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  • September 15, 2013 |

    Slaughters' White takes up non-exec position at diversity company

    Former Slaughter and May executive partner Graham White has been appointed to the board of diversity recruitment company Rare. White will take up a non-executive position on Rare's board alongside four other non-executive directors including former Financial Times chairman David Bell and former Unisys general counsel and board member Sandra Teichman.

    1 minute read

  • September 12, 2013 |

    Ashurst nears key votes on leadership and full Aussie merger

    Ashurst is set to begin voting on its new management line-up and full financial integration with its Australian arm at the end of September, amid speculation over a challenge to current senior partner Charlie Geffen. A vote on full financial integration with Blake Dawson, now known as Ashurst Australia, will take place on 26 September – ahead of the previous expectation of the end of October – with a 75% majority required for the combination to go ahead.

    1 minute read

  • September 12, 2013 |

    Latham and Davis Polk check out Tesco sale of US Fresh & Easy chain

    Davis Polk and Latham & Watkins have taken the lead roles on Tesco's sale of its US Fresh & Easy chain to investment firm Yucaipa. The supermarket giant has been looking to offload the loss-making business for some while, with the deal seeing Tesco loan the new business around £80m.

    1 minute read

  • September 11, 2013 |

    General counsel work/life balance Q&A - BT's David Eveleigh

    David Eveleigh is general counsel of BT Global Services, the major business and international division of BT plc. He leads a team of over 160 people based in the UK, mainland Europe, Latin America, USA and Asia and is responsible for legal, regulatory and compliance activities. He has lived and worked in the US and is currently based in the UK. David started his career as an associate at Ashurt and is a graduate of Southampton University.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 |

    Imperial Tobacco keeps favoured firms close for adviser review

    Imperial Tobacco is to conduct an informal review of its external legal advisers in the coming weeks, following the conclusion of the FTSE 100 company's financial year. Long-term advisers to Imperial, which include Allen & Overy for corporate work and Ashurst for litigation and competition matters, are expected to be retained, though the company said it would also look at other firms where necessary. Imperial also regularly turns to Bristol-based trade mark attorneys Stevens Hewlett & Perkins and Simmons & Simmons on intellectual property matters, and uses several other firms close to its Bristol headquarters including Osborne Clarke and TLT.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 | International Edition

    An equitable life? Slightly larger pie, fewer slices

    Whether you buy into Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory or another of the many motivational schools of thought pushed out by numerous management improvement books, there is a clear consensus that recognition and promotion are two key factors to getting the best out of your workforce. In a law firm environment, of course, the clearest example of recognition comes in the form of making partner, with the zenith being the equity ranks. So Legal Week research this week, which shows that the number of partners climbing to the equity at the top 20 UK firms has fallen year-on-year since the onset of the recession, will not make happy reading.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 |

    An equitable life? Slightly larger pie, fewer slices

    Whether you buy into Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory or another of the many motivational schools of thought pushed out by numerous management improvement books, there is a clear consensus that recognition and promotion are two key factors to getting the best out of your workforce. In a law firm environment, of course, the clearest example of recognition comes in the form of making partner, with the zenith being the equity ranks. So Legal Week research this week, which shows that the number of partners climbing to the equity at the top 20 UK firms has fallen year-on-year since the onset of the recession, will not make happy reading.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 |

    UK top 20 squeeze equity ranks as PEP pressure drives prudence

    The proportion of equity partners across the UK top 20 is continuing to shrink as law firms tighten their grip on the equity amid ongoing pressure on profits. The UK's 20 largest law firms by revenue have seen the overall proportion of equity partners fall by 12% over the last seven years, with equity partners accounting for 59% of the total partner count in 2012-13, according to Legal Week research. While the number of partners across the top 20 has risen by 31% since 2005-06, the number of equity partners has grown by just 15% over the same period.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 |

    Desert dreams – why law firms are reassessing their Middle East strategies

    In Abu Dhabi Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has been looking in recent months to sub-let half its office space on the 23rd floor of the prestigious Al Sila Tower. The firm stresses it remains committed to the city, but its move nonetheless reflects a broader readjustment of international law firm ambitions in the UAE capital. "It's no secret that we are looking to sub-let half of the floor we originally let," says Zubair Mir, head of HSF's Middle East operations, before adding that "we are not looking to return the lease in any way". He explains: "What happened was we bought an entire floor in Dubai which became more full than we expected, so when we negotiated in Abu Dhabi we took out more space than we needed to try to avoid the situation of not having enough room." HSF is not alone in rethinking its needs in Abu Dhabi. Hogan Lovells closed its outpost there last year and transferred its work to the firm's Dubai office, having decided that it made for a stronger regional hub.

    1 minute read

  • September 3, 2013 |

    Linklaters hires former A&O partner to lead Asian restructuring practice

    Linklaters has appointed former Allen & Overy (A&O) partner David Kidd to lead its restructuring and insolvency (R&I) practice in Asia, as the firm looks to strengthen its finance and litigation teams in the region. The magic circle firm, which is best known in Asia for its corporate, capital markets and projects work, has hired Kidd to join its Hong Kong base just weeks after recruiting Herbert Smith Freehills' former Asia disputes head, Gavin Lewis.

    1 minute read