Matt Byrne

Matt is The Lawyer’s deputy editor. He has a particular focus on the US legal market. He also leads many of The Lawyer’s market reports, including the UK 200.

RPC’s lock-up needs some love

With the financial year-end fast approaching, partners are under pressure to get clients to settle their bills. Cashflow is a top concern with costs rising, just shaving a few days from the lock-up total can boost the cash pot. Some firms manage this spectacularly well. Analysis on the March City Signal channel of The Lawyer […]

Linklaters

Linklaters’ managing partner: “Lockstep is not an issue anymore”

Linklaters’ global managing partner Paul Lewis has reiterated his firm’s desire to grow significantly in the US and hinted there is now no ceiling to the level it is prepared to pay for lateral hires. Lewis’s comments, which are likely to have recruitment consultants salivating on both sides of the Atlantic, appear in this month’s […]

Kirkland is (almost) a perfect 20

US firms’ financial reporting season is upon us. Time to dust off the data comparisons between the top US and UK firms and see which are genuinely leading the way in the global legal market. Everybody loves a ranking and so here’s a new one for you. Unlike single-metric tables that rank firms solely by total […]

Money dollars cash

Simpson Thacher’s London revenue jumps 23 per cent

The London office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett added nearly $100m to its top line in 2023, taking City revenue to a record high. Turnover in the London office increased from $378m to $465m. In what London office managing partner Jason Glover described as “a stellar year”, all of the firm’s nine practice groups are […]

Simpson Thacher kicks off London disputes charge with Skadden hire

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is aiming to significantly expand its City litigation and arbitration practice, kickstarting the initiative with the hire of a commercial disputes partner from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. David Edwards is making the move to Simpson Thacher, having joined Skadden in 2009 along with partner David Kavanagh KC from O’Melveny […]

Edinburgh

Burness accelerates promotions in truncated financial year

Scottish independent Burness Paull is accelerating all of its promotions across the board this year by four months as it prepares to shift its financial year-end from 31 July to 30 March. All levels of promotions, including to partner, will now be effective 1 April. The firm is also planning to bring forward all salary […]

American flag USA

The magic circle has had enough

With a record number of partner moves last year, the London laterals market has rarely been frothier. Yet, at the top end of the market, moves from US firms to the four magic circle players remain rare. At least, they were until recently. There are glimmers – just glimmers, mind – of a fightback by […]

Puzzle

DLA and Herbies may be onto something

Hands up anyone who thinks it would be a great idea, in this horribly uncertain and unpredictable world, to have someone to turn to, someone who could lend an independent, professional and experienced ear and offer an alternative view on things? Sounds great, right? But this seems to be a view not shared by almost […]

GenAI may fill your stocking

How do you put a price on a job that is done by a robot? That is the nub of one big issue firms are wrestling with as GenAI handles ever larger parts of a lawyer’s current role. And next year, as the use of GenAI becomes ubiquitous, it’ll only get worse. Publicly, and rather […]

Winston zeroes in on London with new leadership role

Winston & Strawn is targeting significant growth outside of the US, with its new leadership team – for the first time ever – now including a lawyer tasked specifically with non-US expansion. In September, Winston confirmed that current chair Tom Fitzgerald would be stepping down next year and will be replaced by litigation group co-head […]