HM Revenue and Customs has issued a winding-up petition against Fletcher Day, The Lawyer has learnt. The Lawyer understands that administrators for the firm have not yet been appointed. Fletcher Day’s website is currently unavailable and is only described “currently under maintenance”. The London-based commercial and family practice is the latest small firm to have either […]
We often hear the phrase ‘think like a lawyer’ but what does it really mean? Most would say it means paying attention to detail, skill at making an argument, a drive for perfection, an obsession for detail, analysing risk and all possible outcomes, preparing for the worst. All these skills make an excellent lawyer but […]
I’ve been reflecting on the journey and sacrifice aspiring lawyers make to qualify as solicitors or barristers in England and Wales. Many of my friends and peers are still in the trenches fighting for their legal dream, so I want to take this opportunity to highlight the modern struggles of aspiring lawyers in 2023. The […]
In January 2016, The Lawyer embarked on a new project. We found five fresh-faced young newly-qualified solicitors and decided to follow them in their careers. Seven years on, we are revisiting them to find out how they are doing. Five is an admittedly small sample size, but their fates to date make for interesting reading. […]
HM Revenue and Customs has issued a winding-up petition against Fletcher Day, The Lawyer has learnt. The Lawyer understands that administrators for the firm have not yet been appointed. Fletcher Day’s website is currently unavailable and is only described “currently under maintenance”. The London-based commercial and family practice is the latest small firm to have either […]
We often hear the phrase ‘think like a lawyer’ but what does it really mean? Most would say it means paying attention to detail, skill at making an argument, a drive for perfection, an obsession for detail, analysing risk and all possible outcomes, preparing for the worst. All these skills make an excellent lawyer but […]
I’ve been reflecting on the journey and sacrifice aspiring lawyers make to qualify as solicitors or barristers in England and Wales. Many of my friends and peers are still in the trenches fighting for their legal dream, so I want to take this opportunity to highlight the modern struggles of aspiring lawyers in 2023. The […]
In January 2016, The Lawyer embarked on a new project. We found five fresh-faced young newly-qualified solicitors and decided to follow them in their careers. Seven years on, we are revisiting them to find out how they are doing. Five is an admittedly small sample size, but their fates to date make for interesting reading. […]
While the gender debate rages on between family and friends, on social media and now in the workplace, a growing number of women have been fighting their employers tooth-and-nail over the right to hold gender-critical beliefs without being subject to workplace discrimination. In 2021, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that think-tank researcher Maya Forstater […]
We’re all watching eagerly for the changes coming at Allen & Overy on 1 May as its merger with Shearman & Sterling finally goes live. But Addleshaws has its own significant change that day. Next Wednesday, Andrew Johnston will officially kick off his tenure as managing partner with longstanding incumbent John Joyce stepping aside. Addleshaws […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
On Monday, an explosive trial between IBM UK and Swiss software developer LzLabs is set to commence for nine weeks, with Quinn Emanuel and Clifford Chance going head-to-head for their respective clients. Quinn Emanuel-backed IBM brought the lawsuit in 2021, alleging it is “inconceivable” that LzLabs could have developed its rival technology – which can […]
Northern firm Ward Hadaway is actively exploring mergers and expansion opportunities in England as it targets £100m revenue by 2034. The firm generated approximately £48m in the 2023/24 financial year, which means it is looking to grow approximately 100 per cent within a decade. A shorter term target of reaching £75m by 2029 has also […]
Linklaters and Slaughter and May are leading on BHP’s mega-offer for rival mining company Anglo American. It emerged this morning that Australian giant BHP had put forward an unsolicited proposal to Anglo American If the deal went ahead, it would be valued at around £31bn. Linklaters is on call for Anglo American as it discusses […]
The ex-general counsel of Haleon has announced that he has joined energy and chemicals business Aramco, which is based in Saudi Arabia. Bjarne Tellman was hired by GSK four years ago to prepare the company for the creation of Haleon, one of the UK’s largest corporate demergers in 20 years. The purpose of the demerger […]
The wait is finally over. In just under a week, the transformational merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling will go live. But while the deal is done, the job is only just beginning. On this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, editor Catrin Griffiths and litigation editor Christian Smith look at how the […]
