3 September 2007
The Lawyer
People
Jeff Schwartz has joined the Washington DC office of Dewey Ballantine as a partner in the IP litigation group. Schwartz was previously a partner at Nixon Peabody.
4 Paper Buildings raids 9 Gough Square for nine-strong family team
Common law set 9 Gough Square has lost nine of its barristers to family chambers 4 Paper Buildings.
A&O, CC and Linklaters parachute partners into growing Asian market
Linklaters parachute partners into growing Asian market" /Magic circle firms Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance ...
A&O, CC loosen banking shackles to flex M&A muscle
While still dominating banking, A&O and CC have closed the gap on their corporate rivals. By Caroline Binham
All about Eve
Tulkinghorn does love those anonymous emails. Such as this beauty, which popped into his inbox recently:
Ashton Morton to work off £1.45m in miner fees
Sheffield firm Ashton Morton Slack has been forced to repay £1.45m of the money it has made from representing sick miners.
Ashurst raids magic circle again for German hire
Ashurst has continued its strategy of poaching magic circle lawyers in Germany by taking on an Allen & Overy (A&O) international capital markets associate.
Ashurst snares A&P IT star for India group
Ashurst has expanded its growing India group with the hire of former Arnold & Porter partner Murali Neelakantan as a partner in its corporate department and head of the firm's India group.
Ashurst wins starring role in TV selloff
Ashurst has advised investors in Sparrowhawk Holdings on the disposal of a global portfolio of pay TV channels to NBC Universal. Corporate partner Andrew McMillan led the team acting for 3i Group, Providence Equity Partners, UK television executive David Elstein and the other shareholders of Sparrowhawk. Employee benefits partner Barbara Allen, employment partner Caroline Carter, competition partner Duncan Liddell and international finance partner Simon Thrower ...
Bakers assists in refugee's fight against detention in the UK
Baker & McKenzie has represented the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in an appeal in the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Banking and Finance
There are three giants in the London finance market: Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Linklaters, and all had a successful year during the boom.
Bar chair wants child-friendly legal system
The new criminal bar chair has called for a review of the treatment of young people caught up in the criminal justice system.
Bar Council delays new fee contract scheme
The new fee contract between barristers and solicitors, which was due to be introduced on 1 October, is being delayed by a year.
Beachcroft to reduce carbon footprint
Beachcroft has joined the carbon footprint bandwagon, pledging to reduce its carbon emissions by 5 per cent.
BLP bounces back from exits with Jones Day partner coup
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has asserted itself following recent high-profile partner departures by poaching Trevor Wood from Jones Day as a partner in its banking and capital markets team.
Bryan Cave hires into UK class action team
US law firm Bryan Cave has begun ramping up its London class action practice with the hire of Olswang senior associate Irina Tymczyszyn.
Buy Sell Hold: Trade mémoire
Following on from last year's analysis of an imagined post-Clementi legal market, The Lawyer takes a look at which firms represent the best value for investors on the back of the last financial year
CC names São Paulo head after Mayer Brown swoop
Clifford Chance has named corporate finance partner Anthony Oldfield as head of its São Paulo office following the departure of office head Stephen Hood.
Champions legal
Thanks are due to the Gooner Massive over at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) for taking a bunch of Tulkinghorn's hacks to the Emirates Stadium last Wednesday (29 August).
Charities to face more red tape in light of new gambling laws
Gambling laws fast-tracked through Parliament before the last general election came into force on Saturday (1 September) and will lead to hardship for charities, lawyers have warned.
Charles Russell faces negligence claim from former Kylie producer
Charles Russell is heading for a High Court showdown with one of its former clients, record producer Mike Stock, who is suing the firm for negligence.
Charles Russell seeks to bolster private client arm with West End office launch
Charles Russell will launch its West End-based office on Monday (10 September) in a bid to ramp up its private client practice.
Clydes ups aviation nous with Norton Rose swoop
Norton Rose swoop" class="inline_image inline_image_left" src="/pictures/web/images/8943_5_clydes.gif" /Clyde & Co aims to grow its global aviation finance team by 40 per cent within two years and has kick-started the process with the appointment of Norton Rose of counsel Leigh Borrello in Singapore.
Cohabitation laws too expensive, says Haworth & Nutall
Blackburn-based firm Haworth & Nuttall has claimed that changes to cohabitation laws will “fall at the first hurdle” due to extra costs.
