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  • May 15, 2008 |

    CC, BLP and Olswang play it safe with modest salary rises

    Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O) and Olswang have joined the ranks of firms announcing associate salary rates for 2008, with all three avoiding significant rises. A&O last week became the first magic circle law firm to reveal it was holding salary bands at 2007 levels, with the firm announcing it had frozen associate salaries for 2008. The move is in line with Herbert Smith's decision in April to hold its rates at 2007 levels.

    1 minute read

  • May 15, 2008 |

    Vinson & Elkins tops up infrastructure and energy practice with Freshfields lateral hire

    Vinson & Elkins is to bolster its London office with the hire of energy and infrastructure partner Mark Coker from magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Coker is expected to join Vinson's energy finance group at the end of May, with his appointment taking the office to seven partners and 23 additional fee earners.

    1 minute read

  • May 8, 2008 |

    Linklaters adds 4% to NQ pay despite sweeping predictions of salary freeze

    Linklaters has announced rises of nearly 4% for junior lawyers as several major law firms last week defied predictions that the slowdown would leave pay bands unchanged this year.A newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor at the magic circle law firm is now set to earn £66,600, up from £64,000 in 2007, as exclusively revealed on legalweek.com (30 April).

    1 minute read

  • May 1, 2008 |

    First-half M&A boom drives US firms to $64.5bn record in 2007

    The US's top 100 law firms have capped off a record-breaking five-year run that has seen partner profits soar and combined fees last year hit $64.5bn (£32.4bn), according to the definitive snapshot of the world's largest legal market.The American Lawyer's eagerly-awaited top 100 rankings confirm that the M&A boom of the first half of 2007 has driven the US's top law firms to record financial results.

    1 minute read

  • May 1, 2008 |

    UK firms eye Singapore opportunities as local-law licences go up for grabs

    A raft of City firms are hoping to expand their presence in Singapore by applying for licences to practise local law in the country. Legal Week has learned that DLA Piper, Lovells, Ashurst, Herbert Smith and Norton Rose are all planning to apply for licences to provide local-law advice in Singapore. However, Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have told Legal Week they have no plans to do so, while Clifford Chance (CC) is intending to hold off making a decision until it sees further details from the Singapore Government.

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2008 |

    US results 2007: high growth, high anxiety

    Here’s a telling story regarding the ambiguous mood in the outwardly-robust US legal market.At the time its well-received union was being finalised…

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2008 |

    Confident Linklaters lifts associate pay to £66k

    Linklaters has announced rises of nearly 4% for junior lawyers, Legal Week can reveal, in what will be seen as a confident move from the City giant. A newly-qualified solicitor (NQ) at the magic circle law firm is now set to earn £66,600, up from £64,000 in 2007.

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2008 |

    Herbert Smith announces associate pay freeze

    Herbert Smith has confirmed that it will not be increasing associate salaries for the next financial year. The news, which comes after several years of bumper pay rises, makes the top 10 City firm the first to confirm that its salary bands will stay static, with associates simply rolling into the next pay band.

    1 minute read

  • April 29, 2008 |

    Bullish Linklaters leads on pay but will others follow?

    It certainly wasn’t a forgone conclusion but Linklaters set the agenda for the City pay round today (30 April) when it confirmed that it was lifting…

    1 minute read

  • April 29, 2008 |

    Shearman hikes NQ pay by 7% to £80,000

    Shearman & Sterling has announced an increase of 7% in its London associate salaries, putting the firm's rates well ahead of those at top City firms. The rises mean a newly-qualified solicitor based at the firm's London office will get paid £80,000, up from a figure of £75,000 last year.

    1 minute read