More upheaval at BLG

Andrew Giverin’s departure (see story), which comes just three years after he was brought straight into the equity from a senior associate role at Latham & Watkins, is the latest in a string of other departures.

For those that need a recap, the exodus so far has included Taylor Wessing-bound financial services chief Tim Strong, who has left with commercial disputes pair Julian Randall and Andrew Howell (see story), and partner duo Mike Munro and James Parker, who are exchanging BLG for CMS Cameron McKenna (see story).

But are these a sign of a firm in disarray or an outfit doing a spot of much-needed housekeeping?

The perception is that the firm may have taken its eye off the ball by attempting to develop a commercial practice, which allowed BLG’s rivals to gain some ground on it in insurance and litigation, its core markets.

You know what they say: losing one partner is unlucky, two is careless, but hemorrhaging six in three months? Even for BLG, that’s ballsy.