Despite speculation that the UK could be set for the first woman Lord Chief Justice, it was this week confirmed that Queen’s Bench Division president Sir John Thomas has been appointed to replace retiring Lord Judge, who steps down at the end of September after completing five years in the role. Thomas, who was recently …
The periodic excitement over the liberalisation of the Indian legal market may currently be reduced to background chatter but the past fews days have been a reminder that the top UK firms continue to position themselves for India work while leading local firms are themselves bulking up and adopting far more expansive strategies. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed Linklaters’ …
The UK top 100 financial roll call has seen Wragge & Co, Watson, Farley & Williams, Trowers & Hamlins and Hill Dickinson unveil their financial results for 2012/13, with a number suffering a significant dent in their profit figures. Watson Farley broke through the £100m revenue barrier, reporting a firm-wide increase of 2% to £102.1m, …
Reporting season has opened in earnest in the City as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer today (5 July) reveals it has bucked the trend towards flat revenue growth among its Magic Circle rivals while Linklaters, Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright disclose a varying set of 2012/13 numbers. In a year that has already seen a number of …
Continue reading “Reporting season floodgates open as four major City firms reveal 2012/13 revenues”
Having been the stand-out City player in its weight class since the 2008 banking crisis re-shaped the global legal market, Allen & Overy (A&O) has this year seen a relative slow-down in growth as the firm becomes the first Magic Circle practice to unveil its 2012/13 results. The 525-partner law firm saw a 0.6% increase …
White & Case has made no secret of its strategic objective to boost its global capital markets capability and last week saw a debt capital markets (DCM) team join in Milan from Magic Circle rival Allen & Overy (A&O). A&O’s DCM and regulatory partner Paola Leocani (pictured) joins the Milan office alongside counsel Elena Radicella …
Continue reading “White & Case continues capital markets drive as Milan boasts full DCM suite”
Law firms look outside City to meet client cost expectations It is a sign of the times that the majority of City partners can’t understand the fuss around Ashurst’s new low-cost base in Scotland. The top-15 UK firm announced in mid-June that it is to create a 150-strong unit in Glasgow, headed by former Dundas …
Continue reading “Ashurst’s new Glasgow unit ‘part of a continuing trend’”
Since its 2006 launch, irreverent blog Above The Law has built a huge audience and given voice to an increasingly embittered community of US associates and law students. Legal Business reports on the ‘tabloid’ that brought transparency to the world’s largest legal market. One afternoon in February 2009, the leader of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s …
Alistair Asher takes on GC role as firm acts on major bank rescue Securing a major deal and having one of your partners take a senior role with the same client is a nice trick to pull off but Allen & Overy (A&O) appeared to have managed that last month after securing a lead role …
A highly symbolic year for DLA Piper, with the rapidly-assembled business services juggernaut becoming the world’s largest law firm in revenue terms with income up 9% to $2.44bn, while profit per equity partner (PEP) was up by 6% to $1.3m. The 1,300-partner firm – which now has nearly 80 offices worldwide – also made ground …
