Legal Week

July 30, 2009 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed Julian Pritchard as the firm's new US managing partner. The New York-based M&A partner succeeds finance partner Brian Rance, who will return to full-time work in the New York finance group after finishing his three-year term in the management role.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

Last week's report on the professions by Alan Milburn, which criticised the legal profession for failing to deliver on social mobility, has generated plenty of debate. But when it comes down to it, the main barrier preventing candidates from poorer backgrounds from getting into a career in law is firms' requirement that recruits obtain a minimum A-level score (usually 320 UCAS points, or ABB).

By Legal Week

3 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

Eversheds India group head Gauri Advani has been appointed to the executive board of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC). The appointment, effective earlier this month (16 July), will see Advani join the 25-member board as one of six new members from the corporate sector.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

The Northern Rock shareholders have lost their appeal to secure improved compensation following the nationalisation of the lender, with the claimants now prepared to take their case all the way to Europe. A judgment handed down yesterday (28 July) in the Court of Appeal supported a February decision, which scuppered the attempts of more than 150,000 private shareholders to increase their compensation level. The judgment followed a three-day hearing in June before the Master of the Rolls Sir Anthony Clarke, Lord Justice Laws and Lord Justice Waller.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

Four senior clients are to reinforce the judging line-up for the British Legal Awards as the panel prepares to cast its verdict on the top business lawyers of 2009. New members of the judging panel this year include Ferrari general counsel Massimiliano Maestretti, Bridgepoint Capital's Charles Barter, Banco Santander UK legal head Olga Garcia Gonzalez and Juan Bullon Aleman of Ferrovial Aeropuertos.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

News that the Law Society is turning its attention to the wide-eyed law students at the very beginning of their legal careers is welcome, but it may be a case of too little too late. The Law Society is now addressing a problem which has required attention for some time, with no one to date prepared to take responsibility. For the past five years the number of Legal Practice Course (LPC) places - and consequently LPC graduates - has significantly exceeded the number of training contracts available.

By Legal Week

4 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

The Law Society is launching a campaign to encourage students to consider the risks involved before pursuing a career in law. The campaign will highlight the increased competition prospective solicitors face as they bid to get a foothold in the profession. It will also include information about the substantial costs of legal training. During 2008 7,606 students successfully passed the LPC while just 6,303 new training contracts were registered, meaning that more than 1,000 LPC graduates failed to secure a contract.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

These are turbulent times for Clifford Chance (CC), which this year lost its long-held title as the world's largest law firms by revenue after the firm was overtaken by Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Revenue fell 5% to £1.26bn and profits per equity partner fell 37% from £1.15m to £733,000, the sharpest fall among its peer group.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

Lawyer headcount has yet to drop across the top 50 despite a series of unprecedented job cuts as expansion at some firms offsets plunging headcount at others. Legal Week research shows there were 33,886 lawyers working in top 50 UK firms on 30 April 2009, excluding trainees and paralegals. This compares with 33,109 on the same date the previous year. Total staff numbers across the group fell by around 1,600 to 78,675.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

July 29, 2009 | International Edition

Firms in the City-based £100m group have fallen further behind the magic circle over the last financial year. The 11 firms in the group, which include all of the City top 10 outside the magic circle as well as CMS Cameron McKenna, SJ Berwin, Bird & Bird, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Denton Wilde Sapte and Nabarro, on average saw turnover drop by 2%, with profits per equity partner (PEP) down by just over 23%.

By Legal Week

3 minute read