The UK boss of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has been appointed to the position of global senior partner. Segun Osuntokun will take up the newly-created role from 1 January, supporting the firm’s sole CEO Steve Baumer. Osuntokun joined the firm in 2008 as a partner in the litigation and corporate risk practice, and was […]
As Axiom Ince finally collapses, The Lawyer can reveal that barely any of the current or future trainees have found new homes – and the future trainees have missed their deadline to begin their studies at BPP. The Lawyer understands that two individuals have been able to transfer their current training contracts to Stephenson Harwood […]
Wilko’s general counsel is taking on a new role at Sofina Foods after the high street retailer fell into administration. After last ditch attempts to save Wilko failed, general counsel Robert Powell appealed on LinkedIn for staff support of his legal team. He is now joining Sofina Foods as its head of legal. Sofina Foods […]
This week in The Passport we’re taking a view on how Taylor Wessing might add an important missing piece in its European jigsaw and how a weak Krona has been both a blessing and a curse to Sweden’s biggest players. Taylor Wessing’s big Italian gap The big European news out of Taylor Wessing earlier this […]
The UK boss of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has been appointed to the position of global senior partner. Segun Osuntokun will take up the newly-created role from 1 January, supporting the firm’s sole CEO Steve Baumer. Osuntokun joined the firm in 2008 as a partner in the litigation and corporate risk practice, and was […]
As Axiom Ince finally collapses, The Lawyer can reveal that barely any of the current or future trainees have found new homes – and the future trainees have missed their deadline to begin their studies at BPP. The Lawyer understands that two individuals have been able to transfer their current training contracts to Stephenson Harwood […]
Wilko’s general counsel is taking on a new role at Sofina Foods after the high street retailer fell into administration. After last ditch attempts to save Wilko failed, general counsel Robert Powell appealed on LinkedIn for staff support of his legal team. He is now joining Sofina Foods as its head of legal. Sofina Foods […]
This week in The Passport we’re taking a view on how Taylor Wessing might add an important missing piece in its European jigsaw and how a weak Krona has been both a blessing and a curse to Sweden’s biggest players. Taylor Wessing’s big Italian gap The big European news out of Taylor Wessing earlier this […]
Partners continue to defect from ailing Axiom Ince, as a 17-strong shipping and insurance team leaves to join the London office of a major European law firm. The team, which includes seven partners from the legacy Ince business, has moved to Norwegian Big Five firm Wikborg Rein. The arrivals will boost the Nordic outfit’s shipping […]
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 […]