Shifting sands in the UAE as international firms pull back
An unstable Middle East has led several international firms to downsize, creating opportunities for local leaders
HSF has sidestepped the talent wars
There’s no doubt that firms are using non-UK growth to power their global figures. Of the 35 Top 50 firms for which The Lawyer has historical global revenue data, all but four saw higher growth outside the UK in the five years since 2019. Included in this group is Herbert Smith Freehillls (HSF), where London remains […]
PE acquirers should target these three firms
Which law firms are private equity houses looking to invest in? The answer, if the conversations we’re having with managing partners are anything to go by, is ‘pretty much all of them’. Most regional firms of note have had speculative approaches at some time in the last five years or so, as private equity gradually […]
Who’s in and who’s out at Barclays
Barclays’ legal team was once among the most influential in the UK. That power has diminished over the last decade, yet the banking giant still packs a punch when it comes to talent management. Some 40 lawyers are understood to have left Barclays in the UK last year. There are cost-cutting measures at play here, […]
The platform firm has moved mainstream
Keystone Law, the poster child for the platform firm, is likely to break the psychologically important £100m revenue barrier in 2025. The success of this firm has spawned a new market, which is challenging traditional firms on the talent front. More than 3,500 lawyers now work across a variety of fee-sharing outfits, research from Atlas […]
Don’t wait for the climate crisis to come to you
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Gowling WLG and Norton Rose Fulbright’s London offices will all be under water in a few decades. This trio shares idyllic views overlooking the Thames, but they will all be submerged in the river by the year 2100 as climate change-induced sea level rises occur. And this is based on the […]
Travers duo exit for Goodwin
A duo from Travers Smith is leaving for Goodwin Procter, as exits from the UK firm’s corporate team continue. Partners Ian Keefe and George Weavil are joining Goodwin’s private equity team. Their arrivals follow the exit of a team from Goodwin to Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, led by partner Christian Iwasko. Both Weavil […]
Supreme Court tells Gazprom subsidiary to halt UniCredit claim
The Supreme Court has upheld an anti-suit injunction against a Gazprom subsidiary, potentially halting €440m proceedings in Russia. The Gazprom part-owned special purpose entity, RusChemAlliance (RCA), had brought a damages claim against the bank UniCredit in Russia concerning an aborted contract following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. UniCredit instructed Latham & Watkins in its pursuit of […]
CMS’s outgoing senior partner to join World Bank
CMS senior partner Penelope Warne has revealed her next steps ahead of her departure from the firm at the end of the month. After 10 years at the helm, Warne is spearheading a project that she founded at the World Bank, via her own company, which promotes the rule of law and access to justice, […]
Freshfields partner to join Slaughters’ pensions team
Slaughter and May is to add another senior lawyer to its pensions team in the City, this time from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Charles Magoffin, a partner at Freshfields since 2010, is joining Slaughters as a senior counsel from September. Slaughters has still only ever made one lateral hire in the City, also into its pensions […]
Post Office scandal sparks review of litigation funding
Litigation funders will be keeping a close eye on an upcoming review into third-party funding regulation, proposed caps on returns, as well as litigation costs. The Civil Justice Council is looking to produce a full report by the summer of 2025. The review follows an increased focus on litigation funders and their role in disputes, […]
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