I had no intention of doing law. My father was a detective in the Scottish flying squad. I wanted to join the police.
I got a traineeship at Dundas & Wilson where I was the only female trainee. I was also one of the very few that hadn’t been to public school. People were nice but it did feel very odd.
EE LEGAL HEAD REVEALS PLANS POST-TELCO MERGER
Following BT’s high-profile £12.5bn takeover of UK mobile business EE, it has emerged the telco plans to consolidate external legal panels, while EE’s general counsel (GC) James Blendis has been appointed to BT’s legal leadership team. Blendis will now sit on BT’s legal leadership board, which comprises senior legal management, including group GC Dan Fitz.
CMS, Eversheds and NRF also picked as Ashurst, Simmons and HSF miss out
Several London-headquartered law firms, including the entire Magic Circle, have won places on JPMorgan Chase’s panel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) following a review.
Firm increases bonus pool and launches three-year lockstep for new partners
DLA Piper International partners have approved an overhaul of its pay structure, introducing a points-based remuneration system and a larger bonus pot as it targets greater profitability, while bringing in a separate lockstep for new partners while they grow their practices.
Continue reading “DLA Piper partnership votes to overhaul remuneration system”
Bugg targets renewed growth for Linklaters’ finance team in shake-up at Silk Street
Just weeks into his new role as Linklaters global head of banking, Tony Bugg told the firm’s 200 banking lawyers in London that a reorganisation will take place with four group leaders introduced with greater power to set individual and group targets.
Continue reading “Linklaters’ new global banking chief reshuffles deck in shadow finance push”
CASES AGAINST LAW FIRMS DOWN
Figures collated by RPC suggest the post-financial crisis wave of professional negligence claims against law firms has passed. High Court cases against firms were down 47% last year. While the number of cases spiked by 192% to 418 for the year 2013-14, the number of actions against solicitors for the 12 months to 30 June 2015 is lower at 221.
Corporate veteran vows to maintain City focus when he succeeds Saul in May
The new senior partner at Slaughter and May, Stephen Cooke, has pledged to retain the firm’s City focus when he takes up his five-year term at the helm of the UK’s most profitable law firm in May.
2015 Legal Business Law Firm of the Year Osborne Clarke has continued its sound financial performance of the last few years, reporting impressive first-half results for 2015/16. The firm has outpaced its peers by a stretch, reporting a 25% rise in first-half turnover.
While not all firms disclose their revenues at the halfway point, Deloitte has found UK law firm revenues were up by an average of 4.5% for the first half of the financial year 2015/16.
Continue reading “Osborne Clarke still going strong as LB100 firms report first-half results”
One Crown Office Row (1COR) saw six of its barristers take silk in this year’s round of Queen’s Counsel (QC) appointments, as those selecting new QCs remain concerned at the low level of female applicants.
With this year’s 107 appointments marking a rise on last year’s round of 93, notable appointees included 1COR junior Marina Wheeler, the wife of Boris Johnson; Wilberforce Chambers barrister Tim Penny, a former member of the dissolved set 11 Stone Buildings; and 39 Essex Chambers’ Justine Thornton, the wife of former Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Continue reading “1COR tops QC appointments table as female applicants remain ‘stubbornly low’”
Continental Europe the next priority as firm chases larger international revenues
Kennedys formed another international association last month, this time with Buenos Aires firm Estudio Bunge – Bunge, Smith & Luchía Puig.
Continue reading “Kennedys global push continues apace as it follows insurance clients to Argentina”
