We talk to seven of this year’s 93 successful applicants for silk to discover the enduring appeal of the Queen’s Counsel kitemark. The ‘new’ silks appointment system has now been in place for nine years. This year’s round of appointments, announced last month, suggests a stabilisation of the revamped system. While the number of applicants […]
Move of the week Thomas Eggar has hired Ursula Danagher to be the firm’s new London-based private client practice head. Danagher joined from Mishcon de Reya, where she was a partner in the firm’s family team since 2013. She will lead Thomas Eggar’s 100-strong private client team, and will work on creating a strong family […]
While deal numbers were up last year, their value rocketed – and this time it’s not the US firms taking the lion’s share. The past few years have been stormy to say the least for European M&A. But finally in 2014, some rays of sunlight were starting to break through. According to Thomson Reuters, there […]
Talk to anyone over 35 about Generation Y and the complaints are predictable. They’re not interested in grunt work; they want the top job from the moment they join; they can’t live without their phones; they have a short attention span. Of course, such moans are born partly of exasperation and partly of envy. This […]
Litigation funding continues to gain in popularity and the market is diversifying. Have you seen any fallout yet from Lord Justice Christopher Clarke’s October decision to hand indemnity costs in the Excalibur case to the litigation funders? What do you think the impact will be for the industry? Tim Hardy, commercial litigation head, CMS: The […]
The rule of law goes further than ensuring justice and guarding liberty: it is a social and economic transformer. When China’s president, Xi Jinxing, recently spoke of wanting courts to help “lock power in a cage”, he hit upon a useful metaphor to describe the rule of law. His target? “An obsolete, ‘above-the-law’ privilege mentality […]
Pinning down elusive firm differentiation may soon be easier thanks to market forces, but will it actually deliver what we want? I have spent many hours over the years discussing how law firms can achieve differentiation in the market. The conversations are often very similar. First someone says ‘we have a very collegiate culture’. Then […]
Move of the week Osborne Clarke has recruited Simon Hobday to boost its energy and utilities practice in London. He joins from Pinsent Masons, where he was also a partner. Hobday advises commercial companies, governments, regulators and energy and utility companies on projects and regulatory and commercial matters. UK London Hamlins has hired media lawyer Andrew […]
More firms than ever are choosing to outsource work out of London to save costs. Outsourcing companies, however, still have a part to play. Moving staff to regional UK cities such as Glasgow, Belfast and Manchester, where costs are cheap, resources are abundant and travel services are improving, is an increasingly attractive prospect for firms […]
Generation Y law students have distinct career priorities and progressive values. They aren’t seduced by traditional recruitment campaigns, which has prompted a flurry of firm branding overhauls – with varying success. Would your rather be pilloried or praised? Respected or ridiculed? Because those are the only two options – apart from being ignored altogether which, […]
After a surge of activity including a restructure that scattered legal services across the business and deep cuts to the panel roster, the EDF Energy team say they are the stronger for it. Over the past year the legal team at EDF Energy has grappled with a company-wide restructure, intense scrutiny from the energy regulator […]
Taking on big banks and energy giants means the new competition watchdog needs a strong legal team, and GC Sarah Cardell is the one designing it. The newly formed Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) general counsel Sarah Cardell has had the privileged role of designing its legal structure from scratch. On taking up the role […]