The leadership interview

Rob Day, Stephen Kon and Stuart Fuller - KWM SJB

KWM bosses: Stability is on the horizon

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has had a turbulent few years. Since the merger with SJ Berwin in 2013 created a global firm made up of three separate partnerships, bosses have struggled to keep a hold on ‘big-hitter’ partners in the UK, keep finances in check and integrate 2,800 lawyers including 600 partners worldwide.

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Clifford Chance’s Layton: Europe is our top priority

Clifford Chance partners were not voting for the status quo when they elected Matthew Layton. In fact his election to the top job demonstrated an appetite for a shakeup of the old ways rarely seen among magic circle partnerships or leadership contests.

Gordon Dadds

Gordon Dadds’ Biles: Get lean or go bust

How do you turn a sleepy Mayfair boutique with a turnover of less than £3m into an aggressively acquisitive £30m-plus player in less than three years? How do you then, credibly, start targeting a £100m turnover professional services business within a similarly truncated time period? How do you do it? You make Adrian Biles the boss.

Three Crowns

The best of 2015’s leadership interviews

Our weekly leadership interview is one of our most popular regular features. During the course of 2015 we have profiled managing partners from the magic circle, US giants, and boutiques making a splash. Three Crowns’ founding partners: “We’re suffering from an embarrassment of riches” Three Crowns’ launch in 2014 marked one of the biggest litigation […]

royal courts of justice

Cooke Young & Keidan: not a “one-trick pony”

Compared to the other litigation boutiques to flourish in London over the last decade, Cooke Young & Keidan (CYK) has remained relatively low-key. Its five partners, 11 associates and three paralegals work from a modest office in the City and rates are kept much lower than those of their competitors. But the victories it has […]

Carol Osborne

Bryan Cave’s Osborne: “We need to be nearer 80 to 100 lawyers”

Over a year into her role as Bryan Cave’s London managing partner, Carol Osborne is at the heart of the firm’s growth plans in the capital. The plans follow the completion of a firmwide strategic review that focuses on three main areas, such as thought leadership, sector focus and diversity.    The London office already […]