It was not all plain sailing,’ reflects Ben Tidswell, Ashurst’s chair, on the aftermath of its 2013 merger with Australia’s Blake Dawson. ‘But partners saw what we were trying to achieve and most wanted to be part of that. Now the firm is enjoying the success of that.’ Tidswell speaks with the palpable relief of …
Continue reading “Inflection point – Ashurst steps back from the brink but can the revival last?”
Magic Circle takes a leaf from US playbook after a parsimonious 2018 This time last year, Legal Business was still lamenting that the post-banking crisis clampdown on promoting partners at City firms had showed little sign of lifting, with the Magic Circle in particular promoting at levels insufficient to sustain partnership sizes.
A firm more progressive than many in the City on gender diversity, Travers Smith has made up just one female partner in a four-strong promotion round that is significantly scaled back from last year. The City stalwart made up half the number of new partners as in 2018, when eight new partners were promoted, of which …
Continue reading “Travers female partner promotions suffer amid scaled back round”
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is fighting the war for talent by becoming the first Magic Circle firm to raise its pay for newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors to £100,000. The £15,000 salary uptick is symbolic, given the pressures imposed on the City elite by US competitors in recent years. There will also be a discretionary bonus on top of …
In another vote of confidence for Ashurst’s leadership, Paul Jenkins has been re-appointed as global managing partner for a second four-year term. The appointment by the Ashurst board was the result of extensive consultations with the firm’s partners and staff, with Jenkins’ second run set to start on 1 November 2019.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Ryan Beckwith is set to appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) next week having been placed on indefinite leave by the firm. The Solicitors Regulation Authority, (SRA) which referred the case to the SDT, is yet to publish the allegations but said it would do so in the next few weeks. …
Continue reading “Freshfields partner on indefinite leave ahead of disciplinary tribunal hearing”
Allen & Overy has promoted 14 London partners amid a scaled up 34-strong global round while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has promoted its first City partner in three years. The Magic Circle firm made heavier investment in new partners than last year and also significantly improved the promotion of women, minting eight females – …
In last year’s Global London overview, attention focused on three non-UK firms with more than 400 lawyers in the City. Now, the 500-lawyer barrier has been broken by Baker McKenzie and two rivals are not far behind. Many US firms are achieving London headcount and revenue growth that is leaving worldwide performance for 2018 – …
Continue reading “Global London overview – Sharks in the fish pond”
Marco Cillario, Legal Business: Are US firms in London about to reach a maturity that means we will see less growth and movement of partners? James Roome, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: If you look at the underlying business that came here from the States – for instance, growth of the high-yield bond market, …
The cliché says that you have to start somewhere and so Goodwin Procter’s London branch did in 2011 with a solitary partner at a desk with a phone. While it arrived late to the City – fellow Boston outfit Ropes & Gray beat it by a couple of years and has enjoyed a very strong …
