30 June 2008
The Lawyer
A quicker fix
The Irish commercial list's fast and efficient approach to dispute resolution has made it the venue of choice.
A&O’s £1bn revenues buoyed by strong growth overseas
Allen & Overy has seen revenue break the £1bn barrier for the first time with average profit per equity partner (PEP) rising 9.5 per cent to £1.12m.
Addleshaws associates miss retreat after partner Paris jolly
Addleshaw Goddard’s associate retreat has been spiked because the firm has refused to fund it.
And the winner is...
And the winner is...04-July-2008 Drama in the magic circle today but no revolution: the last financial results are in and while Linklaters has closed the lead on Clifford Chance by a mere £36m, Clifford Chance remains king of the castle.
Another string for Camerons' CEE bow with CMS Moscow merger
At the end of this year, all eyes at CMS Cameron McKenna will be on Russia for what could be a defining moment in the firm's history.
Baker & McKenzie boosts Moscow with PwC raid
Baker & McKenzie has bolstered its Moscow practice after a raid on the legal arm of accountancy giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for a 22-strong team, including three partners.
Bakers raises City pay and makes promotions
Baker & McKenzie has given modest pay rises to associates at most levels at the same time as promoting six to its partnership.
Bar Council slams BBC drama; writer responds
A row has broken out between the Bar Council and a television writer over the BBC courtroom drama, Criminal Justice.
Bar Council, BSB gear up for LSA and continued globalisation
The annual reports of the Bar Council and Bar Standards Board (BSB) show that the bar is committed to aligning itself for the Legal Services Act (LSA) and to the globalisation of legal services.
Blackstone, Cloisters ECJ case to decide UK retirement age issue
Blackstone Chambers and Cloisters are to face off in a European Courts of Justice case that will determine if it is legal for 65 to be the standard retirement age.
Blake Lapthorn raids ASB for City family push
Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons has hired an ASB Law family partner and an assistant to launch a family practice in London.
Camerons scores Mayer Brown partner
CMS Cameron McKenna has made a rare lateral hire, poaching London-based Mayer Brown property partner Melville Rodrigues.
CC targets corporate fraud with RJW ace
Clifford Chance has ramped up its white-collar crime capabilities with the hire of Russell Jones & Walker (RJW) financial fraud star Judith Seddon.
CC, Lewis Silkin to duke it out in Deutsche Bank libel battle
Clifford Chance and Lewis Silkin are going head to head in an unusual libel battle between Deutsche Bank and former bank employee Stuart Bray.
CC, Lovells lead on SIV restructurings
Clifford Chance is advising Goldman Sachs on its restructuring of a series of structured investment vehicles (SIVs). Lovells has joined Clifford Chance on several of these high-profile SIV restructurings, with Clifford Chance partner David Steinberg leading the team advising Goldman Sachs on restructuring the 7bn Dollars (£3.57bn) SIV formerly owned by hedge fund Cheyne Capital. Lovells insolvency ...
Clarification
Last week (23 June) The Lawyer reported that 7 Bedford Row (7BR) had witnessed a drop in turnover of 9.7 per cent, down from £15.5m in 2006-07 to £14m in 2007-08. In fact, the figure provided by the set was not like-for-like with the previous year's figure, as it did not include VAT. Taking VAT into account, 7BR's turnover in the last financial year was £15.9m - an increase of 4 per cent. The set also saw a small increase of O.4 per cent in criminal fees.
Cobbetts' new partnership structure: 11 made up
North west firm Cobbetts has made 11 partnership promotions following major changes to its partnership structure.
Cohabitation agreements
Divorcing couples have been dubbed the latest victims of the credit crunch. With house prices on the slide and houses failing to sell, would-be divorcees are finding themselves forced into extending their time under the same roof together.
Cohen Milstein advertises for BA-Virgin price fix claimants
Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll is to launch an ad campaign to encourage people affected by the British Airways-Virgin price fixing scam to claim.
Davis Polk promotes six to partner; one in City
Davis Polk & Wardwell has promoted six associates to the partnership, including one in London.
Dentons beat Camerons in midnight rugby final
Denton Wilde Sapte won a ‘Midnight Rugby’ tournament held in Helsinki this weekend, beating a rival team from CMS Cameron McKenna in the final match.
Dentons woos former partner from Eversheds
Denton Wilde Sapte has rehired former partner Stephen Webb, while at the same time losing restructuring partner Michael Rutstein to Jones Day's London office.
Dickson Minto and Willkie Farr sign alliance
Dickson Minto and Willkie Farr sign alliance" /Private equity firms Dickson Minto and Willkie Farr & Gallagher have entered into a strategic alliance aimed at upping both their profiles either side of the Atlantic.
DLA gets green light for Swiss Verein conversion
DLA Piper partners have okayed plans to move the firm to a Swiss Verein structure, dispensing with plans for global financial integration in the process.
DLA Piper breaks ties with Saudi firm
DLA Piper has severed its two-year-old Saudi alliance, leaving its office in the country in limbo.
