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  • 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

  • June 6, 2013 |

    Off track – why associates face a long wait to break into the top ranks of UK law firms

    Junior lawyers may not be under any illusions about the challenges facing them on the track to partnership – but the size and scale of that challenge has been starkly illustrated by new Legal Week research that plainly sets out the increasing length of time UK associates are now required to put in before making partner. Analysis of this year's partnership data shows the average post-qualification experience (PQE) held by newly qualified UK partners at top 10 firms this year stands at 10.6 years – an increase of almost 30% on the equivalent figure of 8.2 in 2006. And the standard set by the country's largest firms has been broadly replicated by their smaller contemporaries, with the average partner track across the top 50 now standing at 10.5 years. One senior partner at a top 10 law firm commented: "It is undoubtedly taking people longer to make partner and I suspect it is the case at all firms. We need to keep promoting the best people to partnership, but law firms are changing after years of double-digit growth – fewer people are now getting through."

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2013 | International Edition

    The rocky road to riches – partners' struggle to equity is bad news for juniors

    You know the outlook is bleak when even the most genial of law firm managers privately suggests they probably wouldn't encourage today's university students to pursue a career in the law. Or at least a career as a partner in a City law firm. Ever-more demanding clients and growing pressure on firms to maintain profits despite stagnating or even falling revenues means that, for most, the path from junior lawyer to the heady heights of partnership is long, and getting longer. And for the exclusive few who do make it there, the view from the top is decidedly more precarious than it used to be, with annual pruning now the norm rather than the exception.

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2013 |

    The rocky road to riches – partners' struggle to equity is bad news for juniors

    You know the outlook is bleak when even the most genial of law firm managers privately suggests they probably wouldn't encourage today's university students to pursue a career in the law. Or at least a career as a partner in a City law firm. Ever-more demanding clients and growing pressure on firms to maintain profits despite stagnating or even falling revenues means that, for most, the path from junior lawyer to the heady heights of partnership is long, and getting longer. And for the exclusive few who do make it there, the view from the top is decidedly more precarious than it used to be, with annual pruning now the norm rather than the exception.

    1 minute read

  • June 6, 2013 |

    Links take banks role as Freshfields, Slaughters lead on Royal Mail IPO

    Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May are playing key roles on the Government's plans to privatise Royal Mail. The sale has been heralded as Britain's most ambitious privatisation since former Prime Minister John Major broke up and sold the railways in the 1990s.

    1 minute read

  • June 4, 2013 |

    CC hikes associate and trainee pay bands with raises of up to 3%

    Clifford Chance (CC) has become the final magic circle firm to confirm its associate salaries for 2013, with the firm also confirming bonus details. The firm has raised salaries across the board with effect from 1 May, bringing them broadly in line with the rest of its peers. The increases will see newly-qualified pay rise from £61,500 to £63,500, with pay for lawyers with one year's post qualification experience (PQE) rising from £69,000 to £69,500. Those with two year's PQE will take home £78,200 with three year PQE lawyers making £87,800.

    1 minute read

  • June 3, 2013 |

    Department of Health appoints 14-strong cross-department roster

    The Department of Health and the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) have appointed a new panel to provide legal advice to 16 health organisations. In total, 14 firms have won places on the panel, which replaces the previous roster which advised the NHSLA alone. The panel is sub-divided into clinical liability, non-clinical liability and regulatory, health and disciplinary. Eleven firms will advise on the clinical negligence roster, while six firms have taken places on the non-clinical panel. Meanwhile, 11 firms have taken places on the newly created regulatory, health and disciplinary panel.

    1 minute read

  • May 30, 2013 |

    Associates face long road to the top as partnership track lengthens

    The track to partnership at the country's largest law firms is continuing to lengthen, with the average level of experience held by new UK partners now standing at more than 10 years, according to research by Legal Week. Figures compiled from the UK top 20 firms' 2013 partner promotions show the average length of time taken for UK lawyers to reach partnership from qualification reached 10.5 years, up from last year's figure of 10.3. When focusing solely on the top 10, the figure rises further to an average of 10.6 years, up from 10.4 last year. These figures are significantly higher than those seen before the onset of the credit crunch in 2008, when the average post-qualification experience (PQE) for new partners at top 10 firms stood at 8.8 years.

    1 minute read

  • May 28, 2013 |

    MoJ denies plan for 'wholesale privatisation' of courts service

    The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has denied reports that it is considering a "wholesale privatisation" of the courts system as it weighs up propsals to cut costs and make the current system more efficient. A report in The Times today (28 May) suggests the MoJ is considering putting court buildings and staff "in the hands of private companies" in a bid to save as much as £1bn a year.

    1 minute read

  • May 23, 2013 |

    Dealmaker: Will Pearce

    The Davis Polk & Wardwell City partner on hard work, skinny jeans and Slaughters' pencil and biscuit offering

    1 minute read