In the wake of the eye-catching tie-up of CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang, Legal Business noted last year that the gnomic messages around the union made it a hard one to judge. And even after a detailed assessment of the largest UK legal merger ever, as we undertake for this month’s cover feature, it’s …
Continue reading “Comment: There’s value in CMS’ purchase and one big hurdle ahead”
Happy New Year, profession. Barely have we gotten into 2017 and the inevitable has happened: the legacy SJ Berwin business has entered administration, becoming the largest collapse in European legal history.
In a margin-conscious environment it is tough for advisers to catch a client’s eye, but according to flagship research into GC attitudes, a group of quality City law firms are standing out from the crowd through cutting-edge service delivery.
Happy New Year, profession. Barely have we gotten into 2017 and the inevitable has happened: the legacy SJ Berwin business has entered administration, becoming the largest collapse in European legal history. From the point last spring that a high-billing Paris private equity team quit for Goodwin Procter, it was hard to see King & Wood …
Continue reading “As KWM cracks, beware re-written history and schadenfreude”
In the wake of the eye-catching tie-up of CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang, Legal Business noted last year that the gnomic messages around the union made it a hard one to judge. And even after a detailed assessment of the largest UK legal merger ever, as we undertake for this month’s cover feature, it’s not easy …
Continue reading “There’s value in CMS’ purchase and one big hurdle ahead”
Five years since the turbulent union of Herbert Smith and Freehills, the global challenger has chosen Mark Rigotti as its sole chief executive. Is the culture clash over? Managing the delicate power balance between managing partner and senior partner is tricky at the best of times. But how do you address the cultural minefield as …
Continue reading “Taking over – one leader at HSF but is the culture clash over?”
As Barclays sifts through the wreckage of King & Wood Mallesons’ European practice and claims of fresh departures swirl around Ashurst, you have to say that the marriage of Herbert Smith and Australian leader Freehills could have gone worse. A lot worse.
Well, it is nearly over and few in the profession will mourn the passing of 2016. Not since the banking crisis of 2008/09 have 12 months so drastically recast the environment in which law firms ply their trade, most strikingly, of course, in June’s vote for Britain to quit the EU and November’s election of …
Continue reading “Comment: After shocks of 2016, law leaders may need to start thinking”
It is often rightly noted that law is a conservative old game, as can be gleaned from the identikit strategies of City law firms. Invest in transactional work and international offices, manage your partnership proactively, half-heartedly corporatise the business and hire a load of non-lawyer professionals with dubious mandates.
Though it will be outdated by the time this issue hits desks, I am professionally obligated I suppose to return to the subject of King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) as the firm’s troubled European business reaches what must be the decisive chapter of its post-merger tale.
