Lenders aren’t happy – and lawyers are in the ethical firing line
After the row over Shearman’s perceived closeness to Kirkland on the Access refinancing, is the law firm designation model on private equity deals about to crumble?
The top 100 European law firms
This post has been updated with The Lawyer’s 2021 ranking of the top 100 European law firms by revenue. For many firms in Europe, the difficulties of 2020 turned out to be how to meet capacity when workflows roared back in the second half, and how to keep their staff motivated through waves of lockdowns […]
The Lawyer European Awards 2022: who’s made the shortlist?
The Lawyer European Awards is back and ready to crown the crème de la crème of the European legal market next month. Here is the shortlist. This year, 24 prizes are up for grabs as law firms, in-house teams and networks battle for regional accolades, the best initiatives and teams of the year across several practice […]
City associates offered partner-style pay in Boies recruitment drive
Boies Schiller is giving UK associates the option of either partner-style “formula compensation” or standard salaries to recruit and retain new talent, The Lawyer can reveal. Each City associate at Boies Schiller can now choose whether to receive a standard market competitive annual bonus or instead be paid a percentage of the number hours they […]
Claim Spotter: British racecourses call on Stewarts; and police officers take on the force
Check in with The Lawyer each week as we spot the most important new claims hitting the courts and assess what they say about the litigation landscape.
Lenders aren’t happy – and lawyers are in the ethical firing line
After the row over Shearman’s perceived closeness to Kirkland on the Access refinancing, is the law firm designation model on private equity deals about to crumble?
The top 100 European law firms
This post has been updated with The Lawyer’s 2021 ranking of the top 100 European law firms by revenue. For many firms in Europe, the difficulties of 2020 turned out to be how to meet capacity when workflows roared back in the second half, and how to keep their staff motivated through waves of lockdowns […]
The Lawyer European Awards 2022: who’s made the shortlist?
The Lawyer European Awards is back and ready to crown the crème de la crème of the European legal market next month. Here is the shortlist. This year, 24 prizes are up for grabs as law firms, in-house teams and networks battle for regional accolades, the best initiatives and teams of the year across several practice […]
City associates offered partner-style pay in Boies recruitment drive
Boies Schiller is giving UK associates the option of either partner-style “formula compensation” or standard salaries to recruit and retain new talent, The Lawyer can reveal. Each City associate at Boies Schiller can now choose whether to receive a standard market competitive annual bonus or instead be paid a percentage of the number hours they […]
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Project Millennial: Seven years on
In January 2016, The Lawyer embarked on a new project. We found five fresh-faced young newly-qualified solicitors and decided to follow them in their careers. Seven years on, we are revisiting them to find out how they are doing. Five is an admittedly small sample size, but their fates to date make for interesting reading. […]
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 […]
The Lawyer Podcast: Qualification – the end of your career?
The associate recruitment market has tightened up over the past year or two. For trainees looking to qualify, it means that finding a home in their preferred practice area has become more difficult too. Qualification and, specifically, which team you qualify into, can be one of the most crucial moments in a solicitor’s career. On […]
HSF’s profits surge after lull in previous year
Herbert Smith Freehills’s revenue hit £1.3bn over 2023/24, while profits soared by 14 per cent after a small uptick was recorded in the previous year’s results. The firm’s revenue was up 10 per cent from its last financial results of £1.186bn. Profits saw a double digit burst for the financial year, with HSF reporting a […]
Freshfields and Slaughters announce strong trainee retention
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have released their retention results for the September cohort, achieving 86 per cent and 84 per cent respectively. There are 37 trainees staying on in newly-qualified positions at Freshfields out of the 43-sized cohort. Slaughters is keeping one fewer trainee from the same sized batch of trainees, meaning […]
Kingsley Napley issues bonuses early after 120 per cent profit rise
Kingsley Napley will give bonuses to staff three months early after a highly profitable year, which saw the firm’s net profit increase by 120 per cent. Managing partner Linda Woolley told The Lawyer that the results were a sign that the firm’s investments in the prior years had come through, following the firm’s challenging year […]
Morton Fraser MacRoberts revenue rises in first-ever financial results
Morton Fraser MacRoberts has posted a 2 per cent rise in revenue in its first set of financial results since the 1 November merger of legacy firms Morton Fraser and MacRoberts. The increase takes the total revenue at the recently-merged Scottish firm to £47.5m, which should be enough to propel Morton Fraser MacRoberts into the […]