Clifford Chance is understood to be seeking a China merger and has held talks with some of the country’s top-tier firms. The Lawyer understands that the magic circle firm has explored the possibility of a merger with a number of top-tier Chinese firms, with one being identified as Zhong Lun. The discussions with Zhong Lun, […]
In March pretty much the entire editorial team of The Lawyer spent a week in Manchester. We came away certain of several things. First things first: sorry Birmingham and sorry Leeds – Manchester is definitively UK Law’s second city.
The small Cheshire town of Audlem has passed its neighbourhood plan by a remarkable vote with 97% voting in favour (654 to 22) on a 42.86% turnout, a high proportion for local votes.
Tim Jones of No5 Chambers was the appointed independent examiner who examined the Plan and recommended modifications (which were made) in order to meet the basic conditions required by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Schedule 4B.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has upped its newly qualified (NQ) solicitor salaries to compete with the US market. NQ salaries have increased from £125,000 to £150,000. There have also been changes to trainee compensation. First-year trainees will see an increase of £6,000 as salaries rise from £50,000 to £56,000. Second-year trainee salaries will increase from £55,000 […]
Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) is continuing its innovation strategy rollout with the introduction of a new programme for its trainee solicitors. Following the launch of its ‘advanced client solutions’ (ACS) team in early April, the firm has now brought in Russell Up, a scheme designed to have each trainee deliver four innovation projects throughout their two-year training […]
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 […]
Having returned to the legal market after seven years in retirement, Graham White has been named as senior partner of McDermott Will & Emery’s London office, along with a new managing partner. Private equity lawyer White, who joined McDermott this year after leaving Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson in 2017, has taken on the […]
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 […]
This report contains: an overview of the current Commercial Court judges and the duties they carry out individual profiles outlining each judge’s career path and an analysis of the cases they advocated on and heard
This report contains: ranking of the 50 largest US firms by headcount analysis on the extent to which US firms are increasing their focus on UK-originated work and clients data-rich firm profiles Please note that headcount figures are for the year 2023
This reports contains: detailed analysis of 12 UK top 100 ‘City independents’ exploration of their growth trajectories and strategies amidst industry consolidation and rising costs analysis of increased specialisation within practice areas City independents firms’ efficiency
This report contains: five-year headcount growth analysis at the French firms in the European 100 an analysis of firms’ partnerships examining how long it takes to make partner at France’s elite firms
Read this report to gain insights into: The evolving role of in-house teams amidst market transformations Current attitudes and increased adoption of artificial intelligence tools Organizations’ continued emphasis on flexible working culture Projections for spend on external legal counsel over the next five years Enhanced feedback on quality of service from private practice law firms […]
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It’s a 90-minute train journey to London and two hours from Bristol. At £29 per sq ft, grade A office rents are a third of the average £90 per sq ft City firms pay. And it has an abundance of lawyers. Slowly but steadily, Southampton is slipping into the mid-tier consciousness as a city in […]
Talk of associates losing faith in the partnership track is nowhere to be seen at Addleshaw Goddard, which recently unveiled its largest round to date. The partnership count is currently running at 429 – up 75 per cent from the 245 it housed back in 2019. Those promotions show a firm that is bullish about […]
1 May is a big day for many in the legal industry, not just the thousands of people at Allen & Overy and Shearman who have now combined officially. Scores of lawyers become partners today after a wave of promotions, meaning that also – in the great circle of life – plenty of veterans are […]
The significance of the unstoppable growth of US-headquartered firms in London isn’t solely about jaw-dropping scale, although the size of headcount and revenue at some of these big City beasts is truly head-turning. Notably, several US firms have doubled down on their investment in London of late, and not just Paul Weiss. While the New […]
It has been over four years since the UK first went into lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s four years since the world went crazy and stocked up on toilet roll, since staff had to bundle up their laptops and work on makeshift garden furniture desks, and since most of the nation actually looked […]
Manchester United’s interim CEO and general counsel has left following another shake-up within the club’s executive ranks. Patrick Stewart served as general counsel at the club for over 18 years and stepped into the interim CEO role at the end of last year following the departure of Richard Arnold. Stewart completed his legal training at Burness and qualified in […]
Iberian firm Uría Menéndez will close in New York when its Park Avenue lease expires, after more than three decades in the US. The firm runs with a small staff in New York of just three lawyers, led by office managing partner and corporate lawyer José Félix Zaldivar. Uría Menéndez felt its US strategy would […]
Lawfront, the business backed by private equity firm Blixt Group, has made its eighth acquisition of a law firm, and its third in the last 12 months, as it continues its expansion. Manchester-headquartered full-service practice Slater Heelis is the latest to be acquired, with Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood and Nelsons the other large firms to […]
One of Shearman & Sterling’s London partner contingent left the firm ahead of its merger with Allen & Overy today. Leveraged finance partner Sanjeev Dhuna has not made the move to the new A&O Shearman. He joined Shearman during the firm’s hiring spree of 2021. Dhuna was previously at A&O, where he had spent the […]
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 […]
