Comment: The air of unreality – can the big deal deliver for Ashurst?

Posted on | Blogs |

‘Historically, what killed Ashurst’s mergers has been apathy. Latham, Fried Frank, Clifford Chance – people were apathetic.’ So recalls one former veteran of the City firm. Ashurst has finally voted on a transformative merger with its Australian partner. But even two years since the firm agreed a formal alliance with big six Australian outfit Blake Dawson, …

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How to improve a law firm in 17 easy steps – a blue print for innovation

Posted on | Analysis |

While pundits are queuing up to pronounce the death of the industry’s model, Legal Business canvassed senior figures to devise some practical ideas to make a law firm work better. You don’t have to look far in the legal profession to find causes for gloom. Battered by a sustained malaise in Western economies, more assertive …

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Comment: The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms

Posted on | Blogs |

Respectable, yes, but 2012/13 was a tough year, even by the post-Lehman standards law firm leaders have become accustomed to. While a frantic run of consolidation and international expansion pushed revenue up 8% to £19.1bn, like-for-like growth was far more subdued. On all objective measures of productivity and profitability, there were further slides, even before accounting …

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Comment: If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?

Posted on | Blogs |

We’ve had five years of unforgiving conditions for law firms, everyone agrees. And in many respects that squeeze has had predictable results on the upper echelons and lower half of the LB100. But this year it’s the mid-tier which has had the most interesting 12 months. This group should by rights and conventional wisdom be on …

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Comment: The lingering enigma of BLP’s bad year

Posted on | Blogs |

Success is a mysterious beast. Hard to define, built up over years and often the result of a formula even its creators struggle to understand. But failure, well, that’s simple. When a law firm runs into difficulties you can point to bickering partners, problem offices, a weak client-base or an unworkable strategy. Whatever it is, …

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Accept no substitute: Legal Business hits the iPad with the law app you’ve been waiting for

Posted on | Blogs |

We take a sizeable step in the evolution of Legal Business today with the launch of a new iPad edition, which we will be rolling out to our subscribers. The app launches after months of development to coincide with our September edition, traditionally the largest of the year in which we publish our annual LB …

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If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?

Posted on | Comment |

We’ve had five years of unforgiving conditions for law firms, everyone agrees. And in many respects that squeeze has had predictable results on the upper echelons and lower half of the LB100. But this year it’s the mid-tier which has had the most interesting 12 months. This group should by rights and conventional wisdom be …

Continue reading “If the mid-tier’s days are numbered why do they keep doing so well?”

The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms

Posted on | Comment |

Respectable, yes, but 2012/13 was a tough year, even by the post-Lehman standards law firm leaders have become accustomed to. While a frantic run of consolidation and international expansion pushed revenue up 8% to £19.1bn, like-for-like growth was far more subdued. On all objective measures of productivity and profitability, there were further slides, even before …

Continue reading “The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms”

Comment: Hogan Lovells was right to get hitched. It needs to remember that

Posted on | Blogs |

I’m not a big fan of comparing law firm mergers to marriages. All those torturous metaphors and incongruous imagery. But in assessing the three-year old union between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson, it’s hard to escape the nuptial motif. The deal was forged amid high expectations and a simple analysis: both firms were better off …

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