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  • October 9, 2008 |

    Clydes could face Tribunal in JJB fixing

    Clyde & Co could be heading to the Competition Appeals Tribunal if it fails to agree fees racked up from its involvement in a price-fixing claim against retailer JJB Sports.The case, which saw Clydes acting for consumer group Which? in a group action against JJB Sports over fixing the prices of replica football shirts, settled in January but Clydes has yet to be paid.The firm was unable to agree on costs with JJB Sports during the settlement negotiations and it is understood that JJB, which was represented by DLA Piper competition partner Martin Rees, viewed Clydes' fees as disproportionately high. Costs are thought to stand at approximately £1m including fees for Clydes and counsel, disbursements and take into account an uplift as a result of a conditional fee arrangement. However, the case secured just £100,000 in compensation for consumers.The issue will move to the Competition Appeals Tribunal in the coming weeks if parties fail to reach an agreement.Clydes dispute resolution partner Julian Connerty, who led the case, told Legal Week: "We are still discussing with JJB Sports the question as to what part of our costs they are going to pay. These things are relative but a case like this is always going to cost a lot. It was a complex case, the first of its kind. The amount at stake was enormous and it entailed a lot of administration especially finding and handling the claimants."He added: "As to our recovery for costs, it is still open to discussion but no part of it will be paid by the consumer or Consumer Association."

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  • October 6, 2008 |

    BLP to lose out following Legal & General review

    Legal & General is putting the final touches to its property panel with long-term adviser Berwin Leighton Paisner looking set to lose work to rival firms.It is understood that existing advisers including Eversheds and LG will pick up much of the insurer's property work, alongside Olswang, which is thought to have been added to the roster.

