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  • June 27, 2013 |

    Weil rivals cite wind-down of Lehman work as factor behind job cuts

    Weil Gotshal & Manges' lucrative role on the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy has been cited as a potential contributing factor to the news this week that the firm is embarking on a major round of layoffs set to affect as many as 170 lawyers and support staff. From Lehman's fall in 2008 to its emergence from Chapter 11 protection in March last year, Weil racked up more than $400m (£260m) in fees advising on the collapse – the largest bankruptcy in history.

    1 minute read

  • June 27, 2013 |

    Mining for mergers in the maple leaf state – will Canada follow Australia's lead with a wave of international tie-ups?

    Canada and Australia have a lot in common. They are both huge countries (9.98m sq km and 7.7m sq km respectively), sparsely populated (34.7m and 22.9m), literate (both 99%), wealthy ($41,500 (£27,000) and $42,400 (£27,500) GDP per head) and rich in natural resources. So when UK law firm Norton Rose announced mergers with two Canadian practices – Ogilvy Renault in 2011 and Macleod Dixon in 2012 – there was naturally speculation that Canada's legal market would follow the pattern set by its Australian counterpart, where almost all of the big domestic firms jumped into bed with international partners within a couple of years of each other. As David Corbett, managing partner at Canadian firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, recalls: "At the time of the Norton Rose merger, there was a lot of talk among the managing partners here as to whether Australia was a good analogy. The conclusion was that nobody knew and we would have to wait and see."

    1 minute read

  • June 27, 2013 |

    Direct Line legal team set for 'sizeable' cuts in restructuring

    Direct Line Group's in-house legal team is facing "sizeable" job cuts as part of a cost-cutting plan that will see 2,000 of the insurance business's 14,400 staff made redundant. Direct Line confirmed company-wide job cuts yesterday (26 June) as part of the next stage of its restructuring and reduction of its cost base, after Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) gave up control of the insurer earlier this year.

    1 minute read

  • June 20, 2013 | International Edition

    Daring to be different – Travers' Chris Carroll on preserving the boutique model

    A lot has changed in the world in the 35 years since Travers Smith's outgoing senior partner Chris Carroll joined the firm in 1978. But as globalisation has driven many of the firm's most comparable City rivals through a series of international office launches and mergers, Travers has remained resolutely independent. Granted, with just over 60 partners and 250 lawyers, it is much bigger than it was when Carroll joined, when it numbered just 13 partners and employed just one female lawyer. Beyond these shifts in size, diversity and – of course – technology, much at Travers has remained the same. Even the firm's Snow Hill headquarters in Farringdon has moved just four doors down the road.

    1 minute read

  • June 20, 2013 |

    A&O and Norton Rose Fulbright lead as Centrica enters UK shale gas market

    Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose Fulbright have won leading roles on a £160m deal that has seen Centrica make its entrance into the closely watched UK shale gas market. Centrica, which owns British Gas, has taken a 25% stake in the Bowland shale gas exploration licence in Lancashire after negotiations with UK shale gas explorer Cuadrilla Resources and Australian engineering group AJ Lucas, which previously held 75% and 25% stakes respectively in the fracking fields. A&O won a first-time mandate for Cuadrilla on the deal following a competitive process. The magic circle firm's London-based team was led by corporate partner John Geraghty, with support from tax partner Lydia Challen.

    1 minute read

  • June 20, 2013 |

    Diageo advisers on alert as new general counsel takes reins

    Diageo has appointed Siobhan Moriarty as its new general counsel, replacing current global legal chief Tim Proctor, who is retiring after 13 years in the role. Moriarty (pictured), who was previously European GC at the drinks giant, will formally step into the top legal role on 1 July, following a transition period that began in January. One of the largest corporates in the FTSE 100, Diageo counts Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo and Guinness among its brands.

    1 minute read

  • June 20, 2013 |

    Daring to be different – Travers' Chris Carroll on preserving the boutique model

    A lot has changed in the world in the 35 years since Travers Smith's outgoing senior partner Chris Carroll joined the firm in 1978. But as globalisation has driven many of the firm's most comparable City rivals through a series of international office launches and mergers, Travers has remained resolutely independent. Granted, with just over 60 partners and 250 lawyers, it is much bigger than it was when Carroll joined, when it numbered just 13 partners and employed just one female lawyer. Beyond these shifts in size, diversity and – of course – technology, much at Travers has remained the same. Even the firm's Snow Hill headquarters in Farringdon has moved just four doors down the road.

    1 minute read

  • June 18, 2013 |

    Taylor Wessing reviews 96 City secretary jobs with 26 set to go

    Taylor Wessing is set to lay off 26 London secretaries in a review of its London secretarial support team. The cuts, first reported by RollOnFriday, will come in the firm's City base, where it has 96 secretaries.

    1 minute read

  • June 17, 2013 |

    White & Case tops up HK corporate team with Ropes & Gray hire

    White & Case has added to its Hong Kong corporate team with the hire of Julian Chung from Ropes & Gray. Chung, who has 26 years of corporate experience in Asia, focuses on public M&A and equity capital market transactions for state and privately owned companies around Asia.

    1 minute read

  • June 13, 2013 |

    Pure lockstep out of favour as economic woes prompt partner pay shake-up

    Half of the UK's leading law firms have either changed their partner remuneration structure since the onset of the credit crunch or are currently reviewing it, according to Legal Week's latest Big Question survey, which highlights the increasing acceptance of merit-linked pay for partners. Forty percent of partners responding to the survey said their firm had changed its remuneration model for partners since the onset of the financial crisis, with a further 11% in the process of looking at it and an additional 1% saying they had plans to review it. About 41% had made no changes, while 6% said they had reviewed their partner reward system but decided against an overhaul. The findings show that only 10% of respondents work in firms with pure lockstep structures, compared with 27% in firms with pure merit systems and 23% in firms keeping aside part of their profits for rewarding top earners. The largest group – 40% – said their firms operate modified locksteps allowing partners to be moved up or down or held based on their individual performance.

    1 minute read