Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this week’s edition, BonelliErede and Chiomenti battle it out in pursuit of PE dominance; White & Case provides a blueprint for growth in Sweden; and Wolf Theiss’ new Brussels office highlights the firm’s growing ambitions. […]
At the end of May, Herbert Smith Freehills’s executive partner for EMEA, UK and US flew to New York with a proposition. Alison Brown was preparing to present an opportunity to a firm that had come top of an HSF-commissioned external audit of the US market. It was a firm that had virtually no platform […]
Addleshaw Goddard is leading for DIY retailer Homebase as it collapses into administration. On the other side of the table, Browne Jacobson is advising The Range’s owner CDS Superstores in its acquisition of the Homebase brand, a move that safeguards nearly 1,500 jobs. Addleshaws’ team for Homebase is led by Manchester-based restructuring partner Tim Taylor. […]
A former partner of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been suspended for 24 months after a case was brought to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) over “inappropriate” conduct. Nick Williams was made up as a partner in the magic circle firm’s disputes and investigations team in March 2017, but left Freshfields two years later following the outcome of […]
This week on Spotlight, we delve into the world of transport with Backhouse Jones, a specialist firm which has been advising the market for nearly a century. Origin: James and Jonathon Backhouse, known to many as the Backhouse twins, come from a long line of solicitors, which can be traced all the way back to […]
The father of a New York socialite has pledged his own funds to save his son from bankruptcy after his son failed to engage with solicitors’ attempts to locate him, the High Court’s Insolvency and Companies List heard on Tuesday. Italian millionaire Raffaello Follieri, who boasts a £12m Kensington property portfolio, was the subject of […]
Kickstarting a legal career is an arduous journey that is likely to leave you saddled with debt. Firms and their clients are acutely aware of this, which is why buzz about solicitor apprenticeship programmes has amplified in recent years. City Century, established by the City of London Law Society, is the manifestation of that momentum. […]
Big-ticket disputes are fuelling headcount growth among the UK’s largest litigation firms. According to The Lawyer’s UK Litigation 50 report, five firms are now home to more than 150 disputes partners in the UK – four of which (DAC Beachcroft, Clyde & Co, Kennedys and Keoghs) have strong insurance roots. These firms are hunting for […]
The evolution of Leeds’ legal scene is representative of how the UK legal market is changing shape. Just 18 months ago, Leeds was dominated by five firms, including local stalwart (Walker Morris with 57 partners) and a group of national firms with regional roots: Addleshaw Goddard (44), Eversheds Sutherland (35), Pinsent Masons (34) and DLA […]
At the end of May, Herbert Smith Freehills’s executive partner for EMEA, UK and US flew to New York with a proposition. Alison Brown was preparing to present an opportunity to a firm that had come top of an HSF-commissioned external audit of the US market. It was a firm that had virtually no platform […]
This week: HSF and Kramer Levin isn’t the only merger in town, while another firm takes action after a staff survey revealed much dissatisfaction with its choice of tea.
Over a decade since Herbert Smith and Freehills tied the knot, the firm is on course for the next – and crucial – stage of its growth strategy, as it expands in the US. But what does the market think? By going to vote on its merger with US firm Kramer Levin, HSF looks set […]
The choice on offer for a lawyer wishing to work in Scotland is greater than ever before – but that leaves challenges for the firms themselves, as they fight harder to keep hold of their brightest talent.
Bust air conditioning, an electricity shutdown and issues with video feeds: the Rolls Building has had a multitude of meltdowns this year and litigators are furious.
