Legal Week

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

As if regulatory lawyers weren't getting enough attention, controversial proposals to rip apart the tripartite system of market regulation look set to keep this breed in the limelight for months to come. And the proposal by shadow chancellor George Osborne to reverse the most famous policy of then incoming Labour chancellor Gordon Brown by abolishing the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has certainly got regulatory lawyers talking.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

July 30, 2009 | Legal Week

As if regulatory lawyers weren't getting enough attention, controversial proposals to rip apart the tripartite system of market regulation look set to keep this breed in the limelight for months to come. And the proposal by shadow chancellor George Osborne to reverse the most famous policy of then incoming Labour chancellor Gordon Brown by abolishing the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has certainly got regulatory lawyers talking.

By Legal Week

9 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Bird & Bird had something of a breakthrough year, with the intellectual property (IP) and technology and media leader shrugging off tough markets to step up its expansive form. The result saw revenue up 29% to £186.3m, putting the firm into the UK top 20 for the first time and heralding a commanding pan-European position in its chosen markets.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Commercial litigation and insurance firm Kennedys has stormed into the top 50 after significant UK expansion saw it achieve a 30% hike in turnover during 2008-09. The firm's revenue hit £67.3m over the last financial year, up from £51.5m the previous year - giving it the biggest revenue growth in the top 50. It was also among the fastest growing by profit per equity partner after a 16% increase from £300,000 to £350,000.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Norton Rose set itself apart from most of its top 10 City rivals over the last financial year after launching a bold initiative to avoid redundancies and hiking turnover by more than 5%. The firm posted a 5.7% increase in revenue to £314m against a 17.3% drop in profits per equity partner (PEP) to £517,000. The climb in turnover means the firm beat the average by revenue growth across the top 10 City firms, which was enough to take Norton Rose into the overall UK top 10 - knocking Ashurst into 11th place.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

National firms have emerged as below-trend performers in the UK for a second year running, with reduced workflow resulting in widespread job cuts and plunging profitability in 2008-09. The top 10 national and regional firms saw turnover contract by 2.3% during the last financial year, compared with an increase of 10.4% in 2007-08, and revenue growth of just under 3% across the top 50 as a whole. Profits per equity partner (PEP) fell by 23.9%, against a marginal increase in PEP the previous year and a 17% drop across the top 50.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Firms in the insurance sector have bucked the downturn in the global economy to put in a strong performance in 2008-09. Insurance specialists Kennedys and Berrymans Lace Mawer have joined the top 50 after both reported revenue increases of more than 20%. Together with fellow insurance firms Holman Fenwick Willan, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Clyde & Co, the group significantly outperformed the top 50 as a whole.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Top 50 leaders give their perspective on an extraordinary 12 months - and their expectations for the year ahead

By Legal Week

10 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Continental Europe has proved an important international stronghold during the last financial year, with the firms heavily invested in the region seeing revenues inflated by the strength of the euro. The weakness of the pound against the euro and dollar demonstrated the importance of international spread, with Lovells joining the growing rank of firms including Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) making more than half of their revenue outside London.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

The UK's top law firms have suffered a dramatic fall in profitability and a shrinking market in what has been confirmed as the worst trading conditions for the profession since the early 1990s.

By Legal Week

5 minute read