Almost meeting minds – a select band of CIOs and MPs plot a big, big breakthrough

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During the original dot-com boom, there was a brief period – oh so brief – when legal technologists and managing partners were almost on the same page. With both camps dreaming of dramatic use of IT projects to revolutionise the legal business – the era of Blue Flag – there were big sums signed off, in many cases with poor results when it came to the hard grind of implementation. Dot-com boom turned to bust and IT professionals were once again from Venus and fee-earners from Mars.

Aside from Linklaters’ high-stakes investment in a platform from SAP during the 2000s, technology has shifted in recent years towards pragmatism and smaller initiatives. Mirroring the wider shift towards flexible tech, chief information officers (CIOs) are increasingly focusing on off-the-shelf tools that can be rapidly adapted at competitive costs. Continue reading “Almost meeting minds – a select band of CIOs and MPs plot a big, big breakthrough”

The Last Word: India

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With a slowing economy and the political landscape unsettled, we ask leading international partners with noted Indian practices for their prognosis on the country and whether tougher times will shake up the local legal market

Policy paralysis

‘It is the understatement of the year to say that India has been having problems.

At the beginning of the year there was policy paralysis; there were taxation problems which caused a negative reaction and the budget wasn’t well received. The growth rate is slowing down and inflation Continue reading “The Last Word: India”

Comment: More for more – growing pains and questions as in-house comes of age

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Confident. That’s the mood as Legal Business conducts its second annual poll of in-house counsel. For all the talk of the ‘more for less’ agenda, our special illustrates that there is robust demand for legal services at most sizeable companies and that the growth story of corporate legal teams continues.

More than two thirds of responding in-house legal teams have seen growth over the last five years. Law Society figures underline the wider extent of that growth with the in-house profession growing by 137% between 2001 and 2011. Law firms continue to feel the pinch in part because in-house teams have become determined to retain matters internally.

Another headline finding: law firms have to a considerable extent listened to client demands on value and service; over 90% of clients believe their advisers offer good or fair value, while 81% believe their advisers are appropriately staffing their matters.

Continue reading “Comment: More for more – growing pains and questions as in-house comes of age”

Comment: The social contract – what is the law firm but the people?

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The market for legal services will never be the same again. Mergers, alternative business structures, multi-disciplinary practices, law firm failures, onshoring, offshoring and the continual advance of technology all signpost change, and will continue to drive change in the future. But as we all jostle for market position and attempt to make sense of this ongoing maelstrom, how much thought is being given to the lifeblood of the profession: the lawyers of tomorrow?

Continue reading “Comment: The social contract – what is the law firm but the people?”

Comment: The mindset for 21st century law – be optimistic and afraid and you’ll do fine

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A law firm pumps out marketing bumpf about how awesome it is and it is received – with ample justification – as self-serving twaddle. An alternative legal services provider pumps out marketing bumpf about how awesome it is and it is met with a round of applause, rather than as the self-serving twaddle wrapped in utopian geek speak it usually is.

The point? These days there are a lot of people talking down law firms. True, plenty of criticism regarding conservatism, high costs and lack of genuine client focus is still justified. But to judge by some claims, law firms aren’t just greedy unresponsive bastards, they are greedy unresponsive bastards standing on a burning deck.

Continue reading “Comment: The mindset for 21st century law – be optimistic and afraid and you’ll do fine”

Comment: The air of unreality – can the big deal deliver for Ashurst?

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‘Historically, what killed Ashurst’s mergers has been apathy. Latham, Fried Frank, Clifford Chance – people were apathetic.’ So recalls one former veteran of the City firm.

Ashurst has finally voted on a transformative merger with its Australian partner. But even two years since the firm agreed a formal alliance with big six Australian outfit Blake Dawson, the idea of Ashurst going through with the tie-up still seems odd, unreal even, though this timeframe was always set out and the Australian practice immediately took the name of its City suitor. Continue reading “Comment: The air of unreality – can the big deal deliver for Ashurst?”

The air of unreality – can the big deal deliver for Ashurst?

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‘Historically, what killed Ashurst’s mergers has been apathy. Latham, Fried Frank, Clifford Chance – people were apathetic.’ So recalls one former veteran of the City firm.

As Legal Business goes to press Ashurst is finally about to vote on a transformative merger with its Australian partner. But even two years since the firm agreed a formal alliance with big six Australian outfit Blake Dawson, the idea of Ashurst going through with the tie-up still seems odd, unreal even, though this timeframe was always set out and the Australian practice immediately took the name of its City suitor.
Continue reading “The air of unreality – can the big deal deliver for Ashurst?”

The in-house survey: The Last Word

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Canvassed for our annual in-house survey, general counsel at some of the UK’s leading companies give their perspective on risk, fees and the future of law

Keep it in the family

‘As part of our evolution over the past five years, we are also doing more internally, particularly focusing on transactions that do not proceed or do not come to fruition. When you look at the statistics, because we get involved at a very early stage only one in ten deals goes all the way. Of those nine out of ten that do not proceed, we try and identify them as early as possible and ensure that we are handling those matters internally as far as possible.’

Khasruz Zaman, head of M&A legal, Barclays

Continue reading “The in-house survey: The Last Word”

Comment: Why the in-house triumph over law firms may prove short-lived

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In the decade prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers, an excess of work masked the corrosive effect to law firms from competition with increasingly sophisticated and growing in-house legal departments (C&I teams). Post-Lehman, the economic downturn has exposed significant structural challenges to overstaffed law firms, which have been ruthlessly exploited by C&I to decisively shift the balance of power in favour of clients. Nevertheless, the triumph of in-house, measured by its rapid growth and ability to wrest increasingly complex work from law firms while simultaneously squeezing them on rates, may prove to be short-lived.  Continue reading “Comment: Why the in-house triumph over law firms may prove short-lived”

Comment: The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms

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Respectable, yes, but 2012/13 was a tough year, even by the post-Lehman standards law firm leaders have become accustomed to. While a frantic run of consolidation and international expansion pushed revenue up 8% to £19.1bn, like-for-like growth was far more subdued.

On all objective measures of productivity and profitability, there were further slides, even before accounting for inflation. Back-of-the envelope calculations indicate that the UK’s top 100 law firms are about 25-30% off their boom-time highs in real terms underlying profitability.

Continue reading “Comment: The age of turbulence has only just begun for the UK’s top 100 firms”