Legal Week

September 01, 2009 | International Edition

They were the appointments that promised so much yet delivered so little - but what, if anything, do the swift departures of Maurice Allen and Mike Goetz from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer say about the City firm's wider finance practice? The message from Freshfields is that it just didn't work out as either party had hoped. There's plenty of truth to that, but it's hardly the full story. For a start, it is striking the level of naivety both parties seem to have brought to the deal - arguably the most eye-catching lateral appointment Freshfields had ever made in the City. Certainly there appeared to be a lack of communication on both sides as to how it would work, which contributed to later frustrations.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

September 01, 2009 | International Edition

In these troubled economic times, fixed fees for particular legal matters have appeal both for law firms and their corporate clients. We - a former general counsel of a major company and a current co-managing partner of a major US law firm - strongly believe that this is an idea whose time has come. For in-house counsel facing tremendous budgetary pressures, the fixed fee addresses the problems caused by the hourly rate such as unpredictability, high costs divorced from actual value and, most importantly, the maddening law firm definition of 'productivity' - defined as more lawyers and more hours per matter.

By Legal Week

9 minute read

September 01, 2009 | International Edition

Jeffrey Carr is sick of talking about alternative fee arrangements. The general counsel for Houston-based FMC Technologies has been using alternative fee structures - arrangements with outside counsel that are not based on billable hours - for "well over a decade". But Carr (pictured right) says his efforts over the years to promote these billing models among his counterparts at other companies fell largely on deaf ears.

By Legal Week

13 minute read

September 01, 2009 | International Edition

You could be forgiven for wondering whether legal secretaries are just suckers for punishment. Serving as the right hand of many a dealmaker, often working unsociable hours to be at the desk before their boss and balancing demanding clients and egos, nonetheless their role within the modern law firm is often overlooked. But most partners will tell you a good PA is worth their weight in gold, with several not just taking responsibility for the traditional diary management, but also attending partner meetings and even becoming involved in partner hires.

By Legal Week

11 minute read

August 28, 2009 | International Edition

A former Bar Vocational Course (BVC) student has won a long-running legal battle against Cardiff University to have her exam marks increased. A High Court decision last week (19 August) saw Mr Justice Wyn Williams uphold claimant Alice Clarke's case against Cardiff University to increase her BVC marks, bringing to an end her four-year struggle against the university.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 28, 2009 | International Edition

CMS Cameron McKenna has kept on 77% of its September qualifiers, a retention rate that places the firm largely in line with figures reported by its City competitors this summer. The firm offered 21 out of 30 newly-qualified trainees jobs as associates, while also finding alternative roles for two of the other qualifiers, with one staying on as a paralegal and one hired as an assistant to Camerons general counsel Craig Perry.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 28, 2009 | International Edition

Cobbetts is extending its part-time and flexible working arrangements in a bid to stave off further redundancies. The firm said the measures will affect all fee earners and support staff across transactional practices, with only those working in dispute resolution and private capital remaining unaffected.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 28, 2009 | International Edition

With recent coverage in The Wall Street Journal about the "Billable Hour Under Attack"...

By Legal Week

5 minute read

August 28, 2009 | International Edition

Leading Scots firm McGrigors is to merge with Northern Irish heavyweight L'Estrange & Brett, it was announced today (28 August). The merger, which was signed last night, will complete on 1 October when L'Estrange will be absorbed into the McGrigors' brand and LLP. At this point the two firms will become financially integrated.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 28, 2009 | International Edition

Herbert Smith has picked up a role advising drug company Warner Chilcott on the UK aspects of its $3.1bn (£1.8bn) acquisition of the pharmaceutical business of Procter & Gamble (P&G). The City firm advised regular client Warner Chilcott alongside Davis Polk & Wardwell, with the deal approved earlier this week (24 August).

By Legal Week

2 minute read