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  • September 25, 2008 |

    Orrick adds to City partner count with Dentons recruit

    The London arm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has boosted its project finance team with the hire of a partner from Denton Wilde Sapte.Elisabeth Gaunt's hire takes Orrick's London projects group to five partners, and the office to 20 partners in total. Gaunt, who joined Dentons in 1992 as a partner, has a practice focusing on the telecoms and energy sector. She has acted for clients including Nokia, Millicom International Cellular, Citi and ABN Amro in the past.Gaunt told Legal Week: "The move represents a fresh challenge for me - the global platform that the firm offers is one of the major draws for coming here."Martin Bartlam, head of Orrick's London office, said: "We are very pleased that [Gaunt] is joining us as her capability is a significant boost to the London office."The hire is Orrick's third partner-level appointment so far this year in the City. In May, Mark Fennessey joined from the London office of US rival Hunton & Williams and in February corporate veteran Hilary Winter came from Jones Day. The firm has also been actively expanding in Europe, opening in Germany through a merger with national independent Hoelters & Elsing

    1 minute read

  • September 25, 2008 |

    Pillsbury boosts City practice with Jones Day recruit

    Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has taken another step towards building up its London presence with the addition of a corporate partner from US firm rival Jones Day.James Campbell - who specialises in capital markets - is set to join the City division of the US law firm in the next few months.Campbell advises on M&A, banking and private equity matters with a particular focus on distressed debt and emerging markets.Pillsbury's London strategy aims to see the office building up in energy, finance, outsourcing, information technology (IT) and intellectual property (IP).Campbell said. "The entrepreneurial spirit that the firm encourages to problem-solving is what clients are looking for in current markets, where legal services have become more than just a commodity."He is the third partner to join the firm this year following February's double hire of finance partner Denis Petkovic from Chadbourne & Parke and IP/IT partner Rafi Azim-Khan from Wragge & Co.Pillsbury has also drafted in energy partner John Mauel to split his time between London and Houston.A further US partner, energy specialist George Borovas, is expected to head to the City from Washington DC over the next few months.Pillsbury's London office houses 19 lawyers, including six partners. But, despite having a presence in London since 1971, the firm has struggled to build a presence.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    Krispy Kreme appoints new general counsel

    Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has appointed Daryl Marsch to the position of general counsel. Marsch had been in the role, based in North Carolina, on an interim basis since May last year, but has now taken up the post permanently. He will report to president and chief executive Jim Morgan. Prior to his position with the American fast food chain, Marsch was senior counsel at RJ Reynolds Tobacco. He has also spent time as a trade regulation lawyer with law firm Jones Day in Washington.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    Brothers in arms

    Since Legal Week newshounds revealed a few weeks back the earth-shattering news that Jones Day had bagged itself two new shiny new litigation partners from Mayer Brown, some extra news has come to the attention of The Diary. Hold onto your hats - Stephen and Michael Brown (the partners in question) have much more than a firm in common - they are, in fact, brothers.With other famous brothers such as the Kennedys, the Millibands and the Chuckles demonstrating that talent and ability often runs in the family, The Diary is left wondering how many other over-achieving family teams are taking on the legal word. Answers to the usual address please.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    Rewarded by results

    The recent decisions of several law firms to bring in merit-based pay systems for assistants have led some in the profession to speculate that pay based on post-qualification experience (PQE) might have had its day.We investigate the arguments for and against merit-based pay, look at how firms evaluate performance and speak to assistants to gauge their views on the topic.Merit versus PQENorton Rose recently made the move to implement merit-based pay at all levels from newly-qualified (NQ) upwards, replacing the traditional PQE gradings with a three-tier system that divides assistants into categories known as Associate 1, Associate 2 and Senior Associate. Assistants are paid and charged out according to the new categories.Managing partner Deirdre Walker explains the reasoning behind the firm's decision to adopt the model. "The PQE approach is antiquated and often simply not fair. Why should a really excellent one- or two-year qualified lawyer earn less than someone mediocre who just happens to have more experience than they do?" She adds that recently introduced age discrimination legislation played a part in the decision. "It was a factor, but not the driving one. As I understand it, legal opinion is still very much divided on whether PQE will fall foul of the new laws."David Gray, managing partner of Eversheds, which is in the process of bringing in performance-related pay for its assistants, also downplays the significance of the legislation. However, he believes that it is important to have a remuneration structure that allows flexibility in terms of how mature assistants are paid. "Say you have one three-year PQE who has 15 years' experience in another profession and is very capable with clients, and another who has come straight from university. Clearly it is a good idea to have a pay structure in place that allows you to pay the first guy more."Ashurst is another high-profile merit-based pay convert, while across the Atlantic, Howrey became the first firm in the US to adopt a totally merit-based structure earlier this month.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    It's bonus time

