Wish you were here?

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This year’s Legal Business 100 firms continue to grow in revenue, but how much is performance in foreign markets masking woes at home? LB finds out

Things have changed in the Legal Business 100 this year. At least seven firms have merged with others, either overseas or at home, while another three have bolted on chunks of the now extinct Halliwells. Five of these firms have seen superficial revenue rises as a result of consolidation, while it is impossible to analyse the fee income ebb and flow at Norton Rose and Hogan Lovells because of recently completed mergers.

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Free at Last – Enyo Law

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Three litigation partners left Addleshaw Goddard last year to set up a conflicts-free, disputes-only boutique. LB finds out how well the model is working.

For many, it’s a depressingly familiar scenario. You’re an experienced litigation partner handling financial services and contentious civil fraud disputes, advising corporates, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals. A senior in-house lawyer from a bank asks you to represent them against another major financial institution after being given your name by a partner from a rival firm. A conflict check then reveals a banking partner at your firm had dinner with the other side and anticipates some corporate work in the pipeline. You have no choice but to decline the instruction.

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On the rebound

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Government initiatives and a resurgent economy have made Singapore and South-East Asia a key focus of the international legal profession once again

In 2006 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s then Asia managing partner Perry Noble explained to LB why the firm had pushed through a major rationalisation of its partnership in the Far East. In the hope that its Asia business would begin to make the profits that the London HQ demanded, the firm radically reduced the size of its partnership in Asia and closed its Singapore office.

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Global 100 – The top table

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A strong economic downturn means that the stars of global law are shining ever brighter. Time to reassess just who makes the grade

The world has changed and the Global Elite needs to reflect that. To butcher a phrase: the gap between the haves and the have-a-bits is widening. By almost every measure this elite group of firms is moving ahead. The average net income at a Global Elite firm is $545.5m compared to $291.6m for the whole Global 100 – the gap in profit per equity partner (PEP) is no less marked, with the Global 100 average PEP sitting at $1.4m compared to $2.3m for the Elite firms.

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Global 100 – Slice by slice

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The Global legal market is stratifying at a pace never seen before. From the rocketing profits on Wall Street to the rapidly expanding global giants, which model paid off in this year’s Global 100?

Whether your strategy is to devour the world whole, or take it piece by piece, financial centre by financial centre, global competition has never been fiercer. Bounding straight into the top ten of the Global 100 this year is the newly merged Hogan Lovells, while a dose of revenues from down under has seen Norton Rose rocket into the top 40. Continue reading “Global 100 – Slice by slice”

Tip Top

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Intellectual property is the trophy practice for many firms in 2011. LB examines the current popularity of IP at law firms and the story behind a spate of lateral hires in the past year

Whisper it, but for the global legal community the demise of Howrey brought two pieces of good news. First, its collapse meant a credible competitor had fallen away in the areas of intellectual property (IP), litigation and antitrust. The other bonus was that a number of excellent IP specialists were suddenly on the market. While Howrey’s decline has been well documented, the speed with which other firms scooped up many of the survivors is worth noting.

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Street smart – QualitySolicitors

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QualitySolicitors represents a new generation of firms changing the way that law is done on the high street. With the advent of alternative business structures later this year, LB investigates what impact these new players will have on the industry.

It’s just after the May Bank holiday and the co-founder of QualitySolicitors, Saleem Arif, is on his mobile in a windy motorway service station explaining the thinking behind his business. Continue reading “Street smart – QualitySolicitors”

Redrawing the map

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The latest boom in transactional work from emerging economies is a welcome antidote to difficult home markets for international firms. LB looks at the differing approaches to growth and who the clients of the future might be

It is easy to understand how law firms get carried away by the opportunities that new, emerging markets present. In the past five years there has been a rush to set up offices in places that a generation ago would have held little attraction. The shift of transactional power has now fundamentally moved to emerging economies led by Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries). Continue reading “Redrawing the map”

A different focus – Round Table

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The fourth Legal Business/Marsh round table brought together a group of risk managers to discuss the changing regulatory landscape and how they manage their risk functions

It is perhaps not surprising that the fourth risk round table hosted by Legal Business and Marsh was dominated by one subject. The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s new Code of Conduct, as a part of the move to outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) due in the Autumn, is weighing heavily on the minds of most risk professionals in the largest firms. The prospect of following indicative behaviours, managing relations with the SRA and appointing a compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) were all raised in the course of the discussion.

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