Eversheds needs a radical streak
Eversheds partners aren’t really in the business of throwing curveballs. This week, partners in the International LLP – that’s everything outside the US – cemented Keith Froud as Lee Ranson’s chief executive successor in an uncontested election. We’d have stopped taking bets on this one years ago, you could see it coming a mile off. […]
Pinsent Masons and Mills & Reeve are cornering the university market
The Higher Education sector is in big trouble. As we reported last month, universities are struggling to fill places on their undergraduate courses – not least for law degrees. Many are in financial distress. Tuition fees for home students have been capped at £9,250 since 2017 and are falling well behind what is profitable, but […]
Slaughters and Freshfields share a trainee strategy
Associate retention is one of the biggest bugbears for law firm leaders, as competitive salaries and the promise of greater opportunities lure rising stars away. Added to this, a firm’s biggest cost is its people, but that didn’t stop Freshfields last year pledging to up its trainee intake from 90 to 100 from 2025. Should […]
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 […]
Greenberg leads as Titanic shipbuilder preps for administrators
Greenberg Traurig is leading for Harland & Wolff, the company famous for building the Titanic, as it looks set to appoint administrators. Harland & Wolff posted a notice of intention to appoint an administrator yesterday. Greenberg’s team is led by corporate partner Shashank Krishna, co-vice chair of the restructuring group John Houghton and corporate partner […]
Addleshaws zeroes in on IP with five-strong team hire
In a bid to expand its intellectual property practice, Addleshaw Goddard is adding five lawyers to its ranks from a specialist City firm. Stobbs’ head of litigation Geoff Steward is joining Addleshaws, along with four lawyers. Steward has worked at Stobbs for nearly six years, and played a key role in developing the firm’s IP […]
Shoosmiths moots bonus revolution to reward stars over teams
Having introduced a firmwide bonus for the first time two years ago, Shoosmiths is now contemplating whether to develop an individual reward scheme for its lawyers. The firmwide bonus, set up in August 2022, recognises all firm employees (excluding partners). It set out to pay staff between 5 to 7 per cent of their basic salary […]
NatWest’s former boss resurfaces at Mishcon
NatWest’s former chief executive officer is stepping into a new role at Mishcon de Reya, well over a year after leaving her post at the bank. Alison Rose joins Mishcon as an adviser following a 23-year long career at NatWest, where she started as managing director for leveraged finance before rising through the ranks in […]
33 Chancery Lane marks new era with CEO and barrister hires
33 Chancery Lane is undergoing a mass operational overhaul and rebrand, hiring its first chief executive, three new barristers and moving premises. The 19-barrister set, led by Kennedy Talbot KC, has hired Outer Temple’s practice director Sam Carter as chief executive and director of clerking to help guide the chambers through its new chapter. Carter […]