Allen & Overy (A&O) will open its technology incubator space Fuse to a third group of companies from early next year, as it partners with a University of Oxford AI project. The firm announced today (December 13) that applications to enter Fuse will be welcomed from companies until 25 January. A selection pitch to the firm …
Slaughter and May has increased its salary rates for newly qualified (NQ) associates by £3,000, with junior associates also seeing an increase alongside performance-related end-of-year bonuses. All associates from NQ to 18 months post-qualification (PQE) will enjoy salary increases, with NQs seeing their pay increase to £83,000 from £80,000. Pay for associates 6 months after qualification …
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Thomas Alan assesses the initially lauded, now forgotten social inclusion initiative ‘Forgive my ignorance, can you tell me what you mean by PRIME? What is it exactly?’ asks one partner at a top-25 UK law firm, a partner charged with responsibility for overseeing apprenticeships at a firm with membership to that same cross-industry group.
An array of City and US firms have landed roles advising on Boston Scientific’s buyout of British healthcare firm BTG in the latest bumper deal in the pharmaceutical sector. Allen & Overy (A&O), Shearman & Sterling, Travers Smith, White & Case, and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer were all called upon to advise on the …
Thomas Alan assesses the fortunes of the US giant after a (relatively) expansive 2018 Paul Hastings’ recent London history could be seen as a story of tempered ambitions. In the mid-2000s, the firm talked about hitting 200 lawyers in the City, while in 2012 the hope was to be at around 140 lawyers by 2016. …
Continue reading “Still more promise than delivery but Paul Hastings shows signs of progress”
AI contract analysis system Kira has been on a trying journey. Having landed $50m in funding, Hamish McNicol and Thomas Alan assess how much longer that journey could last Noah Waisberg recently threw a diamond into an audience of more than 1,000 people. It was the annual Legal Geek legal tech conference in London. Public …
Legal Business: Simmons seems to have come out of a period of malaise. What have been the primary drivers for that growth over the last two years? Jeremy Hoyland, managing partner: Most of that has been driven by the sectors, so [opening in] Ireland is not because we’re interested in the domestic market. We’re interested …
Continue reading “The Simmons interview: What to worry about”
Encapsulated in the 1982 hit song by US soft rock band Toto, Africa is frequently referred to in hoary metaphors in the West. However, in a business context, tired clichés of a ‘scramble for Africa’ have made way for the less-frenetic tones of international law firms committed to proven, revenue-generating strategies. Nonetheless, the continent still …
Continue reading “Legal leaders in Africa: Waking the elephant”
Firms began their Christmas shopping in earnest last week, with LB100 pacesetter Fieldfisher strengthening its energy practice while Pinsent Masons recruited in structured finance and King & Spalding enhanced its City corporate practice. Meanwhile, TLT made a hire in the regions as Bird & Bird and Dentons made moves abroad.
South west-based Ashfords and Thames Valley firm Boyes Turner are primed to merge, creating a 100 partner-strong £60m southern law firm. The merger will go live on 1 May 2019, subject to due diligence and legal agreements, while initial talks taking place in early 2017. The new firm will have a total of 700 employees and seven …
