• September 5, 2013 |

    Desert dreams – why law firms are reassessing their Middle East strategies

    In Abu Dhabi Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has been looking in recent months to sub-let half its office space on the 23rd floor of the prestigious Al Sila Tower. The firm stresses it remains committed to the city, but its move nonetheless reflects a broader readjustment of international law firm ambitions in the UAE capital. "It's no secret that we are looking to sub-let half of the floor we originally let," says Zubair Mir, head of HSF's Middle East operations, before adding that "we are not looking to return the lease in any way". He explains: "What happened was we bought an entire floor in Dubai which became more full than we expected, so when we negotiated in Abu Dhabi we took out more space than we needed to try to avoid the situation of not having enough room." HSF is not alone in rethinking its needs in Abu Dhabi. Hogan Lovells closed its outpost there last year and transferred its work to the firm's Dubai office, having decided that it made for a stronger regional hub.

    1 minute read

  • August 30, 2013 |

    Aviva appoints eight firms to core panel as CC misses out in review

    Aviva has appointed eight principal firms to its UK and group legal panel, with Clifford Chance (CC) missing out on a place after a review of the insurance giant's core legal panel. Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O), Latham & Watkins, Ashurst, DLA Piper, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard have won spots on the new line-up, following a competitive tender process which began in April.

    1 minute read

  • August 19, 2013 |

    Squire Sanders secures City hire of Addleshaws structured finance head

    Squire Sanders has sealed the hire of Addleshaw Goddard's head of structured finance, Mark Thomas, for its London office. Thomas, who advises clients on structured loan products and loan portfolio sales and acquisitions, is the fifth partner in the last year to join Squire Sanders' global financial services practice.

    1 minute read

  • August 16, 2013 |

    Shoosmiths to take on A-level students for new apprenticeship scheme

    Shoosmiths is preparing to launch a new legal apprenticeship scheme next month in association with the CILEx Law School. The firm is looking to recruit a group of around 2-4 people which hold the equivalent of three A-Levels graded A-C who will work in its recoveries service practice group based at its Northampton office. The successful candidates will enrol on the two-year Debt Recovery and Insolvency pathway of the Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship with the training delivered and assessed by CILEx Law School.

    1 minute read

  • August 14, 2013 |

    Eversheds and Travers lead on KPMG London office switch

    Eversheds and Travers Smith both advised on KPMG's planned London relocation from Salisbury Square to 30 North Colonnade in Canary Wharf. From 2015, KPMG will occupy 200,000 sq ft across the top eight floors of the building, which is owned in a joint venture by Fimalac and Hearst Corporation. Approximately 1,100 staff will be relocating to Canary Wharf to work alongside the 5,000 staff that is already based next door at 15 Canada Square.

    1 minute read

  • August 14, 2013 |

    Charles Russell becomes latest firm to enter Qatar market with Doha launch

    Charles Russell is launching a new office in Qatar as the UK top 50 firm moves to ramp up its presence in the Middle East. The firm has received its licence from the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, effective as of 29 July, and will officially open the new Doha base in early September.

    1 minute read

  • August 14, 2013 |

    Addleshaws launches apprenticeship scheme for Manchester paralegal team

    Addleshaw Goddard is to launch a legal apprenticeship scheme this autumn linked to its rapidly expanding Transactional Services Team (TST). Based at Addleshaws' TST base in Manchester, the scheme will lead to an National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Legal Services with those successful going on to score full-time roles. The firm has made ten spaces available in the first year's intake and is currently adverting through schools, colleges and recruitment agencies to students completing A-Levels or an equivalent qualification this summer.

    1 minute read

  • August 8, 2013 |

    Addleshaws seals tie-up with new HK firm led by DLA and Minters partners

    Addleshaw Goddard's Hong Kong office is to enter into a formal association with a new local law firm headed up by partners from Minter Ellison and DLA Piper. The new firm, Stewien & Co, will be led by DLA Piper corporate partner Brett Stewien and Minters litigation and employment head Nigel Francis.

    1 minute read

  • August 1, 2013 |

    Mergers fuel growth in domestic market as national firms outpace top 50 rivals

    Nationally represented law firms have once again outpaced their City counterparts as consolidation among mid-tier firms continues to drive growth. Mergers and acquisitions involving top 50 firms across the UK helped push average revenue growth up to 12.3%, well ahead of the average growth of 6.9% for the top 50 as a whole and also up on last year's average growth of 9.4% for the same group. Expansive DWF posted by far the biggest increase as revenues climbed 84.5% to £188.2m, following a transformative year which included a string of mergers, most notably the February acquisition of Cobbetts – catapulting the firm 15 places up the UK top 50 to 18th.

    1 minute read

  • July 31, 2013 |

    ValueDynamics - The Talent Challenge

    The vast majority of the in-house lawyers that participated in the Value Dynamics study are already engaged in developing and implementing some form of overall talent strategy for their team. Many GCs are finding the funding of talent initiatives difficult. They have tight budgets and the appetite for learning and development investment is low, with legal often finding itself at the end of the priority list for investment.

    1 minute read