Slaughters’ talent pipeline risks becoming a fault line
What do Slaughters’ clients have to say about the firm? We asked, they told.
Hogan Lovells ushers in new remote working policy
Hogan Lovells expects the majority of staff to spend at least 60 per cent of the working week in the office once its employees return in mid-September. With staff set to spend just under half of the week working remotely, the firm said this will serve as a response to certain staff’s wishes for a […]
Former Freshfields partner joins FCA as interim GC
The FCA has rejigged its in-house legal group, with roles going to two former members of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s disputes team. The institutional body has appointed David Scott as interim GC, replacing incumbent Sean Martin. Scott retired from the firm in October 2020. At Freshfields, where he spent his entire career, Scott specialised in High […]
Clifford Chance and Latham join US associate pay war
Clifford Chance’s US operations and Latham & Watkins are the latest firms to raise their NQ salaries in a bid to match their competitors’ new rates. The two firms have both pushed the salary base for newly-qualified solicitors (Class of 2020) to $205,000. For Latham, it marks a 7 per cent increase from $190,000. Meanwhile, […]
Barrister of the week: 7KBW’s Rebecca Sabben-Clare QC
Slaughters’ talent pipeline risks becoming a fault line
What do Slaughters’ clients have to say about the firm? We asked, they told.
Hogan Lovells ushers in new remote working policy
Hogan Lovells expects the majority of staff to spend at least 60 per cent of the working week in the office once its employees return in mid-September. With staff set to spend just under half of the week working remotely, the firm said this will serve as a response to certain staff’s wishes for a […]
Former Freshfields partner joins FCA as interim GC
The FCA has rejigged its in-house legal group, with roles going to two former members of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s disputes team. The institutional body has appointed David Scott as interim GC, replacing incumbent Sean Martin. Scott retired from the firm in October 2020. At Freshfields, where he spent his entire career, Scott specialised in High […]
Clifford Chance and Latham join US associate pay war
Clifford Chance’s US operations and Latham & Watkins are the latest firms to raise their NQ salaries in a bid to match their competitors’ new rates. The two firms have both pushed the salary base for newly-qualified solicitors (Class of 2020) to $205,000. For Latham, it marks a 7 per cent increase from $190,000. Meanwhile, […]
Freshfields tax partner exits for Latham
Latham & Watkins has hired its latest partner out of the magic circle, this time a member of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s tax team. The US firm’s London office has recruited Helen Lethaby, who has been a partner at Freshfields since 2005. She qualified in 1997. Lethaby advises on the tax aspects of transactions, with a […]
US firms go for gold
This summer has seen two sizeable acquisitions in Paris by major international firms of smaller boutique practices. First, Paul Hastings bolstered its white collar team with the incorporation of Antonin Lévy & Associés. The move brought three partners and nine associates into the US firm’s fold, upgrading its offering as a key Paris practice. Then […]
Knights wants to rescue your firm
Few UK start-up firms have experienced the same meteoric rise as Knights. Its position as a mid-tier disruptor and consolidator has been largely unchallenged, helping it to lift revenue by a market-topping 185 per cent over the last five years. With so many sub £50m firms contending with the twin issues of a cashflow crunch […]
The NQ pay scales show cracks
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 […]
Senior associates are a boon and bane for the mid-tier
Mid-market firms have been forced to re-evaluate their hiring strategies in the face of greater competition for partners. With lawyers more likely than ever before to switch firms, these firms have to move fast to secure the right talent, and one handy way to achieve that is to recruit from outside the partnership. Where first-time […]
Kirkland’s beaten Linklaters again
Does anyone need any confirmation of the gradual takeover of the City by rampaging US law firms? No, thought not. If, however, your answer is yes, then more evidence of the Americanisation of London can be found in the upcoming edition of the UK Corporate 50. Much of the focus in this year’s report is […]
Linklaters retention drops again to 78 per cent
Linklaters is retaining 46 of its 59 qualifying trainees for this autumn round, posting a retention rate of 78 per cent. No qualifiers will be kept on fixed-term contracts (FTC) unlike the previous round this year where one was offered an FTC. Eleven of the qualifiers were also part of the cohort transferred over from […]
Hogan Lovells and Pinsents lead as NatWest buys Metro Bank portfolio
Hogan Lovells and Pinsent Masons have scored roles on a deal that will see NatWest purchase nearly £2.5bn worth of Metro Bank’s residential mortgage portfolio. The two firms are the latest to get involved in recent transactional efforts made by Metro Bank to bolster its finances and manage potential risks to its clients and shareholders. […]
Knights returns to merger mode to snap up West Midlands firm
Listed firm Knights has acquired the West Midlands firm Thursfields in a deal worth £12.5m as it aims to enter another period of rapid growth. Knights has been a prolific acquirer of mid-market law firms over the past decade, with Langleys (£17.7m), Shulmans (£17.6m), Keebles (£12.6m), ASB (£12.5m) and Coffin Mew (£11.3m) among its most […]
Spotlight: On your marks, get set, litigate
Millions of people around the world will tune in to the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris this evening. With both the Olympics and Paralympics set to dominate headlines over the coming weeks, we climb to the top of the 10-meter platform for a deep dive into one of the firms that specialises […]
BDB Pitmans prioritises US firms for network launch
BDB Pitmans is throwing its entire weight into finding mid-market US firms to join its soon-to-be-launched international network, Broadfield. The Lawyer understands there is space in the proposed network for multiple US firms with BDB Pitmans managing partner John Hutchinson describing the UK and US as “starting points” for its grand plan. The firm announced […]