A suspended partner from Axiom Ince has filed a lawsuit against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and its intervention agent, Gordons. Shyam Mistry was one of three partners who was suspended from Axiom Ince earlier this month as he was accused of failing “to comply with the rules made under sections 31 and 32” of […]
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 […]
The total fee income generated by the UK’s 50-largest firms hit a new record in 2022/23, despite many firms conceding that the trading conditions during the year were among the most challenging they have ever faced. The top 50 firms ranked by global revenue generated a total of £30.8bn last year, up by 8 per […]
The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has appealed to City firms to take on trainees from Ince as fear grows for the future of the troubled firm. On Friday 25 August, CLLS chair Colin Passmore, at the behest of CLLS training committee chair Patrick McCann and Watson Farley & Williams’ director of development and […]
A suspended partner from Axiom Ince has filed a lawsuit against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and its intervention agent, Gordons. Shyam Mistry was one of three partners who was suspended from Axiom Ince earlier this month as he was accused of failing “to comply with the rules made under sections 31 and 32” of […]
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 […]
The total fee income generated by the UK’s 50-largest firms hit a new record in 2022/23, despite many firms conceding that the trading conditions during the year were among the most challenging they have ever faced. The top 50 firms ranked by global revenue generated a total of £30.8bn last year, up by 8 per […]
The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has appealed to City firms to take on trainees from Ince as fear grows for the future of the troubled firm. On Friday 25 August, CLLS chair Colin Passmore, at the behest of CLLS training committee chair Patrick McCann and Watson Farley & Williams’ director of development and […]
The Lawyer’s European Awards is back for the 14th year in a row to crown the crème de la crème of the European legal market. More than 250 entries from 120 firms and organisations have been submitted as the battle begins to claim one or more of the 27 prizes that are up for grabs. […]
This summer has seen two sizeable acquisitions in Paris by major international firms of smaller boutique practices. First, Paul Hastings bolstered its white collar team with the incorporation of Antonin Lévy & Associés. The move brought three partners and nine associates into the US firm’s fold, upgrading its offering as a key Paris practice. Then […]
Few UK start-up firms have experienced the same meteoric rise as Knights. Its position as a mid-tier disruptor and consolidator has been largely unchallenged, helping it to lift revenue by a market-topping 185 per cent over the last five years. With so many sub £50m firms contending with the twin issues of a cashflow crunch […]
How did your firm fare in salary review season? For associates at Freshfields, their firm can claim the early-mover advantage prize after announcing a bold NQ salary jump to £150,000. But its moment was short-lived. Within a week, Quinn had upped its junior lawyer pay from £152,000 to £180,000. If there was an award for […]
Mid-market firms have been forced to re-evaluate their hiring strategies in the face of greater competition for partners. With lawyers more likely than ever before to switch firms, these firms have to move fast to secure the right talent, and one handy way to achieve that is to recruit from outside the partnership. Where first-time […]
Does anyone need any confirmation of the gradual takeover of the City by rampaging US law firms? No, thought not. If, however, your answer is yes, then more evidence of the Americanisation of London can be found in the upcoming edition of the UK Corporate 50. Much of the focus in this year’s report is […]
Linklaters is retaining 46 of its 59 qualifying trainees for this autumn round, posting a retention rate of 78 per cent. No qualifiers will be kept on fixed-term contracts (FTC) unlike the previous round this year where one was offered an FTC. Eleven of the qualifiers were also part of the cohort transferred over from […]
Hogan Lovells and Pinsent Masons have scored roles on a deal that will see NatWest purchase nearly £2.5bn worth of Metro Bank’s residential mortgage portfolio. The two firms are the latest to get involved in recent transactional efforts made by Metro Bank to bolster its finances and manage potential risks to its clients and shareholders. […]
Listed firm Knights has acquired the West Midlands firm Thursfields in a deal worth £12.5m as it aims to enter another period of rapid growth. Knights has been a prolific acquirer of mid-market law firms over the past decade, with Langleys (£17.7m), Shulmans (£17.6m), Keebles (£12.6m), ASB (£12.5m) and Coffin Mew (£11.3m) among its most […]
Millions of people around the world will tune in to the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris this evening. With both the Olympics and Paralympics set to dominate headlines over the coming weeks, we climb to the top of the 10-meter platform for a deep dive into one of the firms that specialises […]
BDB Pitmans is throwing its entire weight into finding mid-market US firms to join its soon-to-be-launched international network, Broadfield. The Lawyer understands there is space in the proposed network for multiple US firms with BDB Pitmans managing partner John Hutchinson describing the UK and US as “starting points” for its grand plan. The firm announced […]