Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this edition we take a look at the third generation of De Brauw’s private equity group and how domestic and regional firms in Ukraine may look to reshape after the war. De Brauw has entered […]
Litigation firm CANDEY appears before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) this week, alongside former partner Richard Morris, over allegations of anti-money-laundering (AML) failures. The matter regards a £24m deal for a Northumberland country estate in 2015. No actual fraud or money-laundering has been identified. The SRA alleges that the firm and Morris, who left for […]
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which up until 18 months ago had steered clear of the lateral hiring market, has added a new London partner from Kirkland & Ellis. Alexander van der Gaag is joining Cleary from Kirkland’s debt finance team. He worked at Kirkland for nine years, arriving as an associate from Baker McKenzie. […]
Clarke Willmott is assessing the environmental footprint of its offices, with the firm collecting information on its staff’s route to work and an expected relocation in Cardiff. The firm is gathering data from its employees to improve the accuracy of emissions data that the firm holds. A survey has been created with the firm’s consultants, […]
An Osborne Clarke partner is being referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) following a formal complaint made by Clifford Chance’s former UK tax head. In July 2022, ex-Clifford Chance partner Dan Neidle made headlines for a series of posts on the tax arrangements of leading Conservative politicians, including Nadhim Zahawi. He claimed that Zahawi had […]
Simmons & Simmons represented Barclays Bank in an $150m anti-suit and anti-enforcement injunction against Russian state investment bank, VEB. VEB was founded in 1922 as the first international bank of the USSR, and since 2018 it has been chaired by the country’s former deputy prime minister under Putin, Igor Shuvalov. The bank was represented by […]
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has increased its salary for newly-qualified solicitors (NQs) to £180,000. The US disputes specialist’s other associate salaries will also rise when the move takes effect from June. A 1 PQE associate is set to be paid £195,000, while a 2 PQE associate will be on £220,000. For 6 PQE associates, […]
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has lost its UK head of competition, a year and a half after he joined the firm. Lambros Kilaniotis left the firm in April, having joined Quinn from RPC (where he was head of competition) in January 2023 to co-head Quinn’s UK competition practice with partner Kate Vernon. In a […]
The latest episode of The Lawyer Podcast is out now. Last week, all eyes were on A&O Shearman, a union hailing Big Law and its future. But in this week’s episode, we consider why so many solicitors are pursuing another future: opening their own firm. A survey from Censuswide on behalf of Harbour Litigation Funding […]
Hill Dickinson has secured another team hire, taking a group of six from Clyde & Co in Newcastle. Shipping partner Stephen Mackin has made the move along with five other colleagues. Mackin joined Clyde & Co in 2017, before which he spent nearly 25 years at Eversheds Sutherland. A former seafarer himself, Mackin specialises in […]
A senior member of Travers Smith’s corporate group has left for Linklaters, after a string of departures from both firms. Richard Spedding has left the firm for Linklaters after 25 years at Travers, making partner in 2003. Working in M&A and equity capital markets, Spedding was also an associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for five […]
NatWest’s general counsel – and Linklaters’ former managing partner – Gideon Moore has left the bank after two years, making way for a new chief. Moore has been replaced by NatWest’s litigation general counsel Will Luker. He has worked at the bank since 2003, became litigation general counsel in 2010 and subsequently managed and integrated […]
In 2016 Global 200 billings totalled $128.4bn – a 3 per cent increase on 2015’s $124.4bn. A large part of that growth is thanks to six ambitious firms.
If settlements are conducted behind closed doors then they seldom achieve the attention and excitement of the cases that make it to trial, for the fact there is no binary winner or loser. That may have to change, because so far, three of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases for this year have settled.
We recall the story of an ambitious firm caught out by the recession, as it emerges that eight former Cobbetts lawyers have been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
Clifford Chance partners have voted to extend the firm’s lockstep ladder once again this week. But who is going to benefit from this change?
As far as litigation is concerned, settlements are supposed to be the gentle way out. But in the case between the Libyan Investment Authority and Societe Generale, it has come to signify the end of one headache and the beginning of another.
Last year Ashurst’s mounting partner exits signalled serious trouble within its ranks. But as firms prepare to release their year-end financials, the consensus is that the storm at Ashurst has calmed. Will it last?
Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling officially tie the knot today after a year of client discussions, integration planning and team introductions. The firm brings together nearly 4,000 lawyers, including 800 partners, with combined revenues of approximately $3.5bn. It had long been the plan of A&O’s outgoing senior partner Wim Dejonghe to develop a […]
If there’s any confirmation needed that A&O is in the driving seat of the Shearman merger, it’s this: the new senior and managing partner positions at the merged firm will be voted on only by A&O partners. But long term, Philip Bowden and Angela Clist (those are our picks; other candidates are available) will have […]
CMS is set to add two Swedish offices to its network after joining forces with a local firm. The merger with Stockholm-headquartered Wistrand will give the firm offices in both Sweden’s capital and its second city of Gothenburg. The announcement comes nearly two years after CMS announced its tie-up with Norwegian firm Kluge. Wistrand was […]
The following is a list of mergers and acquisitions made by law firms since 2009. It is impossible to make such a list completely exhaustive but it contains the majority of mergers involving UK200 firms, as well as the major tie-ups between large firms in the United States of America. The UK200 rank and revenue […]
Merger negotiations between two firms of different sizes can be a tricky process. Here, a number of mid-tier managing partners give their view on how to win the hearts of potential smaller matches when on the acquisition trail.
In what is the most significant merger deal to be achieved by a magic circle firm, Allen & Overy is to combine with Shearman & Sterling after a successful partnership vote. The voting started on 28 September with the polls having closed today. The firms said more than 99 per cent of the votes cast […]
Today’s the day: will Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling vote to merge, or have efforts by both firms’ management failed to convince the naysayers? Unlike the excitement of a day’s General Election, both sides are being very lawyerly about it and can ponder for two whole weeks. The vote closes on 13 […]
Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling will have two weeks to cast their vote on a crucial tie-up deal for both firms. Voting starts on 28 September and the polls will close on 13 October. Both firms need approvals of 75 per cent in favour of the merger to proceed. There was another vote […]
Irwin Mitchell has secured a tie-up with one of Scotland’s independent firms, in a week that has also seen the long-discussed merger of domestic players Morton Fraser and MacRoberts. Following on from Morton Fraser and MacRoberts’ merger deal, Irwin Mitchell has snapped up Wright Johnston & Mackenzie, causing further disruption to the nation’s legal market. […]
Scottish firms Morton Fraser and MacRoberts are going ahead with one of the longest-discussed mergers in the history of the Scottish legal market, The Lawyer can exclusively reveal. The deal is broadly seen as a merger of equals, at least in terms of revenue size. In last year’s The Independents UK 200 report, Morton Fraser […]
DAC Beachcroft has formed an association with an independent Singapore firm that had previously worked in tandem with Ince’s international network. DACB has teamed up with Incisive Law, a local firm that was known up until earlier this year as Ince Singapore. Incisive Law had been allied with Ince since 2011, but it cut ties […]
The sale of DWF to private equity house Inflexion has so far racked up a combined legal bill exceeding £3m. According to public documents, DWF estimates that its legal advice fees will total £1.3m. This is far lower than its expected expenses for financial and corporate broking advice of £5.1m. DWF is set to leave […]
Revenue at Reed Smith’s London office has tumbled for a second year in a row, yet the firm expects an uptick soon as investments begin to “bear fruit”. Reed Smith’s London office revenue dropped 6.3 per cent to $214.4m in 2023 from $228.8m the previous year, while revenue per lawyer (RPL) also dipped by 4.9 […]
With the 2023/24 financial year-end just days away, law firm leaders are doing everything they can to make sure no bill is left unsent and no debt is left uncollected. For many firms, that process will include turning to a raft of new technology solutions to try and speed up the cashflow process. However, at an […]
3 Paper Buildings’ revenue has grown by 17.8 per cent to £35.8m over the past financial year. The national set’s nearly 18 per cent rise over the 2023/24 period from £30.4m swamps its rise of 5 per cent the previous financial year. The set’s ‘receipts’, or its money received, saw a 14.3 per cent rise from […]
German firm Noerr has announced its financial results for 2023, marking a significant point in its history as having generated more €300m in its domestic market for the first time. Globally the firm generated €333.1m across all its offices. The results marked an increase of 5.7 per cent on 2022, when the firm achieved a […]
