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  • January 28, 2009 |

    Commentary: Addleshaws says it ain't broke, let's fix it anyway

    Given that it was regarded as one of the most upwardly mobile mid-market practices in the UK top 50, the question begged by Addleshaw Goddard's decision to remove 19 partners from its ranks is whether it has been mobile enough. Yet Addleshaws, with a practice built on top-tier regional strongholds in Manchester and Leeds and a well-regarded City practice, maintains that the move does not signal weaknesses in its underlying business.The firm talks a decent game, pointing to a solid run of successes in recent months. Among the highlights are debut corporate instructions for six FTSE 100 companies, including Rolls-Royce and Wolseley, as well as new panel appointments to ITV and William Hill. In deals, the firm is understandably proud of its work for the Co-operative Group on its £1.57bn acquisition of Somerfield, a transformational deal for the client. Underlining the firm's strength in the mutual sector is Adam Bennett, who acted on 15 of the last building society mergers. And Legal Week's data provider Mergermarket ranked the firm 10th for volume of UK deals in 2008 - a key benchmark of mid-market strength.

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  • January 23, 2009 |

    Addleshaws in talks with partners beyond 19 exits

    Addleshaw Goddard is in discussions with a number of additional partners about their future roles with the firm, it has emerged. The talks, which are understood to include the possibility of de-equitisations as well as demoting fixed-share partners to non-partner status, come after Legal Week on 20 January reported that Addleshaws had asked 19 partners from its London, Leeds and Manchester offices to leave the firm, citing economic conditions.The firm refused to be drawn on how many partners outside the 19 are involved in the latest discussions. However, the move represents a significant overhaul of the firm's partnership as the 19-partner group alone represents a cut of around 10% of the firm's 182-strong partnership. Of these, around 112 were equity partners and 70 fixed-share.

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  • January 22, 2009 |

    Addleshaws asks 19 partners to leave the firm

    Addleshaw Goddard has asked 19 partners to leave the firm, it was announced internally last night (20 January). The cuts, which according to the firm have been under review for a considerable amount of time, will see 19 partners - more than 10% of the partnership - leave the firm within the coming months.The firm said the cuts would affect all of the firm's offices in London, Leeds and Manchester and all four practice divisions - finance and projects, real estate, corporate, and contentious and commercial. Prior to the cuts, the firm had 182 partners, of which 70 were fixed-share and 112 equity partners.

    1 minute read

  • January 22, 2009 |

    Ashurst moves to downsize equity partnership

    Ten equity partners are to leave Ashurst equity this year in the face of continued economic pressures. The partners come from a number of practice areas and span both the firm's London HQ and international offices.It is believed that some of the 10 include partners that have chosen to retire for lifestyle reasons, though one former partner today described the departing group as being generally "mid-ranked" with the firm's equity.

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  • January 22, 2009 |

    Former OC senior partner to chair funding broker Calunius

    Osborne Clarke's (OC's) former senior partner, Leslie Perrin, has joined specialist funding broker Calunius Capital. The high-profile move saw Perrin join Calunius earlier this week (19 January) as chairman of the funding broker, with responsibility for sourcing and vetting new work and monitoring cases.Perrin, who has a background as a litigator, was one of the UK's most well-known law firm leaders until he retired in 2006.

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  • January 21, 2009 |

    Linklaters: partners to go and firm set for job cuts

    Linklaters is gearing up for plans to cut back its partnership in a move that is expected to see more than 35 partners worldwide leave the City giant.Legal Week has learned that the firm's City headquarters could see around 10 partners depart by the end of the current financial year in April, though its European practice has been cited by some outside the firm as the most vulnerable.Three of the departing City partners are in the capital markets, banking and corporate practices, but it is not yet known where the remaining cuts will be made.

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  • January 20, 2009 |

    Addleshaws goes nuclear again

    It is telling, the contrast in reaction to Addleshaw Goddard’s latest partner cull today with the last time the firm made a similar move.When the…

    1 minute read

  • January 14, 2009 |

    Michael Green: Litigation costs - more creativity is needed

    The collapse of the BCCI creditors' case against the Bank of England in 2005 was the most expensive trial in the history of the English courts, with legal fees exceeding £110m. However, while such extreme examples highlight the significant levels to which legal costs can rise, an increasing and very real concern is that the costs of litigating a dispute will be significantly disproportionate relative to the claim. But to what extent is this a concern among the UK's leading companies, and does it affect their litigation strategy or the value they receive from external advisers?

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  • January 13, 2009 |

    Ashurst wins lead on latest retail insolvency

    Ashurst has landed the lead role on the administration of furniture retailer Land of Leather. The Kent-based company appointed Deloitte as its administrators yesterday (12 January) after it was unable to secure working capital due to the difficult trading conditions.Corporate partner Giles Boothman is leading the Ashurst team advising Deloitte and The Land of Leather.

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  • December 19, 2008 |

    2008: A year in review

    Legalweek.com covered all of the big stories of 2008. Here's a selection of some of the website's most-read stories of the year.

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