While there is a body of writing on how to run an in-house legal team, much of it is dominated by US authors. Aiming to fill the void, Bjarne Tellmann, the outspoken general counsel (GC) of FTSE 100 publishing empire Pearson, has just published Building an Outstanding Legal Team. Tellmann discusses the book with Tom Baker.
LB: What’s the general theme of your book?
Victoria Young and Georgiana Tudor assess the Magic Circle firm’s deal finance practice
‘Clifford Chance (CC)’s decline has been significant,’ one leading leveraged finance partner opines. ‘Ten years ago I would have pegged them as in the leading three or four in this space, but they are gently scaling down.’
Kathryn McCann assesses the regulator’s controversial new route to qualification
In April, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced that its planned Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), also known as ‘the super-exam’, would be in place by 2020 following two formal consultations. This is despite garnering considerable, but not unexpected, criticism from the profession and education providers alike.
Our quality of life survey, published this month, found all of the UK’s top ten law firms have policies around flexible working. Many of the partners interviewed said their firms also allowed teams to develop their own strategy of flexible working, with partners asked to use their own discretion as to whether members of their team needed time off.
Continue reading “‘Some firms do it very well’: Top City outfits embrace flexible working”
The new system, called Pathways, will assess performance in quick sessions with partners, as opposed to lengthy annual reviews.
Continue reading “Hogan Lovells pilots radical associate assessment programme”
While pitching to general counsel (GCs) is hardly a foreign concept for private practitioners, an elite group of GCs for fast-growth companies has invited a pre-selected list of law firms to bid to host its events.
The bank is looking to fill 400 positions this year globally in anti-financial crime and is recruiting for a new team in Europe to be led by regional head of anti-financial crime, Thomas Altenbach. The team will sit outside of the legal function, with four new recruits: one hire at director level and three other individuals with experience in anti-fraud, bribery and corruption matters. Deutsche Bank anti-fraud teams have historically comprised both legal and compliance professionals.
For observers familiar with the legacy of former Linklaters chief Tony Angel, the rhetoric coming out of Silk Street right now could not be more of a break from the past.
A leadership contest at Simmons & Simmons has ended with senior partner Colin Passmore (pictured) re-elected for a third term, after six years in the role.
Continue reading “‘He always puts the firm first’: Passmore wins Simmons senior partner re-election”
In 2015 CC made amendments to its pay structure to allow leading partners to go up to 130 points, while plateau partners, as well as teams and geographies contributing less may be brought down and capped at 70. The ladder previously ranged from 40-100.
Continue reading “Playing catch-up: CC to push on with remuneration changes”
