UK-driven law firms outperform City leaders in this year’s dynamic-changing LB100

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This year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) has seen the dynamics of the UK legal market turn on its head as national-driven law firms outperformed those at the top of the table, including the Magic Circle.

Overall, total revenue for the LB100 in the financial year 2014/15 is down 1% to £20.64bn, while lawyer headcount has also decreased – down 2% to 64,024. But, these figures mask the positive performance from firms ranked 26-50, with average turnover up 6% to £112m. While revenue per lawyer (RPL) was down 3% to £248,000, profits were up – with profits per equity partner (PEP) seeing a double-digit increase of 10% to £453,000.

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News in brief – September 2015

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BAKERS’ 2014/15 FINANCIALS SEE FIRM SLIP BEHIND DLA

Baker & McKenzie revealed it generated $2.43bn in the year to 30 June 2015, a 4% fall on last year’s $2.54bn. The firm said a strengthening dollar had hit its top-line and also helped push profit per equity partner down to $1.14m from $1.29m. The firm said it had invested in a new financial and management system and hired 51 lateral partners over the year.

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‘A critical first step’: WLG sets sights on global stage with Canadian tie-up

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Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) has set out its global ambitions, following the announcement in July of its union with Canadian firm Gowlings. Gowling WLG will create a 622-partner law firm across 18 cities, and is billed as a new Global 100 practice with revenues estimated at over £400m.

Although some peers have expressed surprise at WLG’s decision to go into the Canadian market, the combination is being pitched by management as a platform to reboot the combined firm as truly global.

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Latest hires boost Fried Frank’s bold City expansion plans under Graham White

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Former Kirkland & Ellis de facto London head Graham White has experience in building City practices and almost a year after being recruited by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson to revive its London offering, the outpost has seen some credible arrivals. But as two more partners officially join in September, White is planning more recruits and a move to larger offices.

White, who joined in October 2014, was tasked to build out three main practice areas – finance, private equity and funds – and then support the expansion of M&A, followed by real estate and restructuring.

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Keeping up with the Joneses – will A&O’s pay overhaul keep top talent?

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Sarah Downey looks at the £20k pay boost and whether the market will follow suit

Allen & Overy (A&O)’s decision to award lucrative associate salaries similar to some US firms in July, as part of a wider overhaul of how it rewards junior lawyers, has sparked renewed debate in the City about how best to retain top talent.

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A&O and Freshfields win work on Bwin’s bidding battle

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888 looks set to strike £900m deal

Deal lawyers took little respite over the summer as the traditional lull failed to materialise. One deal that kept teams at Magic Circle duo Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer busy was the bidding battle between 888 and GVC Holdings for online gambling company Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment.

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Host of Global 100 firms advise on Coke bottler’s $31bn three-way merger

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Over ten firms were involved in the complex cross-border merger that saw three of The Coca-Cola Company’s bottlers unite to create the world’s largest independent bottler for the soft drink maker.

Combining the operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), Coca-Cola Iberian Partners (CCIP) and Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke (CCEAG), Coca-Cola European Partners will be headquartered in London and serve over 300 million consumers across 13 countries. The new company is expected to have net revenues of $12.6bn and a value of around $31bn.

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in July and August 2015

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PEARSON TURNS TO FRESHFIELDS ON SUMMER FT AND ECONOMIST SELL-OFF

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Pearson twice over the summer. The publisher sold the Financial Times to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom client Nikkei and split its 50% stake in The Economist Group between Macfarlanes client and co-shareholder Exor, while Linklaters acted for The Economist.

 

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DLA splits from SA alliance firm Cliffe Dekker over integration and branding issues

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Last month saw DLA Piper and South African firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr end their ten-year formal alliance over integration and branding issues, with the international firm making plans to open a greenfield site in Johannesburg to preserve a presence in the market.

DLA wanted Cliffe Dekker, which carries the DLA branding, to become more closely integrated with the firm. However, the majority of the partnership at Cliffe Dekker felt they would lose too much independence and freedom to operate as a result. At the time the duo said they would continue to maintain a relationship to support existing client relationships and refer clients where appropriate.

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Greenberg makes a splash in Europe after two mass summer hires in Berlin and Warsaw

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Greenberg Traurig has made a concerted push into Europe this summer. Having recruited a 12-lawyer real estate team in May from Allen & Overy and Norton Rose Fulbright in Poland, including both firms’ former local real estate heads, in July Greenberg acquired Olswang’s entire Berlin office, comprising a 14-partner team, to launch its first German outpost.

Greenberg’s German base will open its doors on 1 October 2015, as the firm’s fourth European office after London, Amsterdam and Warsaw. The group hire included taking Olswang’s managing partner in Germany, Christian Schede, who will serve as the German managing shareholder for Greenberg, as well as a team that Olswang has been building since it first set up shop in Berlin in 2007. It had hired from Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to build a practice that was ranked second tier for real estate in The Legal 500.

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