Corporate
Most M&A pundits could not believe their luck in 2005-06. But surely the frothy market could not hold? It did – and although there are more doomsayers than ever predicting the end of the corporate boom, 2006-07 was the strongest year on record for most corporate firms.
Davis Polk strengthens Paris with hire of Jeantet chief
Davis Polk & Wardwell has bolstered its corporate practice in Paris with the hire of Jeantet Associes managing partner Georges Terrier and corporate partner Christophe Perchet.
Dewey & LeBoeuf: a happy marriage
Life could not be sweeter for Dewey Ballantine: no sooner did the New York firm evade a potentially acrimonious union with Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe than it managed to find the perfect partner in LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae.
Dewey hires property in-houser for US finance group
Dewey Ballantine has poached former deputy general counsel of US property developing company KB Home for its global finance group.
DLA Piper closes in on ex-Weil private equity guru
Private equity star and former Weil Gotshal & Manges partner Will Rosen is in advanced talks with DLA Piper, The Lawyer can reveal.
DLA Piper to launch Middle East dual assault with Abu Dhabi, Qatar offices
DLA Piper to launch Middle East dual assault with Abu Dhabi, Qatar offices" /DLA Piper has underscored its commitment to the Middle East with plans to expand into two more lucrative jurisdictions in the region.
English lawyers take the high road
A poor work-life balance and the high cost of living is leading English lawyers to head north of the border to practise, according to Scottish law firms and recruiters.
EPP is the new PEP
The true picture of profitability among the UK's top firms is on display today (3 September). Forget PEP. Loathe it (A&O's Guy Beringer) or love it (anyone at Slaughters), it has become something of a problematic benchmark.
Epp V Pep
It was a breakthrough year for the top firms inthe UK, with the global elite (Allen & Overy(A&O), Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters) each posting a PEP in excess of £1m in the same year for the first time.
Eversheds' perfect pitch wins firm TfL panel appointment
Eversheds' perfect pitch wins firm TfL panel appointment" /Eversheds has won a place on another high-profile panel, having been gifted the mandate for all of Transport for London's (TfL) mainstream work.
Eversheds rolls out 'Rapid' disputes system to clients
Eversheds rolls out 'Rapid' disputes system to clients" /Eversheds is offering the dispute management system it uses with DuPont, Transport for London and Capgemini.
Family unfriendly
When the Lords threw out HMRC's appeal against an income-splitting family business, the Government announced a change to the law. By James Johnston
Family: Home sums
The laws regarding the financial rights of cohabiting couples are changing, but is the shift significant enough to reflect this sea change in society?
First judges appointed under new system
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has made its first two High Court judge appointments under the new selection process.
Former 9 Park Place chief joins Farrar's
Cardiff set 9 Park Place's former head of chambers Ian Murphy QC has been taken on as a tenant at Farrar's Building.
Freshfields, Norton Rose and Macfarlanes steer D&G take-private
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Norton Rose and Macfarlanes have secured the UK’s first major public-to-private takeover since a global credit crunch hit the debt markets last month.
From OIK to a King
King & Spalding’s launch in Germany is noteworthy for a number of reasons. (See story).
Fulbright bulks up in UAE
US firm Fulbright & Jaworski has strengthened its presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with three new recruits and the relocation of a US partner.
Gates swipes BLG team for Singapore outpost
Aviation specialist Gates and Partners has poached another two lawyers from Barlow Lyde and Gilbert (BLG) for its soon-to-be-opened Singapore office.
German and French tie-up to fill Euro tax gap
French law firm Francois Sagasser & Associés is merging with Germany's Hemmelrath & Partners to create a cross-border European tax law firm.
Global Elite and Slaughter and May
Investing in a global business is a gamble, but the figures in the firstever The Lawyer UK 200 Annual Report prove that it has paid off for the magic circle.
Growing confidence
Addleshaw Goddard has established itself as one of the UK's biggest national firms. Now it has even loftier ambitions
Hammonds instructed on Hamsard's Polypipe buyout
Hammonds has advised Hamsard 3054 on a multimillion-pound secondary buyout of one of Europe's leading plastics manufacturers.
Henry Davis York chief to retire after 20 years
Top Sydney law firm Henry Davis York (HDY) is to lose its managing partner Stephen Purcell, who is set to retire next year.
Herbies set to expand TMT expertise into Dubai and Japan
Herbert Smith has set its sights on Asia for a technology, media and telecoms (TMT) push by hiring a senior lawyer in Dubai and planning to boost its presence in Japan.
