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  • September 24, 2008 |

    Rewarded by results

    The recent decisions of several law firms to bring in merit-based pay systems for assistants have led some in the profession to speculate that pay based on post-qualification experience (PQE) might have had its day.We investigate the arguments for and against merit-based pay, look at how firms evaluate performance and speak to assistants to gauge their views on the topic.Merit versus PQENorton Rose recently made the move to implement merit-based pay at all levels from newly-qualified (NQ) upwards, replacing the traditional PQE gradings with a three-tier system that divides assistants into categories known as Associate 1, Associate 2 and Senior Associate. Assistants are paid and charged out according to the new categories.Managing partner Deirdre Walker explains the reasoning behind the firm's decision to adopt the model. "The PQE approach is antiquated and often simply not fair. Why should a really excellent one- or two-year qualified lawyer earn less than someone mediocre who just happens to have more experience than they do?" She adds that recently introduced age discrimination legislation played a part in the decision. "It was a factor, but not the driving one. As I understand it, legal opinion is still very much divided on whether PQE will fall foul of the new laws."David Gray, managing partner of Eversheds, which is in the process of bringing in performance-related pay for its assistants, also downplays the significance of the legislation. However, he believes that it is important to have a remuneration structure that allows flexibility in terms of how mature assistants are paid. "Say you have one three-year PQE who has 15 years' experience in another profession and is very capable with clients, and another who has come straight from university. Clearly it is a good idea to have a pay structure in place that allows you to pay the first guy more."Ashurst is another high-profile merit-based pay convert, while across the Atlantic, Howrey became the first firm in the US to adopt a totally merit-based structure earlier this month.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    It's bonus time

    Since bonuses were introduced by law firms in the late 1990s as a way to limit the long-term effects of salary inflation, amounts paid out - and the hoops that assistants have to jump through in order to get their hands on the cash - have varied wildly between firms. Some firms give tens of thousands of pounds to assistants regardless of individual performance, while others require Olympian levels of all-round commitment in return for sums that could probably be more easily obtained through a few after hours' shifts at the local pub.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 | International Edition

    Simmons leads as Lehman litigation kicks off

    Simmons & Simmons has scored a role on the first litigation to emerge against the European administrators of Lehman Brothers. The City firm is taking the lead for hedge fund RAB Capital, which has come forward as one of the first claimants looking to recover some of the £22bn-worth of assets frozen when Lehman went into administration last week.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    Simmons leads as Lehman litigation kicks off

    Simmons & Simmons has scored a role on the first litigation to emerge against the European administrators of Lehman Brothers. The City firm is taking the lead for hedge fund RAB Capital, which has come forward as one of the first claimants looking to recover some of the £22bn-worth of assets frozen when Lehman went into administration last week.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 | International Edition

    Ashurst lands Lehman role on Nomura takeover

    Ashurst is the latest firm to benefit from the fallout of Lehman Brothers' spectacular collapse, with the top 10 City firm advising Lehman's European investment banking division on its takeover by Nomura. Corporate head Adrian Clark and corporate partner Gavin Gordon are leading the team, which also includes employment, incentives and pensions head Caroline Carter. Nomura announced today (23 September) that it had agreed to buy the European and Middle Eastern equities and investment banking operations of the stricken bank. The Japanese bank also beat Barclays to take on Lehman's Asia-Pacific operations.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    Ashurst lands Lehman role on Nomura takeover

    Ashurst is the latest firm to benefit from the fallout of Lehman Brothers' spectacular collapse, with the top 10 City firm advising Lehman's European investment banking division on its takeover by Nomura. Corporate head Adrian Clark and corporate partner Gavin Gordon are leading the team, which also includes employment, incentives and pensions head Caroline Carter. Nomura announced today (23 September) that it had agreed to buy the European and Middle Eastern equities and investment banking operations of the stricken bank. The Japanese bank also beat Barclays to take on Lehman's Asia-Pacific operations.

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 24/09/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and more

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2008 |

    Geffen wins Ashurst senior partner vote

    Charlie Geffen has been elected as Ashurst's new senior partner with effect from the end of the year. Voting closed at the top 10 City firm earlier today. Private equity head Geffen and litigation partner Ed Sparrow went head-to-head to succeed Geoffrey Green as the firm's new senior partner. Geffen has long been linked to the senior partner position. As previously reported by Legal Week, Sparrow only emerged as a serious contender earlier this year.

    1 minute read

  • September 19, 2008 |

    FSA short-selling block backed by lawyers

    Lawyers have come out in support of the Financial Services Authority's (FSA's) decision to put a temporary hold on short-selling in a bid to restore market confidence. The dramatic intervention by the regulatory authority comes in the face of market abuses which have seen investors making huge profits from ailing businesses.The ban on shorting is effective until 16 January, 2009, when the FSA will take a view on the market conditions and decide whether to extend the trading restrictions.FSA chief executive Hector Sants said: "While we still regard short-selling as a legitimate investment technique in normal market conditions, the current extreme circumstances have given rise to disorderly markets."

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2008 |

    Lehman advisers set to be hit in bank's collapse

    Regular advisers to Lehman Brothers could lose millions of pounds in legal fees following the shock demise of one of Wall Street's leading investment houses. City firms including Ashurst, Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Lovells all sit on Lehman's UK legal panel, with the bank estimated to spend some £40m in legal fees globally each year.Data from Mergermarket shows that Ashurst, Linklaters and Herbert Smith took the lion's share of Lehman's work on European M&A deals over the last year, with roles on deals including Carlsberg's takeover of Scottish & Newcastle and Alcoa's acquisition of a stake in Rio Tinto.Similarly, in the US, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and the already troubled Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft have close links to the 158-year old investment house.While several firms have since won lucrative roles relating to the bankruptcy, it leaves others exposed at a time of already decreased activity in both the finance and corporate markets. In addition to a lack of future mandates from the bank, the firms look set to lose fees for work they are already owed.

    1 minute read