Rachel is deputy editor (City) of The Lawyer and primarily covers corporate and the City
Dentons has elected a successor to global boss Elliott Portnoy, hiring its next leader from Big Four giant EY. A former global vice chair of EY, Kate Barton joins Dentons as its next global CEO. She will replace Portnoy, who stands down in November after 11 years. Dentons kickstarted the CEO search last December, stressing […]
Macfarlanes’ financials have shot right back up after taking a tumble in the previous financial year, with its average profit per equity partner hitting £2.6m. The firm’s last three financial results have been very up and down, with 2021/22 marking a record-breaking year of double-digit growth, leading to a decline in 2022/23. The 2023/24 signals […]
How did your firm fare in salary review season? For associates at Freshfields, their firm can claim the early-mover advantage prize after announcing a bold NQ salary jump to £150,000. But its moment was short-lived. Within a week, Quinn had upped its junior lawyer pay from £152,000 to £180,000. If there was an award for […]
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has recruited its first restructuring partner in London, hiring from Akin’s City office. Liz Osborne joins Paul Weiss’ burgeoning ranks as a partner and head of the European restructuring group. She has been at Akin since 2014 when she moved over as part of the Bingham McCutchen team. Prior […]
Akin Gump has recruited three of Cooley’s London partners, including its City managing partner Justin Stock. Stock moves to Akin along with Stephen Rosen and David Bresnick. The three focus on transactions with a life sciences and technology element. At Akin, Stock will become the firm’s international head of technology. Both Stock and Bresnick joined […]
The M&A rankings for the first half of 2024 confirmed one thing we already felt was true: that Linklaters and Slaughter and May have had a lot of acquisitive or targeted clients this year. According to data provided by the London Stock Exchange Group, the pair rank first and second respectively in terms of the […]
Ashurst’s boss has pledged that the firm will hit the £1bn revenue mark in its next round of results, after growth of 9 per cent in 2023/24. The firm’s turnover went up from £879m to £961m, which was more or less in line with its 10 per cent uplift in the previous financial year. Average […]
Allen & Overy’s turnover rose 3 per cent in the financial year running up until its merger with Shearman & Sterling, while profits soared by 17 per cent. The results only cover legacy A&O’s financial year 2023/24. The firm said its client revenue rose 3.4 per cent from just over £2.1bn to £2.2bn, an increase […]
Attention turned to Linklaters’ US advances when its financials were released this week, and tied into that, its well-publicised partner losses to US firms in London. Since last summer, four of its partners have joined Paul Weiss, although it feels like much more. Added on to that are the many Linklaters alum who swapped the […]
After a significant rise in its results over 2022/23, Watson Farley & Williams has reported another year of double-digit growth in which global income increased by 11 per cent. Income reached £238.4m, climbing from 2022/23’s figure of £215m. Overall profit saw a 7 per cent increase from £62.3m to £66.8m. Average profit per equity partner […]
The former bosses of Melrose Industries is listing a new company – Rosebank – on the alternative investment market (AIM), with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advising on the float. Simpson Thacher partner Adam Signy has long advised Melrose in its acquisition deals and is at the helm of this listing along with partner Lucy Gillett. […]
Following the departure of a partner to Sidley Austin, Travers Smith is adding a new member to its infrastructure finance team. Ryan Ayrton joins from Watson Farley & Williams, where he has been a partner since 2022. Prior to this, Ayrton had spent his whole legal career at Linklaters. His arrival follows the exit of […]