alex taylor

Alex Taylor

Alex is The Lawyer’s international editor. He joined in 2017 as a reporter covering litigation and the Bar, leaving in 2019 and returning in 2021.

Paris Autumn

The Passport: Paris is a white-hot litigation market

Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of all the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this edition, litigators have been moving en masse in Paris this year and we take a look into one of the bigger moves; Denmark’s Plesner passed the psychologically impactful DKK1bn mark for the first […]

Holland Amsterdam

A&O Shearman will be a European kingmaker

The Dutch legal market is uber conservative; it has witnessed little by way of disruption to force the kind of sweeping changes seen here in London. Amsterdam is not the city where firms can rack up mega fees; big-ticket M&A work is not done there as often as it is here. That said, if you’ve […]

Suit

This firm wants your respect

Few firms exist that haven’t consulted their people on the topic of ‘values’ in recent years. Against a backdrop of hybrid working, values are treated as a magic glue that somehow binds people together. But when a law firm managing partner decides to put ‘respect’ on the agenda, vowing that his firm must be the […]

Hiring surge ahead as Euro firms double down in London

A raft of Europe’s elite law firms are set to increase their lawyer headcount and office space in London as they sense greater opportunity in the capital than ever before. Research undertaken by The Lawyer for an upcoming report on the International Signal channel found that around one-third (11) of European 100 law firms with […]

“Bitter disillusionment”: CMS under fire from associates over salary freezes

CMS’s German arm is facing heavy criticism from a cross-section of its associates after new pay structures were announced, freezing salaries at the firm for all but first and second year associates. The associates’ complaints, published in German title Juve, outline deep discontent among the firm’s junior ranks after salary increases were announced for its […]

Italy

Lovells is alive and well

If evidence were required that legacy Lovells has not been wholly consumed after almost 14 years of marriage with its US partner Hogan & Hartson, then last week’s news of a significant investment into its Italian team is the place to look. In total, 23 lawyers left Orrick, led by finance partner and European head […]

Fernando Vives, Garrigues

Garrigues becomes first European 100 firm to pass €450m milestone

Garrigues has become the first EU-headquartered firm to pass the €450m milestone after growing its topline by 2.5 per cent in 2023. The firm announced its revenue last year hit a record high of €454.3m, representing a modest increase on the €443.2m it posted in 2022. Most of Garrigues’ revenue was made in its native […]

Milan Italy

The Passport: Hogan Lovells is going all in on Italy

Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of all the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this week’s edition, Hogan Lovells has gone big on Italy and we’re interested in what they’ll do next; Ireland’s white-hot lateral market now seems to be cooling after years of intense musical chairs; and […]

Saudi Riyadh

Latham becomes latest firm to make Riyadh its regional HQ

Latham & Watkins has reaffirmed its commitment to the burgeoning Saudi legal market with the award of a regional headquarters licence, officially making Riyadh the heart of its Middle East strategy. The firm issued an announcement this morning stating that MENA managing partner Salman Al-Sudairi would lead the office with Safaa Arthold taking up the […]

City lawyers: prepare to be love-bombed

Last week’s The Lawyer Podcast was a good’un, eh? Lofty metaphors about the flapping wings of a butterfly, searing insights contrasting London with New York, and explosive statistics about how seriously the European firms are taking London. Give it a listen, and you’ll hear how European law firms are sensing a moment to pounce on opportunity […]