Just when you thought you’d caught up with all the changes afoot in the legal sector, the Big Four accountants go and chuck a curveball. The re-emergence of Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC as players in UK legal services may not be a huge surprise in this ABS-obsessed world. But that they’re going at […]
Stephenson Harwood and Travers Smith took key roles on the launch and flotation of peer-to-peer (P2P) loans business P2P Global Investments (P2PGI) on the London Stock Exchange’s main market. The IPO has made P2PGI the first ever UK-listed company dedicated to investing in loans originated by global P2P and online lending platforms. P2P lending platforms […]
Slaughter and May continues to advise more stock market clients than any other firm, with 119 currently on its books. Firms including Pinsent Masons, Herbert Smith Freehills, Carey Olsen and Linklaters made gains during the last quarter, according to the latest statistics from Adviser Rankings. For the period between 6 February and 8 April 2014, […]
Addleshaw Goddard has overhauled its management lineup in the wake of falling net profit figures after a year of upheaval at the firm. Turnover showed a slight increase, climbing three per cent from £166.5m to £171.4m, but net profit dropped by 11 per cent over the last financial year from £44.9m to £39.8m.. The latest […]
The accountants are making some lawyers jittery. Some, but not all. There are still plenty of lawyers – mostly transactional – who think the accountants’ return to the legal sector is irrelevant to their business. More fool them; they said the same about the Legal Services Act. The new entrants only threaten the volume end, […]
Linkaters has become the first magic circle firm to adopt gender diversity targets and is aiming for 30 per cent female membership on its executive committee and international board by 2018. The firm has also set its sights on greater gender diversification of its partner promotions. By 2018 it aims for at least 30 per […]
Deloitte is to become the last of the Big Four audit firms to enter the UK legal market after appointing a new chief of Deloitte Legal to draw up an action plan. Amsterdam-based Piet Hein Meeter, who took over as global managing director of Deloitte Legal on 1 June, is looking to grow the network […]
Clyde & Co has hired two partners from US firm Keesal, Young & Logan to establish its fifth US office in Orange County, Southern California. Marine partners Joe Walsh and Frances Keeler launched the office with two associates in temporary office space in Newport Beach today. Walsh will head the team, which will focus on the […]
The firm’s revenue is up 26 per cent and profit per equity partner up 46 per cent, but just what is the secret behind the massive growth at Osborne Clarke? Rewind to 2008/09. The economy was in the doldrums, with many firms posting a substantial drop in revenue and profits. Osborne Clarke was no different. […]
Success of firm’s daring Eurocentric expansion policy silences sceptics Rewind to March 2012. The economy was in the doldrums and many firms were looking for ways to reboot growth. At the 2008/09 year-end Osborne Clarke (OC) saw revenue fall by a staggering 11.9 per cent. It wasn’t alone, many mid-tier firms were suffering the after-effects […]
Move of the week Weil Gotshal & Manges has hired Latham & Watkins finance partner Reena Gogna. Her practice is focused on advising on acquisition finance deals. Recent clients include Hayfin Capital Management, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. UK London Druces has recruited Nicholas Fisher as a partner. He was previously a partner […]
Tailoring a patched up legal function into a bespoke unit was the task facing Lindsay Beardsell when she took over as GC at Supergroup, parent of fashion company Superdry Even in a profession where ‘dress-down Fridays’ have become the norm and the tie an endangered species, most lawyers would not skip into the office kitted […]