David Higgins
David Higgins Freshfields
HSF is leaning on London
Of the UK Top 50 firms, just 16 have no overseas offices, and of the remaining 34, more than half (19) were bigger outside the UK last year. Internationalisation is a hallmark of a Top 50 firm, but for many it is the UK that keeps the investment pipelines pumped. For firms with international offices, […]
Good things happen when partners aren’t in charge
The upcoming UK200 has welcomed its sixth employee ownership trust (EOT) member. Altrincham’s Myerson Solicitors joins Yorkshire’s Ison Harrison and the West Midlands’ Talbots Law in embracing employee ownership, having converted from a limited liability partnership (LLP) to a 100 per cent employee-owned company last week. The EOT model allows all employees to take a […]
UK50’s fastest growing firm isn’t led from London
Over the last decade, the UK’s Top 50 firms have trialled a variety of tactics to satisfy an incessant demand for revenue growth. Consolidation has been a feature of the decade, with ‘critical mass’ becoming a key term used by managing partners as they push forward their growth agendas. Internationalisation too is a hallmark of […]
A&O partner cuts will hit hardest outside the UK
A&O Shearman is looking to cut 10 per cent of its global partnership, but it’s doing so in a year in which its London recruitment team has been at its busiest. The firm has hired eight lateral partners in the City so far this year and last week’s announcement of “planned business changes” does little […]
Don’t worry Ashurst, there’s always next year
Before financials season got fully underway, The Lawyer took a look at the firms most likely to hit the milestones of £2bn, £1bn and £500m. There were not many, highlighting the challenge for firms to grow bigger and profitably. Of the seven likelies, just two definitely managed it – Linklaters and Bird & Bird – […]
Pannick arrives as Man City showdown kicks off
The long-awaited showdown between the Premier League and Manchester City has kicked off at an arbitration centre in London. Lord Pannick KC of Blackstone Chambers was the first barrister to appear, representing Manchester City, accompanied by Blackstone Chambers senior clerk Gary Oliver. Serle Court’s Philip Marshall KC and James Mather, also acting for City, arrived […]
HSBC in-houser leaves for Citi
A managing director and deputy general counsel at HSBC has left the bank after over 10 years to join Citigroup UK. The new Citi recruit is Philip Jockelson, who was head of corporate and structuring legal for almost five years at HSBC. Prior to that he was interim company secretary for 10 months, and associate […]
Another European loss for Latham as partner joins A&O Shearman
Latham & Watkins has lost another member of its Continental European transactional team, with a leveraged finance partner joining A&O Shearman in Paris. Michel Houdayer has made the move to A&O Shearman today (16 September). He was a Latham lifer, having joined the firm in 2002 and spent almost a decade in the partnership having […]
All eyes on Clifford Chance and Pannick in fight for Man City’s future
After 18 months of secrecy, speculation and extraordinary legal fees, the Premier League’s case against Manchester City over more than 100 alleged rule breaches is set to begin today. City, England’s most successful football club over the past decade, has denied any wrongdoing. There is an air of the Boris Berezovsky v Roman Abramovich trial […]
It’s double-digit dreamland as top 100 enjoy best year since financial crisis
Forty-four of the UK’s top 100 law firms posted double-digit revenue growth in 2023/24, the highest number since before the great financial crisis. In 2007/08, 61 of the top 100 grew by double digits; that figure dropped to 15 the following year and nine the year after as the economy collapsed. Last year, nearly all […]