Gerard Starkey

June 19, 2013 | International Edition

Clyde & Co has opened a new office in Atlanta, marking the firm's fourth base in the US and 33rd office worldwide. The office will be headed up by civil litigation and dispute resolution partner Bob Fisher and risk partner James Chin, both of whom join from Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, a litigation-focused US firm based in Minneapolis.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 18, 2013 | International Edition

DLA Piper has sold off the remainder of its defendant insurance team after Mills & Reeve struck a deal to take the nine-strong Birmingham-based practice. The team, which is made up of partner Alan Jacobs, associate Felicity Ho, solicitor Jagjit Virdi, plus three other fee-earners and support staff, will make the move to Mills & Reeve's Colmore Row office on 1 July.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 17, 2013 | International Edition

Osborne Clarke has posted a 14% hike in revenues to £112m for 2012-13 following a year of investment in its international network. After registering income of £98m in 2011-12, the firm added £14m of revenue over the course of a year in which it opened a new office in Hamburg in October and in July created an international network across Italy and Spain. However, like-for-like comparisons show revenues at the firm fell slightly from £98m to £97m, while provisional figures reflect a fall in profit of 5% to £35m from £37m.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 16, 2013 | International Edition

Pinsent Masons has announced turnover of £309m for 2012-13, representing combined growth of 5% in its first year of trading since its merger with McGrigors last May. The two firms last year posted a combined figure of £294m, of which legacy Pinsents contributed £221m, meaning total revenues at the firm have grown 40% since the Scots merger.

By Gerard Starkey

3 minute read

June 13, 2013 | International Edition

DLA Piper has taken the unusual step of giving staff transferred to its Edinburgh office three months to decide whether they are happy to make the move permanent or would prefer redundancy. The offer was made after 30 employees and 10 partners were asked to move to Edinburgh after the closure of the firm's Glasgow office at the start of April. The trial ends on 1 July but DLA will subsidise the expenses of both staff and partners as part of the relocation for 12 months. Employees not happy in Edinburgh will be eligible for a redundancy package.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 13, 2013 | International Edition

Ashurst's launch of a low-cost base in Glasgow has provoked strong feelings in the Scottish legal market, with senior lawyers voicing concerns over the potential impact of the move. The UK top 20 firm this Wednesday (12 June) declared its intention to build a 150-strong 'near-shoring' base in Glasgow, marking the first launch by an international law firm in Scotland with the financial backing of regional development agency Scottish Enterprise.

By Gerard Starkey

4 minute read

June 13, 2013 | International Edition

DLA Piper and Weil Gotshal & Manges have secured advisory roles on a deal that could see Chinese conglomerate Fosun International and Paris-based AXA Private Equity buy French resort operator Club Mediterranee for a reported €556m (£473m). The deal, should it go ahead, would see Fosun and AXA each owning a 46% stake in Club Med, with the remaining 8% of shares to be held by the resort group's management team. The two investors currently own 20% between them. DLA Piper is advising China's Fosun, with Paris-based corporate partner Jeremy Scemama leading a team that also includes Palo Alto-based M&A partner Paul Chen.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 13, 2013 | International Edition

Half of the UK's leading law firms have either changed their partner remuneration structure since the onset of the credit crunch or are currently reviewing it, according to Legal Week's latest Big Question survey, which highlights the increasing acceptance of merit-linked pay for partners. Forty percent of partners responding to the survey said their firm had changed its remuneration model for partners since the onset of the financial crisis, with a further 11% in the process of looking at it and an additional 1% saying they had plans to review it. About 41% had made no changes, while 6% said they had reviewed their partner reward system but decided against an overhaul. The findings show that only 10% of respondents work in firms with pure lockstep structures, compared with 27% in firms with pure merit systems and 23% in firms keeping aside part of their profits for rewarding top earners. The largest group – 40% – said their firms operate modified locksteps allowing partners to be moved up or down or held based on their individual performance.

By Gerard Starkey

5 minute read

June 11, 2013 | International Edition

DAC Beachcroft has overhauled its management team with the addition of four partners to its board, as former Davies Arnold Cooper (DAC) senior partner Danny Gowan prepares to retire from the firm. The new board members are disputes partner Nick Young in London, insurance partner Pablo Wesolowski in Madrid, Dublin head Katie da Gama and Leeds senior partner Virginia Clegg.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 11, 2013 | International Edition

Clyde & Co has posted a 17% increase in turnover and a 5% rise in profits per equity partner (PEP) following its first full year of trading since its merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert. The firm has posted turnover of £337m for the 2012-13 financial year, up from the figure of £287m recorded last year, with PEP rising from £550,000 to £580,000.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read