Mark Sansom will take over from Claire Wills as London managing partner at Freshfields, the firm has announced. The move comes at the end of Wills’ four-year term, and will take effect on 1 May. Sansom will also continue his client work. An accomplished competition litigator, Sansom has worked closely with Wills, first as a …
While it may be an oversimplification to say that there has been a certain inevitability to Shearman & Sterling’s decline in recent months, that the firm’s losses should lead to Cravath, Swaine & Moore’s inaugural foray into English law is a coup even the most clued up of pundits could scarcely have foreseen. Coming as …
As the fall of Credit Suisse mobilises swathes of advisers, Legal Business asks whether the collapse will yield an influx of work for the litigation community In March, the collapse of US-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was among the biggest tremors in the banking world since 2008. However, there are weeks in which the events …
The resounding message is that London is still booming. Fears surrounding its status as a leading jurisdiction for disputes being adversely impacted by Brexit appear to have gone largely unfounded, with not only the established players, but less traditional disputes practices and boutiques thriving. Martin Davies of Latham & Watkins sums up the outlook across …
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine added gale force to the economic storms already picking up in early 2022, and has produced a spate of sanctions work as well as at least one ultra-high-value insurance dispute. Meanwhile, group litigation, litigation funding, and ESG remain at the forefront of lawyers’ minds.
White & Case was another firm to post muted financials for the last year, as a bullish 2021 gave way to a 2022 struggling under the weight of a deal slowdown, inflation, high interest rates, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical conflict. Global revenue declined by 1% from $2.87bn to $2.83bn, and net income dropped by …
Continue reading “Ukraine war and currency take toll as PEP drops 20% at White & Case”
Debt finance specialist Rahul Chatterji became the latest partner to leave Shearman & Sterling this week, with Linklaters announcing that he will join its Asia banking practice in May. Chatterji has experience in cross-border transactions, with a particular focus on India and Southeast Asia. He will move first to Linklaters’ London office, before relocating to …
Often the bellwether for global law firm financials, the world’s highest-grossing firm, Kirkland & Ellis, has posted muted revenue and profit growth for 2022, with turnover up 8% and partner profits up just 2% – its slowest performance year-on-year for some time. Kirkland made major waves in the legal sector last year, when a 25% …
Continue reading “Feeling the chill? Kirkland reports just 8% revenue increase for 2022”
While the international legal community has largely been sanguine at the Bar Council of India (BCI) opening the door for foreign lawyers and law firms to establish offices and practice in India, uncertainties remain. The BCI announced the decision on 15 March in its ‘Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law …
After a tense weekend of negotiations, the Bank of England announced on Monday (13 March) that HSBC would buy the UK branch of collapsed US bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The acquisition, which was completed for a token amount of £1, prevents SVBUK being put into insolvency. The Bank of England said in a statement …