Herbies, Cuatrecasas secure Spanish listing
Alliance firms Herbert Smith and Cuatrecasas are acting for Spanish industrial machinery group General de Alquiler de Maquinaria on the issue of 125 million senior unsecured convertible bonds. The notes are convertible into new ordinary shares in 2012, which will be listed on Spain's stock exchanges. Herbert Smith is advising on the English law aspects of the offering and Cuatrecasas is advising on Spanish law matters. The Herbert Smith team is ...
HSBC turns to Norton Rose for Korea Exchange Bank buy-out
HSBC has instructed traditional corporate advisers Norton Rose to advise on its $4.9bn (£2.43bn) bid for Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).
Hunton boosts Brussels with Commission hire
Hunton & Williams has boosted its competition practice, hiring Robert Klotz from the European Commission for its Brussels office.
India's big firm influx: don't worry, be happy
International law firms need to start engaging with India with the long term in mind.
Introduction
Why 200? It’s a reasonable question.
It ain't who you sue it's the way that you do it
Charles Russell possibly feels as if it’s going through The Loco-motion as Kylie Minogue’s former record producer Mike Stock – of Stock Aitken & Waterman fame – looks set to drag it through the High Court.
Jones Day and Paul Hastings hike US associate salaries
Jones Day and Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker have kicked off the second round of US associate salary reviews this year by hiking their pay levels.
Just like starting over
Following a lengthy process of deliberation, US firm Proskauer Rose is on the verge of launching its London office, pinching O'Melveny & Myers private equity head Matthew Hudson to lead its assault on the London market. (see story)
King & Spalding enters German market with Frankfurt launch
US firm King & Spalding has launched its fourth office in 12 months with the opening of a base in Frankfurt.
Law firms buy a piece of London's history
City law firms Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have splashed out and bought themselves a year of London's history.
Lawyers in deep float action
News of what is surely the final sports-related event of the summer reached Tulkinghorn recently.
LeBoeuf gains Hong Kong presence via affiliation
LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae has expanded in Asia with the launch of a Hong Kong office.
LG welcomes Eversheds employment ace
LG has boosted its ranks with the hire of an employment partner from Eversheds.
Links names Asian investment management group head
Linklaters has appointed Michael Guilday as head of its Asian investment management group (IMG) following the departure of Graham Turl in April.
Links scores key role on Kazakhmys acquisition
Linklaters got the nod on a key acquisition by FTSE100 mining client Kazakhmys, Kazakhstan's biggest copper producer.
Litigation
It could simply be taken as a sign of the continued downturn in litigation: the total revenue generated by the UK’s top 20 disputes groups was down last year. Not by a mere £10m or £20m, but by £132m.
London Large
The mixed bag that is the London large peer group is testament to the City-focused success of firms such as DLA Piper, Addleshaw Goddard and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP). Five years ago none of these firms would have been mentioned in the same breath as Norton Rose, Lovells, CMS Cameron McKenna or Simmons & Simmons. ...
London Mid-Market
Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) is a very different firm from what it was five years ago. Back then DWS was the twelfth-largest law firm in the UK, with offices across Asia and an extensive European network.
London Small
London’s smaller top 100 firms may be a mixed bag, but one at least can be praised for its consistency. Pensions specialist Sacker & Partners tops the tables for revenue per lawyer (RPL), profit per lawyer (PPL) and average profit per equity partner (PEP). It also comes out top on margin. All this from a firm that bucked this particular trend by coming bottom of the table for revenue. But then, this is the first year that the former Rising 50 firm made the top 100, so ...
London: Lower Mid-Market
London’s smaller mid-market firms, which broadly speaking slot into the £50m-£100m turnover bracket (Salans aside) need to work hard to distinguish themselves in the cut-throat City environment. They might be on big panels,but they rarely feature on the biggest deals.
Lovells boosts Spain with Eversheds energy hire
Lovells has bolstered its Spanish presence with the hire of Lupicinio Eversheds energy partner Hermenegildo Altozano.
Lovells embarks on unique alliance with nine Chinese firms
Lovells has strengthened its presence in the Chinese market via a tie up with nine local firms.
Loyalty onus
News reaches Tulkinghorn that Daniela Baker, company solicitor for Honda UK, has enthusiastically embraced the concept of brand loyalty.
Magic circle left wanting in female partnership stakes
The magic circle is falling short in the diversity stakes when it comes to female partners, with all four seeing less than 10 per cent of their equity falling into female hands.
