Legal Business

RSM Tenon in administration as three UK firms carve out Challinors

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Strategic recruitment Baker TillyCartwright KingClarke WillmottShoosmiths
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The break-up of debt-laden Midlands firm Challinors took a ‘hunter turned hunted’ twist yesterday afternoon (22 August) after administrator RSM Tenon announced its own debt driven acquisition by rival Baker Tilly.

RSM was appointed in July to oversee the sale of Birmingham-headquartered Challinors’ business, and earlier yesterday announced the sale of parts of the law firm’s commercial litigation, medical negligence and family law practices to Clarke Willmott, Shoosmiths and Cartwright King respectively.

But in a mirror of its professional negotiations, the 35-office troubled accountancy firm was in crisis talks with Tilly and, like so many of the companies it advises, was forced into administration after Tilly pulled out of those talks.Tilly yesterday snapped up its rival in a pre-pack deal, advised by Stephenson Harwood corporate partner Andrew Edge and insolvency and restructuring partner Susan Moore. RSM Tenon was advised by Macfarlanes company law partner Matthew Blows alongside senior counsel Will David and Mark Slade.

The deal will save 2,300 of RSM’s employees but realise no value for its shareholders, including Lloyds Banking Group, advised by Hogan Lovells, which will be left with losses in excess of £80m.

Challinors, meanwhile, has not had the fortune of a wholesale buyer but continues to be broken up following the sale of its personal injury caseload to SGI Legal at the start of the week.

Yesterday it was announced that Clarke Willmott has taken ten members of Challinors’ private client and commercial litigation team into its Birmingham office, while Shoosmiths has strengthened its medical negligence team with eight new appointments led by Challinors’ former head of clinical negligence Richard Bannister. Meanwhile, Cartwright King has hired eight members of staff to join its Birmingham office, the majority of which are family law specialists. The latter group are to take ‘all of their cases with them to Cartwright King,’ according to a firm statement, and will be led by director of the family law practice, Fiona Lazenby.

Stephen Rosser, chief executive at Clarke Willmott said: ‘Growing our Birmingham offering is part of our three year strategy. Our main priority is to ensure a seamless transition for Challinors’ clients and we will be working with the administrators and Challinors’ partners in order to achieve this.’

Shoosmiths head of private client Richard Follis added: ‘This is an important and very experienced team, and their joining demonstrates Shoosmiths’ commitment to this challenging and highly specialist field of work.’ Already we have five medical negligence partners with more than 110 years’ experience between them. There is no substitute for experience in this work and this addition to our team adds breadth and depth to our national offering.’

On 20 August SGI Legal became the first to announce it had bought the personal injury caseload of Challinors for an undisclosed sum – the firm’s first acquisition since it became an alternative business structure on 1 August. However the firm also announced that it had not taken on any members of staff.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Retention round up: mixed bag as Shoosmiths, Dentons, Taylor Wessing record reduced rates

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Associates DentonsShoosmithsTaylor Wessing
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Following last week’s round of positive trainee retention rates within a mix of Magic Circle, international and regional firms; the latest batch of results has revealed a substantial reduction in the number of newly qualified lawyers offered a position at their respective firms.

It’s bad news for the junior lawyer at Shoosmiths as the national firm announced yesterday (7 July) that it will only retain 41% of NQ trainees. Out of a cohort 22, nine out of 11 trainees have so far accepted jobs while out of the remaining 13 newly qualifieds (NQs), seven have been offered jobs at other law firms, and one will return to a non-legal career.

It follows the release of top-40 firm Shoosmiths’ financials which illustrated a modest 3% rise in turnover while PEP dropped 9.7% from £298,000 to £269,000. The firm attributed this to the rise in average equity partner numbers from 40 to 45 during the year.

A spokesperson for Shoosmiths said: ‘Because our trainees are recruited so far in advance, it’s always difficult to predict exactly what our requirements will be at qualification time.

‘Continuing economic uncertainty makes that doubly difficult, and unfortunately we have fewer vacancies at this point in time for newly-qualified solicitors than trainees. We’re hoping more vacancies will become available between now and September, should the economy pick up. In the meantime, we will take all the steps we can to provide support, guidance and help to those trainees still looking for an NQ role.’

Newly merged Dentons has also posted a modest retention rate compared to its peers so far, of 68%. Of its 25 trainees, 17 accepted offers while three were unsuccessful and five chose not to apply.

The low numbers follow the release of the entity’s first financials last month. Publishing broadly flat figures since combining SNR Denton, Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain, the results equated to a combined total turnover of £829.7m, in the top 20 of global law firms in terms of turnover.

Top-20 firm Taylor Wessing also announced its retention rate this week, posting a 70% retention rate out of a cohort 23, making disappointing reading on last year’s figure of 86%. This year, three chose not to apply and the 16 out of 20 that did were successful, equalling a retention rate of 86% from that perspective.

‘We always try to retain as many NQs as possible,’ said graduate recruitment partner, Tim Worden. ‘Having trained them, we expect them to be first-rate associates with good prospects for continued career growth at Taylor Wessing. It’s obviously disappointing that our retention rate isn’t as high this year.’

‘Every year we try our best to match the needs of our various practice areas with the areas into which our trainees wish to qualify, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect match. We hope our retention will be back up to normal levels again next year.’

Those results follow the firm’s announcement last week where a recent redundancy consultation resulted in 22 secretary job losses.

In contrast, City firm Nabarro posted an 83% retention rate across its London and Sheffield offices. It’s a significant boost on the firm’s ranks last year which equalled a 69% retention rate last September. Out of 18 that applied this time around, 15 offers were made and all applicants accepted.

