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SRA admits to A&O Weinstein probe as MPs turn up the heat on regulator for ‘cosy’ interview with City giant

Harvey Weinstein

City heavyweight Allen & Overy (A&O) is under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for its conduct in the Weinstein saga, the regulator’s chief executive has admitted to a Parliamentary committee.

The investigation into the firm’s handling of the non-disclosure agreement (NDA), drafted by A&O employment partner Mark Mansell for Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, came to light today (25 April) as the Women and Equalities committee questioned SRA boss Paul Philip during an evidence session. Continue reading “SRA admits to A&O Weinstein probe as MPs turn up the heat on regulator for ‘cosy’ interview with City giant”

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DLA loses three real estate partners to McDermott in wake of 50-lawyer exodus

McDermott Will & Emery is darkening DLA Piper’s door once more, with the hiring of another three partners, shortly after bringing in 20 partners from the firm’s US offices.

London-based DLA real estate partners Laurence Rogers, Neville Wright and Tom Calnan are leaving the firm to join McDermott. Rogers specialises in real estate finance, Wright in corporate tax for the finance and real estate sectors, and Calnan in commercial real estate. A DLA spokesperson confirmed the departures but said the firm had no further comment to make. Continue reading “DLA loses three real estate partners to McDermott in wake of 50-lawyer exodus”

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Revolving Doors: Herbert Smith Freehills raids Watson Farley as firms strengthen in the City and abroad

Four Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) partners have decamped to Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) – including aviation specialist Rex Rosales – while lateral hires in the City and abroad continue.

The four-partner hire for HSF sees two moves to London and Singapore respectively. WFW’s aviation sector head Rosales will be joined by asset finance group specialist Jahnavi Ramachandran in London, while finance expert Siva Subramaniam and aviation partner Samuel Kolehmainen leave WFW to join HSF’s Singapore office. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Herbert Smith Freehills raids Watson Farley as firms strengthen in the City and abroad”

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Fly like an Eagle: Barclays joins raft of firms with City law-tech incubator launch

Banking giant Barclays is joining the trio of law firms which have already introduced forms of legal technology incubators by launching its own space for the rapidly-growing UK legal start-up market, which received about £16m of investment in the 18 months from 2016.

The 100-person law-tech Eagle Lab in London’s Notting Hill is backed by 13 law firms and several other industry players including the Law Society, PwC, start-up community Legal Geek, as well as the University of Liverpool and University College London. Continue reading “Fly like an Eagle: Barclays joins raft of firms with City law-tech incubator launch”

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Rosenblatt takes ‘exciting step’ in UK’s fourth law firm listing

City of London

Rosenblatt Solicitors will float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to support its growth ambitions and help it attract and retain talent.

The independent City firm, established in 1989, will become the fourth UK law firm to go public next month, following Gateley in 2015, and Gordon Dadds and Keystone Law last year. Continue reading “Rosenblatt takes ‘exciting step’ in UK’s fourth law firm listing”

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It’s a team game at the legal elite but the mix of players is changing

Alex Novarese

This year we return to the team format of the GC Powerlist, our flagship annual report chronicling the elite of the UK’s buy-side legal community. This team perspective inevitably takes us closer to state-of-the-legal-industry ruminations than the editions focused on individual excellence.

Glancing at this year’s report, the second team-focused edition after the first in 2015, many long-term shifts in the profession have marched on regardless through the era of New Law and tech-fuelled disruption. Teams at leading companies are still accumulating more resources, skills and infrastructure to expand their empires. General counsel (GCs) at leading bluechips operating heavily in the UK are often fielding teams in the hundreds and have expanded substantially over the last three years, despite more pressure for efficiency. ‘More for less’ is a convenient fiction for GCs, but a ‘lot more work for a moderate increase in budget’ has less of a ring. Continue reading “It’s a team game at the legal elite but the mix of players is changing”

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Sponsor message – RPC: Diversity on the agenda

James Miller

James Miller, RPC’s managing partner, highlights the common theme of diversity in this year’s GC Powerlist

The best teams are founded on diversity. And by diversity I mean diversity of thought, diversity of experience and diversity of leadership, as much as anything else.