As US firms pile in to report their 2023 financials, Cooley has announced its London office turnover rose to over $100m last year. The firm increased its City revenue by 8 per cent to $103.1m, having fallen to $95.2m the prior year. This isn’t the first time the firm has generated over $100m in London. […]
White & Case has posted a small dip in its London turnover for 2023, while the firm’s global results rose to just shy of $3bn. London revenue totalled $444m for the 2023 financial year, a 1.5 per cent drop from the previous year’s $451m, bringing the firm back down to 2021 levels. The firm’s new […]
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has drafted in the former M&A head of Shearman & Sterling’s Italian associate firm to rebuild its transactional capacity in the country. Fabio Fauceglia joins the firm from Studio Legale Associato Shearman & Sterling, bringing with him a team of six lawyers, comprising of counsel Leonardo Pinta and five associates. Fauceglia […]
Clifford Chance has hired a structured finance partner from A&O Shearman after the two firms’ merger last week. Daniel Shurman joins Clifford Chance in London from legacy Allen & Overy, becoming a partner in its derivatives and structured products practice. Emma Matebalavu, global head of financial markets, commented: “Daniel’s appointment is a testament to our commitment to […]
Davis Polk & Wardwell has recruited from Paul Hastings’s finance team, expanding its partnership ranks in the City to nine. The small City outfit has hired Luke McDougall from Paul Hastings. McDougall focuses on UK and cross-border acquisition finance and restructuring, acting for senior lenders, junior lenders and borrower groups on a variety of capital […]
A week after losing a private equity duo, Travers Smith is set for another partner exit – this time from its infrastructure finance team to Sidley Austin. Partner Ben Thompson has exited the firm and is joining Sidley Austin. Thompson joined the firm in September 2021 from Weil Gotshal & Manges, where he was a […]
The head of Shearman & Sterling’s association firm in Italy has left to join White & Case.
White & Case has hired a partner from Linklaters’ corporate practice in the latest move from the magic circle firm. Savi Hebbur joins White & Case’s London office. He acts on M&A deals and is also set to expand the firm’s India country practice. White & Case global M&A head John Reiss said: “Indian companies remain […]
Global business is increasingly familiar with the prospect of short-notice public investigatory attention, whether from regulators, law enforcement, political forces or as a consequence of sanctions, and this can – in in some cases – devastate individual and corporate reputation.
Despite the fact that the threat of an investigation alone can be enough to paralyse a business, early warning signs are often missed and businesses can mistake an investigation risk for a reputation risk. Those who handle serious issues well are able to triage the issue at an early stage and identify its potential impact, […]
Analysis of recent fines suggests that environmental prosecutions are resulting in more substantial fines, especially for ‘very large organisations’.
On September 22, 2021, the Quebec government adopted Bill 64, An Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information, enacting significant changes to the requirements governing the use and protection of personal information under various statutes, including notably the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector and the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information.
The Data Protection Authority in Hungary (Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság), recently published its annual report which included details of a fine of €670,000 (HUF 250,000,000) being imposed on a bank. To date, this fine is the highest imposed by the Hungarian Authority.
Environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) alongside sustainability are hot topics in business right now. Employees are increasingly scrutinising what employers are doing to promote sustainability, not least in the benefits they offer.
In this podcast, Gowling joins leading global infrastructure and renewables market analysts Inspiratia to discuss innovation in the UK power purchase agreement (PPA) market, and whether the prices we see today are transitionary and if so, how PPAs can make such prices sustainable and meet the ever-changing needs of both offtakers and sellers.
Angolan Central Bank (Banco Nacional de Angola) Notice no. 9/22 of 6 April was recently published to establish special schemes for mortgage credit and construction credit.
After a challenging year, UK cities are gaining foreign investment and developing their presence on the global stage. How has the pandemic, COP-26 and officially leaving the EU impacted the value of investment in the UK from a global standpoint?
On April 7, 2022, Ontario released its first-ever Hydrogen Strategy (the Ontario Strategy), making it the latest province to address Canadian hydrogen sector growth through policy.
Ferry company P&O hit the headlines last month when it made 800 workers redundant via an online video call and with almost no notice.
Build to rent is a rapidly growing sector – and one with a lot of potential for developers and investors.