Finance view – White & Case reinvents its London banking practice with some success

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Madeleine Farman and Victoria Young assess the firm’s reboot after a tough post-2008 run

Traditionally a strong lender side practice in London built around relationships with clients like Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, White & Case’s banking team has moved on since the loss of a four-partner team to Latham & Watkins back in 2010. The exit of then co-head of banking Chris Kandel and his team was a significant hit to a practice that had been established at the peak of the 2000s credit binge as one of the City’s top leveraged shops. Continue reading “Finance view – White & Case reinvents its London banking practice with some success”

Can Shearman finally get ahead of the curve after 15 years of diminishing returns?

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Georgiana Tudor assesses the New York-headquartered firm’s sluggish development

Like all major global law firms, Shearman & Sterling has had its reverses in recent years, albeit a few more than most. The fundamental question that has dogged the firm in Wall Street, London and Germany, is whether this proud US outfit is prepared to move quickly and decisively enough to convincingly get past those setbacks.

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News in brief – December 2016

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PARTNERSHIPS AT RISK IN AUTUMN STATEMENT

Chancellor Philip Hammond signalled a change to partnership taxation in November’s Autumn Statement, which is expected to impact law firm pay. Hammond said he will shake up profit-sharing arrangements, and according to UHY Hacker Young tax partner Roy Maugham, the government will propose that partnerships must decide their profit-sharing arrangements at the beginning of the tax year rather than at the end, regardless of how individuals perform.

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Life during law: Jonny Earle, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

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I don’t take anything for granted. I’ve been lucky, had some good breaks and people have invested time in me.

I can’t sing or dance. My partner thinks I’m like Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when I dance. That’s one reason I went into law. I fancied doing something City-based. I didn’t know what. I came out with my degree and thought: what do I want to do? I applied for a law summer scheme to see what it was like and that was it.

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Clifford Chance begins review of lockstep points to encourage high achievers

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Nearly 18 months after voting through modifications to its remuneration system, Clifford Chance (CC) has kicked off a firmwide review of where partners should sit on its lockstep in a bid to curb under-performance and retain star partners.

The firm traditionally operated a lockstep system with a single profit pool, where partners spent three years as juniors before progressing on to the equity ladder, which ranged between 40 and 100 points.

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EMEA GC leads legal restructure following $16.5bn Tyco-Johnson Controls merger

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Eversheds sole adviser mandate to be reviewed next year

David Symonds, EMEA general counsel (GC) for merged entity Johnson Controls International (JCI), is leading a restructure of the company’s legal function following the completion of the $16.5bn combination of Johnson Controls and Tyco International in September.

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KWM looks outside the City as it elects new European leaders during turbulent period

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King & Wood Mallesons’ (KWM) European partnership chose two new leaders last month, electing corporate partners Tim Bednall and Michael Cziesla as managing and senior partner for the legacy SJ Berwin practice.

The elections were triggered by the early retirements of managing partner William Boss and senior partner Stephen Kon, who return to full-time fee-earning, and come amid a turbulent 18 months for the Global 100 firm. The new leaders take their posts after the firm has missed profit distributions, seen global revenues fall, made a cash call and has been forced to restructure the partnership, with 24 legacy SJ Berwin exits.

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‘No mood for a contested election’: Clydes opts for stability with new senior partner Konsta

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Insurance head steps up as Burns switches roles

The partnership at Clyde & Co has avoided a divisive leadership contest as global head of insurance Simon Konsta won an uncontested election to become the firm’s new senior partner last month.

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