Hurley to Moscow to head its Russian banking practice.
Opinion: Forget growth for now, profit’s where it’s at
The new century has seen remarkable growth for law firms. Consider the AmLaw 200. From a combined headcount of 78,894 lawyers in 2000, they expanded to 106,742 in 2008.
Orrick promotes 13 in latest partnership round
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has made up 13 lawyers to the partnership in the firm’s latest round of promotions.
Osborne Clarke outsources 75 support staff
Osborne Clarke has agreed a £50m that will see it transfer 75 support staff to outsourcing company Integreon.
Postcard from... Cairo
To an expat, life in Cairo can be a startling contrast between a confused, polluted, noisy, snarling mess and an experience characterised by kind people, colourful shops, stunning antiquities and natural beauty.
Private Client Special Report: Divine ’09
As the global economy braces itself for an uncertain 2009, Patricia Milner and Charlie Tee take a look at what the coming year has in store for private client lawyers
PwC calls on SJ Berwin for Baugur administration
SJ Berwin has won a choice instruction from PwC administrators Tony Lomas and Zelf Hussain, who have been asked to take control of Icelandic investment group Baugur.
Sacked A&O associate to take action against firm
The Allen & Overy (A&O) senior associate who was sacked for gross misconduct after publishing an erotic novel online has vowed to take legal action against the firm.
Sidley posts 7.4 per cent revenue increase for 2008
Sidley Austin has hiked revenues by 7.4 per cent for the last financial year.
Simpson Millar
Simpson Millar" class="inline_image inline_image_left" src="/pictures/web/images/15978_7_simpson.gif" /Traditionally a union law firm, Simpson Millar plans to build on its client base to grow into a UK national firm.
Sonnenschein: revenue up, profits down
Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal posted a slight increase in gross revenue last year but saw its average profits tumble more than 12 per cent.
South East Special Report: Rolling with the crunch
As elsewhere in the UK, law firms in the South East have not been immune to the changing economic circumstances. But, says Kian Ganz, the region is proving more resilient than others
Taylor Wessing managing partner to step down
Taylor Wessing's managing partner of five years Michael Frawley has announced he will stand down from the post.
The flight from decency
While the race is on at the magic circle to see who can sack most people and boost profits for those remaining as quickly as possible, some firms have little time for such a strategy.
The Latham guessing game
In the flurry of speculation over financials this year, the reality is that some firms’ results are simply more interesting than others’. And for the past few days, it seems everyone has been on tenterhooks for Latham & Watkins’ figures.
Trainee retention rates defy economic gloom
Magic circle firms are continuing to take on high proportions of trainees despite the economic turmoil and the growing number of redundancies.
Tulkinghorn: Links late and the party's over
A Slaughter and May partner was overheard recently recounting this gem: “I was in a phone conference about a year and a half ago with clients who told me that they were having problems raising funds due to something called the credit crunch.
Web Week
This week’s Web Week is dedicated to the first of TheLawyer.com’s spanking new ‘Postcard from…’ series profiling the law’s more exotic outposts. This week’s blogger is Gerard Aston, an English legal assistant at the Almaty, Kazakhstan, office of Grata Law.
Weil advises Barclay twins on Woolies buyout
Weil Gotshal & Manges corporate partner Marco Compagnoni has reprised his role for Daily Telegraph owners Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, advising the brothers of their acquisition of the Woolworths brand.
Weil London achieves 22 per cent PEP hike
Weil Gotshal & Manges has posted a 22 per cent hike in average profit for the 2008 financial year.
White & Case City office bears brunt of NY lag
The New York office of White & Case is being subsidised by payments from the global firm’s international offices, The Lawyer can reveal.
White & Case wins PwC role on Baugur administration
White & Case has won a role alongside SJ Berwin on the collapse of Baugur, which was placed into administration following today’s High Court ruling.
Will the profession finally add class to its diversity stats?
Research for The Lawyer has exposed the extent to which the legal profession is dominated by the wealthy, just as the Government unveils a new campaign to drive elitism out of the profession.
Willkie posts falls in both revenue and PEP for 2008
Willkie Farr & Gallagher today reported a drop of 5.39 per cent in profit per equity partner (PEP) for the 2008 financial year.
Work Life Quiz: Ross Bryson, Mishcon de Reya
Mishcon de Reya" class="inline_image inline_image_left" src="/pictures/web/images/15988_15_rossbryson.gif" /What was your first-ever job?A grouse-beater on the Glenlivet Estate in Scotland – it’s legal to do that there.
Wragges shortlists City merger suitors
Wragge & Co is drawing up a list of London merger targets as it seeks to invest £20m of reserved cash.
