Mind the gap – Global London 2018
A Tale of Two Citys – a growing divide emerges as the US elite storms ahead in London
A surging private equity market, the City’s first $10m lateral and two law firms passing the $3bn mark. At first glance, 2017 looks to have been another boom year for international players in London. Neither did it hurt that City practices in a significant number of cases outpaced firm-wide revenue growth at many prominent US brands, including Latham & Watkins, White & Case, Paul Hastings, Sidley Austin, Cooley and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
Tragically for legal reporters, the story is a little more nuanced as a whole. Lawyer numbers at the 50 firms that make up our Global London table certainly reached new heights in 2017 at 6,212 but are up overall by a steady rather than spectacular 3%. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Citys – a growing divide emerges as the US elite storms ahead in London”
Reborn supremacy – inside the unlikely White & Case revolution
‘Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!’ exclaims Oliver Brettle, White & Case’s London executive partner, before getting up and heading for the door.
Given an amicable discussion of the considerable recent growth of White & Case’s City arm, the reaction to a question about the firm’s disputes practice seems a little abrupt. Continue reading “Reborn supremacy – inside the unlikely White & Case revolution”
Unstoppable: The Risk Report
Our debut risk management and professional indemnity report with broker Marsh in February 2008 featured a timid segue into an unfamiliar topic. We suggested that neither were ‘glamorous subjects’, while observing that firms were ‘thinking harder than ever’ about how to mitigate risks. A necessary evil, if you will.
The risk landscape portrayed then – six months before Lehman Brothers was to collapse – still has a familiar ring: ‘When things are going well, as was the case from 2003 to mid-2007, resources are stretched and clients want every deal done yesterday. Throw in an overheated recruitment market in which the firm that blinks misses out, and the competitive pressure of having to race into every new, emerging market and firms could be forgiven for never thinking about their professional indemnity at all.’ Continue reading “Unstoppable: The Risk Report”
An ill wind… The LB100 leadership debate
Alex Novarese, Legal Business: How is the market generally?
Lee Ranson, Eversheds Sutherland: Most of the managing partners around this table will say it was a better 2017 than expected. We had some of our highest numbers against a budget where we were very, very wary with Brexit and uncertainty. Very strange. We are going into a new budget now and management is more cautious than the practitioners. Continue reading “An ill wind… The LB100 leadership debate”
The Brexit countdown – The Irish question
‘A dense population in extreme distress inhabits an island’ – that is how Disraeli began to define the Irish Question in the Commons in 1844. Without much hyperbole, it also defines the current state of the UK. Over halfway through the two-year time limit prescribed by article 50, but with no Brexit deal in sight, the Irish Question still resonates: now less about a united independent Ireland, rather more about an independent but divided Britain.
The Irish Republic, whose economy and culture are closer to the UK than any other, is the only EU member state that also shares a land border. Resolving this 310-mile conundrum – maintaining the open border guaranteed by the Good Friday Agreement while finessing its position in the EU single market and customs union – has become a fault line between the government in London and EU leaders. The Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has ruled out tripartite talks on the issue and rejected Theresa May’s suggestion that customs arrangements on the US-Canada border could provide a post-Brexit model. Continue reading “The Brexit countdown – The Irish question”
‘Our values are imperatives’: Pinsents chief on diversity, success and being bolder
Legal Business (LB): How do you create a clearer picture of what Pinsents is doing on diversity?
Richard Foley (RF): You’ve got to be consistent in highlighting it as a priority. We’re clear about the programmes we have and we’re vocal about successes. We’ve just been ranked second of all UK corporates in this year’s Stonewall index for the second year running. Continue reading “‘Our values are imperatives’: Pinsents chief on diversity, success and being bolder”