Slaughter and May is leading for the owner of Royal Mail, which is poised to accept a takeover bid from Czech-owned EP Group (EP). EP’s bid values International Distribution Services (IDS) at approximately £3.5bn. Slaughters’ corporate team for IDS is led by partners Richard Smith and Claire Jackson. Kirkland & Ellis is leading for EP […]
The lower mid-market is full of law firms that want to move up the food chain. Shoosmiths is one of them. With a national corporate practice of 30 partners across 14 locations, according to The Lawyer‘s Practice Analysis service, the bedrock of its work has historically been chunky regional deals. It is now gunning for […]
Clifford Chance has hired a structured finance partner from A&O Shearman after the two firms’ merger last week. Daniel Shurman joins Clifford Chance in London from legacy Allen & Overy, becoming a partner in its derivatives and structured products practice. Emma Matebalavu, global head of financial markets, commented: “Daniel’s appointment is a testament to our commitment to […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has upped its newly qualified (NQ) solicitor salaries to compete with the US market. NQ salaries have increased from £125,000 to £150,000. There have also been changes to trainee compensation. First-year trainees will see an increase of £6,000 as salaries rise from £50,000 to £56,000. Second-year trainee salaries will increase from £55,000 […]
Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) is continuing its innovation strategy rollout with the introduction of a new programme for its trainee solicitors. Following the launch of its ‘advanced client solutions’ (ACS) team in early April, the firm has now brought in Russell Up, a scheme designed to have each trainee deliver four innovation projects throughout their two-year training […]
Manchester United’s interim CEO and general counsel has left following another shake-up within the club’s executive ranks. Patrick Stewart served as general counsel at the club for over 18 years and stepped into the interim CEO role at the end of last year following the departure of Richard Arnold. Stewart completed his legal training at Burness and qualified in […]
US firms Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins are leading on another US private equity acquisition of a London-listed company. This morning it was announced that US private equity firm Thoma Bravo has reached an agreement for Bidco to acquire leading UK-based cybersecurity company Darktrace. Darktrace is listed on the London Stock Exchange and will be […]
Frustrated Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) candidates are calling on the SRA to increase accessibility to the appeals process after a results error saw 175 candidates mistakenly told they had failed their exams. On Monday last week, the SRA announced that 175 candidates who sat SQE1 in January and were told they had failed on 14 […]
Nearly 200 law students were incorrectly told they had failed their first set of Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) exams, in what the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has called “the most serious operational mistake that we’ve made in the last two and half years.” Kaplan, the exam administrator for the SQE, has […]
As pass rates for the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) stagnate at a 52 per cent average for 2022/23, City firm recruiters and early careers leaders are voicing concerns about their future pipeline planning. Certainly, a consistent pass rate confirms the goals of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to create what it […]
Newly-qualified solicitors (NQs) at Shearman & Sterling are set to miss out on an extra £20,000 in salary when the firm merges with Allen & Overy next month. A decision has been made to align NQ salaries with A&O, where NQs are currently on £125,000. NQs at Shearman are currently on £145,000. Not only will […]
The UK’s next generation of solicitors is performing well in SQE across ethics and professional conduct… but what’s going on with legal services and wills? The Lawyer dives into the most recent round of SQE performance statistics.