It was an unusual gesture when Greenberg Traurig put Paul Maher’s name in the title of its London practice, even for one of the City’s best known deal lawyers, but the Florida-bred giant has confirmed that it is dropping Maher from its City brand.
Continue reading “With one hand they give… Greenberg promotes Maher but the name goes in London”
The headline isn’t great, but it’s not bad either. Judging our annual Legal Business 100 (LB100) results, the industry has done better than expected overall, at least compared to 2015, when the group barely achieved growth despite a relative rebound in the UK and global economy.
Continue reading “Comment: LB100 firms forced to make own luck as tough times continue”
He has been one of the longest-serving and most outspoken law firm leaders in the conservative US legal market but Peter Kalis, the veteran head of K&L Gates, has confirmed that he is to finally step down after two decades running the US law firm.
The drawn-out legal battle between property billionaires, Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz, and those they hold responsible for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO)’s botched investigation into their business dealings has proved a costly affair. It has emerged they have already paid out a collective £5.1m legal bill to date in their £3bn litigation against Grant Thornton and others, surpassing the SFO’s £4.5m settlement to the pair two years ago.
Continue reading “Tchenguiz brothers’ legal bill hits £5.1m in court battle against Grant Thornton”
Allen & Overy (A&O), Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Withers have advised as a tribunal convened under the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) threw out two parallel investment treaty claims worth about $575m against Pakistan made by Progas Energy.
Continue reading “A&O defeats Quinn as $575m Progas energy claim against Pakistan thrown out”
Following a wave of expansion in Latin America, insurance specialist Kennedys is to more than double its office space in Dublin in a decision the firm says was made before the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
Continue reading “Doubling in Dublin: Expansive Kennedys moves Irish outpost to accommodate growth”
After a bruising 18 months for King & Wood Mallesons‘ European and Middle East business, regional senior partner Stephen Kon has informed the partnership he will step down as senior partner halfway into his three-year term.
The big four Magic Circle firms have posted their strongest performance in this year’s Legal Business 100 (LB100) since the recession, despite a subdued market overall.
US-bred law firms have kicked off the key post-summer season with a rash of hires, with Morgan Lewis & Bockius hiring a team from Dentons to launch in a key Chinese market as Latham & Watkins recruits yet another Magic Circle partner in Europe.
Taylor Wessing has moved to bolster its City buyout practice with the hire of a partner from Olswang in the latest in a string of departures from the City media and entertainment specialist.
Continue reading “Taylor Wessing hires buyout partner in latest London exit for Olswang”
Leading commercial set Brick Court Chambers has made another key junior hire with 20 Essex Street rising star Edward Ho. Ho appeared as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court and in arbitration.
Continue reading “Brick Court continues hiring spree with 20 Essex Street junior star”
The summer lull is over with a spate of new laterals for firms including multiple hires at DLA Piper, Simmons & Simmons and Fieldfisher, while US firm Winston & Strawn recruited in the City and Bristows and Weightmans both added to their benches.
As brewing giant SABMiller’s global general counsel (GC) John Davidson prepares to stand down in 2017, up to 35 staff in the UK-based legal team are to be made redundant.
Continue reading “SABMiller legal team faces autumn redundancies as £79bn AB InBev deal closes”
Regional firms are reporting patchy performances overall but the arrival of new entrants to the LB100 shows firms outside the capital are holding their own
National and regional firms are historically outperformed by their London equivalents in the bottom 50, but this year these firms are holding their own. There are 30 non-City firms in the 51-100 bracket, compared to 20 London firms, with a combined revenue of £1.14bn, down on the £1.2bn shared between 32 firms last year. Average revenue for this peer group is unchanged at £38m – the same as for the London-based firms. Profit per equity partner (PEP) has increased 9% to £329,000, compared to the City firms, which managed 7% growth to £435,000.
Brexit-related woes aside, City firms in the second 50 enjoyed a bumper year
When a firm depends on a signature practice area or specialism in certain sectors, a boom year can quickly turn bust during periods of economic turbulence. However, a number of the London-based practices and boutiques that occupy the second 50 of the Legal Business 100 (LB100) were the standout performers over 2015/16, despite Brexit-related headwinds during the second half of the year.
Continue reading “The LB100: The second 50 – Sterling performances”
The standout performer from this year’s second 25 is once again Mishcon de Reya which, along with Macfarlanes, has been the pace setter in this peer group over the last five years. The firm has come a long way since it first made its debut into the top 50 four years ago in 2012. Over five years, revenue has climbed more than 100% from £65m.
Mishcon revealed robust profits for the 2015/16 financial year, with profit per equity partner (PEP) up 11% to £1m as global revenue grew to £132.7m from £116.7m, an increase of 14%. The firm did, however, this year downsize its Manhattan practice to focus on IP. As such, New York revenue came in at £4.8m, a considerable drop given the business in recent years generated upwards of £13m.
‘We want to be a top 50 law firm. We have the trappings, but we’re not quite there yet.’ So said TLT managing partner David Pester to Legal Business three years ago. This year that ambition has been realised, with the Bristol-based law firm entering the top 50 for the first time.
TLT continued its strong growth trajectory in 2015/16, posting a 15% increase in turnover to £71.6m while profit per equity partner (PEP) was up 10% to £253,000. Overall, the firm has grown in turnover 65% from £43.3m over the last five years, particularly impressive considering the firm’s place in the squeezed national mid-market.
National player Bond Dickinson had a disappointing year financially, with turnover down 3% to £104m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) has also dropped 3% to £275,000, a stark contrast to the firm’s performance in last year’s Legal Business 100, where PEP soared 26% to £284,000 and turnover climbed 8% to £107m. Blaming the results on a harder mid-market and significant IT investment, managing partner Jonathan Blair says that despite the tougher conditions, real estate, private client and transport all performed particularly well.
‘Real estate was strong for us – on the operational property side, on the investor side, on the house building side,’ he says. ‘Private wealth has always been an area for us that has been very reliable. It seems to be able to withstand the vagaries you get in litigation, which tends to be counter cyclical, or M&A activity or any transactional activity. Private wealth is always pretty strong – we have grown that and worked hard on it.’
While headline figures for revenue, profit and headcount in this year’s LB100 confirm another year of subdued trading, a look at how the top 100 UK-based firms by revenue have performed overall since the halcyon, pre-credit crisis days of 2006 makes interesting viewing. Not least as they are testament to the inherent strength of the industry, despite the hurdles it has seemingly faced in ten years. We also look at 2011 as a five-year mid-point, the stage when the global financial crisis had started to ebb. Continue reading “Going long: a ten-year view of the LB100”
