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  • February 18, 2011 |

    Mind your own business – should clients be telling law firms how to run their shop?

    A recent article on Legal Week about an adviser review at Deutsche Bank reminded me of a concept that has gained traction in recent years: the notion that clients should get actively involved in the business model and inner workings of their external counsel. In the case of Deutsche, the bank has made it plain that it will look favourably on firms that use legal process outsourcing as part of its adviser review. The bank is certainly not alone - it's a concept that has attracted a growing level of support in the legal profession in the last five years.

    1 minute read

  • February 16, 2011 |

    Deutsche and JP Morgan push firms on costs and outsourcing

    Deutsche Bank is putting pressure on its legal advisers to increase their use of legal process outsourcing (LPO) as the bank nears the final stages of the first formal review of its external law firm relationships. Deutsche has told law firms that above all else they must be "innovative" about how they provide a cost-efficient service to the bank - in particular, the bank wants to see firms using LPOs wherever possible.

    1 minute read

  • February 16, 2011 |

    Barclays Wealth makes Morgan Stanley hire for new litigation head role

    Barclays Wealth has appointed Morgan Stanley's David Hart to the newly-created role of head of litigation, as the bank continues the restructuring of its in-house litigation functions. Hart, who joined the bank last month (17 January), will work closely with Barclays Wealth general counsel Duncan Perry. He joined directly from Morgan Stanley, where he served as an executive director in the in-house litigation team. Before that he was an associate in the litigation team at magic circle firm Allen & Overy, before joining Morgan Stanley in 2004.

    1 minute read

  • February 15, 2011 |

    Ashurst and Latham take lead on Sweden's $2.9bn bank stake sale

    Ashurst and Latham & Watkins have taken lead roles on the Kingdom of Sweden's sale of $2.9bn (£1.8bn) of its stake in Swedish bank Nordea. Ashurst advised the underwriters on the deal, which included Nomura, Morgan Stanley and Swedish bank SEB Enskilda. The City firm fielded a London and Stockholm team led by City-based head of capital markets Nicholas Holmes.

    1 minute read

  • February 10, 2011 | International Edition

    The Legal Services Act - a great opportunity, but not for us

    Given the pressure to avoid being crushed by the firms above or ousted by the firms below, it is in many ways surprising that the rising 25 aren't paying more heed to the Legal Services Act (LSA) and the potential for change it could bring. To date, a limited few have expressed interest in making fundamental changes to their business, including taking advantage of outside investment permitted under the Act. While undoubtedly all firms are watchful of the LSA's impact, most are unwilling to be the sacrificial lamb that tries it first.

    1 minute read

  • February 10, 2011 |

    The Legal Services Act - a great opportunity, but not for us

    Given the pressure to avoid being crushed by the firms above or ousted by the firms below, it is in many ways surprising that the rising 25 aren't paying more heed to the Legal Services Act (LSA) and the potential for change it could bring. To date, a limited few have expressed interest in making fundamental changes to their business, including taking advantage of outside investment permitted under the Act. While undoubtedly all firms are watchful of the LSA's impact, most are unwilling to be the sacrificial lamb that tries it first.

    1 minute read

  • February 9, 2011 |

    Freshfields and A&O lead on London Stock Exchange's Canadian merger

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has taken a lead role advising the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on its merger with TMX Group, which owns and operates the Toronto Stock Exchange. The magic circle firm is fielding a team led by corporate partners Philip Richards and Andrew Hutchings on the deal, which will combine Europe's and Canada's leading diversified exchange groups.

    1 minute read

  • February 8, 2011 |

    Rising 25: tales of success and woe from the law firms outside the UK top 50

    Sitting just off junction nine of the M27 between Southampton and Portsmouth is the unglamorous Segensworth business park, where for the last two years Blake Lapthorn - the 60th largest law firm in the UK - has paid £450,000 to rent vacant office space. When the firm moved into New Kings Court on the outskirts of Southampton as part of a consolidation following a series of mergers, managing partner Walter Cha thought he would be able to sublet the space. But unsurprisingly, he hadn't counted on a global banking crisis and the subsequent recession. It was costs such as these that saw Blake Lapthorn's profit per equity partner (PEP) fall to just £65,000 in its 2008-09 year. Although this figure has since risen to £116,000, it is still well short of the UK top 51-75 law firm peer group average of £276,000.

    1 minute read

  • February 1, 2011 |

    Simmons names new finance head to succeed incoming managing partner

    Simmons & Simmons has appointed a successor to lead the firm's finance practice in anticipation of current head Jeremy Hoyland taking up the managing partner role as of 1 May. The top 15 City firm has appointed City-based capital markets head Jonathan Hammond to assume both the sector group head and practice group head roles currently held by Hoyland.

    1 minute read

  • February 1, 2011 |

    Morgan Cole signs Integreon deal to use shared back office centre

    Integreon has signed up another law firm to its stable of outsourcing clients with Morgan Cole the latest to take up the use of its Bristol service centre. The 340-lawyer law firm has signed a deal for Integreon to run its library and information service, joining existing clients Osborne Clarke, Beachcroft and TLT Solicitors in the use of the service centre, which now employs around 120 staff.

    1 minute read