Marco Pagni: Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots is looking to finalise a formal panel and group legal counsel Marco Pagni has laid down strict selection criteria. By Caroline Binham
Marked increase in employment tribunal cases
Employment tribunal cases continued to rise during 2006-07, up 15 per cent on the previous year, figures from the Tribunals Service have revealed.
Mayer Brown lures CC Brazil chief for Sao Paulo launch
Mayer Brown is to expand its presence in the Latin American region with the addition of an office in the Brazilian city of São Paulo.
New anti-laundering rules prove ineffective
The move to a risk-based approach to anti-money laundering regulation has yielded little fruit, according to new research.
Nigel, Keith and the Arsenal oligarch
It's back to school this week, and it's good to see libel kings Schillings starting the new term with a bang.
Norton Rose nets London planning head
English Heritage's former legal chief, who joined Howard Kennedy 13 months ago, is set to join Norton Rose as a senior associate.
Olswang handles unique film finance template for Slingshot
Olswang has advised on a film financing programme that has seen a new UK digital film company release its first movie.
Pannone hires for corporate recovery push
Manchester firm Pannone is positioning itself for a market slowdown with the hire of a corporate recovery duo from rival firm Beachcroft.
Private client and family
After months of headline-grabbing, record-setting divorce cases and discrimination disputes, such as the £48m Charman divorce award, private client and family law still remain in a state of flux.
Profession-wide move to merit-based remuneration tolls death knell for PQE
An increasing number of UK law firms are abandoning PQE associate lockstep systems in favour of more merit-based promotions.
Proskauer merges with Paris private equity firm
Proskauer Rose has boosted its ranks in Paris via a merger with local boutique SGDM.
Proskauer prepares London launch
Proskauer Rose is set to open its London Mayfair office with former O'Melveny & Myers private equity chairman Matthew Hudson as head.
Real Estate
The last year was a great one for real estate teams across the UK, but it was Clifford Chance that maintained its position at the head of the table. The group recorded a turnover of £95.5m, generated by standout deals such as the sale-and-leaseback of HSBC’s Canary Wharf headquarters, where it advised new client Spanish property group Metrovacesa. It also advised on the purchase of London’s 13-acre ...
Restructuring capability becomes UK firms' priority
UK firms are positioning their restructuring teams in anticipation of further market volatility, although a dearth of talent is hampering expansion.
Revealed: the City's true £1m partners
A total of 12 firms saw their most senior partners take home an equity share in excess of £1m in the last financial year, while just three firms posted an average earnings per partner (EPP) figure of more than £1m.
Rising 100
It must be pretty galling for an equity partner at a top 20 City firm to see a counterpart in a niche or regional firm take home a bigger share of the firm’s profit. Especially if that partner is at a firm in the lower half of The Lawyer’s UK 200 and with a revenue less than 10 per cent of that of the big boys in the City.
Rothschilds scoops Speechly partner to head trust business
Rothschild Private Banking and Trust has appointed former Speechly Bircham partner Andrew Penney as a managing director and head of the trust business’s London office.
S&W wins K&L Gates property tsar
Scottish firm Shepherd and Wedderburn (S&W) has strengthened its property division with the hire of a Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis (K&L Gates) partner.
Scotland
Two firms stand out in the Scottish peer group this year, but for very different reasons. Dundas & Wilson posted robust turnover growth but a static average profit per equity partner (PEP), while Brodies had an exceptional year, with revenue rising by an enviable 43 per cent coupled with a decent 13 per cent hike in PEP.
Sets merge to become northern civil and family powerhouse
Northern sets Park Lane Chambers and Plowden Chambers are set to merge at the beginning of October.
Shopaholics
Forum shopping in divorce cases is becoming ever-more popular. And the world's favourite shopping mall? England, of course. By Nigel Shepherd and Alison Bull
Silent partners make some noise
In the wake of recent market volatility, restructuring partners have been thrust into the media spotlight once again. After several years of a bull market, these lawyers have been able to slink into the shadows and leave the headline-grabbing to their high-flying corporate and banking counterparts.
Silver Circle
The silver circle, as defined by The Lawyer two years ago, consists of firms ranked below the magic circle in terms of turnover that can boast an average profit per equity partner (PEP) and average revenue per lawyer (RPL) far above the UK average. The firms also share the characteristic of being predominantly London-centric, despite having varying degrees of international success.
