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  • January 27, 2010 |

    Reed Smith invests in City real estate with Olswang partner hire

    Reed Smith has bolstered its London real estate practice, making its second lateral hire into the group within a month. Real estate partner Philip Olmer is set to join the international firm next month from Olswang, where he has been a partner for more than a decade.

    1 minute read

  • January 19, 2010 |

    Testing the waters

    Two years into the financial crisis, Am Law 200 firms continue to grapple with their response to the new reality: that's the main theme from The American Lawyer's annual Law Firm Leaders survey, which shows an increased willingness among firms to implement a smorgasbord of short-term cost-cutting measures while pondering more fundamental changes.

    1 minute read

  • January 19, 2010 |

    Weil takes debut role for Canadian pension fund on Europe investment

    Weil Gotshal & Manges has acted for new client the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan on its debut European direct investment. The private equity arm of the Canadian pension fund is set to buy Acorn Care and Education - which provides foster care and schools for children with learning disabilities - for a reported £150m from Phoenix Equity Partners and Acorn's management after outbidding UK buyout house HG Capital.

    1 minute read

  • January 13, 2010 |

    McDermott abandons associate lockstep in favour of merit-based pay

    McDermott Will & Emery has become the latest firm to move away from lockstep and introduce a merit-based pay system for associates, reports The National Law Journal. The process will result in pay cuts for some of the firm's associates, with first-year salaries set to drop from $160,000 (£98,000) to $145,000 (£89,000) this year, according to Jeffrey Stone, the chairman of the firm's management committee.

    1 minute read

  • January 4, 2010 |

    Reed Smith adds two partners in the City with Dentons and Shell hires

    Reed Smith has bolstered its London offering with the addition of two new partners in the City. Former Reed Smith energy partner Sian Fellows has rejoined the firm from oil giant Shell, where she spent three years in a senior in-house role. Meanwhile, real estate lawyer Jimmy Theodorou joins as a partner from Denton Wilde Sapte, where he was an associate.

    1 minute read

  • December 21, 2009 |

    Training and education: All tied up

    The last few years have seen the College of Law, BPP Law School and, to a lesser extent, Kaplan Law School jostle with each other to secure tie-ups with the top law firms. In the main, firms have been receptive to their advances, with the result being that the vast majority of UK top 20 law firms - and many top 50 firms and US firms with London offices - now have arrangements in place to send their future trainees to study the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and Legal Practice Course (LPC) exclusively with a certain course provider.

    1 minute read

  • December 18, 2009 |

    Shearman makes up City litigation associate in promotions round

    Shearman & Sterling has made up seven new partners in this year's promotions round, with the US firm's City office receiving one new partner. Litigation associate Richard Kelly joins the partnership in London, becoming the second partner in the firm's City litigation practice.

    1 minute read

  • December 15, 2009 |

    Media and sport

    Bird & Bird assesses the legal angles on a scandal-prone sporting world, while Reed Smith looks at how social media is playing havoc with many companies' risk management procedures.

    1 minute read

  • December 15, 2009 |

    Dewey makes up six to partnership as London misses out

    Dewey & LeBoeuf has left London out of its latest promotions round, with the firm making up six new partners. The lion's share of the promotions come in the US firm's New York office, which receives four new partners, with the other two promotions coming in Hong Kong and Milan.

    1 minute read

  • December 11, 2009 |

    Associate pay cuts are here to stay, say firms and analysts

    A growing number of US managing partners and consultants say recent cuts to associate pay will remain a feature of the market in 2010, writes the Am Law Daily. Some are even predicting more significant reductions in starting salaries in the year ahead, and UK lawyers will be watching developments closely, as the US market often has a knock-on impact on City pay rates.

    1 minute read