When The Lawyer published the Global 100 in 2006, ranking the world’s largest law firms in order of revenue, a total of 17 UK-headquartered firms made the grade. The 2007-08 financial results for UK firms will emerge, piecemeal, over the summer, ultimately revealing the latest global rankings. But already the indications are that […]
When The Lawyer published the Global 100 in 2006, ranking the world’s largest law firms in order of revenue, a total of 17 UK-headquartered firms made the grade.
Top-tier and mid-tier firms alike will play their part in helping to form the transatlantic legal market; indeed, hiking consolidation in the upper mid-tier may mean that those firms will create momentum in this space. The Lawyer nominates 10 of the most influential lawyers of the next decade who are likely to lead firms’ thinking […]
When The Lawyer published the financial results of the top 50 US law firms on 24 March, it confirmed what most people already suspected: transactionally, 2007 had been over the top. “I’d characterise the private equity market last year as absurd,” says one US M&A partner who had been closely involved in several major deals. […]
For UK and US firms, becoming transatlantic powerhouses is crucial to the development and success of their global networks. With firms such as White & Case using its London – New York axis to build and support its many global offices, it is clear that being successful in both financial centres is critical. For the […]
Arguably the most transformative recent events in the Asian legal market have come from the hungry pack of those challenging the Sweet Sixteen. Mayer Brown’s December 2007merger with Johnson Stokes & Master (JSM) and Reed Smith’s capture of Richards Butler Hong Kong (RB Hong Kong) robbed Hong Kong of its two most successful independent practices. […]
The Middle East has long been a hotbed of legal activity for the world’s most international law firms. For years the status quo was largely that US firms had the monopoly in Saudi Arabia, with energy and projects firm taking the lead, while UK firms dominated in Dubai. But things are changing, and rapidly. While […]
Big-ticket private equity deals may be gone for now, but last year a raft of sovereign wealth funds from Asia and the Middle East began pumping money into foreign investments, providing much-needed cash injections amid the ongoing credit squeeze. Investments from funds such as Singapore’s Temasek and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) have advanced […]
In April this year the online US law firm merger tracking service hosted by legal management consultancy Altman Weil reported 17 acquisitions in the first quarter of 2008. According to Altman Weil principal Tom Clay, the number of mergers “significantly surpassed” the equivalent time period in 2007, when only 10 mergers were reported. “We don’t […]
Cheap lunch? No Chance 09-May-2008 Life’s tough for Clifford Chance associates nowadays. First, they were berated by their boss for hanging around the office all evening just to get a free taxi home.
Shearman & Sterling’s entire day-time document production department faces redundancy as the firm develops a career path of its secretarial role. All six staff in the department are currently in the one-month redundancy consultation process, which follows the introduction of the role of secretarial team leader next week. Two secretaries will be promoted to the […]
The European Parliament has agreed to amend its lobbying guidelines to distinguish between political petitioning and giving legal advice. The amendment changes the definition of lobbying to include lawyers when their purpose is to “influence policy rather than to provide legal assistance and defence in legal proceedings or to give legal advice”. Law Society president […]