2020 will go down in history as the year that traditional working models were torn apart by a global pandemic, which changed the way we work forever. As Horizon gets ready for a short two-week holiday (don’t worry, we’ll be back on 24 August), let’s take a moment to consider how the legal market has […]
If the UK’s largest firms went public, what could their market cap be? Here’s our predictions for this fantasy world of entirely-listed firms.
When we take a closer look at revenue per partner by region, it’s clear why strong bases in Asia Pacific and the US are essential.
The slow trickle of firms leaving the West End has been happening for some time: is the end in sight for W1 as a legal hotspot?
The digital financial services sector is prospering. TransferWise’s $319m share sale this week, led by D1 Capital Partners and Lone Pine Capital, indicates a 40 per cent increase in the valuation of the company compared to last year. Revolut’s $500m Series D funding in February valued the company at $5.5bn, the highest valued fintech company […]
As it seeks to assert itself deeper in the US market, Dentons has announced a tie-up with Utah-based Durham Jones & Pinegar. Dentons becomes the first global firm to lay down roots in Utah through the proposed combination with Salt Lake City headquartered Durham Jones & Pinegar. The moves comes as the latest step in its “Project […]
The High Court has granted Venezuela permission to appeal a judgment in the South American country’s dispute over whom the UK recognises as its president. The decision comes after Zaiwalla & Co brought legal proceedings on behalf of Nicolás Maduro’s government over reserves held by the Bank of England, represented by Herbert Smith Freehills. The […]
DLA Piper’s revenue for offices outside the Americas surpassed £1bn over 2019/20, while global turnover crept above £2.1bn. The firm’s latest accounts show that revenue for its international LLP, which covers all offices outside of the Americas, grew from £974m to nearly £1.1bn. DLA does not specify overall UK revenue, but its London office revenue […]
The global head of litigation at Allen & Overy (A&O) Karen Seward has called for a radical rethink of law firm life, insisting that “this is no time for the traditional coercive leadership model”. In a video interview for The Lawyer’s new Global Litigation 50 report, Seward argues that the experience of daily working life […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has lost significant ground in the global disputes market to its three magic circle rivals over the past five years despite making a series of international investments and partner hires, The Lawyer can reveal. In this year’s Global Litigation 50 report, which ranks the world’s leading disputes practices by the revenue they […]
White & Case has announced its retention rate for September 2020. Of a cohort of 24 trainees, 21 were offered newly-qualified (NQ) jobs at the firm, with all accepting. Two are on fixed-term contracts. Seven trainees will not qualify into London but instead will join offices across the firm’s international network, in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, […]
DLA Piper has hired former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Jonathan Earle, the firm’s second corporate hire in a matter of weeks. Earle left Gibson Dunn in January after more than five years at the US firm. He starts in September, with a focus on M&A across public takeovers and capital markets developed during his […]
With many UK firms still hitting the brake pedal in terms of hiring, their US counterparts are ramping up efforts to impose themselves further on London’s litigation scene, as noted by The Lawyer’s Global Litigation 50. As well as taking a retrospective look at hikes in headcount over the past 12 months, the report details […]
EY is pushing the expansion strategy of its legal arm with a third lateral from DLA Piper and the creation of a partner role to lead its growing managed services offering. This time, EY has picked up one more member of DLA’s projects practice, in the form of partner Dimitri Papaefstratiou. The energy expert has […]
Greenberg Traurig is planning its working future post-Covid-19, with ambitions to downsize some of the firm’s city offices potentially on the horizon. Speaking to The Lawyer for the Global Litigation 50 report, Greenberg’s executive chairman Richard Rosenbaum revealed that he would consider downsizing over the coming years, although this would not be in the’s firm’s […]
Keystone Law has concluded a convoluted process to launch a new office in Abu Dhabi, its first and long-in-the-making Middle East venture. The limited liability partnership Keystone Law Middle East LLP has now been approved by the Abu Dhabi Global Market, a local centre that houses three local authorities including the financial services regulator, the […]
A number of law firms have signed up to a new initiative encouraging the graduate recruitment industry to reduce its carbon footprint. The Sustainable Recruitment Alliance is the brainchild of magic circle firm Clifford Chance and communications agency Blackbridge. Six other law firms have so far signed up: Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Pinsent Masons, RPC, TLT […]
Hammerson, which has struggled to recoup rent owed by tenants, called upon Herbert Smith Freehills, CMS and Davis Polk & Wardwell as it pins its hopes upon a £800m raise to survive the crisis. Herbies took the lead for the shopping centre landlord, which has looked to restore its finances via an emergency rights issue […]