    Since bonuses were introduced by law firms in the late 1990s as a way to limit the long-term effects of salary inflation, amounts paid out - and the hoops that assistants have to jump through in order to get their hands on the cash - have varied wildly between firms. Some firms give tens of thousands of pounds to assistants regardless of individual performance, while others require Olympian levels of all-round commitment in return for sums that could probably be more easily obtained through a few after hours' shifts at the local pub.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    Common goal

    Nearly 600 associates work in Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's London office, and their talent and hard work plays a hugely important part in enabling us to serve our clients and continue to grow our business. In recognition of this, in early 2007 we instituted a major initiative to involve associates in aspects of the business: the Associate Engagement Group (AEG). The AEG was set up with the aim of identifying changes that could help associates become more engaged in the way the London office operates. At present, the AEG comprises 18 associates and six partners, all of whom are responsible for consulting in their departments on the issues that associates have identified as important to them. Membership of the AEG changes annually so that as many of our associates as possible can be involved. At the end of last year, some 70 associates and partners had been active in one or more of the AEG's working groups.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2008 |

    US could emerge as major player in suits stemming from financial crisis

    In the wake of most economic crises, the silver lining for lawyers and law firms is a surge in litigation. The present mess on Wall Street will no doubt…

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2008 |

    West Coast giant Heller ponders dissolution

    Heller Ehrman appeared on the brink of dissolution this week, with some partners already looking to move with what amounted to tacit approval from firm management, writes The Recorder.In office meetings on Wednesday (17 September), partners were told that dissolution is one of several options facing the 119-year-old law firm, a Heller partner said. As a result, management said it was understood that partners would begin talking to other firms, and several individuals and groups have already begun talks, sources said.

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2008 |

    Eight law firms sign up for pilot as SRA pushes on with trainee reforms

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has launched the long-awaited pilot of controversial changes to the training contract. The work-based learning pilot has two strands - one for those trainees with a formal training contract and one - more controversially - for paralegals hoping to qualify without a contract. Eight law firms including Linklaters, Beachcroft and Jones Day have signed up to test the system for those already with training contracts. They will pilot the scheme - which means trainees will have to meet certain criteria to qualify rather than the automatic progression under the current system - with the September 2008 intake. Meanwhile, Nottingham Law School has agreed to act as an external assessor for paralegals hoping to qualify without a contract. They will be assessed over two years across 37 pre-defined learning criteria with either their employer or Nottingham deciding if they make the grade. Those hoping to qualify with either scheme will still have to gain experience in at least three areas of law, but the pilot will include formal recording of learning and objectives in eight areas.However, the SRA has backed down, for the pilot, on its most unpopular proposal that could have seen the training contract reduced from two years to 16 months. Jonathan Spencer, chair of the SRA's education and training committee, said: "We are enthusiastic about the launch of the work-based learning pilot. We will be monitoring its progress very carefully to assess how it is working in practice for all parties concerned and to carry out any modifications that may become necessary."The SRA announced last May that it had delayed piloting the changes, with the body at the time citing the challenge of creating a model "which is robust enough not to be seen as a 'second-class' route to qualification". At the time, the proposals drew sustained criticism from a number of City law firms, who argued that the reforms risked lowering the educational standards of newly-qualified solicitors. However, Nigel Savage, chief executive of the College of Law, argued the current pilot does not go far enough. He said: "I believe that the training contract should be abolished - it is the biggest impediment to widening participation in law."

    1 minute read