Simmons, DWS launch Middle East tit-for-tat swoops
Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) has snared Simmons & Simmons' former Abu Dhabi managing partner just as Simmons has poached a DWS Dubai corporate partner.
Slater & Gordon posts first post-float results
Australia firm Slater & Gordon, which made history earlier this year by floating on the Australian Stock Exchange, has exceeded its profit forecast of A$9.1m (£3.74m) for the year ended June, posting an actual figure of A$10.7m (£4.39m).
Slaughters buys a year: Who's next?
City firms Berwin Leighton Paisner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have come up with a novel way of using up their extra cash: buying up a year of London's history (
Squire Sanders raids LeBoeuf for Russian real estate push
Squire Sanders has raided fellow US firm LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae for a head for its Russian real estate practice, part of a continued growth strategy in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Stonewall tackles CC over gay rights claim
Gay rights advocacy group Stonewall has asked to meet Clifford Chance in the wake of a discrimination claim brought by former competition partner Michael Bryceland.
Swiss ease
With the UK's tax regime becoming less friendly for foreign businesses, Switzerland is now a destination of choice for many. By Justine Markovitz and Rachel Mainwaring-Taylor
Switzerland
Switzerland, which is traditionally viewed as an international hub for private banking, has been battling against the public impression of the country as an offshore financial centre or, worse still, a 'tax haven'.
The Edge of reason
Ashurst corporate partner Andrew Edge was chatting to one of Tulkinghorn's scribes the other day and telling her about his various experiences with the press.
The Litigators
At the start of the 2006-07 financial year, the UK’s litigators had braced themselves for another tough 12 months. The UK’s sustained economic growth under Gordon Brown, as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and now Prime Minister, has lasted much longer than everyone – litigators included – expected.
The Nationals
Eversheds may have retained its place as the UK’s largestnational firm in 2006-07 (its turnover of £356m was acountry mile from nearest rival Pinsent Masons’ revenue of £192.4m), but it is Shoosmiths that boasts by far the ...
The North
Firms in the North of England had a successful 2006-07 financial year by and large, with Newcastle-based firm Dickinson Dees bringing in the most revenue per lawyer(RPL) out of the top 11 firms. A 17.9 per cent increase on last year’s £235,000 brought the total to a more than healthy £277,000.
The South
It was a tumultuous year in the South West, with talent-poaching and mergers in all corners of the market.The three-year trend shows the region’s leaders even more clearly.
Third-party umming and arring
Recent reports have pointed to the fact that third-party litigation funding is finally entering the mainstream of City litigation, with Herbert Smith considering whether to go down that alley.
Three-quarters of top UK firms are flexible-friendly
More than three-quarters of the UK's top 50 law firms have introduced flexible working, while almost half now offer an alternative career path, The Lawyer's exclusive research can reveal.
Trowers bags Morley's purchase of 27 Knightsbridge
Trowers & Hamlins has won a role advising Morley Fund Management on its £101m purchase of London office building 27 Knightsbridge.
Twelve firms boast £1m-plus pay
Twelve UK firms have top equity partners on more than £1m, with those at Slaughter and May breaking the £2m barrier.
UK Overview
In previous years this regular feature has revealed the top 50 firms by London revenues. But why be so exclusive? In a global legal market divisions between revenues originated from the City and those from the regions at UK-headquartered firms are arguably meaningless.
Unknown Freshfields claim comes to light
Star banking partner David Ereira filed a discrimination claim against his former firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as he made the rare move across to magic circle rival Linklaters earlier this year.
US prepares for desert storm
The Middle East has been a hot region for a good few years now, with many international firms setting up shop in Dubai and its surrounding jurisdictions.
Using lawyers to sell your firm
In law firms lawyers are the prime revenue-generating asset. As such, using them in non-fee-earning roles when there are more effective and cheaper alternatives makes little commercial sense.
Vinson leads on Swiss sukuk for EnergyMixx renewable energy float
Vinson & Elkins has scooped a role advising on the first sukuk from Swiss renewable energy company EnergyMixx.
Wales & the Midlands
Abooming market for firms in the Midlands and Wales during 2006-07 was typified by a major recovery for Hugh James and the rise of a new star in the form of Freeth Cartwright.
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 expands in Asia with Hong Kong launch
Weil Gotshal & Manges will open its ninth international office by launching a Hong Kong offering next month, the firm announced last night.
Work Life Quiz: Paul Shrubsall, One Essex Court
What was your first-ever job?I worked in an antique shop.
