The firms that appear in the 2024 Global 100 are the largest 100 law firms in the world ranked by revenue.
‘More uncertainty than any other recent election’ – US partners on what the Trump-Harris race means for Big Law
The comparison between City partners’ attitudes to the UK general election in July and US partners’ attitudes to next Tuesday’s elections could not be starker. Then, not one partner interviewed doubted that Labour would emerge the winner. Now, it’s a coinflip – with even more uncertainty around what either candidate would do in office.
LB checked in with partners at leading US firms to learn how lawyers and clients are navigating this uncertainty.
‘Setting ourselves up for the future’ – McDermott ups London trainee pay to £70k
McDermott Will & Emery has followed Davis Polk’s lead, raising its London trainee pay to match the highest market rates.
Linklaters and Clifford Chance continue US push as A&O Shearman merger beds in
While the US legal market is rarely quiet, post-merger settling at A&O Shearman seems to be driving a spate of activity, with magic circle firm Linklaters among those capitalising on departures to expand their US presence.
‘I never saw this as impossible’ – Mishcons’ Shaistah Akhtar on the case that won her Commercial Litigation Team of the Year
Mishcon de Reya‘s hard-fought victory for Nigeria in Nigeria v P&ID saw the firm take home Commercial Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards in September. The team assisted Nigeria in challenging a $6.6bn arbitral award made in favour of BVI-incorporated shell company Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) in 2017. With interest accruing at $1m a day, the team sought to overturn the award on the basis of fraud.
But, when the firm was instructed in 2019, Nigeria was almost three years past the deadline to bring the set-aside challenge. Before the team could even begin to present its fraud case (the result of a massive global investigation effort), it had to fight to extend the deadline – and achieved an unprecedented extension, granted in July 2020.
The team’s hard work paid off. On 23 October 2023, judgment was handed down in Nigeria’s favour by Mr Justice Knowles. It was found that P&ID had obtained the award, now worth over $11bn, by fraud.
Shaistah Akhtar, partner in Mishcons’ dispute resolution group, spoke to LB about getting the call from Nigeria, the biggest hurdles the team overcame, and the pressures of a case with national and international repercussions.
Kirkland adds first structured finance partner in London as Cravath hires Linklaters lev fin duo
US firms are once again on the march in London, with Kirkland and Cravath leading the moves of the last few weeks with hires from legal tech Harvey and Linklaters respectively.
McDermott snaps up CMS international private equity co-head in London
McDermott Will & Emery has announced today (28 October) that Jason Zemmel (pictured) has joined the firm’s transactions group as a partner.
‘A true win’ – Baker McKenzie on record Ecuador $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and winning Finance Team of the Year
Baker McKenzie won Finance Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards for representing project manager Oceans Finance Company in structuring and implementing the government of Ecuador’s $1.6bn debt-for-nature swap and providing $300m for the Galápagos Islands – the largest marine conservation debt conversion to date.
LB spoke with partners Matthew Cox and James Tanner (pictured, middle) to learn more about their experience working on this landmark deal, the challenges they encountered, and what it meant to win Finance Team of the Year.
‘Deals like this act as a catalyst’ – Gowling WLG on its Legal Business Award-winning work for AstraZeneca
Gowling WLG won this year’s LB Award for Life Sciences Team of the Year for its role in advising AstraZeneca on a collaboration and license agreement with biopharmaceutical company Quell Therapeutics worth more than £2bn. LB spoke with two of the partners who worked on the deal to discuss why it’s important and what it means for the team.
Vodafone UK head of legal Karen Thorpe on winning LB’s In-House Team of the Year and Vodafone’s ‘once in a lifetime’ merger with Three
With work including the proposed merger of Vodafone and Three’s UK businesses – a deal that would create the largest mobile operator in the UK; the successful defence of the £1bn Phones 4u litigation – the culmination of a decade’s worth of work for Vodafone’s legal team; and the launch of a major in-house transformation project, it’s fair to say that Vodafone’s lawyers have been keeping themselves busy.
Legal Business caught up with Vodafone UK’s head of legal, Karen Thorpe (pictured, sixth from left), to discuss an award-winning year.