Clifford Chance votes through changes to lockstep in bid to retain heavyweights

Posted on |

City giant’s remuneration review comes after recent key departures

In a move considered overdue by some, Clifford Chance (CC) voted through proposed changes to its remuneration system in late April, creating a more flexible lockstep by stretching the top of the ladder in a bid to retain star partners.

The firm traditionally operated a lockstep system with a single profit pool, where partners spent three years as juniors before progressing on to the equity ladder, which ranges between 40 and 100 points. Under the changes voted through, leading partners can be moved from 100 points up to either 115 or 130, while others may be brought down from the 100-point plateau to 70 points. While billed by management as a fairly comprehensive review intended to look at performance across all geographies, it remains unclear which criteria will be used to determine how partners will move up or down the ladder.

Continue reading “Clifford Chance votes through changes to lockstep in bid to retain heavyweights”

Keeping the talent: Clifford Chance votes through changes to lockstep in bid to stem flow of star partners

Posted on |

The partnership at Clifford Chance (CC) has voted through proposed changes to its remuneration system which will see the firm deploy a more flexible lockstep by stretching the top of the ladder in a bid to retain star partners.

Continue reading “Keeping the talent: Clifford Chance votes through changes to lockstep in bid to stem flow of star partners”

The Last Word – Reflections and looking ahead

Posted on |

Senior figures provide personal perspectives on a changing industry for our 250th edition

Working with Salz

‘I worked for Anthony as an associate. In order of descending seniority, Phil Richards, me and Will Lawes were his “bag carriers”. It was an exciting time. During the 1980s our M&A team were the new kids on the block and the firm was undergoing a reputational transition from a traditional Bank of England adviser to a push-the-envelope transactional adviser. By the 1990s, Freshfields was the go-to firm.

Continue reading “The Last Word – Reflections and looking ahead”

Comment: Women in law – A belated bandwagon, but still welcome

Posted on |

Rarely, even in the conservative game of law, has so necessary a measure been so long avoided until the status quo became so laughably, farcically untenable. The move is for major law firms to start articulating public benchmarks for their proportion of female partners – corporate speak for the series of concrete targets announced this year to stem the huge outflow of talented women from the profession.

Continue reading “Comment: Women in law – A belated bandwagon, but still welcome”

Women in law – A belated bandwagon, but still welcome

Posted on |

Rarely, even in the conservative game of law, has so necessary a measure been so long avoided until the status quo became laughably, farcically, untenable. The move is for major law firms to start articulating public benchmarks for their proportion of female partners – corporate speak for the series of concrete targets announced this year to stem the huge outflow of talented women from the profession.

For years the profession had claimed that meritocracy and changing attitudes would feed through into higher than the circa-20% female partnerships currently at most firms; over the last five years it has become apparent how baseless that conventional wisdom was as gender diversity has barely budged. Indeed, there is some evidence that the two primary tools by which law firms increasingly manage their partnerships – lateral hiring and partner exits – are both favouring male lawyers over women and offsetting any number of women’s networks and mentoring schemes.

Continue reading “Women in law – A belated bandwagon, but still welcome”

Gardening leave is not at your leisure – High Court rules on notices and covenant periods

Posted on |

It is often forgotten that the received wisdom as the 1990s wore on was that restrictive covenants and other restraints on free movement of staff would become a thing of the past for law firm partners and industry in general as the market went the way of the US. However, a High Court ruling this week is a further reminder that employers’ rights to insist on such terms – and how they are used – are still very much a reality.

Continue reading “Gardening leave is not at your leisure – High Court rules on notices and covenant periods”

Strategic Recruitment: What Lies Beneath

Posted on |

More law firms are formally vetting potential senior recruits. Legal Business investigates the growth – and controversies – of partner due diligence.

The legacy of failed lateral hires can damage reputations and even affect the finances of a firm, and this can be particularly galling when the failure is down to an absence of basic due diligence, or that process is flawed. Even the most established firms can get things badly wrong. One recruitment consultant recalls the time a Magic Circle partner called an old law school colleague for their opinion on a potential candidate. As it turned out, the old school chum was the potential recruit’s current boss.

Continue reading “Strategic Recruitment: What Lies Beneath”

Freshfields remains bullish in wake of heavyweight arbitration departures

Posted on |

Magic Circle firm will continue to work with Three Crowns spin off

An undisputed leader in the field of arbitration, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has nonetheless been hit by the recent departures of London heavyweights Constantine Partasides and Paris-based partner Georgios Petrochilos, together with a team out of its German offices, bringing the latest exits to five.

Continue reading “Freshfields remains bullish in wake of heavyweight arbitration departures”