SIMMONS & SIMMONS
INTERNAL PROMOTIONS
| Overall |
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
| |
10 |
12 |
15 |
2006-07: Finance 6, corporate 5, projects 1, employment 2, tax 1
2005-06: Finance 4, corporate 4, IP 1, litigation 1, employment 1, tax 1
2004-05: Corporate 4, employment 2, finance 2, litigation 1, IP 1
LATERALS
| Overall |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
| |
7 |
11 |
10 |
2006: Finance 4, corporate 3, energy 1, environment 1, dispute resolution 1
2005: Finance 5, corporate 4, IP 1, environment 1
2004: Finance 2, corporate 3, real estate 1, IP 1
Intake as percentage of partnership: 11.1
New female partners as percentage of intake: 16
Firms recruited from:Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Debevoise & Plimpton, Denton Wilde Sapte, Herbert Smith, Norton Rose, Shearman & Sterling
Equity structure: 145 equity partners, 81 non-equity
Practice area(s) most heavily promoted: Financial markets, corporate
*Figures supplied relate to the calendar year
Promotions at Simmons & Simmons had an international flavour in 2006-07, with London accounting for less than a third of new partners. There was more emphasis on London for lateral hires, with corporate/commercial doing particularly well. Simmons had no qualms in taking senior associates from magic circle and US firms and making them partners on arrival.
Departure-wise, Simmons was particularly hard hit in 2006 in Hong Kong and mainland China, where it suffered an eight-partner defection. The firm has promised to rebuild, though, so expect to see partner hires there in 2007-08, particularly within corporate. Simmons is using both carrot and stick to retain talent. It has introduced skills development frameworks and time-off-in-lieu schemes for hardworking lawyers. But underperforming partners are not tolerated and de-equitisation remains a ‘tool’.