DLA, Skadden line up for pharma merger
DLA Piper has scored a role on one of the biggest pharmaceutical deals of the year, lining up alongside Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in the 6.7bn Dollars(£3.42bn) merger of US biotech suppliers Invitrogen and Applera Corporation. DLA Piper acted for the buyer, Invitrogen, led by San Diego-based ...
Duane Morris London moves next door
US firm Duane Morris has moved into a new London office to pave the way for the expansion of its core practice areas. The firm is targeting litigation, insurance, corporate, IP, insolvency and employment as areas of growth in the City. London co-managing partner Susan Laws said: "The much-improved office space will allow us to continue to support the growing interest in the London legal market from our US, Singapore and Vietnam offices." The new office is next door to the old premises ...
E-disclosure conference told: implement Commercial Court's long trial proposals
All courts should implement the Commercial Court Long Trial Recommendations, according to Judge Simon Brown QC and former Taylor Wessing litigation partner Chris Dale.
Freshfields' feat
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer stole the show at The Lawyer Awards 2008, walking off with the Law Firm of the Year Award.
From punts to euros
The Irish gambling industry is regulated by legislation more than half-a-century old - but that is set to change amid concerns over money laundering and state revenues.
Full throttle: David Thompson, Silverstone
This weekend's British Grand Prix finds Silverstone's legal director David Thomson raring to go. But competition from Donington means the legendary circuit is battling to keep the race.
Gibson, Simpson to act on Apria Healthcare buyout
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have won lead roles on the Blackstone Group's 1.6bn Dollars (£815.68m) acquisition of Apria Healthcare.
Hammonds posts 9 per cent drop in PEP
Hammonds' average profit per equity partner (PEP) plummeted by £37,000 in the past financial year while global turnover saw a 3.4 per cent rise to £132m.
Hammonds: 2 out of 3
Hammonds managing partner Peter Crossley’s mantra is “business, business, business”.
Herbies appoints new head of real estate
Herbert Smith has made Ian Cox its new head of real estate. Current group head Iain Rothnie will stand down on 1 July after two and a half years in the post. Rothnie will now focus on developing the practice internationally and building up links with sovereign wealth funds. Rothnie, who was previously executive partner at the firm, said: "I'm very ...
Hogan & Hartson launches in Abu Dhabi
Hogan & Hartson is to launch in Abu Dhabi next month - the firm’s first-ever office in the Middle East.
Home Office faces action over sacking
A former barrister has launched a High Court action against the Home Office, claiming breach of contract.
Hunton raids Akin Gump; launches in San Fran
Hunton & Williams has poached a team of eight employment lawyers from rival Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and opened an office in San Francisco.
Ireland
Ireland's days of economic boom might be coming to an end, but the country's legal sector remains bouyant.
Ireland’s William Fry appoints new managing partner
Irish firm William Fry has appointed Myra Garrett to succeed Brendan Cahill as managing partner.
Is anybody there? The boutiques willing to take on the City banks
The Lawyer's revelation last week (23 June) that JPMorgan had banned Linklaters from its panel because of its role acting for Barclays in suing Bear Stearns has stunned the City.
Jeantet scores LVMH victory against Ebay
French firm Jeantet Associés has scored a €40m win for retailer LVMH after a French court ruled that auction site Ebay failed to block the sale of counterfeit LVMH goods.
Junior bar gets mobile as LSA prompts defections
The junior bar has seen an unusually high turnover of staff in the past month, with chambers seeking to increase their critical mass to take advantage of the Legal Services Act (LSA).
Lawyer to lawmaker
Political 'lobbyists' once had a dubious reputation in Ireland, but the government's policy of engagement now gives law firms the chance to get involved in public affairs and influence legislation.
Linklaters fails to overtake Clifford Chance with £1.29bn turnover
Linklaters fails to overtake Clifford Chance with £1.29bn turnover" /Linklaters has posted an increase in turnover of 15.3 per cent to £1.29bn, retaining its position behind Clifford Chance as the UK's second ...
Linklaters makes competition masterstroke
Former Slaughter and May partner Laura Carstensen has joined magic circle firm Linklaters as a consultant in the competition and antitrust practice
Linklaters shakes up Euro management team
Linklaters has reshuffled its Europe management team after appointing Belgium partner Jean-Pierre Blumberg as European managing partner.
Linklaters: friends and finance
Previous blogs: 03-July-2008, Simmons & Simmons: on the up 03-July-2008,
Lovells advises ParalympicsGB on McCartney ad
Lovells has advised on the ParalympicsGB on the intellectual property issues on its new TV advertising campaign featuring Sir Paul McCartney.
Lovells promotes 82 to senior associate
Lovells has promoted 82 lawyers to senior associate position, with the bulk of promotions being made outside the UK.
Macfarlanes' growth sluggish as corporate and property take a hit
Macfarlanes experienced muted growth over the past 12 months, with turnover rising by 6.7 per cent while average profit per equity partner (PEP) remained static at £1.1m.
Macfarlanes ups salaries across the board
Macfarlanes has announced pay rises for the majority of its salaried lawyers.
