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  • January 23, 2009 |

    Bakers lays off 20 legal staff from London office

    Baker & McKenzie has cut 20 legal positions in London with the firm also set to review its support function. The firm confirmed today (23 January) that 20 London-based legal staff have lost their jobs, with the redundancies affecting a number of associates and paralegals. It is understood that the cuts affect a number of practice areas, including corporate.In addition, the firm has launched a separate review of its secretarial and support services which could result in job losses. No formal redundancy consultation has been launched and the review is set to last several months.

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  • January 22, 2009 |

    Asian newcomers size up an uncertain market

    The jet lag flying from New York to Hong Kong is bad enough for a solo traveller. For a family with two young children in tow, it is an absolute killer."We slept through the night last night," says Yash Rana, sitting in his office in the IM Pei-designed Bank of China Tower less than a week after the fateful flight. "That was a treat."Rana has moved his family halfway around the world so he can take charge of Goodwin Procter's new Hong Kong office, which opened in November to become the Boston-based law firm's first overseas location.

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  • January 19, 2009 |

    Will crime pay for US firms in Europe?

    Readers of this site have become accustomed to stories of major US law firms striving to get their bankruptcy practices in order. One recent example: last…

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  • January 14, 2009 |

    Macfarlanes set to make cuts with 14 under threat

    Macfarlanes has kicked off a redundancy consultation which could see up to 14 members of staff laid off from the firm. The firm is reviewing the positions of seven fee earners in its property team and a further seven secretaries in its corporate and property divisions. The firm could not confirm when the consultation would close.

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  • January 13, 2009 |

    O'Melveny bankruptcy co-chair quits for Dechert

    Michael Sage, the co-head of restructuring at O'Melveny & Myers, has joined Dechert in the latest in a series of high-profile moves in the bankruptcy Bar. Sage primarily represents creditors in bankruptcies and out-of-court restructurings, including acting on the Chapter 11 proceedings for Refco and Ziff Davis Media. He bills $895 (£610) an hour, according to an August filing in the Ziff Davis bankruptcy, which earned O'Melveny nearly $1.02m (£695,000) in fees.Sage said: "Dechert provides me a wonderful opportunity to combine my practice and things I like to do and am good at with what the firm does."

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  • January 9, 2009 |

    Bakers announces associate layoffs in New York

    Baker & McKenzie has become the latest firm to announce redundancies, with the firm cutting six of its New York associates as a result of the ongoing economic downturn. The international firm's New York office houses around 140 lawyers including 60 partners and the cuts come as part of a range of cost-cutting measures introduced in response to market conditions.Bakers said in a statement issued today (9 January): "We are in strong financial health, thanks in part to a sound strategy and fiscal discipline, as well as our firm's geographic and practice diversity. However, over the last few months, as a consequence of the downturn affecting the global economy, we have seen declines in some areas."

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  • January 6, 2009 |

    Nabarro seals high-profile Dechert partner hire

    Nabarro has sealed its first major lateral hire of the year, bringing in the head of Dechert's real estate and finance group, Ciaran Carvalho. Carvalho is expected to join Nabarro's London real estate practice later this month after more than 20 years with Dechert. He has held various management positions at the US firm and currently serves as a member of the London management board and as one of 13 partners on Dechert's global policy committee - the body responsible for strategy decisions at the firm.

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  • December 19, 2008 |

    2008: A year in review

    Legalweek.com covered all of the big stories of 2008. Here's a selection of some of the website's most-read stories of the year.

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  • December 4, 2008 |

    Dechert confirms UK cuts could affect 15 staff

    Dechert has announced that 15 jobs are under threat in the US firm's City office, as the firm enters the advanced stages of a redundancy consultation. Last month Legal Week revealed the firm was to begin a consultation with support staff, but the exact numbers of those affected were unclear.A spokesperson at the firm said: "We have now reached the management review stage of the process. While we cannot give a definite figure at this stage, we anticipate that no more than 15 individuals from our support teams will be affected, whether through voluntary or involuntary redundancies."News of the cuts comes after Dechert last month refuted claims that it had made a significant number of associate layoffs in the US.

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  • December 1, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 1/12/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and more

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