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  • September 24, 2008 |

    Facing up to harsh reality

    The heady pay increases assistants have enjoyed in recent years are a thing of the past, Legal Week's 2008 Assistants Survey reveals. Indeed, many lawyers who lack the security of partnership status are more likely to be concerned about holding on to their jobs than complaining about compensation, experts say.Data from the survey, combined with the observations of management consultants and recruiters, paints a less than sunny picture of a profession buffeted by the economic downturn that has affected UK and global markets.While few law firms are actively wielding the axe, many are taking a hard look at their bottom lines and staffing needs. If the situation worsens, redundancies could intensify. The scope for alternative career paths may be reduced. And getting a foot in the door is becoming harder.Furthermore, many firms are being forced to rethink the big picture, according to Nick Jarrett-Kerr, a London-based management consultant with Kerma Partners and former chief executive partner of Bevan Ashford. "If an assistant with five to seven years' experience leaves, that person is likely to be replaced with someone less experienced and cheaper," says Jarrett-Kerr. "When people leave, it is an opportunity to think strategically. Do you want to replace them at all, and do you need to replace them at the same level?" In these circumstances, it is perhaps not surprising that Legal Week's survey shows assistants' salaries are generally rising only modestly - a finding corroborated by the observations of Watkins and other experts interviewed. The survey was conducted in August. Responses were provided by 55 law firms, ranging in size from those with 100 or fewer assistants to Eversheds, with more than a thousand. Respondents included a mixture of City, regional and London offices of US firms. Average pay for 2007-08 started at £62,495 for newly-qualified lawyers (NQs) - up slightly from the 2007 figure of £61,247 - reaching £80,596 for those with three years' post-qualification experience (PQEs) - up from £76,695. According to some recruitment firms, the climate of modest pay rises has allowed several mid-sized firms to play catch-up with the big boys - taking the opportunity to narrow the salary gap by offering above-average percentage raises to their assistants. This trend is borne out in the survey data, with Withers, Stephenson Harwood, Berwin Leighton Paisner and Clyde & Co heading a group of mid-market firms that have made significant salary increases during the last year. At Withers, for example, salaries for NQs shot up 20% from £48,000 to £58,000. Pay for assistants with one year's PQE jumped 13% from £54,000 to £61,000. Those with two or three years' PQE also enjoyed boosts of 10.3% and 7.2% respectively. Pay rises in the regions were fairly small: Burges Salmon's increase of around £2,000 at each PQE level was fairly typical. As a result, the pay gap between the City and the regions remains as wide as ever, with non-London assistant salaries - typically in the £40,000 to £60,000 bracket - dwarfed by standard Square Mile rates.Chargeable hours targets moved up slightly to an average of just over 1,440 hours per year. Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft was the outlier with a formal target of 1,900 hours a year. The lowest target was 1,100 hours. "A lot of firms have been nudging their chargeable hours targets, but the actual numbers achieved have probably been lower because there is less work," comments Tony Williams, the principal of Jomati, a management consultancy, and former managing partner of Clifford Chance. "Assistants are being paid more, and firms want more out of them."Firms are paying more attention to time-capture techniques and culture, Jarrett-Kerr says. "Assistants are not necessarily working more, but they are recording it better. Firms are getting better at matching their capture to their volume." Chargeable hours continue to be a fundamental consideration in the award of bonuses in most firms, the survey shows, along with the firm's financial performance. In 13 firms, those were the only factors taken into account. An additional eight reported bonuses are based solely on financial performance, while one said they are entirely discretionary. The remaining 33 used a combination of financial performance, chargeable hours and other performance measures to determine bonuses. After the big pay increases of 2006 and 2007, firms are trying to put more take-home pay at risk in the form of bonuses, said Philip Hough, senior consultant in the London office of Watson Wyatt, an international consulting firm. This method also avoids the consequences of permanent pay hikes such as higher pension and other benefits costs. Hough favors tying bonuses to performance measures beyond chargeable hours. "The most successful organisations are those that have a combination of base pay and performance pay, and a good performance measurement system standing behind it, because they can explain to their employees what they want in terms of behaviour, delivery and contributions to the firm," he says. Performance measures may include quality of work, mentoring, client interaction, business development, seminars given and other factors.All the respondents in the survey conduct appraisals of their assistants, either once or twice a year. Formal mentoring programmes exist at 38 firms. Jomati's Williams argues appraisal should be a continuing process. For example, there is an opportunity to comment on performance each time an assistant completes a project. Reviews of partners by assistants - so-called 360-degree reviews - are conducted in 35 respondent firms. Jarrett-Kerr notes that 36 degree reviews are easier to do in bigger firms - and assistants are likely to be more honest because there is less chance they can be identified. "The capacity for self-deception of some lawyers is quite high, and to have some empirical survey evidence that they are not regarded as good delegators, for example, can be quite helpful," he adds.Alternative in-firm career paths are offered at 37 firms, and four said they are considering their introduction. Except for Burges Salmon, which pioneered a programme 10 years ago, and SJ Berwin, which has a five-year track record, all firms introduced them within the last two years.Alternative career paths are generally viewed as a way to give people who may never make partnership appropriate recognition and a degree of seniority. They also suit lawyers who don't want the hassles or the risk of partnership, or the capital outlay involved.Legal Week's survey revealed a variety of titles for these positions, including legal director, counsel, senior associate, associate director, special counsel, of counsel, senior lawyer, director and professional support lawyer (PSL).The split among males and females in these positions seemed to depend on firm culture. In many firms, the division was fairly even. In others, the positions were held overwhelmingly by women."All these titles have the purpose of giving people the feeling their career is moving forward and keeping them happy where they are in the waiting area for equity partnership. For some, it will be a long-term car park," Jarrett-Kerr said.He noted these positions can create a problem for firms in how to satisfy client expectations. A less sophisticated client may feel slighted if assigned a lawyer who is not a partner. But Jarrett-Kerr says a sophisticated client, such as the general counsel of a big corporation, may be happy to work with a qualified non-partner who is a highly specialised technical lawyer, not a rainmaker.On the other hand, he wonders whether the current economic climate might discourage some lawyers from pursuing the alternative path. "If you enter a world where things are not so secure, it may be that people will revert back and seek the security of a long-term contract such as partnership," he says.Firms may also question the business model as the economy sours, Williams points out. He notes that these positions are relatively expensive, and says the senior group below partner is likely to be squeezed over the next year or so. "Firms will be looking very hard at the business case if there is less work around. They may push work down to less expensive and younger associates," he cautioned - especially if the margin the firm is making on their work is quite small.One reason for the growth in alternative career positions is that achieving equity partnership is getting much harder, Jarrett-Kerr notes. He said the average time is gradually getting longer and is generally much higher than seven years. Partnership might be hard to achieve, but most firms reported at least a few internal promotions to that coveted status. The 28 associates made up at Allen & Overy was the highest amount of any firm surveyed, followed by the 19 promoted at Hammonds. At the other end of the spectrum, Ince & Co made just two internal partner promotions and Dickinson Dees only one. In terms of external recruitment, Simmons & Simmons leads the pack, with 13 partner level hires of assistants from other firms. Pinsent Masons and Eversheds were just behind them with 11 external hires each. Whatever bloodletting may be about to occur, reported attrition rates this year remained stable within most firms, Legal Week's survey showed. However, 14 firms chose not to respond to this question - up from eight last year. Attrition rates of 12% to 15% are considered healthy. Two firms, Dechert and Cobbetts, reported attrition rates of more than 25%. Unsurprisingly, conveyancing is considered the most endangered branch of the profession. Transactional law is also experiencing difficulties. Corporate law is holding up, but firms can be much more selective. Recruiters predict the market for NQs to be even more difficult next year. The consensus view is that the branches of the profession best suited to riding out the turbulent times ahead are employment law, litigation, taxation an

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  • September 18, 2008 |

    Norton Rose Dubai team advises on the emirate's new arbitration legislation draft