The announcement that Herbert Smith Freehills would merge with US firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has got chins wagging across the transatlantic market. But is this a new mega-firm in the vein of A&O Shearman, a shrewd building block for HSF to make advances in the US, or a bit of an anti-climax? What […]
This is a moment of change for the European legal market. With firms like Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Hastings making major recent moves in the EU, the US elite are starting to seriously disrupt the European order. This is most visible in Germany, France and the Nordics. On this episode of The Lawyer Podcast, […]
In our latest podcast celebrating the 20th edition of The Lawyer’s UK 200, editors Catrin Griffiths, Christian Smith, Matt Byrne, Katy Dowell and Richard Simmons are back to reveal the five firms they are watching in the coming years – for good or for ill. With a list of 200 law firms, it’s not difficult […]
If this year’s UK200 is anything to go by, the majority of UK law firms are in robust health. Indeed, they are finally fighting back against the growth of US competitors. So why are so many upending their partnership models? In part one of our two-part podcast series celebrating the 20th edition of The Lawyer’s […]
Mayer Brown has recruited a corporate and securities partner from Dechert, just a day after DLA Piper announced the addition of a Dechert restructuring partner to its team. Ross Montgomery makes the move after nearly 12 years at Dechert. He joined the firm as an associate in 2013 and was made partner in 2021 alongside […]
One of the many challenges facing the new Labour government is deciding whether to immediately ban all new North Sea oil and gas exploration, including those currently in the licensing process. There is already talk of potential legal action from frustrated bidders. This situation offers oil and gas companies – and their professional advisors, including […]
A disputes partner from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s London office is going back in-house after four years at the US firm. Matthew Nunan will become the new UK general counsel of two Marsh McLennan businesses later this month. Overseeing Marsh and Mercer’s UK legal, compliance and public affairs function, Nunan will also join Marsh McLennan’s […]
Research conducted by The Lawyer has revealed which firms have trained the highest number of FTSE general counsel working in the UK. 2024 has so far seen the appointment of 12 new general counsel in FTSE100 companies, as well as an additional 10 when looking at expanded FTSE350 data. An overview of the updated list […]
Development company Arup’s general counsel is moving back to private practice after 10 years in-house. James Pratt leaves Arup to join Mantle Law as a partner in its London office. Mantle launched in London in 2021. It is an international boutique firm with a focus on construction-related arbitration and disputes. Prior to joining Mantle, Pratt […]
Software company OneAdvanced has hired a new general counsel. The business has brought on Xavier Langlois as its legal chief. He moves from talent management platform Beamery, where he acted as both chief legal officer and chief talent officer. He will be replaced by former associate general counsel Nicolette Nowak, who was promoted to general […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your cheat sheet to the litigation market, bringing you the week’s top litigation stories and analysis. This is what’s driving the week. Merger fever: Merger fever has again gripped London as the market reacts to the news that Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is merging with US firm […]
Macfarlanes on for Swiss bank against major Indian bank Macfarlanes is listed to represent SP Hinduja Banque Privée SA in a general commercial contracts and arrangements claim against the Bank of Baroda. SP Hinduja Banque Privée is headquartered in Geneva, where the company has established relationships around the world, focusing on wealth management, corporate finance […]
Willkie Farr and Geradin Partners square off in carriage dispute for Amazon class action Expect fireworks in court as Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Geradin Partners go head-to-head on Monday (11 November) in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) for two days. Both seek the right to represent a proposed class representative (PCR) for the Amazon […]
Freshfields is representing GTLK Malta Four, a subsidiary of the ultimately Russian state owned GTLK Europe, in a claim filed in the High Court last month. GTLK Europe, which is headquartered in Ireland, was put into liquidation in May 2023 after applications from four creditors who held various contracts with the company. It is itself […]
Timothy Wilkins, global partner for client sustainability at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, talks to The Lawyer about key ESG trends that will land on general counsel’s desks in the near future as well as the unique opportunities ESG present for lawyers to add value to their organisation.
Thomson Reuters’ chief product officer for legal tech Kriti Sharma talks to The Lawyer about holding technology and tech companies more accountable for user needs, what can be done to reduce tech waste and getting tech companies to work better together.
Emma Carr, partner at Gowling WLG, talks to The Lawyer about how the in-house function has changed over the past 10-15 years and shared her views on what the legal team of the future might look like.
Independents The Lawyer’s last part of the UK 200 – The Independents – which focuses on the firms in the lower half of the UK 200 is out now! The Independents account for just 6 per cent of the total UK 200 revenue and we talk about some of the pressures that The Independents are facing […]
Here’s a rundown by litigation reporters Annabel Tinson and Maria Ward-Brennan on the new weekly content on The Lawyer’s Litigation Tracker, which started in October 2022. As Litigation Tracker subscribers already know, on Monday, In court this week comes out, which details some of the most interesting cases hitting the courts that week. On Wednesday, Claim Spotter is released, which looks […]
China top 30 The China Top 30 features the ranking of the top 30 firms based on revenue, and in-depth analysis of financial performance, headcount and growth. The report highlights that despite an extraordinary 2021, the China top 30 are bracing for 2022 to be their first year of downturn after three decades of growth. […]
Sign up to get the weekly Partnerless email in your inbox every Tuesday Why care… about HSF and Kramer Levin? New mega-merger just dropped. Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) will tie up with Kramer Levin of the USA to create a $2bn firm called, imaginatively, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. This news obviously follows in the wake of the A&O Shearman merger […]
If I told you that the secret to making your next presentation a success was to visualise it in advance, no doubt some of you would be wondering if I’d swapped a suit for a string of beads and a headband… After all, visualisation and manifestation are often bundled up together with gamma waves, heightened […]
Sign up to get the weekly Partnerless email in your inbox every Tuesday Self-improvement is a wonderful thing, and one of the benefits of working at US firm King & Spalding is getting chunky travel and education budgets – understood to be worth several thousand of pounds each – which lawyers are able to spend […]
In 2023, the Catalyst report “Women’s Workplace Experiences Challenges Antiracist Leaders to Step Up” surveyed 2,734 women from marginalised racial and ethnic groups worldwide, including 604 women from the UK. It revealed that 51% of women from marginalised backgrounds experience racism at work, with those of darker skin tones more affected. Notably, 49% of respondents felt senior […]