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  • June 19, 2008 |

    Herbies reverses trainee pay freeze to match peers

    Herbert Smith has backtracked on its decision to freeze trainee salaries at last year's levels, with the top 10 City firm moving to increase its rates from September this year. The firm announced today (19 June) that from 1 September first-year trainees will receive a 4% pay rise, taking their salaries from £36,000 to £37,500.

    1 minute read

  • June 19, 2008 |

    Magic circle M&A teams hold steady as credit squeeze hits deal markets

    European M&A activity levels have held up across the magic circle despite the downturn in the credit markets. Statistics compiled for Legal Week by Mergermarket show that volume levels fell by a third across magic circle advisers in the first calendar quarter of 2008, compared with Q1 2007. Despite the significant drop, the firms put in a better performance than many would have expected given the slowdown in overall deal activity.

    1 minute read

  • June 19, 2008 | International Edition

    Ex-Olswang partner makes return to firm

    Olswang has bolstered its corporate department with the recruitment of Duncan McDonald, who returns to the firm after a stint in-house. McDonald joined Olswang this week as a partner after spending 18 months at Japanese private equity house Nikko Principal Investments. The move brings McDonald back for a second stint at the City firm. He initially joined Olswang as a partner from Pinsent Masons in 2004.

    1 minute read

  • June 19, 2008 |

    Ex-Olswang partner makes return to firm

    Olswang has bolstered its corporate department with the recruitment of Duncan McDonald, who returns to the firm after a stint in-house. McDonald joined Olswang this week as a partner after spending 18 months at Japanese private equity house Nikko Principal Investments. The move brings McDonald back for a second stint at the City firm. He initially joined Olswang as a partner from Pinsent Masons in 2004.

    1 minute read

  • June 18, 2008 |

    Norton Rose joins firms on Chinese bank panel

    Norton Rose has landed a place on China Development Bank's (CDB's) legal panel, joining 10 other firms on the sovereign wealth fund's roster. The firm won a place after advising CDB on its investment in Barclays in 2007. The City firm joins magic circle giants Allen & Overy and Clifford Chance as well as US firms Baker & McKenzie, Jones Day, Latham & Watkins, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and White & Case. Deacons, Li & Partners and Minter Ellison complete the line-up.

    1 minute read

  • June 18, 2008 |

    Legal Week Strategic Technology Forum: Joining the IT crowd

    Talk about playing to the crowd. The recent Legal Week Strategic Technology Forum featured a pre-recorded interview between David Morley, senior partner of Allen & Overy, and Jeremy Hand, chairman of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), on the future of legal services.Hand, whose private equity firm, Lyceum Capital, is targeting the legal market for investment, said he believed technology personnel would fare better than some lawyers in the 'brave new world' heralded by the Legal Services Act (LSA).

    1 minute read

  • June 18, 2008 |

    Substance with style

    This year's Intendance 'Fast Fifty' benchmarking of the 50 fastest-growing law firm websites is further proof of how the legal sector is stepping up its online operations. Famed throughout the business-to-business sector, sometimes unfairly, as being among the least innovative of the professional services in terms of harnessing the power of the internet, law firms are now showing signs of shedding that image. Of course, the big news since last year's report is the arrival of the much-heralded Legal Services Act, which will open the sector up to outside competition. It is too early to tell whether the Act has focused partners' attention on developing hitherto untapped business streams, but there are advantages to be had by developing online capabilities. For the past seven years, Intendance has been evaluating how the legal profession presents itself online and how it communicates with a whole host of stakeholders, from clients to potential trainees. The success - and increase in scope - of previous Fast Fifty reports has led to a change in format this year, from a single document to a three-part series.

    1 minute read

  • June 17, 2008 |

    Smiths Group legal chief Lillycrop steps down

    UK technology giant Smiths Group has parted company with general counsel and company secretary David Lillycrop. Lillycrop, who was also a director with the group, left the post after a restructuring meant the general counsel position no longer carried a seat on the company's board.

    1 minute read

  • June 13, 2008 |

    City leaders retain less than 90% of trainees

    Some of the UK's largest City firms have released their trainee retention rates for the September 2008 intake, with the majority offering places to fewer than 90% of their trainees. Of the eight firms that have released numbers only Herbert Smith and Norton Rose have offered more than 90% of their intake places.

    1 minute read

  • June 12, 2008 |

    Morley and BVCA head debate the future of law in LW video

    A leading private equity figure has delivered a wake-up call to the legal profession, warning that law firms will go out of business if they underestimate the potential for alternative investments to transform the legal market. In a video interview with David Morley, senior partner of Allen & Overy, Jeremy Hand, chairman of the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) and managing director of Lyceum Capital, warns that investors and non-legal businesses are queuing up to take advantage of the Legal Services Act (LSA).

    1 minute read