Client Intelligence Report: Data View – Middle East Focus

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Client Intelligence Report: Data View – Middle East Focus

Demonstrating value is paramount for all in-house legal teams, concerned as it is with how legal work intersects with business objectives and strategy. When measured against the global data, firms in the Middle East reported that they demonstrated value mainly via the same two criteria as the rest of the world; through the commercial aspect of their advice and their risk mitigation abilities. However, the Middle East reported that commercial and business advice was the most important characteristic by a far larger margin than the average. In the Middle East, this was the most prized metric for measuring value added for 46% of respondents, as opposed to 38% in the global average. This implies that legal teams in the Middle East are more likely than average to be relied upon to contribute to the strategic direction of the company. This links in with Middle Eastern general counsel’s greater likelihood of being part of the management structure of their businesses, and shows that in-house legal professionals here are often more integrated with the business than the global norm. Continue reading “Client Intelligence Report: Data View – Middle East Focus”

Life during law: Paul Maher

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Life during law: Paul Maher

I grew up in North West London. My parents came from working-class, Irish Catholic backgrounds from Liverpool. Nobody had been to university. My mum left school at 14 but she was always keen on education.

I did law at Bristol University. It was in the pre-Thatcher days and I was lucky enough to be sent to university by the ‘Socialist Republic of Brent’. They paid for everything. Continue reading “Life during law: Paul Maher”

‘Investments have come home’: City branches stand out in big year for US players

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‘Investments have come home’: City branches stand out in big year for US players

Marco Cillario finds City offices outpacing worldwide growth at many Global London firms

2017 was a boom year for many of the London outposts of US law firms, with several convincingly outpacing their firm’s global performance financially and two passing the $300m mark. And it was not just a frenetic private equity market that boosted the London coffers: many UK teams also picked up headline mandates in areas including disputes and financial restructuring.

White & Case remains the highest-grossing US firm in London thanks to a 13% hike to its top line to $328m in 2017 – a faster growth than its 10% global revenue rise to $1.8bn. Continue reading “‘Investments have come home’: City branches stand out in big year for US players”

Real estate, real estate, real estate: Bryan Cave? Questions surround BLP’s transatlantic union

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Real estate, real estate, real estate: Bryan Cave? Questions surround BLP’s transatlantic union

Hamish McNicol and Thomas Alan canvass the market on the latest UK/US tie-up

‘Next year all our troubles will be out of sight,’ sang Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me In St Louis. You wonder whether the leadership of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) was singing those words from ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ in December before the firm’s quest for a US merger ended with St Louis-bred Bryan Cave. Because apart from a press release lauding the aspirations of the transatlantic tie-up, first floated publicly last October, there has not been much singing since. Continue reading “Real estate, real estate, real estate: Bryan Cave? Questions surround BLP’s transatlantic union”

Gordon Dadds acquisition sweep continues but breakthrough deal remains illusive

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Gordon Dadds acquisition sweep continues but breakthrough deal remains illusive

Hamish McNicol speaks to chief executive Adrian Biles about tubthumping, going public and frustration

Gordon Dadds managing partner and group chief executive Adrian Biles talks ambitions for nearly an hour before recalling a story about a businessman who never smiled in photos. The reason being those photos were always the ones that would accompany any bad news stories further down the track. Continue reading “Gordon Dadds acquisition sweep continues but breakthrough deal remains illusive”

‘It’s a promotion problem’: what the gender pay gap figures tell us so far

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‘It’s a promotion problem’: what the gender pay gap figures tell us so far

Marco Cillario rounds up the latest stats as the April deadline looms

And so it begins. The first gender pay gap reporting season has kicked off and for many Legal Business 100 law firms (and indeed all British companies with 250+ people) there is an early April deadline to disclose how much they are paying their UK-based female employees compared to men. Continue reading “‘It’s a promotion problem’: what the gender pay gap figures tell us so far”

Collective shame as City law falls firmly under #MeToo spotlight

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Collective shame as City law falls firmly under #MeToo spotlight

Thomas Alan finds profession facing tough questions over record on sexual harassment

From the Presidents Club charity dinner to the news in March that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will challenge the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), the legal profession has been jolted by allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment since the start of the year. Continue reading “Collective shame as City law falls firmly under #MeToo spotlight”

High street collapse sees Global 100 players line up on Toys R Us and Maplin failures

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High street collapse sees Global 100 players line up on Toys R Us and Maplin failures

In a worrying trend for high-street retailers, Toys R Us and Maplin have announced their UK domestic businesses are going into administration, allowing Kirkland & Ellis and Eversheds Sutherland to land key insolvency roles.

Kirkland was led by restructuring partners Kon Asimacopoulos and Elaine Nolan, as the firm was called in to advise Moorfield as administrator on Toys R Us, while Eversheds Sutherland was led by David Gray advising PwC on the Maplin collapse. Continue reading “High street collapse sees Global 100 players line up on Toys R Us and Maplin failures”

Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid

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Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Davis Polk & Wardwell have landed pivotal roles as Comcast seeks to disrupt an existing bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox to buy out European satellite broadcaster Sky.

The London-based Freshfields team advising Comcast comprises M&A partners Julian Long and Alison Smith, City competition partners John Davies and Michele Davis, and London employment partner Alice Greenwell. Continue reading “Freshfields and Davis Polk win key roles as Comcast looks to thwart Murdoch’s Sky bid”

Appeal hope remains for property investor despite losing £20m Libor claim against RBS

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Appeal hope remains for property investor despite losing £20m Libor claim against RBS

Bird & Bird client Property Alliance Group (PAG) has lost in the Court of Appeal over a circa £20m Libor manipulation claim against The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and is currently weighing up whether to appeal the decision.

PAG alleged in the claim, which was brought in 2013, that it had been mis-sold four interest-rate swaps for three months Libor. The company argued that the swaps were mis-sold on the basis of implied representation, given previous findings of Libor manipulation against RBS. Continue reading “Appeal hope remains for property investor despite losing £20m Libor claim against RBS”