Muckle
Muckle" /Unlike many of the bigger corporate firms in Newcastle, Muckle has its eyes set almost exclusively on the local market.
Music industry body finds new GC within
Music industry association IFPI has ended its year-long search for a general counsel, promoting litigation head Jo Oliver to the top job.
New qualifications
The Irish Financial Regulator has introduced a raft of features to make its qualifying investment fund more attractive.
Northern exposure
The turbulence in the world markets over the past year has helped Northern Ireland's new leaders determine what its economic priorities should be and what Belfast firms need to consider to remain competitive
Opportunities for change
With firms starting to see the effect of a downturn for legal services, many will now be looking at their partners and teams who do not produce the level of profitability required by the business as a whole. In some cases this may result in the firm wishing to move on partners and/or teams in order to maintain profits per equity partner where otherwise these may be falling.
Overworked’ QBD judges blast long hours culture
The High Court’s Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) is in turmoil after being branded ‘chaotic’ by a raft of judges, some of whom claim not to have had a break in the past 10 months.Judges are calling for the management of the QBD to be overhauled, claiming that a lack of communication between the division’s departments has had a negative impact ...
Payback time for global firms
The Lawyer Awards last week (24 June) belonged to Freshfields in a big way. It won Law Firm of the Year for its comeback, and for setting the pace within the magic circle - some achievement given its couple of painful years of restructuring. It also won Competition Team of the Year and had more than a hand in the employment team award, which went to Lewis Silkin partly for its work defending Freshfields ...
People
Crispin Rapinet has been elected as Asia and Middle East managing partner at Lovells. He will have overall responsibility for the firm’s seven offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Dubai.
Pinsents and Wragges in £3bn aircraft carrier deal
Pinsent Masons and Wragge & Co have been handed mandates in a £3bn project to build the two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy.
Pinsents re-elects senior partner
Pinsent Masons senior partner Chris Mullen was re-elected last week to serve a four-year term, having taken over in mid-term three years ago.
Redundancies hit UK's regional property teams
Six more regional firms are making redundancies in their residential conveyancing teams as the ongoing property slump continues to impact on the legal sector.
Shadbolt & Co rebrands as ‘Shadbolt/Law’
Shadbolt & Co has rebranded as “Shadbolt/Law,” dropping the suffix “& Co” from its name.
Simmons & Simmons: on the up
So Simmons & Simmons has put its profitability woes firmly to bed.
Simmons chief has bumper two years
Simmons & Simmons' figures for 2007-08 are a ringing endorsement of managing partner Mark Dawkins.
Simmons sets new PEP target for mid-market firms
Average profit per equity partner (PEP) of £600,000 is the new benchmark for the City’s mid-market firms.
Singing cowboy joins Orrick as IP partner
Orrick has hired the former head of Jones Day’s Los Angeles IP group, Rob Dickerson as a partner.
Split attorney general's functions, say MPs
The political and legal roles performed by the attorney general should be split, according to a committee of MPs. The justice committee said the Government's current reform proposals did not go far enough in restoring public confidence in the wake of controversies such as the Serious Fraud Office's probe into the BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia arms deal. "The draft bill fails to achieve the purpose given to constitutional reform by the Prime Minister," the committee's report said. The ...
Summer school tackles university snobs
The City Solicitors' Educational Trust (CSET) summer school scheme clearly appears to have struck a chord. In only its first year, almost 1,000 students from non-Russell Group universities applied for only 100 places - four times more than expected - and the number of law firms now involved has more than doubled to 21
Together we can do our bit to address climate change
Law firms across the UK are responding to worldwide concern about the effects of climate change. Meaningful action, innovation and collaboration is expected from the business community, and law firms must play their part.
Too chicken for hot potato?
Until laws on divorce and cohabitants are brought into the 21st Century injustice will continue, says Julian Lipson
Travers in bid to woo tool rental giants Ashtead
Travers Smith has set its sights on traditional Slaughter and May client Ashtead Group, the FTSE250 tool rental company, after advising it on the £95.6m auctioning off of its offshore oil and gas equipment business.
Travers latest to make LLP switch
Travers Smith has re-written its partnership agreement as it becomes the latest City firm to convert to a limited liability partnership (LLP).
Troutman eyes London insurance market
Atlanta-based Troutman Sanders is planning a move into the London insurance market following the firm's merger with US insurance boutique Ross Dixon & Bell. London managing partner Robert Bata has pledged to hire "aggressively" in the sector following the move.Troutman Sanders' three-partner City outfit does not currently have an insurance capability. ...
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.
Why no debt pays off for K&L Gates
As expected, the partners at Carolina firm Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman voted unanimously in favour of joining forces with K&L Gates. The vote of the partners at the larger firm was equally positive.
Wolf Theiss adds Bulgarian outpost to CEE empire
Austrian firm Wolf Theiss has launched in Bulgaria, adding a 10th office in Central and East-ern Europe (CEE) to its letterhead.
Work Life Quiz: Peter Taylor, Lovells
