The downturn is forcing larger firms to pay more attention to mid-sized companies. By Aled Griffiths The Mittelstand market is the road to success for German corporate practices. Mid-sized companies – defined roughly as having turnovers of between e50m (£35.3m) and e500m (£352.7m) – make up a third of the gross national product, according to German state […]
Doyen of the criminal bar Robert Rhodes QC has had a miserable year, but he still manages to charm the socks off Brendan Malkin There is something charming about Robert Rhodes QC. The respected serious crime silk has repeatedly made the news recently: he successfully defended himself against allegations of misconduct brought by the Bar […]
Ofcom, the new super-regulator for the media and telecommunications industries, has stunned the legal profession by announcing a new structure, with just five jobs reserved for the central legal function.The general counsel’s office, which will be responsible for all litigation, will have just five positions out of a total 880 staff. Currently, Oftel’s legal team […]
The liberalisation of rail freight networks across Europe could be here sooner than anticipated. Raymond Beven tracks its progress An important step in European rail liberalisation was taken on 15 March 2003 with the implementation of the EU’s first rail infrastructure package. From that date, EU countries must permit any cross-border freight trains from a […]
Simmons & Simmons litigation partner Jane Howard is leaving the firm to join Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.
Howard has specialised in professional liability at Simmons. She will pursue this further at Reynolds Porter, which is highly ranked for this type of work.
Simmons senior partner Janet Gaymer said Howard’s decision was an understandable career move.
The residents of the Barbican Centre’s Cromwell Tower organised a demonstration outside magic circle firm Linklaters on Tuesday to protest against its diesel generator, which was installed in late March. Protestors claim that the firm is “prioritising their convenience over [resident] health”. The generator is used to power the London office’s lifts and air conditioning. […]
BT has further shrunk its panel for the third review in a row having appointed a total of 11 firms to its roster. The panel will run for three years and includes 10 firms that have been reappointed from 2020. Those continuing their relationship with BT after the latest review are the likes of Allen […]
Dentons has promoted 12 lawyers to partner in the UK, Ireland and Middle East (UKIME) this year, including nine partners in London. Of the remaining three promotions, two were made in Glasgow and one was made in Abu Dhabi. Most of the promotions have been made in the projects team, with Claudia Thomas and Graham […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has made up 23 lawyers to partner globally in its smallest round for three years. Last year, the magic circle promoted 30 to partnership worldwide, with 27 making the grade in 2022. There were 22 elevations in 2021. As a result, the London set is also slightly smaller than in previous years. […]
The Lawyer‘s Christian Smith, Catrin Griffiths, Richard Simmons, Katy Dowell and Charlotte Lear are joined by College of Legal Practice CEO Giles Proctor for this emergency episode of The Lawyer Podcast as they discuss the latest Solicitors Qualification Exam debacle: marking errors that led to 175 students being incorrectly told they had failed. What went […]
This report contains: five-year headcount growth analysis at the French firms in the European 100 an analysis of firms’ partnerships examining how long it takes to make partner at France’s elite firms
Read this report to gain insights into: The evolving role of in-house teams amidst market transformations Current attitudes and increased adoption of artificial intelligence tools Organizations’ continued emphasis on flexible working culture Projections for spend on external legal counsel over the next five years Enhanced feedback on quality of service from private practice law firms […]
This report contains: an overview of the history of UK and US firm in Russia an analysis of the opportunities, challenges and litigation brought on by sanctions regimes a summary of the firms acting in Russian litigation in London
This report contains: an analysis of 15 UK firms’ cash flow management and lock-up trends over the past five years lock-up correlated with profitability to demonstrate the impact of strong financial management for firms’ bottom line details on the adoption of technology by firms to make their financial management more efficient
This report contains: an overview of the international strategies of the Iberian firms in The Lawyer‘s European 100 an analysis of the expansion strategies of Spanish and Portuguese-heritage firms in key jurisdictions outside of Iberia
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Talent churn is accelerating among the junior ranks with today’s associates more mobile than the generations before them. The concept of long-term professional loyalty is fading as Gen Z rises. These lawyers ask not what they can do for you, but what your firm can do for them. This generational shift in working attitudes is […]
Hooray, big-ticket M&A is having a mini-revival and so are the firms that make so much of their money out of it. Already in 2024, major European M&A deals to have been announced include International Paper’s £5.8bn planned acquisition of London-listed packaging company DS Smith, which trumped another offer from rival Mondi. Other significant matters […]
On Tuesday last week (9 April), the SRA sought to quell a rising tide of discontent around the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). In its most recent SQE annual report, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said the public and profession could have “confidence” in this “rigorous assessment”. That confidence was short-lived. Yesterday (15 April), Philip was […]
For one firm, the pan-Nordic dream is dead. For another, it’s just begun. Hannes Snellman’s announcement that its Stockholm and Helsinki offices will be going their separate ways later this year represented the end of a strategic gamble that started 16 years ago. Back then, its leadership bet that opening in Stockholm (2008) and Copenhagen […]
It seems that one of the chief attributes of managing partners is wild optimism. You can’t move for law firm leaders committing their firms to hardcore five-year targets – particularly in the upper mid-tier, where we’re hearing of plans to double or even triple revenues by the end of the decade. We’d like some of […]
Fieldfisher is bolstering its German presence with a sizeable team from local firm SKW Schwartz and a handful of other hires, in an effort to expand its media, technology and IP offerings. The firm has hired eight lawyers from SKW Schwarz including partners Martin Diesbach, Elisabeth Noltenius and Julia Schafdecker, all of whom specialise in […]
Debevoise & Plimpton is hiring from Goodwin Procter as it adds a new partner to its London investment funds team. Shawn D’Aguiar is switching to a new US firm in London eight years after joining Goodwin from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM). He was part of a four-partner team move led by then funds head Michael […]
Barclays lost 44 lawyers in its legal team over 2023, almost four times the average number of leavers across the UK’s top banks. The banks with the second highest number of leavers is tied between HSBC and NatWest, with 12 lawyer exits each, according to indicative data. On the other end of the scale, Royal […]
CMS’s promotion numbers have ebbed slightly in its latest round seeing 10 elevated to the partnership in the UK and a total of 54 globally. In 2023, CMS promoted 65 lawyers to partner globally, with 16 of these in the UK, compared with 40 in mainland Europe. For this year the UK cohort is made […]
Another partner from Milbank’s financial restructuring team is set to leave the firm, this time joining Allen & Overy ahead of its merger with Shearman & Sterling. Karen McMaster is the latest partner loss from Milbank following last month’s news of a structured finance team led by partner John Goldfinch moving to Allen & Overy, soon […]
