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  • April 15, 2010 |

    Editor's comment: What the kids know

    A few weeks back, when writing about the storm in the teacup that accompanied the Superbrands rankings, I argued law firms have wider brands that reflect the general awareness of their business, which can be very different to the views of those with direct dealings with the firm. To follow up on that point, probably one of the best benchmarks any law firm can get of that wider brand is how students see them. After all, it is widely acknowledged that students, while being considerably more clued up than earlier generations about the bruising realities of commercial practice, still find it very hard to distinguish between individual law firms. (You can't hold that against them, since many clients have the same problem.)

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    3,000 students rank A&O, Eversheds and Bird & Bird as stand-out firms

    Allen & Overy (A&O) has edged past Clifford Chance (CC) to be rated as the most prestigious global law firm, according to a major study of student perceptions, with Bird & Bird and Eversheds also topping their respective categories. The flagship report from Legal Week's research arm asked students at leading universities and Graduate Diploma in Law course providers to identify the single firm they regarded as the 'most prestigious' in three primary categories: international law firms, City and national and regional.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    Leading Indian firm tops Asia M&A league as deals recover

    India's AZB & Partners has topped the volume rankings for Asia-Pacific M&A for the first quarter of 2010, knocking Australian leader Freehills down to second place against the same period last year. Mergermarket's Asia-Pacific rankings for Q1 show the Clifford Chance (CC) alliance firm advised on 15 deals over the period, ranking it ahead of Freehills, which advised on 14.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    Latest mega-fine shows the OFT means business

    For years competition policy in the UK seemed to be a case of plenty of talk but little action. But the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) move last month in fining Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) a hefty £28.6m for breaching competition law is the latest in a series of recent reminders that the years of hot air are finally translating into a more robust enforcement policy.

    1 minute read

  • April 14, 2010 |

    What the kids know - some brands reach students, some don't

    A few weeks back, when writing about the storm in the teacup that accompanied the Superbrands rankings, I argued law firms have wider brands that reflect the general awareness of their business, which can be very different to the views of those with direct dealings with the firm. To follow up on that point, probably one of the best benchmarks any law firm can get of that wider brand is how students see them. After all, it is widely acknowledged that students, while being considerably more clued up than earlier generations about the bruising realities of commercial practice, still find it very hard to distinguish between individual law firms. (You can't hold that against them, since many clients have the same problem.)

    1 minute read

  • April 12, 2010 |

    Centrica advisers on alert as energy giant floats first-ever legal panel

    Centrica is set to kick off a tender process to create its first legal panel as the energy giant moves to formalise its relationships with external legal providers. Early-stage discussions this month have seen Centrica float the idea of creating a panel of preferred legal providers. In the past, the company has worked with a variety of firms, including Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Herbert Smith, Eversheds, Linklaters and Slaughter and May.

    1 minute read

  • March 31, 2010 |

    Halliwells doubles 2009 promotions round with 10 lawyers made up

    Halliwells has made up 10 lawyers in its annual partner promotions round, twice as many as the firm promoted in 2009. The national firm's Manchester office received the lion's share of the promotions, with seven made up - James Pochin and Kurshid Valli in corporate, commercial litigator James Lappin, insurance litigators Andrew Steel, Ann Hughes and Sandra Baldwin and Rod Hunt in the firm's regulatory practice.

    1 minute read

  • March 30, 2010 |

    Ashurst targets Indian graduates in effort to broaden trainee intake

    Ashurst will for the first time take on trainees direct from India from September 2011. The top 10 law firm has been actively targeting both Indian and Chinese universities for prospective trainees over the last year, with the first wave of new recruits set to hit the firm next year.

    1 minute read

  • March 29, 2010 |

    Freshfields promotes 18 to partner with six made up in the City

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced its 2010 partner promotions, with 18 lawyers joining the firm's partnership. Six of the promotions come in the firm's London base with Tim Wilmot (corporate), Tom Snelling (dispute resolution), Charles Magoffin (employment), Catherine Balmond (finance), Andrew Craig (intellectual property) and Jill Gatehouse (tax) all joining the partnership.

    1 minute read

  • March 26, 2010 |

    Oxbridgers in the City – still the unbridgeable divide

    Funny how it's often the "non-stories" that seem to attract the most readers and comments. The latest evidence of this trend is a story based on Legal Week research which found Oxbridge graduates made up 38% of magic circle trainees over the last two years (approaching half of the trainees at Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer)...

    1 minute read