The revenue of Simmons & Simmons’ flexible resourcing unit has grown 230 per cent to £10m in the space of one financial year, The Lawyer has learned. The Adaptive service, which was launched in 2014 following an uptick in work in London and growing demand for secondees and specialist lawyers involved in one-off projects, grossed […]
Fieldfisher has lost a High Court lawsuit for its client KeyMed, which brought a £15m claim against former director Michael Woodford for an unlawful means conspiracy, negligence and breach of duty. KeyMed, a UK subsidiary of Olympus, alleged that Woodford and an ex-colleague Paul Hillman had breached their duties as directors and conspired to maximise […]
Vicky Wickremeratne’s expertise in defending financial services clients in high reputational risk cases goes far beyond her five years as a partner at Simmons & Simmons. Prior to returning to Simmons in 2013, she served as managing director and senior counsel in Goldman Sachs’ Hong Kong office. Her six-year in-house stint working on the global […]
France’s largest firm Fidal has instructed lawyers to advise it on its ongoing dispute with KPMG, as the row over the accountant’s raid of a 145-strong team earlier this year continues apace. Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier has been brought in to advise Fidal. A mediation period to resolve the dispute between Fidal and KPMG ended yesterday […]
The revenue of Simmons & Simmons’ flexible resourcing unit has grown 230 per cent to £10m in the space of one financial year, The Lawyer has learned. The Adaptive service, which was launched in 2014 following an uptick in work in London and growing demand for secondees and specialist lawyers involved in one-off projects, grossed […]
Fieldfisher has lost a High Court lawsuit for its client KeyMed, which brought a £15m claim against former director Michael Woodford for an unlawful means conspiracy, negligence and breach of duty. KeyMed, a UK subsidiary of Olympus, alleged that Woodford and an ex-colleague Paul Hillman had breached their duties as directors and conspired to maximise […]
Vicky Wickremeratne’s expertise in defending financial services clients in high reputational risk cases goes far beyond her five years as a partner at Simmons & Simmons. Prior to returning to Simmons in 2013, she served as managing director and senior counsel in Goldman Sachs’ Hong Kong office. Her six-year in-house stint working on the global […]
France’s largest firm Fidal has instructed lawyers to advise it on its ongoing dispute with KPMG, as the row over the accountant’s raid of a 145-strong team earlier this year continues apace. Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier has been brought in to advise Fidal. A mediation period to resolve the dispute between Fidal and KPMG ended yesterday […]
A quartet of firms, including Clifford Chance and White & Case are acting on petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco’s purchase of a stake worth nearly $70bn (£53bn) in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). Clifford Chance is working alongside Saudi firm Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani (AS&H) and is representing the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s […]
“I’ve seen the future, and it’s porn, sharks and Nazis.” Twitter hadn’t even been founded at the time, but the above quote from the niche 2005 sitcom Bromwell High turned out to be unintendedly prophetic when considering the journey of one of the planet’s largest social media companies. Once ‘the world’s town square’, Twitter, latterly […]
One of Europe’s most enduring rumours is about Simpson Thacher & Bartlett opening in Luxembourg. It is one of the jurisdiction’s key referrers of work for the local Luxembourg players, meaning there is an amount of paranoia among them about what would happen if Simpson Thacher decided to open its own office there. The idea […]
Which is the best personal injury firm in the country? Irwin Mitchell, perhaps? Maybe Leigh Day, or Slater & Gordon? Wrong, wrong, wrong. The answer in fact is Cheshire six-lawyer outfit Gavin Edmondson Solicitors, which according to the website reviewsolicitors.co.uk scores better than almost 2,500 PI firms across the country for its quality. What about […]
Cash piles rose during the pandemic, but the latest year-end shows a turnaround. Across the UK 200, debt levels are increasing, and those precious cash reserves are being eroded by a tide of rising costs. This evidence suggests the trend is most prominent among firms that occupy the mid-tier; these firms are spending big as […]
Who says UK firms are getting left behind in the global legal market? Whoever it is should take a look at the top end of this year’s UK 200, which later this month highlights that for the first time ever, all four magic circle firms have a turnover of more than £2bn (though it’s worth […]
Slaughter and May is advising longtime client Segro on the property investment company’s purchase of Tritax Eurobox. Corporate partners David Johnson and Sally Wokes are leading for the London-listed warehouse heavyweight, Segro. Meanwhile, the target Tritax is being advised by Ashurst. Corporate partners Karen Davies and Simon Bullock are at the helm of the team, […]
Latham & Watkins has appointed a new managing partner for its London office to succeed Stephen Kensell after four years at the helm. Ed Barnett will take charge effective immediately, with Kensell due to retire at the end of the year. Barnett is a corporate partner at Latham and has been with the firm since […]
Newly-qualified solicitors at Slaughter and May are officially joining the £150,000 pay club after the firm brought its pay review forward. The firm had previously stated it would hold its pay rate at £125,000 until at least November this year. The new salary took effect on 1 September, putting the firm in line with Freshfields […]
Five UK 200 firms posted a total turnover in excess of £2bn in 2023/24, while one topped £3bn for the first time in a year when both revenue and profit grew significantly. The top 50 firms ranked by global revenue generated a total £33.4bn last year, up by 8.4 per cent on the previous year. […]
Private equity house TDR Capital has promoted Emma Gilks to the top general counsel role after David Holdsworth returned to private practice last month. Gilks has been at TDR Capital since 2015 when she joined as a legal counsel from Reed Smith. Having qualified at Reed Smith in 2012, Gilks worked in the firm’s corporate […]