If ever there was a time to reflect on the importance of diversity – in all its forms – in the era of #MeToo, #TimesUp and the gender pay gap, that time is now. Irrespective of whether studies show that greater diversity delivers greater performance – they do – ensuring we run balanced teams and organisations that offer equal access and equal opportunity is simply the right thing to do as human beings. Continue reading “Sponsor message – RPC: Diversity on the agenda”

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Sponsor message – Cornerstone Research: A solid foundation for effective and compelling expert testimony

Peter Davis

Cornerstone Research supports the world’s leading law firms and corporations in their most complex matters. For more than 25 years, we have provided economic and financial analyses and expert testimony in thousands of disputes, arbitrations and regulatory proceedings.

Clients rely on us for clear and objective assessments. Our experts – both within the firm and externally – include leading academics, authorities on a range of industries and former senior government officials. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Cornerstone Research: A solid foundation for effective and compelling expert testimony”

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Sponsor message – Fox Rodney Search: Understanding the developing role of the general counsel as a strategic business adviser

Corinne Lennock

The role of a general counsel (GC) has developed substantively over the last decade due to increasingly complex regulation, technological advancements and globalisation. GCs now bring more to the table than just their legal expertise and act as strategic legal and business advisers to the chief executive and executive leadership teams. Recruiting and developing the right talent has become harder and even more critical than ever before.

GCs are now viewed as the go-to advisers for chief executives and boards of directors on laws and regulations, as well as public policy, ethics and risk. In addition, GCs now possess broad financial acumen and commercial understanding, leading them to also participate in senior leadership discussions on complex business problems and to provide innovative solutions. The GC has become a principal member of senior management teams and offers advice not just on legal matters but in helping shape discussion and debate on broader business issues. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Fox Rodney Search: Understanding the developing role of the general counsel as a strategic business adviser”

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Sponsor message – Safelink: Improve productivity, reduce costs and engage your clients

Harry Boxall

Legal departments and law firms are under increasing cost pressures and it is no longer about doing more with less; it is simply a question of efficiency: top-quality output with less cost, fewer people and fewer mistakes. This leads the enlightened to the hot topics of business and digital transformation, which go hand in hand with technology and raise the issue of digital trust.

Automation of processes, secure and instant collaborative working and artificial intelligence provide huge opportunities for increasing efficiencies and quality, and creating the transparency that engenders trust in the client/provider relationship. Coupling this with the inherent security advantages of such technologies, a firm awareness of the associated risks, and adherence to an ever-changing regulatory and statutory landscape, gives the opportunity to create an environment of digital trust. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Safelink: Improve productivity, reduce costs and engage your clients”

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Sponsor message – Yerra Solutions: General counsel take the lead

Congratulations on being named a leader among leaders! General counsel (GCs) have been blazing new trails in the legal marketplace for years and it is a testament to your leadership to be named in the GC Powerlist. Yerra Solutions is proud to work with many of the GCs at the forefront of innovation in the management of the in-house legal function.

In partnership with our clients, we address challenges central to legal and intellectual property (IP), e-discovery and investigations, and compliance. Yerra’s consulting and technology-enabled managed services drive greater efficiency and reduce risk in the processes most critical to these functions. Our solutions cover the issues most central to running your department – from responding to a discovery/disclosure order from a court or regulator, forming/evaluating an outside counsel panel, gaining visibility and controlling legal spend, improving contract management or better managing the flow of work handled by internal staff. We also provide decades of collective expertise in helping GCs and their counterparts in IP and compliance to advance the operations of their functions – from selecting and implementing the right technology, to finding the right mix of in-house and outsourced work, to building and maintaining the reports needed to make better decisions. Continue reading “Sponsor message – Yerra Solutions: General counsel take the lead”

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Forming, storming, norming and performing

ZPG legal team

What makes a great corporate legal team? It is a question general counsel (GCs) surprisingly often struggle to answer. This lack of familiarity with the stock definitions of management theory should not be interpreted as a sign of operational incompetence, though.

‘The most common attribute any company looks for when hiring a GC is the ability to manage and lead a team,’ says Siobhán Lewington, managing director of legal recruitment boutique Fox Rodney Search. ‘The interview process is designed to highlight those skills and it is all but impossible to become head of a legal department now without an innate flair for teambuilding.’ Continue reading “Forming, storming, norming and performing”