This week saw private equity house BC Partners make a nearly €3bn investment in Italian machinery business IMA, with firms including Kirkland & Ellis, NCTM and White & Case all bagging roles. IMA’s largest shareholder is Società Finanziaria Macchine Automatiche, which will be selling a 20 per cent shareholding to BC Partners. At a later […]
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and Mayer Brown acted on Link REIT’s £383.6m acquisition of 25 Cabot Square in Canary Wharf. The acquisition of the 17-floor office complex, which houses Morgan Stanley’s HQ, marks the Hong Kong-based investment trust’s entry into Europe. Mayer Brown acted for Link, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, led by […]
Following the UK Government’s investment in the front-runner coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, it has announced a new £100m cash boost to develop the infrastructure for a Covid-19 vaccine. Clifford Chance, Eversheds Sutherland and Travers Smith banded together on the Government’s investment in the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, to accelerate […]
Last week saw a restructuring in the leisure industry, as opposed to retail, with Macfarlanes on call for Buzz Bingo. The UK’s biggest omni-channel bingo business, Buzz agreed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), with Eversheds Sutherland advising on the real estate side. Buzz is owned by FTSE 250 investment company Caledonia Investments, which instructed Taylor […]
Addleshaw Goddard and Winckworth Sherwood are acting on the development of the £250m “Triangle” site on St Thomas’ hospital campus in London. Addleshaws team, helmed by construction and engineering partner Andrew McVeigh and co-head of the housing sector Peter Hardy, are leading for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation. The rest of the Addleshaws team […]
Firms will make smart choices when their next office move comes Attention has been focused on law firms’ own real estate ever since the pandemic began and there were plenty of developments this week, with Milbank delaying its office move to 100 Liverpool Street, Freshfields scheming how its move into 100 Bishopsgate will work, Stephenson Harwood […]
With plenty of students set to receive exam results over the next month, the SRA had its own news on how much it is likely to cost to qualify as a solicitor. These were the top five reads from this week. The path to the new SQE has been long – and widely debated It […]
Students are not having a great lockdown When an individual law firm gets into trouble, the wider profession usually rallies round to help its most junior members: trainees and law students. Case in point: KWM a few years back. But when the whole profession is going through difficult times it’s a slightly different situation and […]
Six of the country’s largest commercial barristers chambers are launching a mentoring scheme in a bid to tackle the ongoing problem of under-representation at the Bar. The project began in earnest in February, when representatives from the six largest commercial sets met together to discuss how the scheme could work. Under the initiative, members from […]
A partner at Debevoise & Plimpton has left the firm to join Twenty Essex, three years after joining the US firm. Wendy Miles QC will join the set after 24 years in private practice. She initially spent two years at Russell McVeagh before joining WilmerHale in 1999. She became a partner in 2005 and left […]
The commercial court is experiencing a significant hike in settlements, with the rate of parties reaching out-of-court agreements up by 15 per cent. The court’s analysis revealed that this year’s settlement rate is close to 75 per cent, as opposed to a normal percentage that sits between 60 and 65 per cent. The figures, as […]
Five funds and corporate lawyers have joined K&L Gates’ Hong Kong office as Orrick’s Hong Kong base shuts its doors. The team moving to K&L Gates is led by Orrick Hong Kong funds partners Sook Young Yeu and Scott Peterman. Of counsel William Ho has also joined K&L Gates as a partner, along with two […]
Litigation funder Omni Bridgeway has teamed up with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to fund proposed litigation brought on behalf of shareholders of Wirecard. The litigation, which is being considered against EY, follows the insolvency of Wirecard in June after allegations of balance sheet manipulation. Senior executives and leadership at Wirecard were also arrested on […]
Ashurst saw the upward momentum it achieved over 2018/19 lag this year, with average profit per equity partner (PEP) dropping by 7 per cent. Described by Ashurst’s managing partner Paul Jenkins as “a year of consolidation”, the firm’s PEP decreased from £972,000 to £903,000. This pushes it further back from the £1m mark that Jenkins […]
Baker McKenzie has deepened its relationship with existing Chinese ally FenXun Partners, by adding the Chinese firm to its global network as a Swiss verein member. Baker McKenzie and FenXun first joined forces in 2015, when the two formed the first joint operation office (JOO) under Shanghai’s new free trade zone pilot scheme. Since then, […]
Pinsent Masons’ flexible resourcing service Vario has brought in the German leadership duo of rival Lawyers On Demand (LOD), as the latter prepares to shut down in the region. Vario, whose turnover is understood to have grown by 30 per cent in the last financial year from £14m to an estimated £18m, has hired Carl […]
Easter weekend in Belgrade. Late on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday, thousands of people would normally congregate in front of the Church of Saint Sava to celebrate the Holy Fire ceremony and the beginning of the Orthodox Easter. But this year the city was silent. The usual kissing of icons during […]
