Gerard Starkey

June 11, 2013 | International Edition

RPC has defied the continued economic downturn to post a 20% hike in turnover in 2012-12, with the expansive firm's revenue rising from £68m to £82.1m. The results come after the firm's revenue climbed by 13% during the previous financial year, meaning fee income has soared by 36% over the last two years compared with a 2010-11 equivalent of £60.3m.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 11, 2013 | International Edition

DLA Piper is set to move into new London offices after appointing Jones Lang Lasalle to help the firm find a new, expanded City base. DLA, which currently operates from two City offices - a 110,000 sq ft base on Noble Street and around 40,000 sq ft at 1 London Wall - has turned to the property firm to help it find up to 200,000 sq ft of London office space.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

June 06, 2013 | International Edition

Junior lawyers may not be under any illusions about the challenges facing them on the track to partnership – but the size and scale of that challenge has been starkly illustrated by new Legal Week research that plainly sets out the increasing length of time UK associates are now required to put in before making partner. Analysis of this year's partnership data shows the average post-qualification experience (PQE) held by newly qualified UK partners at top 10 firms this year stands at 10.6 years – an increase of almost 30% on the equivalent figure of 8.2 in 2006. And the standard set by the country's largest firms has been broadly replicated by their smaller contemporaries, with the average partner track across the top 50 now standing at 10.5 years. One senior partner at a top 10 law firm commented: "It is undoubtedly taking people longer to make partner and I suspect it is the case at all firms. We need to keep promoting the best people to partnership, but law firms are changing after years of double-digit growth – fewer people are now getting through."

By Gerard Starkey

5 minute read

June 05, 2013 | International Edition

TLT has posted a double-digit hike in turnover for 2012-13, as the firm continues its recent UK expansion with the launch of a new office in Manchester. The Bristol-based firm, which saw turnover rise 10% from £44.5m to £49m during the last financial year, has made two hires for its new Manchester base - which it hopes to be operational this summer - with more in the pipeline.

By Gerard Starkey

3 minute read

May 31, 2013 | International Edition

Addleshaw Goddard has posted a 2% drop in turnover for the 2012-13 financial year, alongside a 2% increase in profits per equity partner (PEP). Despite the slight drop in fee income, which fell from £169.5m to £167m, PEP has risen for the second year in succession, up to £457,000 from £446,000. The firm added that its margin stood at 27%, up from 26.5% in 2011-12.

By Gerard Starkey

3 minute read

May 31, 2013 | International Edition

Claims firm Minster Law has been acquired by insurance business BGL Group - the owners of comparethemarket.com - in a deal which marks the largest outright sale of a UK law firm to date. The deal was made possible after Minster, which has annual fee income of £107m, received approval from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to convert to an alternative business structure (ABS).

By Gerard Starkey

3 minute read

May 31, 2013 | International Edition

DWF is to make further job cuts after placing around 80 roles at risk, as the firm continues to restructure its business following its recent rapid growth. Fee-earners and support staff across the firm's bases in Manchester, Coventry, Teesside and London are all under threat of redundancy, while a consultation affecting five members of its banking and finance and corporate teams in Birmingham has been completed, with two people leaving the firm.

By Gerard Starkey

3 minute read

May 30, 2013 | International Edition

Bond Dickinson, Herbert Smith Freehills and Eversheds have taken lead roles on the £111m purchase of a south London property portfolio by joint venture Walworth Investment Properties. The 50:50 venture, set up between property investors Grainger and Dorrington, was created to acquire the residential portfolio from Grainger itself. A large team from Herbert Smith Freehills advised Dorrington, including corporate partner David Paterson, real estate partner Martin Dawbney, finance partner Ewen Fergusson, employment partner Peter Frost, and tax partners Will Arrenberg and Neil Warriner.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

May 30, 2013 | International Edition

Addleshaw Goddard has taken a key role on Britvic's distribution agreement with new Indian partner Narang Group, in a deal that marks the soft drinks company's first foray into India. The deal involves the India sales and distribution of Britvic's Fruit Shoot drink product and is due to get underway next year. Britvic, the producer of popular brands such as Robinsons squash, R White's Lemonade and Tango, expects to set up a 10-strong team in India to work on the deal.

By Gerard Starkey

2 minute read

May 30, 2013 | International Edition

The track to partnership at the country's largest law firms is continuing to lengthen, with the average level of experience held by new UK partners now standing at more than 10 years, according to research by Legal Week. Figures compiled from the UK top 20 firms' 2013 partner promotions show the average length of time taken for UK lawyers to reach partnership from qualification reached 10.5 years, up from last year's figure of 10.3. When focusing solely on the top 10, the figure rises further to an average of 10.6 years, up from 10.4 last year. These figures are significantly higher than those seen before the onset of the credit crunch in 2008, when the average post-qualification experience (PQE) for new partners at top 10 firms stood at 8.8 years.

By Gerard Starkey

3 minute read