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  • August 7, 2013 |

    K&L Gates adds Singapore partner duo with White & Case and Watson Farley hires

    K&L Gates has become the latest firm to bolster its M&A and energy teams in Singapore, with the addition of two new partners. The US firm has recruited White & Case energy specialist Lian Yok Tan to advise on project finance, corporate and commercial matters related to large oil and gas deals, whilst corporate practitioner Nicholas Hanna from Watson Farley & Williams has been appointed to work on private equity transactions and capital raising.

    1 minute read

  • August 2, 2013 |

    Client demand and intense competition set the agenda as law firm leaders look back on another difficult year

    "This is a rapidly changing market and you cannot afford to stick to one formula. You have to be responsive..." Emerging markets provide source of comfort as law firm leaders lament patchy deal flow...

    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

  • August 1, 2013 |

    Partner numbers across top 50 grow 7% as equity partner ranks see more modest rise

    Partner numbers across the UK top 50 have grown almost 7% this year, as a number of significant mergers continue to drive headcount growth at leading law firms. Across the 2012-13 financial year there were an average of 10,115 partners working at the top 50 firms, up 6.9% from 9,458 the previous year. Following a spate of mergers, DWF saw the largest growth in partner numbers across the group, leaping from 152 to 285 over the year as a result of tie-ups with Biggart Baillie, Fishburns and Buller Jeffries as well as taking on a number of partners from now defunct Cobbetts.

    1 minute read

  • July 29, 2013 |

    K&L Gates adds second City energy partner in a month with Pinsents hire

    K&L Gates has hired Pinsent Masons energy disputes partner Mike Stewart, the firm's second lateral partner addition in the City in a month. Stewart advises contractors and owners on major construction and energy projects, specialising in international dispute resolution work.

    1 minute read

  • July 29, 2013 |

    Financial Times promotes senior lawyer to GC

    The Financial Times (FT) has promoted senior legal counsel Dan Guildford to general counsel, replacing outgoing chief Tim Bratton, who earlier this month announced he would be joining Berwin Leighton Paisner's (BLP) Lawyers on Demand (LoD) initiative. Guildford takes up the role on 5 August, and will be responsible for managing the newspaper's legal and company secretariat team, which comprises 12 legal and compliance professionals in London, Belfast, Manila and New York.

    1 minute read

  • July 19, 2013 |

    Dundas sees revenues fall 11% as PEP dips by 22% after tough year

    Dundas & Wilson has reported significant fall key financial metrics with turnover down 11%, net profit down 21% and profits per equity partner plunging 22%. Turnover at the firm was £48.7m during the 12-month period to 30 April, down on the previous year's figure of £54.5m. Over the same period, pre-tax profit dropped from £16.2m to £12.8m, and PEP was £164,000 from the previous year's £210,000.

    1 minute read

  • July 18, 2013 |

    Government calls on law firms to offer non-graduate routes into profession

    The Government has called on law firms to help grow the UK's legal sector by opening up the profession to school leavers via apprenticeship schemes. The proposal is one of the key recommendations in a report published last week by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) that aims to boost the competitiveness of the UK's professional and business services (PBS) sector. The strategy was developed by the PBS Council, which is made up of representatives from Government and the private sector, including Will Lawes, Robert Elliott and Chris Mullen, senior partners of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Pinsent Masons respectively. The PBS sector currently employs four million people and is worth more than £150bn to the UK economy each year, equivalent to 11% of GDP. The legal and accounting sector makes up 22% of this figure.

    1 minute read

  • July 18, 2013 |

    Construction group Costain to review five-firm legal panel

    Construction and engineering company Costain Group is to review its external panel of legal advisers later this year. The listed company is set to launch a review of its current five-firm line-up, in a move that will mark the first formal review of the roster since it was first introduced in 2008. The current line-up sees Slaughter and May act as a primary adviser on major corporate work, alongside Pinsent Masons, Bevan Brittan, Addleshaw Goddard and Clyde & Co. The review will be led by legal director and company secretary Tracey Wood, who first developed the panel system five years ago after joining from legacy Hammonds. She commented: "Working with fewer suppliers has increased benefits and understanding on both sides."

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2013 |

    Links, Travers and Shoosmiths come out top in associate satisfaction poll

    Linklaters and Norton Rose Fulbright have been rated as the law firms that associates at rivals would most like to work for, according to new research by Legal Week. Legal Week Intelligence's flagship Employee Satisfaction Report (ESR) this year found the pair ranked ahead of Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Pinsent Masons as the five most popular firms to work for, as rated by peers at rival law firms. Norton Rose, A&O and Slaughters have been in the top five for the last three years of the survey, while Pinsents and Linklaters are new entrants this year, replacing Berwin Leighton Paisner and Clyde & Co.

    1 minute read