Clifford Chance lances the boil with lockstep review
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?
Cybersecurity: what more can law firms do?
The NHS breach last week has – once again – highlighted the importance of cybersecurity in large organisations. Where are law firms at right now, and what more can they do to protect themselves? The Lawyer gathered a panel of experts to discuss the issues.
Bakers, Eversheds and Latham top firm app rankings
Baker McKenzie, Eversheds Sutherland, Latham & Watkins and Paul Hastings are the firms developing the most mobile phone apps for their businesses, a new ranking shows.
High Court declares BHS buyer Retail Acquisitions insolvent
The High Court today declared that Retail Acquisitions, the company that bought British Home Stores (BHS) in 2015 for £1, has officially been put into liquidation.
Simpson Thacher rejigs London management for first time in a decade
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has announced a changing of the guard in its London office, with ex-Clifford Chance partner Jason Glover taking on the top role.
Barclays exodus: 44 lawyers leave as strategic overhaul kicks in
Barclays lost 44 lawyers in its legal team over 2023, almost four times the average number of leavers across the UK’s top banks. The banks with the second highest number of leavers is tied between HSBC and NatWest, with 12 lawyer exits each, according to indicative data. On the other end of the scale, Royal […]
CMS unveils 54-strong promotions round
CMS’s promotion numbers have ebbed slightly in its latest round seeing 10 elevated to the partnership in the UK and a total of 54 globally. In 2023, CMS promoted 65 lawyers to partner globally, with 16 of these in the UK, compared with 40 in mainland Europe. For this year the UK cohort is made […]
Another Milbank leaver exits for A&O
Another partner from Milbank’s financial restructuring team is set to leave the firm, this time joining Allen & Overy ahead of its merger with Shearman & Sterling. Karen McMaster is the latest partner loss from Milbank following last month’s news of a structured finance team led by partner John Goldfinch moving to Allen & Overy, soon […]
HSF promotions: Eight make the grade in London
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has promoted 27 lawyers to partnership, with eight making the grade in London. This year’s cohort is smaller than last year, when 32 promotions were announced, but it brings the figure back in line with pre-pandemic rounds. Over half of this year’s cohort has been promoted in the UK and Australia, […]
1
SQE fiasco as Kaplan wrongly tells 175 students they failed
Nearly 200 law students were incorrectly told they had failed their first set of Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) exams, in what the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has called “the most serious operational mistake that we’ve made in the last two and half years.” Kaplan, the exam administrator for the SQE, has […]
The new Russian litigators
This report contains: an overview of the history of UK and US firm in Russia an analysis of the opportunities, challenges and litigation brought on by sanctions regimes a summary of the firms acting in Russian litigation in London
The impact of tech on financial management
This report contains: an analysis of 15 UK firms’ cash flow management and lock-up trends over the past five years lock-up correlated with profitability to demonstrate the impact of strong financial management for firms’ bottom line details on the adoption of technology by firms to make their financial management more efficient
How Iberian firms are deploying their international strategies
This report contains: an overview of the international strategies of the Iberian firms in The Lawyer‘s European 100 an analysis of the expansion strategies of Spanish and Portuguese-heritage firms in key jurisdictions outside of Iberia
The Scottish legal market in 2024
This report contains: an analysis of the Scottish legal market as a whole, covering key locations and sectors the challenges and opportunities of doing business in the country analysis of the Scottish independent firms’ efficiency
Under the hood: Quinn Emanuel’s London Office
This report contains: a look at the profitability and growth of Quinn Emanuel’s London office since its opening in 2008 an analysis of Quinn’s bench strength and how it weighs up against competitors an overview of Quinn’s practice in London
Find legal roles
Make your next move with The Lawyer Careers. Search and apply for thousands of vacancies, or receive email alerts for new roles when they go live. Whether you're looking at private practice, in-house legal or an exciting business support role, you'll find your future here.
Search vacancies
The SRA is on the ropes
On Tuesday last week (9 April), the SRA sought to quell a rising tide of discontent around the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). In its most recent SQE annual report, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said the public and profession could have “confidence” in this “rigorous assessment”. That confidence was short-lived. Yesterday (15 April), Philip was […]
Some firms have all the luck
For one firm, the pan-Nordic dream is dead. For another, it’s just begun. Hannes Snellman’s announcement that its Stockholm and Helsinki offices will be going their separate ways later this year represented the end of a strategic gamble that started 16 years ago. Back then, its leadership bet that opening in Stockholm (2008) and Copenhagen […]
Your managing partner is off on one again
It seems that one of the chief attributes of managing partners is wild optimism. You can’t move for law firm leaders committing their firms to hardcore five-year targets – particularly in the upper mid-tier, where we’re hearing of plans to double or even triple revenues by the end of the decade. We’d like some of […]
Bristol has too many lawyers
What do Southend-on-Sea and Slough have in common? The answer is that they are the largest urban settlements in Britain without a UK200 law firm. The denizens of these benighted places have to make do without so much as a solitary capital markets lawyer to keep the wheels of commerce turning. Can you imagine? Perhaps […]
The more partners you make, the better
It’s new partner season for UK firms, when hundreds of happy associates are granted new status, obligations and bragging rights. Most firms lag behind Kirkland & Ellis, though, which made up 26 in London this year alone. Like the Roman Empire, Kirkland has always made generous grants of citizenship to expand its borders; the more […]
Travers to ditch partner car scheme as it goes electric
Travers Smith is scouring the market for providers that will help it to replicate its employee electric car scheme for the firm’s partnership. In 2022, Travers became the latest firm to offer an electric car initiative for employees, which enabled interested staff to participate in a salary sacrifice scheme in order to lease an electric […]
Gap years and conditional offers: Low SQE pass rates force firms to rethink trainee recruitment
As pass rates for the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) stagnate at a 52 per cent average for 2022/23, City firm recruiters and early careers leaders are voicing concerns about their future pipeline planning. Certainly, a consistent pass rate confirms the goals of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to create what it […]
“No arguable case”: Newcastle United defeats Travers’ kit injunction
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has refused to grant Sports Direct an injunction that would force Newcastle United Football Club to supply it with replica kit, following a hearing on Tuesday. Newcastle United, defended by Northridge partner James Eighteen, granted exclusive retail rights for its kit to competitor JD Sports from next season. However, Sports […]
Clifford Chance’s Warsaw office raided amid political row
Clifford Chance’s Warsaw office has been caught up in a political row that has ended with the office being searched by the authorities, The Lawyer understands. The search relates to Clifford Chance’s alleged role in supporting an individual prosecutor who took it upon herself to stop the old Polish government from changing the rules relating to the […]
Gibson Dunn fails to have £800m class action against Apple dismissed
Apple has failed to have a nearly £800m class action brought against it thrown out, following a hearing before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in January. The opt-out claim is brought by class representative Dr Sean Ennis on behalf of around 1,500 app developers in the UK. He has instructed Geradin Partners’ partners David Gallagher […]
Jobs
Top Jobs
