While yesterday’s (22 November) lukewarm autumn Budget saw fresh cash boosts handed out to the NHS and Ministry of Defence (MoD), chancellor Phillip Hammond’s financial forecasts revealed a £600m reduction in Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spending by 2019/20. Hammond’s plans show that the budget for the MoJ for the 2017/18 financial year stands at £6.6bn, …
After quietly establishing itself as one of the LB100’s strongest performers in the last financial year, Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has recorded a 13% jump in its 2017/18 half-year revenues. Turnover for the first half of the financial year to 31 October has grown to £76.1m, which is up from £67.6m on the previous …
The continued dominance of US firms in the City lateral market shows no sign of slowing, with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton yesterday (20 November) bringing in experienced disputes partner James Norris-Jones from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) to its office in the capital. Norris-Jones, who was made a partner at HSF in 2012, has a …
After a string of international office openings and staking a claim as one of the fastest growing firms in the LB100, Fieldfisher has announced a 20% rise in turnover in its half-year results for 2017/18. The firm’s half-year revenue is £76.8m, up from £64.1m. The figure excludes turnover from all the Swiss Verein members and …
Continue reading “Fieldfisher sets pace again with 20% H1 growth as it unveils more key hires”
Speaking to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer disputes veteran Jon Lawrence this summer on his decision to join Brick Court Chambers, he said he was not ready for the golf course just yet. But there has been a wave of Freshfields heavyweights of Lawrence’s vintage who have made a similar move, notably former managing partner Ian Terry, …
Continue reading “Disputes eye: How the talent flow demonstrates the Bar’s strength”
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has handed Locke Lord its largest ever financial penalty imposed on a law firm, fining the US-based firm £500,000 after one of its former UK lawyers engaged in ‘dubious financial arrangements’ with a client’s bank account. The lawyer in question, Jonathan Denton, had left Locke Lord in October 2015. Details …
Pretty much everyone agrees that the current state of disclosure has grown into an unworkable and extortionate mess… but getting consensus for change has been elusive in recent years. Braving the debate between the supporters of Rolls-Royce disclosure and its critics, reforms are currently being pushed through to substantially scale back document-hunting in most commercial …
Continue reading “Reforms attempt to curb Rolls-Royce disclosure as litigation costs spiral upwards”
As the contents of the Paradise Papers soaks up column inches worldwide, the profession has offered a mixed response so far to the revelations, with some welcoming public scrutiny while others dismiss it as un-newsworthy. On 24 October, offshore firm Appleby confirmed that a ‘data security incident’ took place in 2016, raising fears that client …
In a busy week of lateral recruitment in the UK, Shepherd and Wedderburn has made a key hire in London while Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Kingsley Napley, and Keystone Law have expanded their teams. Scottish stalwart Shepherd has tapped local rival Maclay Murray & Spens for London disputes partner Philip Sewell in the same week …
Established private equity players Latham & Watkins, Ropes & Gray and Travers Smith have won roles on Pure Gym’s sale from CCMP Capital to Leonard Green, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Morgan Lewis also picked up significant mandates this week. The Pure Gym deal, announced today (3 November), is valued at £600m according to media …