Jane Drew, head of graduate recruitment at Nabarro said: ‘We are pleased that all 15 of our offers have been accepted this year and our retention rate has improved after a blip last year. We put a lot of work into the selection process for our trainees and it is always rewarding to welcome such high quality new lawyers to the firm.’

Elsewhere, SJ Berwin, which recently confirmed a ground breaking union with Asia powerhouse King Wood & Mallesons, unveiled an 88% graduate intake for September 2013

Out of 16 applicants, a total of 14 trainees accepted newly qualified roles with the firm, illustrating a 10% improvement on the firms’ Spring retention rate of 78%. The overall retention rate for this year was 83%. To date, 96% per cent of trainees have accepted roles with the firm.

Nicola Bridge, training principle at SJ Berwin said the firm was ‘impressed at the level of talent this year,’ while its continually ‘high’ retention rates ‘demonstrate that SJ Berwin remains an attractive option for trainees.’

Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Host of top 100 firms disclose increase in turnover as profit proves a more variable metric

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Financial results 2013 GateleyHolman Fenwick WillanSacker & PartnersShoosmithsWard Hadaway
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A host of UK top 100 legal firms including Holman Fenwick Willan, Ward Hadaway, Gateley, Shoosmiths and Sacker & Partners have all reported revenue increases for 2012/13 amidst highly variable profit figures.

Top 30 UK firm Holman Fenwick Willan has seen its turnover increase by 13.8% at the 2012/13 year-end to £141m, while net profit jumped by 17% to £38m, up from £32.4m the previous year. However average profit per equity partner (PEP) at the 450-lawyer firm climbed by a modest 1% from £525,000 to £530,000, largely a result of the addition of 10 new equity partners over the past year, taking the total to 72.

Meanwhile national top 40 firm Shoosmiths has seen a slightly more modest 3% rise in turnover while PEP dropped 9.7% from £298,000 to £269,000 as the firm pointed to the rise in average equity partner numbers from 40 to 45 during the year. It was a year that saw the firm expand into Scotland through its merger with Archibald Campbell & Harley last autumn. The lion’s share of the firm’s revenue came from its disputes and corporate practices, which made up 30% and 22% respectively.

Elsewhere, top 50 full service national outfit Gateley enjoyed a significant boost in profits over the past year, with PEP up 22% from £214,000 to £262,000 while revenue rose 7% from £61.5m to £66m. The 462-lawyer firm opened a new office in Leeds in January 2012 and bulked up its City premises with a move to 1 Paternoster Square last October. The firm’s equity spread now ranges from £140,000 to £550,000, up from £104,000 to £400,000 at the 2011/12 year end.

Enjoying a double digit increase in turnover was top 90 firm Ward Hadaway, which today (11 July) posted a 10% rise in revenue from £30m last year to £33m while average PEP went up from £281,000 in 2011/12 to £322,000 at last financial year end on the back of ‘significant investment’.

The UK top 100 firm opened its main Manchester office in July 2012 and grew its private client services, which saw income jump by 64%. Corporate finance and commercial services saw their income grow by 36% and 14% respectively.

Jamie Martin, managing partner at Ward Hadaway, said: ‘The marketplace for legal services is becoming ever more competitive with new entrants coming in to the sector and existing firms ramping up their efforts to secure greater market share.

‘Combined with pressures on costs and the overall economic climate, it is a difficult market at the moment so we have done incredibly well to achieve double digit growth against such a backdrop.’

In a year that has seen boutiques flourish, pensions specialists Sacker & Partners saw its PEP dip by 11% from £860,000 to £765,000 following the addition of three new partners this year, which gives the top 100 firm 16.4 full-time equivalent equity partners. At the top of its equity the firm nonetheless enjoys profits more on a par with the Magic Circle; the highest earning equity partner at the firm took home £1.15m, up from £1.1m last year while at the bottom of the equity partners took home £362,000, 8% less than last year’s figure of £395,000. Turnover saw a slight increase up from £24m 2011/12 year end to £24.3m this April.

 

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Scottish fire sale continues as DWF snaps up Biggart Baillie

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Scotland DWFShoosmithsTLT
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Merger fever continues to grip the Scottish legal market after veteran firm Biggart Baillie announced in June that it would be joining forces with ambitious Major UK firm DWF on 1 July.

The merger between Biggart Baillie, a Scottish blueblood which can trace its origins back to 1894, and LB’s 2011 National/Regional firm of the Year DWF, is the fifth Anglo-Scottish union since the start of the year. It follows a joint venture between DAC Beachcroft and Andersons, which was announced in March; the acquisition of niche Scottish practice Anderson Fyfe by TLT, which takes effect in July; the announcement in June that Shoosmiths would acquire Archibald Campbell & Harley; and the high-profile merger of Pinsent Masons and McGrigors, which went live on 1 May.

Legal Business

Front Rowe

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Leadership Shoosmiths
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Claire Rowe took over as Shoosmiths’ chief executive a year ago, after the worst period of the firm’s recent history. Can she turn things around?

Shoosmiths’ chief executive Claire Rowe is no larger-than-life extrovert. She smiles politely; fields questions admirably; and gamely takes part in the photo shoot. But with her neat crib sheet and careful answers, it’s all a little too stage-managed. Yet she’s exactly what Shoosmiths needs right now: inscrutable, focused and serious. A year into taking on the role on 1 August 2009, Rowe is showing signs of turning things around for the firm after two years of poor financials and painful restructuring.