Luxembourg is well placed to continue to prosper, despite the impending recession and Brexit, with law firms predicted to grow as the fintech revolution gathers pace
Countries such as South Africa, Nigeria and Botswana are promoting and regulating more and more exchanges, as the need for capital-raising grows on this diverse continent
An unprecedented level of activity in transport, energy and defence is testing the skill sets of Israeli lawyers and attracting the interest of international firms
Kirkland & Ellis has lost its second partner in a matter of weeks, this time to US rival Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. The US firm has hired finance partner Ben Myers from the London outpost of the rival. He spent a number of years at Kirkland, where he had moved from the magic circle. As […]
DLA Piper has recruited long-standing Mayer Brown partner Jane Childs to its insurance and reinsurance disputes team. Childs, who was at Mayer Brown for 17 years and has been a partner since 2006, will head up DLA’s international team focused on financial lines insurance disputes. It sits within the firm’s wider insurance and reinsurance disputes […]
Herbert Smith Freehills has restated its ambitions to grow its private equity team in the City, by hiring a partner from Kirkland & Ellis’ City team. David D’Souza joins Herbert Smith as its second corporate hire in just over a month. He has been a partner at Kirkland & Ellis since July 2018, having spent […]
Orrick’s former London managing partner Kolvin Stone has moved back to Fox Williams, a firm that he left nearly a decade ago. Stone, who also led the European branch of Orrick’s cybersecurity and data privacy group, worked at Fox Williams between 1999 and 2010, at which point he left for the US firm. As well […]
Building on previous hires in the infrastructure space, Latham & Watkins has added a new partner from Omers’ in-house team. The US firm has hired John Guccione from Omers Infrastructure, where he was a managing director in the legal team. He joined in 2010 when the business was still called Borealis. Prior to that he […]
Cahill Gordon & Reindel, which has been on the lookout to expand its City office, has hired two partners from Allen & Overy’s finance team. Global head of A&O’s leveraged finance practice Jonathan Brownson will join the US firm in September alongside Jake Keaveny, who returns to Cahill after six years. Keaveney formerly practised at […]
On 29th April 2020, following the decision in the case of R v Barton and Booth [2020] EWCA Crim 575, the Court of Appeal identified that the two-limb test for dishonesty as identified in the case Ghosh, is no longer the approach to be taken.
Entities regulated under the Insurance Law will need to implement cybersecurity measures in proportion to their cyber risk profile by 27 November 2020 following the release of the Rule and Statement of Guidance on Cybersecurity for Regulated Entities by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority on 27 May 2020.
The Tesco group shareholder action is due to go to trial at the High Court in October 2020. The trial is eagerly anticipated but it remains to be seen whether it will go ahead. Jonny Mitchell and Janine Alexander give their thoughts.
The German regulator BaFin is being sued for abuse of authority following one of the biggest fraud scandals of the decade with German payment processor, Wirecard AG, filing for insolvency owing €3.5bn and its chief executive arrested on suspicion of accounting fraud and market manipulation. This article explores the situation and considers the need for change.
It has been undeniable for some time that technology will play a key role in the ongoing evolution of arbitration as the field becomes an increasingly popular method of dispute resolution. As far back as 2004 the ICC Commission on Arbitration was reporting on the subject, with a focus on a solution which we take […]
Nowhere near enough homes in the right places – just one of the failings of the current planning system according to the Prime Minister in his foreword to the new White Paper: Planning for the Future released on 6 August.
The Government has published its long-awaited white paper on planning reform, which seeks views on 24 proposals. In this legal insight we look at the key areas that have been targeted for reform.
As organisations collect more consumer data during COVID-19, how can they protect it? Peter Yapp gives his insights.
By Rob Humphries The Monetary Authority (Administrative Fines) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (the “Amendment Regulations”) came into force on 26 June 2020. The Amendment Regulations serve to amend Schedule 1 of the Monetary Authority (Administrative Fines) Regulations (2019 Revision) (the “Fines Regulations”) and extend the scope of the fines which may be levied by the Cayman […]
There is a huge amount of interest in hemp cultivation, both for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, and for industrial use, in particular, the production of fibre, seeds and other products linked to agro-industry. As a consequence, the Government has legislated to positively discriminate in favour of the production of hemp for industrial purposes, to remove the risk of illegal practices.
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) has updated its Rule and Statement of Guidance – Cybersecurity for Regulated Entities following feedback received during a private sector consultation.
As we emerge into a post-pandemic world every industry will need to take stock, evaluating the changes that are here to stay and the adaptations we need to make to suit the new environment. Craig Cordle examines the developments and resilience of Guernsey’s funds industry.