A suspended partner from Axiom Ince has filed a lawsuit against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and its intervention agent, Gordons. Shyam Mistry was one of three partners who was suspended from Axiom Ince earlier this month as he was accused of failing “to comply with the rules made under sections 31 and 32” of […]
Scottish firms Morton Fraser and MacRoberts are going ahead with one of the longest-discussed mergers in the history of the Scottish legal market, The Lawyer can exclusively reveal. The deal is broadly seen as a merger of equals, at least in terms of revenue size. In last year’s The Independents UK 200 report, Morton Fraser […]
The total fee income generated by the UK’s 50-largest firms hit a new record in 2022/23, despite many firms conceding that the trading conditions during the year were among the most challenging they have ever faced. The top 50 firms ranked by global revenue generated a total of £30.8bn last year, up by 8 per […]
The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has appealed to City firms to take on trainees from Ince as fear grows for the future of the troubled firm. On Friday 25 August, CLLS chair Colin Passmore, at the behest of CLLS training committee chair Patrick McCann and Watson Farley & Williams’ director of development and […]
A suspended partner from Axiom Ince has filed a lawsuit against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and its intervention agent, Gordons. Shyam Mistry was one of three partners who was suspended from Axiom Ince earlier this month as he was accused of failing “to comply with the rules made under sections 31 and 32” of […]
Scottish firms Morton Fraser and MacRoberts are going ahead with one of the longest-discussed mergers in the history of the Scottish legal market, The Lawyer can exclusively reveal. The deal is broadly seen as a merger of equals, at least in terms of revenue size. In last year’s The Independents UK 200 report, Morton Fraser […]
The total fee income generated by the UK’s 50-largest firms hit a new record in 2022/23, despite many firms conceding that the trading conditions during the year were among the most challenging they have ever faced. The top 50 firms ranked by global revenue generated a total of £30.8bn last year, up by 8 per […]
The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has appealed to City firms to take on trainees from Ince as fear grows for the future of the troubled firm. On Friday 25 August, CLLS chair Colin Passmore, at the behest of CLLS training committee chair Patrick McCann and Watson Farley & Williams’ director of development and […]
The Lawyer’s European Awards is back for the 14th year in a row to crown the crème de la crème of the European legal market. More than 250 entries from 120 firms and organisations have been submitted as the battle begins to claim one or more of the 27 prizes that are up for grabs. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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’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 […]