It has been a busy start to September already with a spate of international and UK-wide hires.
Washington DC-based Crowell & Moring was a major beneficiary in the Middle East, picking up a team from Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) after the latter announced plans to shut down its operation in Qatar. Continue reading “Revolving doors: all change in Middle East, UK, Europe as September begins with fresh wave of hires”
DWF has started 2020/21 strongly after a series of efficiency measures were put in place following a tumultuous end to the last financial year that saw debts rise and underlying profits plunge, the firm’s delayed financial results show.
For 2019/20, revenue at DWF rose 11% to £297.2m, up from £268.2m last year. Despite the double-digit hike, the performance is still below the firm’s revised expectations announced in March, when DWF suggested total revenue growth would land between 15% and 20% as the Covid-19 lockdown impacted the firm’s year-end. Underlying organic revenue growth was also below the revised expectations, with the figure growing 2% due to the difficulties encountered in Q4. The firm suggested in March the figure would undergo a ‘high single-digit’ increase. Continue reading “‘Match fit’ DWF rebounds after torrid finish to 2019/20”
St Modwen Properties
Team size: Nine
Major legal advisers: Burges Salmon, Eversheds Sutherland, Gowling WLG, Mayer Brown, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons, Shoosmiths Continue reading “Ethics and governance”
Director of legal services and company secretary
Associated British Foods
Very. The legal team’s values are rigour and integrity, and we decided early on they should be the values of the ethics and CR teams. It is very different but it does mean that when you do it, you’re doing it properly and when you say something, you really mean it. If you’re saying you’re not sourcing cotton from Uzbekistan, you need to make sure you’re not. Continue reading “Interview with… Paul Lister”
Ecotricity
Team size: Three lawyers
Major legal advisers: Dentons, Lewis Silkin, TLT
Elspeth Vincent practises what she preaches: she cares about environmental sustainability, carving out a career as a renewables and environmental lawyer since 2008 before going in-house to ultimately become head of legal at green energy firm Ecotricity. Continue reading “Societal change and the big picture”
General counsel
Bank of England
We were very active, very early on, in trying to come to a manageable plan of action – in building a transitional regime and a temporary permissions regime, and the approach we took to Nationalising the Acquis to allow for the financial services sector to make the requisite changes in time. Largely, the impact has been managed as far as possible. That’s not to say firms don’t face considerable ongoing efforts to be ready for the end of the implementation period, but we’re fortunate in that for the UK financial services sector there’s been a clear plan of action and firms have been engaged with regulators throughout. Continue reading “Interview with… Sonya Branch”
The entries have been assessed, the shortlists have been drawn up and our panel of general counsel judges have had their say: we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Insurance Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.
This award recognises the team that has handled innovative work and has attracted the most impressive instructions of 2019 in this constantly changing sector. Judges were looking for one example of standout work – either a transaction, a dispute or even regulatory advice. Continue reading “Legal Business Awards 2020 – Insurance Team of the Year”
The upheavals of 2020 have given me more time than normal to reflect on something that I’ve spent a good deal of my career engaging with: leadership in major law firms. But while leadership in law is widely accepted as crucial to the success of major institutions, it is a subject that still attracts much confusion and lazy platitudes. So, for what it’s worth, I’ve put down some reflections drawn from two decades of gossiping, arguing, drinking and debating with the c-suites of large law firms. The following are my personal observations and assertions about the state and nature of leadership in this game we call law.
Leadership at the crossroads As Legal Business has remarked before, 2010 was a curate’s egg for leadership in large City law firms. While operational management continued to improve after the battle testing of the banking crisis, strategic leadership became increasingly uncertain when it came to making the big calls. This happened as the model that delivered effective leadership through the 1990s and 2000s at what were then still London-driven firms failed to adapt to the sprawling global partnerships that they have now become. With partnerships being increasingly unwilling to delegate big strategic decisions to leaders during the 2010s, the obvious question of the Covid-19 aftermath is whether managing partners will use the crisis to retake the helm. They’ll certainly try but it’s far from clear that this more robust approach will survive a return to something like normal. Continue reading “The totally scientific secrets of leadership – What I learnt from years of drinking with managing partners”
Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte has again boosted its New Law credentials, this time with the hire of Jack Diggle from alternative legal provider Elevate to head up its Legal Management Consulting arm.
Diggle will be joining the firm alongside contract management expert Craig Conte and legal management consultant Tom Birdseye, both of whom also join from Elevate. The trio will now be responsible for bulking up Deloitte’s legal consultancy offerings to in-house teams, contracting functions, and law firms. Continue reading “Deloitte Legal continues New Law push with hire of Elevate global consultancy head “
The entries were reviewed and our panel of general counsel judges delivered their verdicts: we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Competition Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.
This award is given to the team based in either the UK or Brussels that can demonstrate crucial antitrust advice on a specific case, transaction or investigation, or was instrumental in steering a client through a regulatory minefield.
Continue reading “Legal Business Awards 2020 – Competition Team of the Year”
Herbert Smith Freehills and DAC Beachcroft were among the firms to win spots on Sainsbury’s most recent legal panel, with the supermarket chain cutting its roster by a third with 11 spots reduced to eight.
