An all-Tory cabinet: what does the new Conservative majority mean for lawyers?

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The surprising Conservative majority revealed on the morning of 8 May was generally seen as a favourable outcome for City lawyers. However, David Cameron’s appointment of controversial political heavyweight Michael Gove as the new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice a few days later has ruffled some feathers in the legal profession.

Gove, who is the second non-lawyer to hold the post after his predecessor Chris Grayling, will be supported by ex-Linklaters corporate lawyer Dominic Raab as new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, while both the Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC and Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC were reappointed.

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‘There are still things I want to achieve’: Q&A with former law firm leader Tony Angel

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Tom Moore talks to Tony Angel, the former Linklaters managing partner who stepped down as global co-chair of DLA Piper on 1 May. Widely regarded to have been one of the outstanding law firm leaders of the past 25 years, he discusses diversity, harnessing technology and gifting Simon Levine a genie’s lamp.

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What advice would you give to the profession?

First, operating a global business with a single business model is going to be an increasing challenge. We’re all struggling with how to make our organisations more efficient and aligned to client needs. But those needs are increasingly varied and a one-size-fits-all model cannot any longer meet them all. The accounting firms have been very good at managing different business models in a single organisation; law firms need to learn how to do that too or really narrow their focus.

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Selling the family silver: Will Gateley’s listing on London’s stock exchange pay off?

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Sarah Downey assesses Gateley’s audacious plans to become the UK’s first listed law firm

Following in the footsteps of Australia-listed Slater and Gordon, which demonstrated the benefits of using a share offer to part fund its recent £637m acquisition of Quindell’s professional services division, West Midlands firm Gateley confirmed in May it intends to float on AIM later this year.

The move would see the 380 fee-earner outfit become the first UK-listed law firm with an initial public offering (IPO) aimed at a valuation of £130m to £140m. Birmingham-headquartered Gateley had been scoping the possibility of an IPO since last year. Spearheaded by senior partner Michael Ward and London corporate head Nick Smith, the idea emerged during its strategy review before being sounded out with brokers and by holding focus groups to gauge client views.

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Slaughters starts salary race with £70k for NQs

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The yearly contest to attract new talent has started with Magic Circle duo Slaughter and May and Linklaters both making salary hikes of over 5% for junior lawyers, while Hogan Lovells kept pace by bumping its junior pay up to match Slaughters’ £70,000 newly-qualifieds’ (NQs) salary.

Although Linklaters reported its NQs received a £3,500 pay increase to £68,500, this was still behind Slaughters, which has traditionally been a bellwether of trainee and associate salaries among the Magic Circle and gifted an 8% wage bump to NQs, taking them to £70,000. However, Linklaters’ salary bands were increased more aggressively higher up the associate ladder as both two and three-year post-qualification experience (PQE) lawyers were given sizeable salary increases that topped Slaughters.

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First-to-file firms score double-digit growth

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UK-based firms Osborne Clarke, Browne Jacobson, Clarke Willmott and Fladgate have all recorded double-digit revenue growth for the 2014/15 financial year, while Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s partner profits reached new heights.

In a sign that the UK legal market is at its most buoyant since the 2008 financial crisis, each of Browne Jacobson’s five national offices scored sharp workload rises, with Manchester surging by 73% and London turnover up by 61%. The firm made an additional £8.7m in the last financial year, climbing to £58.9m.

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Brait a boon for Links as New Look buyout lifts PE market

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Less than a month after advising on the £1.3bn purchase of Virgin Active by billionaire Christo Wiese’s private equity vehicle Brait, Linklaters’ rising star Alex Woodward (pictured) last month led on Brait’s £780m acquisition of a 90% stake in fashion retailer New Look.

South African Wiese has added New Look to a string of recent investments in the UK High Street, which includes a stake in Iceland.

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‘A real privilege’: Squire Patton Boggs’ Leeds office acts for Poundworld on TPG investment

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Squire Patton Boggs lined up opposite Ropes & Gray as both won key roles on TPG’s £150m investment into value retailer Poundworld last month.

The US private equity (PE) house acquired a majority stake in the UK’s second-largest single-price retailer as part of a bid for accelerated expansion nationwide, with 150 stores planned over the next three years.

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Deal watch: Corporate activity in May 2015

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SLAUGHTERS AND LINKS ACT ON SANTANDER AND UNICREDIT’S ASSET MANAGEMENT TIE-UP

Slaughter and May, best-friend firm Uría Menéndez and Davis Polk & Wardwell in the US were instructed by Santander as it combined its asset management arm with Linklaters’ client UniCredit’s Pioneer Investments. The deal created one of Europe’s biggest asset managers, with €350bn under management.


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Russian market beckons for Kennedys as others continue to ‘adjust’

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After several top 25 global firms cut backs their Moscow offerings last year, there have been signs of renewed interest in Moscow as Kennedys set up a Russian base last month through an exclusive arrangement with local firm and former Clyde & Co best friend CIS Advocates, while Chadbourne & Parke invested in a new managing partner.

Kennedys’ launch comes with the hire of former Clyde & Co Russian insurance practice head Constantin Saranchouk, along with an associate, and follows troubled markets in Russia across 2014 that saw a raft of firms scale back in the region due to international sanctions.

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Greenberg Traurig builds European real estate team with 12-lawyer hire from A&O and Norton Rose

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In a bid to enhance its real estate offering in Central Europe, Greenberg Traurig last month recruited 12 lawyers to its Warsaw office from Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF).

Joining Greenberg is A&O’s Warsaw real estate head Radomił Charzyński and NRF’s Warsaw real estate head Agnieszka Stankiewicz. Charzyński brings with him three others, including senior associate Karol Brzoskowski, who becomes a partner at Greenberg, and two senior associates, while Stankiewicz, named a leading individual in The Legal 500 for Polish real estate, brings with her local partner Magdalena Życzkowska-Jóźwiak, one senior associate and five associates.

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