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  • November 28, 2013 |

    NQ intake at London offices of top US firms dips by 6%

    The intake of newly qualified lawyers (NQs) at the largest US and international firms in the UK fell by 6% in the last year, highlighting the continued uncertainty for lawyers at the junior end of the profession. Just a handful of firms in the group of 21 surveyed by Legal Week posted year-on-year increases in the number of NQs who were offered and accepted a training contract. These included Mayer Brown, Shearman & Sterling, McDermott Will & Emery and Sidley Austin. Sidley Austin, alongside Paul Hastings and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom were the only firms to retain 100% of their intake. The research also highlighted the sizeable impact US and international firms have had on the graduate recruitment market, with Reed Smith, Dentons and Baker & McKenzie each taking on at least 25 NQs in 2013.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2013 |

    Return of the independent – how independent law firms are outperforming global rivals in Germany

    It is 23 years since international firms were first allowed to practise local law in Germany. Glance down the list of today's top 20 German firms (by number of lawyers and by revenue) and 75% of them are familiar magic circle names and Wall Street powerhouses, supplemented by a range of UK and US firms with global ambitions. It goes deeper: of the top 50 firms, barely a third are independent. But something interesting has been happening in Germany – from Frankfurt to Stuttgart, the independents are fighting back. Recent data shows that independent firms' annual revenues have increased by 6%-7%, the best figures among independents in all European jurisdictions, while their international counterparts have flatlined. Andreas Urban, managing partner at mid-size independent Heuking Kuhn, says: "There is stagnation among the top law firms – if you look at the top 10, many of them have relatively low growth rates, very flat. A lot of firms below that are developing higher growth rates. There is a shift by clients going to these firms."

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2013 |

    A continent on the rise – why top law firms are eager to tap into the African market

    Andrew Jones of Linklaters is doing it. Kem Ihenacho of Clifford Chance (CC) is doing it. Philip Stopford and Stuart Matty of White & Case, Dentons' Paul Bugingo, Covington & Burling's Witney Schneidman – turns out they're all at it too. Regularly. What is it they're up to? The answer is short: travelling to Africa. They are among an expanding cadre of senior lawyers and advisers from leading global law firms who have been told to seek out opportunities and develop their practices on the vast continent.

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2013 |

    Elite firms line up on $11bn stock exchange M&A deal

    A clutch of firms including Shearman & Sterling, Sullivan & Cromwell, Slaughter and May and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz have advised on IntercontinentalExchange's $11bn (£7bn) acquisition of NYSE Euronext.

    1 minute read

  • November 12, 2013 |

    Virgin Group kicks off review of legal panel

    Virgin Group has launched a review its legal panel, which currently runs to eight firms, ahead of possible changes to the roster.

    1 minute read

  • November 6, 2013 |

    Macfarlanes re-elects senior management team

    Macfarlanes has re-elected its senior management team, with managing partner Julian Howard and senior partner Charles Martin chosen to serve further three-year terms. The new terms will be Martin's (pictured) third as senior partner and Howard's second as managing partner. The re-elections were approved by the firm's partnership at the beginning of the year, with the new terms starting next May.

    1 minute read

  • November 5, 2013 |

    Co-op Bank to split new legal team following group break-up

    The Co-operative Bank is to divide its new in-house legal team into two separate functions, following the financial institution's split from former owner Co-op Group. Details of the break up were this week filed in a prospectus outlining the organisational re-shape of the bank following the transfer of ownership to a consortium of hedge funds including Aurelius and Silver Point.

    1 minute read

  • November 4, 2013 |

    Co-op conflict sees A&O lose out as bank readies for new GC

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has been forced to step down from parts of its advisory role to the Co-operative Bank following a conflict caused by its dual mandate for the bank and former majority owner the Co-operative Group. The news comes as the Co-op bank is poised to appoint a new general counsel, after the Co-op Group lost overall control of the bank to a consortium of hedge funds.

    1 minute read

  • November 1, 2013 |

    Macfarlanes nabs Bakers energy partner as lateral hiring spree continues

    Macfarlanes has recruited Baker & McKenzie energy and projects partner Scott Brodsky to join its commercial practice, marking the firm's second lateral hire this month. Brodsky is co-managing partner of Bakers' Johannesburg office and has advised on a broad range of global projects in the power, renewable energy, oil and gas and transport sectors.

    1 minute read

  • October 24, 2013 |

    Links and A&O among 26 firms objecting to legal threat from Dewey estate

    A host of firms including Linklaters, Allen & Overy, and Baker & McKenzie have filed a collective objection against Dewey & LeBoeuf's estate over its attempt to win compensation for client work originated at the defunct firm. The estate is threatening legal action over matters allegedly transferred to the firms when former Dewey partners left following its collapse last year.

    1 minute read