• January 26, 2010 |

    Bakers appoints global head of BD and marketing with CC hire

    Baker & McKenzie has appointed its first-ever global head of business development and marketing. The firm has recruited Laurie Robertson from Clifford Chance, where he has spent the last 10 years, most recently in the role of global head of business development, which he has held since 2007.

    1 minute read

  • January 19, 2010 |

    Testing the waters

    Two years into the financial crisis, Am Law 200 firms continue to grapple with their response to the new reality: that's the main theme from The American Lawyer's annual Law Firm Leaders survey, which shows an increased willingness among firms to implement a smorgasbord of short-term cost-cutting measures while pondering more fundamental changes.

    1 minute read

  • January 13, 2010 |

    Tax evasion in spotlight in post-crunch crackdown

    With all the talk of the bank bonus tax, global financial institutions' reassessment of their commitment to London and UK politicians other than Boris Johnson queuing up to bash the City, you might question what place London will have in the financial new world order in 2010. But before you pack your skis and head to Switzerland, the changes since the London G20 Summit and the unstoppable move towards global transparency should make you think again.

    1 minute read

  • December 21, 2009 |

    Training and education: All tied up

    The last few years have seen the College of Law, BPP Law School and, to a lesser extent, Kaplan Law School jostle with each other to secure tie-ups with the top law firms. In the main, firms have been receptive to their advances, with the result being that the vast majority of UK top 20 law firms - and many top 50 firms and US firms with London offices - now have arrangements in place to send their future trainees to study the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and Legal Practice Course (LPC) exclusively with a certain course provider.

    1 minute read

  • December 13, 2009 |

    Baker & McKenzie

    The original international law firm, Bakers' City office is in fact its largest.

    1 minute read

  • December 11, 2009 |

    Associate pay cuts are here to stay, say firms and analysts

    A growing number of US managing partners and consultants say recent cuts to associate pay will remain a feature of the market in 2010, writes the Am Law Daily. Some are even predicting more significant reductions in starting salaries in the year ahead, and UK lawyers will be watching developments closely, as the US market often has a knock-on impact on City pay rates.

    1 minute read

  • December 8, 2009 |

    Assistant solicitor/associate of the year

    Baker & McKenzie describes Ben Allgrove as "an outstanding legal practitioner, colleague and member of the community". He joined the firm's London office in 2004 with an exceptional academic record and quickly established himself as one of the firm's rising stars. He combines excellent legal work and client relationship skills as an intellectual property (IP) specialist with a commitment to contribute fully to the office life.

    1 minute read

  • December 4, 2009 |

    CMS Moscow cuts 30 jobs in Russian capital in second round of layoffs

    CMS Moscow has laid off 30 members of staff, including 10 fee earners, in a redundancy round which closed last week (27 November). News of the latest cuts comes as it emerges that the Moscow office has cut a total of 29 fee earner positions and 32 support staff roles throughout 2009, combining the current job losses with a previous round which closed in June.

    1 minute read

  • December 4, 2009 |

    Stephenson Harwood, Linklaters and Abbey honoured at British Legal Awards

    Stephenson Harwood, Linklaters and Abbey National were among the winners at the 2009 British Legal Awards. Stephenson Harwood secured the coveted Law Firm of the Year award, with the judging panel - which included several senior general counsel - praising the firm for the dramatic turnaround in its fortunes.

    1 minute read

  • December 2, 2009 |

    Pass it on

    As legal process outsourcing (LPO) continues to gain momentum among law firms and managing partners discuss their new cost-saving strategies to send work offshore, it is easy to forget the challenges to successfully export legal work. Clients of the increasing numbers of law firms operating outsourcing arrangements may find themselves concerned by a recent survey by Kroll, which canvassed more than 700 senior executives worldwide, which concluded that companies often make the decision to outsource "without a thorough assessment of the risks involved in determining what is to be outsourced, and to whom". Law firms, which are newer to this game than most corporates, are arguably even more susceptible to making such mistakes.

    1 minute read