⭐ Trainee retention 2023: live
All the latest from the 2023 retention rounds. For our 2022 live blog go here
Top 50 US law firms in London
Kirkland and Latham top the US 50 law firms in London table in 2021.
Trainees in distress as MJ Hudson terminates contracts
Asset management consultant MJ Hudson is terminating the training contracts of its 12 trainee solicitors, The Lawyer has learnt, amid concerns over its financial viability. The Lawyer understands that the terminations, which will be effective as of the end of this month, include trainees at various stages of their contracts. Company concerns have been brewing […]
Independent firms under pressure: HMRC issues winding-up petition against Fletcher Day
HM Revenue and Customs has issued a winding-up petition against Fletcher Day, The Lawyer has learnt. The Lawyer understands that administrators for the firm have not yet been appointed. Fletcher Day’s website is currently unavailable and is only described “currently under maintenance”. The London-based commercial and family practice is the latest small firm to have either […]
City talk: Canary Wharf snubs Clifford Chance in latest deal
BDB Pitmans drops merger hunt for CMS-type network
BDB Pitmans partners have voted through proposals that will see the firm transition to a CMS-style network model, having called off merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson in 2023. The firm has signed a letter of intent with Alvarez & Marsal Legal Services (AMLS) to help internationalise the business. Both BDB Pitmans and AMLS issued […]
The Passport: It’s finally happened – Dentons has been dethroned
Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this edition, we look at how CMS zoomed past Dentons in the Polish lawyer headcount stakes; why you might have to get used to the idea of three firms with ‘Snellman’ in their name; and […]
Cooley’s London boss leads three-partner move to Akin
Akin Gump has recruited three of Cooley’s London partners, including its City managing partner Justin Stock. Stock moves to Akin along with Stephen Rosen and David Bresnick. The three focus on transactions with a life sciences and technology element. At Akin, Stock will become the firm’s international head of technology. Both Stock and Bresnick joined […]
City talk: Clifford Chance’s corporate strategy still relies on its banking roots
For elite firms with ties to big banks, the first half of 2024 has been fruitful for corporate transactions. Sainsbury’s banking business was sold to NatWest Group last month, with Linklaters and A&O Shearman advising, while Addleshaw Goddard, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Paul Hastings led on Co-operative Bank’s sale to Coventry Building Society in an […]
Mills & Reeve staff set to share in £3m bonus pot
Mills & Reeve’s turnover rose by double digits in 2023/24 to a new record high that has resulted in the firm’s highest-ever all-staff bonus pool of £3m. The firm’s turnover rose by 14.1 per cent to £168m, beating its 2025 strategic target of £150m a year ahead of schedule. The firm has not yet revealed […]
Litigation Tracker: Q2 2024 (Judgments)
This dashboard: contains an overview of the judgments at a selection of courts in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai during Q2of 2024. allows you to compare activity at the courts in Q2 2024 against Q1 2023.
UK Top 50 partner promotions
This report includes: analysis of partner promotions at the UK Top 50 firms since 2020 insight into regional promotion trends a look at the progress towards gender parity in partner promotions data on the practice areas experiencing the highest number of promotions.
Cleary Gottlieb: Under the skin of a firm playing catch-up
This report contains: an analysis of the reality of Cleary Gottlieb’s growth trajectory in London since 2014 an overview of challenges faced by the top global firms which are pursuing similar growth strategies a discussion on Cleary’s distinctive practice area mix, highlighting its substantial focus on antitrust cases.
The Nordic 50 2024
This report contains: ranking of the Nordic 50 firms on a headcount basis headcount analysis of the largest firms split into three groups financial and market analysis of the four jurisdictions in the region firm specific data profiles
Litigation team of the year
This report includes: a breakdown of the eight firms shortlisted for the Litigation Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2024 an overview of the case they have been nominated for an analysis of the firms’ larger litigation team
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Kirkland’s beaten Linklaters again
Does anyone need any confirmation of the gradual takeover of the City by rampaging US law firms? No, thought not. If, however, your answer is yes, then more evidence of the Americanisation of London can be found in the upcoming edition of the UK Corporate 50. Much of the focus in this year’s report is […]
We’re entering a new era in Spain’s most expansionist firm
Mexico is set to welcome thousands of lawyers later this year when the capital city plays host to the International Bar Association’s (IBA) showpiece event. Partners and support staff will mingle from dawn until way after dusk, discuss strategies and scan way off into the horizon. However, Mexico’s been high on the interest list for […]
Clydes needed BLM as much as BLM needed Clydes
At times, Clyde & Co appeared dangerously close to squandering the growth opportunities presented by its July 2022 acquisition of BLM. The firm’s most recent financials, however, suggest BLM was the fuel Clydes needed to grow in the UK. Not that it has been without casualties, with a significant proportion of former BLM partners having […]
These are the M&A winners so far this year
The M&A rankings for the first half of 2024 confirmed one thing we already felt was true: that Linklaters and Slaughter and May have had a lot of acquisitive or targeted clients this year. According to data provided by the London Stock Exchange Group, the pair rank first and second respectively in terms of the […]
Stephenson Harwood is playing the long game
When Stephenson Harwood chief executive Eifion Morris set a target for doubling revenue to £400m by 2027, he knew it would be a tough challenge. “A profitable growth strategy will probably take more than individual lateral joiners and internal promotions to achieve,” he told The Lawyer back in 2021. This protective view came as the […]
BDB Pitmans drops merger hunt for CMS-type network
BDB Pitmans partners have voted through proposals that will see the firm transition to a CMS-style network model, having called off merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson in 2023. The firm has signed a letter of intent with Alvarez & Marsal Legal Services (AMLS) to help internationalise the business. Both BDB Pitmans and AMLS issued […]
The Passport: It’s finally happened – Dentons has been dethroned
Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this edition, we look at how CMS zoomed past Dentons in the Polish lawyer headcount stakes; why you might have to get used to the idea of three firms with ‘Snellman’ in their name; and […]
Cooley’s London boss leads three-partner move to Akin
Akin Gump has recruited three of Cooley’s London partners, including its City managing partner Justin Stock. Stock moves to Akin along with Stephen Rosen and David Bresnick. The three focus on transactions with a life sciences and technology element. At Akin, Stock will become the firm’s international head of technology. Both Stock and Bresnick joined […]
City talk: Clifford Chance’s corporate strategy still relies on its banking roots
For elite firms with ties to big banks, the first half of 2024 has been fruitful for corporate transactions. Sainsbury’s banking business was sold to NatWest Group last month, with Linklaters and A&O Shearman advising, while Addleshaw Goddard, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Paul Hastings led on Co-operative Bank’s sale to Coventry Building Society in an […]
Mills & Reeve staff set to share in £3m bonus pot
Mills & Reeve’s turnover rose by double digits in 2023/24 to a new record high that has resulted in the firm’s highest-ever all-staff bonus pool of £3m. The firm’s turnover rose by 14.1 per cent to £168m, beating its 2025 strategic target of £150m a year ahead of schedule. The firm has not yet revealed […]