Linklaters, Norton Rose and Baker & McKenzie win spots Royal Dutch Shell concluded its extensive global panel review at the end of May with firms including Allen & Overy (A&O) and Baker & McKenzie marked out to receive work across multiple jurisdictions. The tender, which kicked off in March, went out to 357 firms in …
Continue reading “Shell completes review of global legal panel”
Eversheds has shaken up its sector focus as part of a series of measures introduced by management to adapt to changing client demand and the increased globalisation of legal services. Following a three-year strategy review unveiled by chief executive Bryan Hughes in July last year, the top 10 UK firm is focusing heavily on increased …
Expectations that law firms would come under mounting pressure to avoid compulsory retirement of partners have been once again upset as the final chapter in a much-watched legal battle over age discrimination concluded this week. The Employment Tribunal (ET) made a final rejection of a claim by solicitor Leslie Seldon against his former law firm …
Legal Business meets Aviva’s senior lawyers as they discuss the effects of a major restructuring. For those lawyers comfortable with the status quo within Aviva’s legal team, it has been a turbulent 18 months. The FTSE 100 insurance giant has been plagued since the start of the financial crisis by poor financial performance, disparate businesses …
Continue reading “PROFILE: Kirsty Cooper and Monica Risam – Aviva”
With non-legal procurement teams becoming more and more part of the bluechip panel process, are firms delivering the best value for money? `The client is the enemy,’ says one veteran corporate partner at a Magic Circle firm, privately expressing a common frustration over how the traditional relationship between external counsel and in-house legal teams has …
Continue reading “Feeling the squeeze – the pressure is on as procurement hits law”
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has become the latest major UK law firm to announce job cuts as firms increasingly examine their business models in light of a sustained slump in market activity. The top-20 City firm announced today that is has entered a redundancy consultation affecting around 58 legal staff, 44 secretarial staff and some …
Continue reading “Redundancy round continues as BLP latest to announce fee-earner cuts”
While the trend of in-house departments bolstering their internal capability and cutting reliance on external counsel is well established, Royal Dutch Shell’s legal head Peter Rees QC has taken the logic to the extreme. Since replacing Beat Hess as the global energy group’s legal director in January 2011 Rees has pushed through major changes, restructuring …
Latham & Watkins has recruited high-profile Norton Rose derivatives and structured finance partner Dean Naumowicz as the US giant makes its third senior City hire of the year.
Allen & Overy (A&O) has won a place on Aviva’s top corporate panel after a lengthy review that saw Clifford Chance (CC) lose its spot as plc adviser. The move comes as Aviva also kick-started its UK and Europe panel selection process in mid-April, following an overhaul of its 280-staff global legal team. The review …
Despite the City lateral hire market recently showing few signs of returning to its pre-credit crunch peak, yesterday (1 May) saw a string of key partner hires announced by Allen & Overy (A&O), DLA Piper, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Olswang. A&O announced the hire of Fried Frank partner Alasdair Balfour to join its City …
Continue reading “Recent spate of lateral hires a blip in a quiet year so far”
