Friederike Heine

March 01, 2012 | International Edition

White & Case is to crack down on partner performance, with the firm planning to enforce average billable hours targets globally. Partners were alerted about the move at a meeting in Washington DC last month, at which they were notified of a drop in average billable hours across the firm and told that some partners would be asked to leave as a result.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

March 01, 2012 | International Edition

The College of Law is set to become the first British law school to open a campus in Asia, with a Singapore launch planned for later this year. The legal education provider is in advanced talks with the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) about the potential launch, which it hopes could happen later this year.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

March 01, 2012 | International Edition

India's top law firms are turning to bluechip management consultancies such as McKinsey & Company in an effort to modernise their business models, as interest in the much-coveted legal market continues to grow. Boston Consulting Group recently concluded a strategic review of India's largest law firm, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co, which has seen it set out plans to double in size over the next five years to reach a lawyer headcount of around 1,000 and turnover of $203m (£129m).

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

March 01, 2012 | International Edition

"There is a lot of short-termism involved in managing a partnership, which is why a lot of law firm leaders have difficulties dealing with underperformance" - are law firms adequately dealing with underperformance?

By Friederike Heine

4 minute read

March 01, 2012 | International Edition

Ashurst is set to launch an office in Beijing with the hire of structured finance partner Patrick Phua from legacy Mallesons Stephen Jaques. Phua will oversee the launch of a representative office in Beijing for Ashurst while the firm's full license is pending.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

March 01, 2012 | International Edition

Jones Day has strengthened its London restructuring team with the hire of Matthew French from Japanese investment bank Nomura. French, who joined the US firm this week, spent nearly three years at the bank, where he was global managing director for M&A and head of restructuring for Europe, the Middle East and Africa...

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

February 29, 2012 | International Edition

Morgan Lewis & Bockius has added a partner to its London private funds practice with the hire of William Yonge from Proskauer Rose. Yonge, who joins the US firm today (1 March) after serving a period of gardening leave at Proskauer, advises fund managers, investment funds and private equity firms on financial services regulation and securities law.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

February 28, 2012 | International Edition

Linklaters partners have confirmed that the City firm has held discussions with Australian leader Allens Arthur Robinson (AAR) about a potential tie-up. The pair started discussions about a strategic union late last year according to senior lawyers within the magic circle law firm, with one Linklaters partner indicating that an alliance is likely to be the preferred strategy.

By Friederike Heine

3 minute read

February 28, 2012 | International Edition

Linklaters global head of legal sourcing Brian Henderson, who played a key role in the magic circle firm's recent paralegal arrangement with Integreon, has left to join Baker & McKenzie. At Bakers, Henderson will take up the role of chief operating officer for the firm's Hong Kong, China and Vietnam offices. His remit will be to develop new strategic initiatives in the region, as well as assisting with the overall management of the offices.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read

February 27, 2012 | International Edition

Linklaters is advising Montagu Private Equity as the buyout house closes in on a £200m deal to acquire the College of Law. Montagu has entered exclusive negotiations with the legal education provider to secure a deal, moving ahead of a raft of other bidders including Financial Times parent company Pearson and other private equity house including Providence Private Equity and Palamon Capital Partners.

By Friederike Heine

2 minute read