What can needy Manches bring to Penningtons’ party? Manches’ financial decline is of long duration. Despite repeated attempts to reboot growth through management changes and cash-calls, 2012/13 proved a low point. Average profit per equity partner dropped by £100,000 to £135,000, while net profit fell to a 10-year low, dropping by 42 per cent from […]
Follett Stock is unlikely to be the last law firm to fall foul of HMRC “Let me tell you how it will be – there’s one for you 19 for me ’cos I’m the taxman…” sang The Beatles on the opening track of their 1966 album Revolver. Follett Stock may not feel in a singing […]
Vinson & Elkins closing in Shanghai shows China is not a bottomless goldmine after all. Will it be a graveyard for Western ambitions? Five years ago, a Chinese firm that had 650 lawyers and an annual turnover of RMB1bn ($142m) decided to think big. It set out to make a splash, tying up with an […]
Bold Ashurst is first to achieve full financial docking with Australian firm but it will be no walk in the park The full merger between Ashurst and Ashurst Australia is the biggest unsurprise of the year. Their intention to marry was clear at the engagement party in September 2011 and the market has been kept […]
At The Lawyer Management Conference last week I chaired an absorbing session on pricing. In the past few years the debate has, thankfully, moved away from whether the hourly rate is dead towards are more nuanced exploration of the issue. Certainly, The Lawyer Management session delegates explored topics from organisational behaviour to how to decouple […]
Lois Gordon joined Shearman & Sterling in 2007. She previously held HR roles at Denton Wilde Sapte and Marks & Spencer. Lois Gordon joined Shearman & Sterling in 2007. She previously held HR roles at Denton Wilde Sapte and Marks & Spencer. How has your role changed during your time with the firm? It has […]
There are good reasons that claimants in the Cyprus properties row should litigate on the island, not in the UK A recent article (TheLawyer.com/cyprus) raised, but left undiscussed, a number of points that I, as one of the barristers arguing the case in question [on behalf of Spanish firm Judicare], would like to address. Legal […]
Since squatting in residential homes was outlawed, a commercial property has become the dropout des res Last September squatting in a residential property became a criminal offence punishable by up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000. The result: an increase in squatting in commercial properties. Surely the legislature could […]
The ECB will soon be regulating all big eurozone banks, but many questions of accountability remain On 12 September the European Parliament approved a regulation on the single supervisory mechanism (SSM) conferring bank prudential supervision tasks on the European Central Bank (ECB). It is expected that in the second half of 2014 the ECB will […]
In the past few months there has been a growing sense, at least in parts of the corporate sector, that the M&A market is finally back. As RedLaw Recruitment’s Amy Hambleton says, “2013 has seen a marked increase in deals which don’t abort and there is a sense of optimism becoming prevalent among corporate lawyers.” […]
Claimant groups will need a lot of convincing about a new proposal for progressing mesothelioma cases It was with a sense of dismay that I read of the dispute between asbestos charities, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in relation to the MoJ’s proposed replacement of the existing Mesothelioma […]
Firm closes Berlin office after lawyers go in search of the conflict-free life at MoFo Conflicts are often an issue for international offices caught up in a global merger and Hogan Lovells seems to have suffered particularly in the years since its tie-up. A key client for one group is not necessarily a key client […]