White & Case launches in Madrid with Latham hire

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White & Case has launched its first office in Spain, recruiting Latham & Watkins’ Spanish corporate head Juan Manuel de Remedios to joint lead its new Madrid office as an executive partner.

The Spanish launch comes as the firm concentrates on strengthening its global footprint to take advantage of Spain’s strong links to Latin America.

White & Case Spanish practice head Michael Doran, who is based in London, said the Madrid launch ‘provides our clients with local knowledge coupled with access to our global network’.

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Davis Polk and Linklaters win landmark Lehman settlement

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Linklaters and Davis Polk & Wardwell have won a settlement agreement in the long-running Lehman Brothers bankruptcy that ‘unlocks’ $9bn of assets and sees them returned to the bank’s customers.

Linklaters acted for administrators PwC, an instruction the firm has enjoyed since Lehman collapsed in 2008, on all English law matters.

The Magic Circle firm has fielded a large team acting for PwC, including restructuring partners David Ereira, Tony Bugg and Richard Holden in London and litigation partner James Warnot in New York.

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Falling QC appointments reflect fears for criminal Bar’s prospects

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QC appointments have declined for the fourth year running with the number of applicants also on a downward path.

In this year’s annual silk round, announced on 27 February, just 84 QCs were appointed from a total of 183 applicants. This was down from 88 awards in 2012 and 120 in 2011 from 214 and 251 applications respectively.

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US firms on the march as Global London headcount rises

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Foreign firms in London made bulking up their senior ranks their key priority in 2012, with average partner headcount hitting an all time high, according to the 11th annual Legal Business Global London survey.

The overall number of partners at Global London firms climbed from 1,296 in 2011 to 1,325, proving that the Capital is still one of the most vital legal markets in the world. The top 50 foreign firms in London by headcount added an extra 29 partners to their respective firms compared to last year, with lateral hiring as the main reason for growth.

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Barclays law chief gets £3.7m share award

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If there was any remaining doubt that the lot of the modern general counsel at a major bluechip is a challenging but increasingly well rewarded role, news last month of a controversial bonus round at Barclays should put that to rest.

The bank announced on 20 March that it was awarding nine executives a total of £40.2m in shares, with outgoing group general counsel Mark Harding receiving shares worth over £3.7m.

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Barclays begins search for new general counsel

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Barclays, one of the UK’s largest banks, has started its hunt for a new general counsel (GC) following the retirement of Mark Harding.

Harding’s decision to step down was announced in early February and comes after ten years at the bank. In a statement, the bank’s chief executive Antony Jenkins said that the rationale behind the move was ‘grounded in wanting to do what is best for the bank’.

Barclays is now looking for someone to replace Harding and to head up its group in-house department, which has over 200 lawyers. Because of the seniority of the role, Barclays said the process could take a considerable amount of time, however speculation is already rising over where the bank will find its next recruit. Continue reading “Barclays begins search for new general counsel”

DWF looks to acquire a stricken Cobbetts in pre-pack deal

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DWF is set to acquire Cobbetts in a pre-pack deal, after the struggling Manchester-based firm called in administrators KPMG last month.

The top 40 UK firm announced its intentions to acquire Cobbetts almost a year after merger attempts by the two firms failed. At the time, a joint statement said talks had finished because of ‘continuing uncertain market conditions’.

Under the agreement, DWF will take on 419 staff, including partners, from the fallen firm in Leeds, Manchester, London and Birmingham. The DWF deal does not include Cobbetts’ debt recovery team, Incasso, while Walker Morris has taken the firm’s 24-strong financial litigation team.
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Insolvency teams line up on high-profile failures

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With HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster all entering into administration in the first few weeks of 2013, leading City firms have scored significant instructions.

Linklaters is involved in the administration of HMV, with restructuring and insolvency partners Richard Hodgson and Richard Bussell taking the lead. Linklaters had also been advising the lenders, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, to HMV Group since the beginning of 2011 and banking partner Chris Howard continues to advise the lenders. Continue reading “Insolvency teams line up on high-profile failures”

Latest US profits show positive early signs

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The initial numbers to emerge from the US reporting season indicate a relatively resilient performance in 2012 for the world’s largest legal market.

A series of firms have so far posted headline financial results, including Latham & Watkins, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and White & Case, with the majority achieving growth in profits and fee income.

Latham reported growth of 3.4% with the top five US firm’s revenue hitting $2.23bn, up from $2.15bn for the 2011 year. PEP also grew 7.4% to $2.44m and the firm reported an increase of 2.4% in revenue per lawyer, which hit $1.1m in 2012.

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Freshfields to provide scholarships for aspiring black lawyers

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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is launching a scholarship with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust (SLCT) to help students from black and ethnic minorities gain access to the profession.

The scholarship will allow four successful male candidates committed to pursuing a career in the legal profession to receive a £3,500 annual contribution towards living expenses, as well as training, mentoring, work experience at Freshfields and a guaranteed interview for a training contract.

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