Significant hires

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Significant hires
  • King & Wood Mallesons has taken on the New York team of Mishcon de Reya after the City firm decided to shut its Manhattan branch. The three litigation partners in the office – Mark Raskin, Robert Whiteman and Vincent Filardo – join the local US office of the Asia-Pacific giant, along with six counsel and one paralegal.
  • Crowell & Moring has revisited Squire Patton Boggs for the seventh time in 12 months, hiring partner Nicola Phillips to its international dispute resolution group in London. Her practice is focused on commercial litigation, finance litigation and fraud, particularly in the banking and asset-based lending sectors.

Continue reading “Significant hires”

Record year for ethnic minorities in latest silk round but number of female applicants falls

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Record year for ethnic minorities in latest silk round but number of female applicants falls

Clydes, HSF, Freshfields and White & Case arbitration partners among new QCs

A record 22 applicants from ethnic minority backgrounds have been elevated to Queen’s Counsel (QC) in the latest round from a total 114 taking silk. But while the overall number of new silks is up 6% from 108 last year, the number of female applicants fell slightly. Continue reading “Record year for ethnic minorities in latest silk round but number of female applicants falls”

‘Our first big move’: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner gets Paris play over the line

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‘Our first big move’: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner gets Paris play over the line

Real estate leader taps Franklin for eight partners with more to come in France

‘It’s great to get to the moment where our first big move has happened.’
Lisa Mayhew, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Since the 2018 tie-up between Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Bryan Cave, the merged entity of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has experienced a period of relative calm. But while the last 18 months have been defined by neither convulsion nor dramatic moves, the firm’s recent play in Paris could mark a new phase in BCLP’s post-merger ambitions. Continue reading “‘Our first big move’: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner gets Paris play over the line”

Sponsors, pharma and tech fire up deal activity despite a subdued year for marquee M&A in Europe

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Sponsors, pharma and tech fire up deal activity despite a subdued year for marquee M&A in Europe

A dearth of megadeals in 2019 did little to dampen the spirits of dealmakers with buyout teams capitalising on the ongoing private equity boom while wider pharma and tech deals drove bid activity.

On the face of it, headline figures from Mergermarket speak of a subdued year, with global M&A activity declining 6.9% from 2018 to $3.33trn. The picture in Europe was considerably more gloomy, with the continent seeing a 21.9% dive in total deal value to $770.5bn. Continue reading “Sponsors, pharma and tech fire up deal activity despite a subdued year for marquee M&A in Europe”

Life During Law: David Pester

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Life During Law: David Pester

My family background is in market trading, selling goods and services, so perhaps I would have gone into that if not law. My mother worked as a receptionist and my father started out as a rep, including having a bicycle to go around and see the different stores and promote the products. He ended up in marketing and business development in a bigger corporation but that’s where he started.

Home is down on the south coast in Christchurch in Dorset but I went up to the University of Manchester, which was a big deal going from a small place to a bigger one. Continue reading “Life During Law: David Pester”

Sponsored briefing: Mortgages for law firm partners – A Q&A with Emily Bernstein and Chris Duck

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Sponsored briefing: Mortgages for law firm partners – A Q&A with Emily Bernstein and Chris Duck

Making partner is a huge step up for any lawyer and it is one that can have a major impact on their earning profile. We spoke to Emily Bernstein and Chris Duck, two of Investec’s private bankers working in this space, about the unique challenges they help clients overcome.

What are the biggest concerns lawyers have once they make partner? Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Mortgages for law firm partners – A Q&A with Emily Bernstein and Chris Duck”

Sponsored briefing: Taking the plunge

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Sponsored briefing: Taking the plunge

The office has made a series of bold lateral hires in the last three years. What is behind this?

Suhrud Mehta (SM), co-London managing partner, Milbank: At one level you could say it has been bold and at another level you could say it just made perfect sense for us to make these moves in areas in which the firm has historically been strong. Until the right people came along, we were not prepared to take the plunge. Taking capital markets first, the focus there was to combine the strong reputation we have in leveraged finance with an equally strong capital markets practice that existed at Shearman & Sterling under Apostolos Gkoutzinis. To take a big slug of that and bolt it on to our existing leveraged finance business here was a very powerful thing to do. The combination has been electric. Continue reading “Sponsored briefing: Taking the plunge”

‘Getting access to the talent’ – The profession struggles to react as sweeping training reform looms

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‘Getting access to the talent’ – The profession struggles to react as sweeping training reform looms

Thomas Alan reports on a lively LB debate on training the solicitors of tomorrow

With the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) primed for a 2021 launch; a new generation of lawyers entering the industry; and the partnership model under increasing strain, the legal education sector is set for its largest upheaval in a generation. Continue reading “‘Getting access to the talent’ – The profession struggles to react as sweeping training reform looms”

RPC’s surprise partnership shake-up signals focus on next generation but is the firm still playing too safe?

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RPC’s surprise partnership shake-up signals focus on next generation but is the firm still playing too safe?

Marco Cillario assesses the background to RPC’s decision to abandon all-equity structure

At a November press event held by a top-25 UK law firm, Legal Business was struck by a sudden spike in the guests’ interest in RPC. The 76-partner firm has long been a respected insurance and litigation business, and solid mid-weight operator, but not generally a firm to cause too many ripples of interest among peers. Continue reading “RPC’s surprise partnership shake-up signals focus on next generation but is the firm still playing too safe?”