Morton Fraser was the third firm to be allocated a slot, while Addleshaw Goddard, Shepherd and Wedderburn and Cleaver Fulton Rankin, which were on the previous roster, no longer feature. Meanwhile, Linklaters, Dentons, TLT, CMS and Winckworth Sherwood all retain their spots. Continue reading “In-house: HSF and Beachcroft win spots as Sainsbury’s makes big cuts to adviser panel”
After much back-and-forth between the judges in a keenly contested category, we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Commercial Litigation Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.
This category identifies one outstanding piece of commercial litigation work undertaken by the winning team. The key requirement is not necessarily a substantial award of damages but rather an impressive result for the client, which could include an important out-of-court settlement or avoiding a costly appeals process. Continue reading “Legal Business Awards 2020 – Commercial Litigation Team of the Year”
After much back-and-forth between the judges in a keenly contested category, we are now delighted to reveal the winner of International Arbitration Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.
The winner of this award demonstrated pre-eminent advice in a single matter, be that acting for private corporates, investors, state-owned enterprises or states themselves in international commercial arbitration or investment treaty arbitration. Continue reading “Legal Business Awards 2020 – International Arbitration Team of the Year”
It’s fair to say the research for this year’s GC Powerlist UK, where we once again shook up the format of our flagship annual in-house publication, met some initial resistance. Now in its eighth year, the 2020 edition sought to highlight general counsel (GCs) and legal teams making a major contribution to positive change or transformation, either at an industry or sector level: hence this year’s title, The Change Agenda.
And after months of research and more than 100 interviews, that early cynicism looks excessive. Hoary claims that change will only happen in law when clients demand it and that UK legal chiefs have achieved greater internal clout have moved from platitude to substance, even if such progressive attitudes remain, like the future, unevenly distributed. And the 50 case studies amassed in this year’s Powerlist give a good indication of where that future of the in-house profession is currently amassing. Continue reading “Editor’s note”
In-house leaders in today’s world are navigating an era of unprecedented change.
Our clients’ businesses span the globe. They operate across a range of sectors, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Over and over again, however, we see the same themes. Continue reading “Lead sponsor message: Pinsent Masons”
Privately held since its founding in 1983, Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) is a leading global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement and turnaround management services.
With over 4,500 people across four continents, we deliver tangible results for corporates, boards, private equity firms, law firms and government agencies facing complex challenges. A&M leverages its restructuring heritage to turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage of growth. Continue reading “Sponsor message: Alvarez & Marsal”
Every year the GC Powerlist brings together long-standing and emerging talent leading some of the best in-house legal functions in the UK and across the globe. This year is no exception and we would like to congratulate all of those that have made it into the GC Powerlist for 2020.
This year is focused on those transforming legal services. This transformation is happening at a rapid pace driven by innovative, business-focused and brave leaders in-house who are pushing the needle across so many areas. They are not only revolutionising how in-house legal teams utilise technology and people more effectively and efficiently, they are also influencing the modernisation of law firms, demanding diversity, innovation and flexibility. Most importantly, by unleashing the true potential of a best-in-class legal function, they are ensuring that in-house legal functions are true business partners. Continue reading “Sponsor message: SSQ”
The Law Society of Scotland is the professional body for over 12,000 Scottish solicitors. Our overarching objective is to lead legal excellence, serving the needs of our members and the public. We set and uphold standards to ensure the provision of excellent legal services and ensure the public can have confidence in Scotland’s solicitor profession.
Nearly 30% of our members work in-house making a critical contribution to the success of the companies and organisations that employ them. The Law Society of Scotland is proud to represent and support our members working in-house in Scotland and beyond. Continue reading “Sponsor message: The Law Society of Scotland”
At Willis Towers Watson, our clients benefit from both the depth of our resources across account management, risk management and claims advocacy, and the influence with underwriters that comes from being one of the largest insurance brokers in the world. We are not tied to any one insurer in the legal services sector, giving clients choice and the ability to generate genuine competition. Our highly-experienced brokers are committed to negotiating robust cover at the best possible price.
As well as bringing you the advantages of our global presence, we also offer a unique proposition to the legal services sector: we only work with law firms with 11 or more partners (or directors). This enables us to build close relationships with each of our clients and provide a personalised service from dedicated account handlers. It is the combination of our specialist teams, with the ability to offer tailored and innovative solutions, that sets us apart as the risk consultant and broker of choice. Continue reading “Sponsor message: Willis Towers Watson”
‘When you’ve got your mouth wrapped around the firehose, it becomes really hard to step back and design better ways of doing things,’ comments Checkout.com general counsel (GC) and chief operating officer Joshua Kaplan. ‘But there are times when you just have to force it to happen.’
A slightly mangled metaphor, but time-pressed GCs get the point. This encapsulates the approach an increasing – but still select – group of GCs are taking. The GC as a force for change is a widely discussed but rarely dissected topic: the legal industry waxes lyrical about its desire to do things differently in areas such as diversity and inclusion, mental health, billing and alternative ways of delivering legal services, but the progress of such initiatives are often difficult to track. Continue reading “Overview: Facing fear”
