Two European candidates remain as CC’s senior partner contest goes down to three

Posted on | Blogs |
Two European candidates remain as CC’s senior partner contest goes down to three

The likelihood of Clifford Chance’s (CC) next senior partner being based outside London has surged after the first round of voting. UK-based insurance head Katherine Coates and former capital markets chief David Dunnigan have dropped out of the race to become Malcom Sweeting’s successor  at CC, after none of the five candidates secured more than …

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Akin rainmakers quit to launch Russia independent in further apocalyptic sign for Western firms

Posted on | News review |
Akin rainmakers quit to launch Russia independent in further apocalyptic sign for Western firms

Lawyers have been speaking for months of a tough environment for international firms in sanction-battered Russia, but no event has been as emblematic as the news in September that two of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s top Moscow partners have quit to launch an independent firm. Heavyweight litigator Ilya Rybalkin and corporate veteran Suren …

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The new El Dorado: Fieldfisher launches in Spain as Latham doubles Madrid team in 12 months

Posted on | News review |
The new El Dorado: Fieldfisher launches in Spain as Latham doubles Madrid team in 12 months

Ignored by much of the global elite until a few years ago, Spain is quickly becoming one of the hottest legal markets in continental Europe, with Latham & Watkins more than doubling its headcount in less than a year while UK challenger firm Fieldfisher delivers on its much anticipated launch. Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick …

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Point break – The extreme measures of Barclays’ adviser review

Posted on | In-House | and
Point break – The extreme measures of Barclays’ adviser review

Legal spend is the second-largest ‘cost centre’ for £21bn global banking giant Barclays. This tantalising statement is in the bank’s 2018 Request for Quotation document, sent to law firms ahead of its final panel review this year and seen by Legal Business. The document provides detail on what Barclays describes as this ‘sizeable’ legal spend. …

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Letter from… Shanghai: Despite high hopes, it turns out there is no such thing as a free trade lunch

Posted on | Comment |
Letter from… Shanghai: Despite high hopes, it turns out there is no such thing as a free trade lunch

‘The thing about China is there have always been those who think the bubble is going to burst and the die-hard optimists on the other side,’ says Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) Shanghai head Nick Poynder. Indeed, though the second group (to which Poynder belongs) has lately been the noisiest. Not that optimists lack evidence for …

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Law firm tech: Turning the lights on

Posted on | Analysis | and
Law firm tech: Turning the lights on

What do the individuals responsible for putting together the tech behind Lady Gaga’s concerts, a creative executive of ER and the developer of Reuters’ first-ever online financial products have in common? All three reinvented themselves as tech experts at top UK law firms. And you would be forgiven for wondering why on earth someone would …

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CISOs, clouds and response plans: cyber security in the post-DLA era

Posted on | Analysis |
CISOs, clouds and response plans: cyber security in the post-DLA era

  While quick to trumpet their tech capabilities, law firms are coy when it comes to cyber security policies. Making a defence strategy public could play into the hands of hackers, of course. But considering how devastating an attack might be for a law firm and its clients, one would expect at least some publicity …

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Bakers launches low-cost hub in Florida… just after redundancy consultation with 300 City staff

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Bakers launches low-cost hub in Florida… just after redundancy consultation with 300 City staff

Baker McKenzie has announced plans for its third low-cost centre two weeks after putting what is thought to be more than 300 City business staff under consultation in a global efficiency drive. The firm’s new global hub in Tampa, Florida, will be operational in 2020 and create more than 300 roles – a similar headcount to …

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World’s top-billing law firm Kirkland finally makes Paris debut with Linklaters corporate duo

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World’s top-billing law firm Kirkland finally makes Paris debut with Linklaters corporate duo

After years of internal debate Kirkland & Ellis is to launch in Paris with the hire of one of Linklaters’ key corporate partners. In a market largely defined by star individuals, Vincent Ponsonnaille has quit the Magic Circle firm alongside fellow corporate partner Laurent Victor-Michel to spearhead the launch of Kirkland’s second outpost on the continent.