Anna Reynolds

March 12, 2014 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed litigator Adam Siegel as US managing partner, succeeding corporate partner Julian Pritchard whose term is nearing an end. Siegel will take up a three year term from 30 April when Pritchard's tenure comes to a close.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 11, 2014 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is to launch a low cost legal services centre in Manchester as part of a new four-strand approach to servicing clients. In addition to the Manchester centre, which is expected to open in the summer, the new model will also see the firm's Lawyers On Demand (LOD) business developed to include virtual transaction teams, the use of third parties to cut costs for clients and the expansion of its internal legal process improvement team to analyse and improve processes and workflows for clients.

By Anna Reynolds

3 minute read

March 10, 2014 | International Edition

Ashurst is set to complete its first partner remuneration review since its full financial merger with Australia's Blake Dawson Partners at Blakes transferred over to Ashurst's managed lockstep system in November last year, a move which had been one of the conditions in the firms' merger deed.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 06, 2014 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner's (BLP) finance practice has had something of a revolving door recently, with the announcement of a new practice head last week prompting yet more departures. Since September a total of 13 partners have left BLP – a mix of voluntary and forced moves – with the majority coming out of the finance team. Two more – structured finance partner Lucy Oddy and real estate finance partner Andrew Flemming – are expected to hand in their notice next week. Things started to look precarious when, following months of speculation about a significant drop in profitability, BLP finally revealed its 2012-13 financial results in September. Profit per equity partner (PEP) had plummeted 39% to £401,000, while net profit had fallen 38% to £39.4m.

By Anna Reynolds

4 minute read

March 05, 2014 | International Edition

Herbert Smith Freehills has hired Deutsche Bank compliance head Andrew Procter as a partner in the firm's global financial services regulatory practice.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 04, 2014 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has named corporate partner Julian Long as its new London managing partner, succeeding Mark Rawlinson who stepped down from the role in December.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 03, 2014 | International Edition

Hogan Lovells is opening a low-cost legal services centre in Birmingham, led by its former private equity chief Alan Greenough. A 20-lawyer team will carry out lower-end work delegated from the firm's London office.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

March 03, 2014 | International Edition

A senior clerk at 20 Essex Chambers has joined legal recruiter Hewetson Shah as a partner. Mathew Kesbey, who has spent over 20 years in clerking at both Essex Court Chambers and 20 Essex Street, joins the recruiter as a partner today.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

February 28, 2014 | International Edition

Three Berwin Leighton Paisner partners, including head of real estate finance Laurence Rogers, have resigned from the firm to join DLA Piper. Rogers has left the firm alongside commercial real estate partner Richard Hopkinson-Woolley and corporate tax partner Neville Wright.

By Anna Reynolds

3 minute read

February 27, 2014 | International Edition

With their UK-centric business models and focus on private equity, if anyone was going to be hit hard by Lehman Brothers' 2008 collapse and the subsequent implosion of the global financial markets, it was top 50 UK law firms Macfarlanes and Travers Smith. Traditionally paired together as tight and conservative partnerships with a heavy transactional bent and a distinct absence of international networks, some rivals predicted the two would struggle to quickly regain the form that – pre-crisis – had set them apart from many of their mid-market peers. As Macfarlanes senior partner Charles Martin puts it: "Before the downturn the firm was more heavily transactional: private equity, corporate and real estate. All of this stopped in its tracks in 2008 – it was as though we were hit by a freight train in the night." In fact, while profits per equity partner (PEP) fell by more than 30% at both firms in the first chaotic financial year post-Lehman between 2007-08 and 2008-09, the pair's fortunes subsequently recovered well. Travers saw revenues soar by 11.6% in 2009-10 against a 53.5% rise in PEP, with that year's bumper growth helping to ensure that profits in 2012-13 were 5% higher than five years earlier. And while Macfarlanes has yet to regain its boom-time PEP high of £1.1m, at just shy of £990,000 for the last financial year it has come pretty close in far less buoyant market conditions.

By Anna Reynolds

13 minute read