liverpool street london

Willkie lures new recruit from Latham

Willkie Farr & Gallagher is set to bolster its London ranks by hiring a high-profile restructuring partner from Latham & Watkins. Simon Baskerville has spent nearly eight years as a partner at Latham & Watkins and served as the global vice chair of restructuring and special situations. He previously trained at Ashurst and was given […]

Warsaw Poland

Schoenherr doubles Polish presence with 23-lawyer raid

CEE firm Schoenherr will double the size of its Warsaw office after hiring a team of 23 lawyers from a domestic Polish firm. This marks the second sizeable team hire by an Austrian headquartered law firm in 2023. The hire includes seven partners, all hailing from Polish national firm SSW Pragmatic Solutions. They are capital […]

Steve Cooke Slaughter and May

Slaughters’ chief lines up post-leadership role

The senior partner of Slaughter and May is set to move to Brunswick when his term ends next year. Steve Cooke will join the advisory group in May 2023 as a partner. At Brunswick, Cooke will advise clients in the UK and globally on a range of matters including M&A, crisis, disputes and litigation. The […]

movie clap

Once more, with feeling: sort out your cash collection

A toxic combination of rising costs has put working capital levels under pressure. The gauge will rise as firms adjust to a new tax regime that prevents them from holding onto taxable profits generated by equity partners for almost two years. Traditionally that pot of cash yielded high interest rates and it could be put […]

roulette gambling

In court this week: Entain, first class action settlement, and P&I Club

CPS reaches first DPA agreement with Entain The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and betting and gaming giant Entain will attend a public hearing on Tuesday (5 December) to receive court approval for Entain to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the CPS.  DPAs are court-endorsed agreements that provide a company with certainty that […]

movie clap

Once more, with feeling: sort out your cash collection

A toxic combination of rising costs has put working capital levels under pressure. The gauge will rise as firms adjust to a new tax regime that prevents them from holding onto taxable profits generated by equity partners for almost two years. Traditionally that pot of cash yielded high interest rates and it could be put […]

Shares stocks

Listed firms are fading

Listed firms once claimed to be pioneering a new style of firm. But the four outfits currently in this misshapen gang (and former members DWF and Ince Group), have had their fair share of shakes and wobbles. They must satisfy two distinct audiences. On one hand there are equity partners, and on the other the […]

Get yourself a sustainability head

If you haven’t got a head of sustainability, you’re increasingly in the minority. For the last three years, law firms have been jumping on this trend: since 2021, no fewer than 27 firms have appointed a sustainability or ESG leader. Looking at where all these green gurus have come from is an interesting exercise in […]

Analysis

How not to lose your associates

The exits we saw last year may have slowed a little since the most recent salary war cooled down, but the wider trend is one that dates back years: workers are less loyal than they used to be. Law firms are finding it increasingly difficult to retain their associates at a time when employers offer […]

WhatsApp-ing clients: fair or foul?

Do you WhatsApp your clients? It’s a more divisive question than you might expect. According to a recent poll of conducted by The Lawyer on LinkedIn, while 66 per cent of fee-earners don’t use the messaging service for this purpose, 34 per cent do. And it’s not split along seniority lines: partners, associates, trainees and […]

Beyond the Bubble: Even managing partners need a side-hustle

West Midlands: Everyone’s all about the wellbeing now, but some aspects of it are harder to crack than others – not least, the increasing prevalence of technology in our lives. Lawyers in particular are often desk-bound or required to constantly check their smartphone, and work long into the night in front of a laptop. But […]

Latest Lateral Hires

London bishopsgate

Akin duo leave for Latham after 10 months

Two partners from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld have left the firm, having joined 10 months ago to build out its private credit credentials. Fergus Wheeler and Paul Yin are moving to Latham & Watkins. Wheeler’s move to Akin from White & Case was announced in January, followed by the news a month later […]

Latest Opinion

COP28: Advised emissions – will lawyers be heroes or villains?

A scene from the westerns and cartoons of my childhood keeps playing in my mind. A trail of gunpowder leads to kegs of dynamite. The fuse is lit. Will the hero put the fuse out before the whole thing blows sky high? It’s a race against time. What are advised emissions anyway? Advised emissions begins […]

In-house

Nomura-backed Laser Digital unveils first panel

Four core firms have won places on the inaugural legal panel of Laser Digital, a digital asset business backed by Nomura. The company has named Allen & Overy, Simmons & Simmons, Ashurst, and Jones Day to its roster. Ehsan Haque, head of legal and compliance UK at Laser Digital, ran the panel process with input […]

BSH’s legal chief on dismantling stigma around Aspergers

Kevin Athow’s first job was making snooker tables in a factory in Lincolnshire. He later worked as a roadie, touring with bands for seven years. His first foray into law was during jury service, which inspired him to qualify as a barrister at 32. As routes in-house go, his is up there with the unconventional. […]

Lesley Wan

All Africa Capital hires new GC

Lesley Wan will join All Africa Capital from First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Bank as general counsel and company secretary. The GC held the role at FBN since April 2018, and previously worked as corporate counsel at Lloyds Banking Group for 11 years. Her first move in-house was to Bayerische Landesbank in 2005. She trained […]

Latest Litigation Tracker News

I'm new, hires

The Hearing: A&O joins the litigation hiring spree

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your insider’s guide to the UK Litigation market. This week, the FCA’s new sustainability rules will bring more work for disputes lawyers, why BCLP should love its litigators more, and a lovely case of mistaken identity. But first, you may have seen yesterday’s Horizon on litigation growth […]

building construction

Claim Spotter: Network Rail and Homes England face procurement suit

Procurement spat brews  Network Rail Infrastructure and Homes England have been hit with a claim filed in the Technology and Construction Court by Aviva Capital Partners. The suit, filed by DLA Piper, has been listed as a Part 7 Claim – procurement. Aviva invests in regeneration projects, public sector partnerships to support innovation, as well […]

Talent

Balancing work and parenting: what can we do?

We’ve just launched Partnerless, a new email specifically for associates. Sign up here for weekly career intelligence and market chatter. I snapped a picture last week, my little girl Sophie, decided she was now bored of me working, comes to sit on my knee and starts typing on my keyboard. She’s got her baby doll […]

How not to lose your associates

The exits we saw last year may have slowed a little since the most recent salary war cooled down, but the wider trend is one that dates back years: workers are less loyal than they used to be. Law firms are finding it increasingly difficult to retain their associates at a time when employers offer […]

moving quickly

Presentation skills for lawyers: Know your pace

The great thing about quotes is that they hang around, just waiting for the right occasion! So I’m going to lift this one which I will use to illustrate the theme of this month’s article. It comes from a certain John Martins Jr; “Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each […]