6 November 2006

Race to be biggest firm in the UK

Linklaters’ revenue is up 22 per cent at the half-year stage to £536m. That’s a whopping £100m up on the same period last year. Linklaters‘ revenue is up 22 per cent at the half-year stage to £536m (SEE STORY). That’s a whopping £100m up on the same period last year. If it keeps going at […]

Trainee retention plummets at top firms despite associate shortage

THE NUMBER of trainees being kept on by the UK’s top 50 firms has dropped by nearly 150, despite law firms saying they are in desperate need of associates. The average retention rate in the top 50 firms was 81.2 per cent in September 2006, compared with 85.2 per cent in 2005. Almost half of […]

Win a GDL or LPC place

LAWYER 2B and BPP Law School have teamed up to launch another essay competition. Now in its third year, the competition offers winners places on BPP’s LPC and GDL courses. See competition section.

A&O offers bumper associate pay

SENIOR associates at Allen & Overy (A&O) could earn up to £200,000 as part of a complete overhaul of the magic circle firm’s career structure. As first reported on www.thelawyer.com (12 October), A&O has abolished its current bonus system and will raise associate pay for London trainees and associates by 15 per cent, effective 1 […]

Corporate holds appeal for trainees

CORPORATE continues to account for the bulk of newly qualified jobs given to trainees, but is also losing ground to banking and finance. Just under a fifth (19.4 per cent) of retained trainees qualified into corporate in 2006, compared with 21 per cent in 2005. Meanwhile, 17.5 per cent of qualifiers joined banking and finance […]

Simmons on target for £500k PEP

Simmons & Simmons is on course to break through the £500,000 average profits per equity partner barrier after a positive first six months of the current financial year. The firm has posted half-year results of £123m, a rise of 14 per cent from 2005. The increase is slightly less than Simmons’ full-year growth at the […]

Linklaters scoops 22 per cent revenue rise

Linklaters brought in £100m more than at the equivalent stage last year, with revenue rising 22 per cent to £536m. Linklaters managing partner Tony Angel told The Lawyer: “This is a global phenomenon across all practice areas. Whether you go to Asia or Europe, if you look at real estate, corporate or finance, we’re as […]

Landmark patent case goes to the Lords

Australian entrepreneur Neal Macrossan is seeking leave to appeal his software patent case in the House of Lords, after the Court of Appeal rejected his bid to patent an automated system to incorporate a UK company. Macrossan’s invention was excluded on the grounds that it was a business method and a computer program. His device […]

Treasury fights off £1bn Lloyd’s claim

The Treasury yesterday (9 November) successfully fought off a £1bn claim brought by 1,000 Lloyd’s Names. The investors in Lloyd’s of London brought the case under a Group Litigation Order. They alleged that the government’s failure to correctly implement the European Insurance Directive led to massive claims being filed against Lloyd’s in the 1990s and […]

Cheer today, gone tomorrow

Just last week Beachcroft senior partner Simon Hodson was jubilant about the firm’s 18 per cent rise in turnover at the half-year stage. He attributed the result to the firm’s recent investment and a demonstration of what converting to a limited-liability partnership can do. Hodson said: “In the absence of walking into a brick wall, […]

Beachcroft ready for cull to up profit

Beachcroft is to axe its London-based private client team as it embarks on a review of underperforming practice groups. The firm has begun consultations with partners, lawyers and staff in the three areas under threat. These are understood to be the firm’s professional risks team in Birmingham, projects in London, and the tax and trusts […]

Taylor Wessing makes Merrill Lynch swoop

Taylor Wessing has hired the senior counsel of Merrill Lynch’s European Global Private Client business. Clive Cunningham joined Taylor Wessing as a partner in its corporate team this week (beginning 6 November). Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 2002, Cunningham worked as a banking supervisor at the Bank of England, as an associate at Linklaters, […]