Yet unremarked, generational conflict cripples City law

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Yet unremarked, generational conflict cripples City law

Our cover feature this month largely speaks for itself in assessing the changing face of partnership as Millennials begin colonising the senior ranks of City law firms. Within five years, this group will be the driving force of elite commercial advisers.

Yet this column is not about the changing attitudes of youngish lawyers, more an issue that touches so many topics in the pages of this magazine, spanning remuneration, strategy, governance and talent. Quite simply, that is the success – and much more often failure – of leading law firms in balancing the interests of their younger ranks with their older partners. Continue reading “Yet unremarked, generational conflict cripples City law”

BCLP: A slightly better sales pitch than expected

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BCLP: A slightly better sales pitch than expected

It would take a generous observer of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) to claim the once sure-footed outfit had managed anything better than an indifferent run in the years preceding its union with Bryan Cave. Having dazzled through the 2000s – a period in which the firm seemed to have single-handedly revived the unfashionable notion of a City mid-tier – the last five years have been a stark contrast. Volatile financial performance, a disastrous run of partner recruitment and tension over its property-heavy direction – all in, it was unclear where the firm was going.

As such, confirmation earlier this year that BLP was uniting with a solid US operator, but one whose brand had limited potency in Europe, did not quicken the pulse. Continue reading “BCLP: A slightly better sales pitch than expected”

Disputes Eye: A no-brainer? How tech can save your client £2m

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Disputes Eye: A no-brainer? How tech can save your client £2m

With proposed procedural overhauls to disclosure going down like a lead balloon with the Law Society, technology is being touted as the much-needed saviour of time and money.

News in May that Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) declared itself the first firm to win a significant court victory on the back of using document review technology gave hope. Continue reading “Disputes Eye: A no-brainer? How tech can save your client £2m”

Deal View: DLA moves house in London but can it break free?

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Deal View: DLA moves house in London but can it break free?

Shifting to an agile-working office is a peculiar experience. Two camps quickly emerge: those excited by change and colleagues happy with decades-old paper in a pile on their desk. It is unsettling, yet can galvanise a workforce.

DLA Piper is similarly moving into a bespoke, semi-open-plan office this year – its single-largest capital investment ever. The flagship London HQ unites 360 lawyers from two separate offices, a grand total of 633 steps down the road. A new environment will be embraced by many, but for some the gloss quickly wears off. Continue reading “Deal View: DLA moves house in London but can it break free?”

The Last Word: Generation Next

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The Last Word: Generation Next

As part of our partnership special, we asked young partners and managers alike for their take on the latest wave of partners coming through

Buck stops here

‘The biggest change for me when becoming partner was this immediate sense of responsibility – a responsibility to retain and attract talent, and to bring in interesting work. Suddenly you are supervising work and the buck stops with you. I miss the gossip! You got all the gossip when you were an associate, but when you become a partner people don’t want to gossip with you that much.’
Nicole Jadeja, partner, Fieldfisher Continue reading “The Last Word: Generation Next”

A&O merger bid risky but US question can’t be delayed forever

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A&O merger bid risky but US question can’t be delayed forever

‘It is an odd couple. I wouldn’t have put them together,’ is one take from a London peer to the news that Allen & Overy (A&O) has sought a $2.8bn union with O’Melveny & Myers. It is certainly a representative view.

Since news of the talks broke in early April, One Bishops Square has gone uncharacteristically coy. However, it is understood that management indicated earlier this year that it was talking to two, then unnamed, US firms. A&O, of course, has to tread carefully – getting a deal through the demanding audience of its London partnership with O’Melveny or any comparable firm is a big ask. Continue reading “A&O merger bid risky but US question can’t be delayed forever”

Star power is core to your pitch – accept it

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Within the same week, two Magic Circle firms stressed to Legal Business the same mantra after departures of big-name lawyers: it is not about stars, the focus is the platform and that is what top clients are buying. In a mobile market where even the once-untouchable elite City law firms lose marquee names to high-paying rivals, it is an increasingly familiar refrain, albeit one that has spread from mid-weight stalwarts to the tier more used to the role of hunter than prey.

But law firms – and this goes double for the leaders in the UK and US – would be well advised to go nowhere near the seductive institutional defence and not only because the financial results of the last ten years provide ample evidence that contradicts the assertion. Continue reading “Star power is core to your pitch – accept it”

16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner

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16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner

Recently a surprisingly popular column in Legal Business took a jaded view of the state of leadership in major law firms. The nub of our argument was that the law firm c-suite had descended into technocratic managerialism over genuine leadership, leaving once bold institutions to put off crucial decisions.

That piece drew on years of hanging around with managing and senior partners, which at times means feeling more like a leadership therapist/their mother than a reporter. But in the spirit of lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness, here are my tips to successful law firm leadership. And ignore the flip tone because I mean it all. Continue reading “16 easy steps to making you a great managing partner”

Disputes Eye: Witness statements – going loco with Acratopulo

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Disputes Eye: Witness statements – going loco with Acratopulo

With the war to overhaul disclosure raging on, a new battleground already seems to be emerging. Leading the charge is the newly-appointed president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA), Julian Acratopulo.

Clifford Chance (CC) partner Acratopulo, elected LSLA president in April, was quoted as saying witness statements needed reform. Continue reading “Disputes Eye: Witness statements – going loco with Acratopulo”

Deal view: Life after Hatchard – does Skadden hunger to take its peerless M&A team to the next level?

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Deal view: Life after Hatchard – does Skadden hunger to take its peerless M&A team to the next level?

‘Theirs is the biggest succession issue faced by any firm in the City,’ says one Magic Circle partner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s prospects, following the retirement of veteran dealmaker Michael Hatchard (pictured right) at the end of last year.

The widely-admired Hatchard did much to make Skadden a US trailblazer in public M&A work in Europe. Though leveraged finance hogs the headlines these days, Hatchard and Skadden were still the competitive forces most cited by top M&A partners at London rivals. Having moved from Theodore Goddard in 1994, Hatchard (who remains a consultant to Skadden) was one of the most successful transfers ever in City law. Continue reading “Deal view: Life after Hatchard – does Skadden hunger to take its peerless M&A team to the next level?”