    Norton Rose has played a lead advisory role on new arbitration legislation drafted by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in an attempt to make the country a more attractive site for international arbitration. The City law firm's Dubai dispute resolution team helped design the new law, which will allow domestic parties and foreign parties without any connection to the DIFC to arbitrate disputes in the DIFC's courts.A raft of local and international law firms also played a role in designing the new law, which came into effect earlier this month (1 September) after being signed off by Sheikh Mohammed, ruler of Dubai. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy and Clyde & Co, as well as local firms Al Tamimi & Co and Hadef Al Dhahiri & Associates, were all part of a focus group reviewing the law, which was also overseen by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) director general and registrar Adrian Winstanley.Norton Rose's Dubai head of disputes, Patrick Bourke, said the new legislation was part of the DIFC's intent to position itself as a major forum for arbitration in the region. He told Legal Week: "The DIFC now has a user-friendly law as a foundation for its arbitration. It was fascinating and a privilege to be involved in the process and to see the DIFC's desire to make sure that it has a first-class arbitration law."Earlier this year the LCIA and the DIFC launched a joint venture in the Middle East also aimed at boosting the profile of the emirate. The new centre will have access to the LCIA's database of arbitrators and will closely follow LCIA rules.

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  • September 11, 2008 |

    Norton Rose builds on Singapore aviation with high-flying recruit

    Norton Rose has strengthened its Asian capabilities with the addition of a new partner to the firm's Singapore office.Aviation partner Leigh Borrello is set to rejoin the City firm next month from Clyde & Co, where he was a partner for just under a year. Prior to joining Clydes' Singapore office, Borrello was a senior associate with Norton Rose in Singapore and has additionally practised with the aviation finance department at US law firm Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.Borrello will lead the aviation practice, which falls within the asset finance team in Singapore. He replaces former head Simon Briscoe, who left Norton Rose in May to join City rival Clifford Chance.At Norton Rose, Borrello will focus on aviation financing and leasing as the firm continues with plans to build its aviation offering.Borrello's arrival marks the second hire for the firm's Singapore office in recent months, with corporate partner Adam Summerly joining the firm in April from Duane Morris.The wider Asian practice was also recently boosted by the hire of corporate partner Justin Wilson, who joined the Shanghai office from Clifford Chance in June.Norton Rose global aviation chief Jeremy Edwards said: "We are extremely busy in Singapore and aviation is a core part of our practice. Borrello's arrival will help to further build our practice and service our clients in Asia and India."He added: "The business plan is to continue to grow Asia and the Middle East. This is an unsettled time and airlines are finding it difficult, but there is still plenty of work and confidence is good in the region."The firm is also looking to spread its aviation practice out to the Middle East, where it does not currently have any aviation capabilities.

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  • September 11, 2008 |

    BAE names first-ever India chief counsel

    Defence and aerospace giant BAE Systems has appointed Mike Elston as its first-ever chief counsel for India. Elston will officially take up the Delhi-based post on 1 November, leaving his current position of chief counsel of BAE's land systems division.As part of the new role Elston will be responsible for providing legal advice in relation to the company's business in India and will report to president of BAE Systems India, Julian Scopes, and group general counsel Philip Bramwell.

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  • September 10, 2008 |

    Midlands and the North: Down but not out

    Nationally-focused firms have delivered the poorest collective performance in the UK over the past 12 months, leading to speculation over what the next year will hold for them.The 2005-06 financial year was outstanding for regional and national players, with leading outfits in Birmingham and Manchester outperforming City rivals. However, as the economy took a dive, the weakest performances in Legal Week's most recent top 50 league table were notably those with a presence in the Midlands and the north. Mills & Reeve, Hill Dickinson, Cobbetts and Beachcroft all appeared at the bottom of the profits per equity partner ranking, with the latter suffering a 3.1% drop. Meanwhile, Halliwells, Hammonds, Dickinson Dees and Shoosmiths all scored poorly on profit growth, with Shoosmiths actually experiencing a 19.7% drop in profits.

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  • September 3, 2008 |

    Insurer Ace lines up City firms for panel roster

    A raft of City firms have been appointed onto the legal panel of insurer Ace European Group. Clyde & Co, Norton Rose, Mayer Brown, Holman Fenwick & Willan and CMS Cameron McKenna have all been appointed external counsel to the company. The firms will advise on non-claims related work. The firms will also work across sub-panels including real estate, corporate and regulatory work.

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  • August 15, 2008 |

    Clydes insurance partner joins Taylor Wessing

    Taylor Wessing has moved to bolster its London insurance and reinsurance practice with the hire of a partner from Clyde & Co. Anthony Menzies joined the top 30 firm today (15 August) after three years as a partner with Clydes' London office.

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  • August 12, 2008 |

    Clydes builds in Dubai with Pinsents team hire

    Clyde & Co has bolstered its Middle East construction capabilities with the hire of a team of lawyers from Pinsent Masons. Construction partner Mark Blanksby joins Clydes' Dubai arm, along with associates Anna Scannell and Elise Gillians, bringing the total number of fee earners in the firm's local construction practice to 10.Blanksby, who had been a partner at Pinsent Masons since 2001, will focus his practice on construction projects and development.

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