ESG is highlighting the divide between in-house and private practice
With ESG becoming business-critical, GCs are increasingly impatient of how firms are packaging their advice
Bristol is better than Manchester
The annual promotions round is a calendar highlight for many firms, but, for a growing number of junior lawyers, joining the partnership is no longer a career high. A recent LexisNexis report, Disloyal lawyers: has the partner track lost its lustre?, found a quarter of associates do not want to make partner in their current […]
It’s not just Freshfields with a growth manifesto
Firms love targets and lovely round numbers often form part of a new leader’s strategy for growth. This year alone, Ward Hadaway has set out plans to hit £100m by 2034, while Scottish firm Blackadders wants to hit £25m in 2025/26. But which firms are on course to hit new and exciting numbers when they […]
No, you’re in the best constituency
If you want a cacophonous, vicious, spectacularly partisan constituency competition, then Siena would have been the place to be this week. You’ll have seen it in Quantum of Solace: the palio – a three-lap horse race in which 10 of the city’s 17 wards, each with their own insignia, compete for glory and bragging rights. […]
Here’s every lawyer in the UK you can vote for tomorrow
Tomorrow, the country speaks. Let the chips fall where they may. Whatever your party affiliation, you have lawyers to vote for in this election – in fact, we’ve found no fewer than 193 of them standing. In a quartet of seats (Birmingham Ladywood, Finchley & Golders Green, Newark and Tottenham) voters even have a choice […]
This isn’t a job for your HR team
In the last 12 months, the top 100 law firms in the UK have spent literally millions on lateral hires, bringing in a total of 12,177 new partners. Such hope. So many dreams. How many of them will actually work out? If you’re assessing return on investment then the usual response is to look at […]
OC partner makes first SDT appearance in fight over Zahawi letters
An Osborne Clarke partner appeared before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) today to challenge allegations brought by the legal regulator and apply for a preliminary hearing on his case, which was refused. Represented by 4 New Square’s Ben Hubble KC, Osborne Clarke’s head of client strategy Ashley Hurst argued that the SDT should approve his […]
One year on: Eversheds wraps up KWM integration ahead of schedule
The staggered closure of six King & Wood Mallesons offices has been completed ahead of time, nearly a year after the firm agreed to a co-operation deal with Eversheds Sutherland. The agreement was struck between Eversheds Sutherland’s international LLP and KWM (China) LLP last July. It saw KWM shutter offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, […]
Brabners surpasses £50m revenue milestone
Revenue at Brabners reached £55.6m in the 2023/24 financial year, subject to audit, after the firm increased its top-line by 18 per cent from the previous year’s £47.1m. The firm’s newly re-elected managing partner Nik White told The Lawyer that it was a “standout year”, with just one department out of 13 across the firm’s […]
Burges Salmon bags new £16m Post Office contract
With the Post Office Horizon inquiry set to continue throughout the year, Burges Salmon has been awarded a new contract for advice provided to the company. The contract is valued at £16m and lasts until May 2025. This is understood to be in addition to an existing contract worth £22.5m that the firm picked up […]
An A&O reunion: Cahill duo to join former colleagues at Proskauer
Having already hired Allen & Overy’s Philip Bowden, Proskauer Rose is growing its leveraged finance team even more with new recruits from the newly-merged firm and Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Leveraged finance partner Megan Lawrence is due to join Bowden at Proskauer. She was promoted to partner at A&O in 2022 having been at the […]