Pui Guan Man

September 12, 2013 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has emerged as the most profitable firm in the UK top 50, with 2012-13 financial results showing profit margins across the group have remained broadly static. Freshfields comes out top when ranking the top 50 firms by profit margin, with net profit as a percentage of revenue standing at 44.9%. Linklaters places second with a 43.7% margin, with Macfarlanes and Travers Smith – the 28th and 40th largest UK firms respectively by revenue – ranking third and fourth and Allen & Overy (A&O) completing the top five. Average profitability across the 42 top 50 firms that fully disclosed their financial results stands at 25.2% for 2012-13, flat on the previous year's figure of 25.8%.

By Pui-Guan Man

4 minute read

September 12, 2013 | International Edition

SJ Berwin funds partner Josyane Gold has stepped down from the partnership after 25 years to take up a new role as non-executive director at Electra Private Equity. Gold, who will remain as a consultant at the firm, has been a partner since 1988 and is a founding member of the firm's marquee funds practice. She will take up her new role at Electra with immediate effect, but will continue to work at SJ Berwin three days a week after stepping down from the firm's partnership last month.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 12, 2013 | International Edition

Eversheds has sealed the hires of two partners from DLA Piper's Birmingham team, including office managing partner Mark Beardmore. Beardmore, who has been office managing partner since 2011, joined DLA Piper in 1999. He specialises in M&A and private equity deals and will join Eversheds' Birmingham arm.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 12, 2013 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) has taken a lead role on an agreement which has seen German bank KfW set up an emergency relief fund for those affected by the conflict in Syria. The foreign ministries of both Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are working with the state-owned development bank on the Syria Recovery Trust Fund, which has received initial contributions of €10m (£8.4m) from both countries.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 11, 2013 | International Edition

Hogan Lovells and Travers Smith have won the lead roles on a debt refinancing deal for thetrainline.com which has seen the UK ticketing website raise a £190m loan. Private equity group Exponent, which owns thetrainline.com, carried out a refinancing process which increases the company's debt to permit a payout, just over a year after shelving plans to sell the website.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 10, 2013 | International Edition

Eversheds and Clyde & Co have become the latest UK top 50 firms to confirm their autumn trainee retention rates for 2013, following a clutch of announcements in recent weeks. Eversheds is keeping on 84% of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers this autumn after offering 40 of its 45 qualifiers a role at the firm, with 38 accepting. The percentage is flat on last autumn's round, when the firm retained the same proportion of NQs.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

September 09, 2013 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC) have scored the leading roles on GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK's) £1.35bn sale of its Ribena and Lucozade brands to Japan's Suntory Beverage & Food. The UK healthcare company has sold off the well-known drink brands after a strategic review which began in February this year. Ribena and Lucozade, which date back to 1927 and 1937 respectively, brought in around £500m for GSK last year in annual sales.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 08, 2013 | International Edition

Nabarro has hired Osborne Clarke partner Richard Brown as its new head of employment, a year after former postholder Jules Quinn left the firm for Jones Day. Brown previously joined Osborne Clarke's employment practice in 2004 and was made up as partner in 2006. He specialises in the technology, marketing services and recruitment industries as well as three of the firm's six strategic sectors: financial services, manufacturing and real estate.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

September 05, 2013 | International Edition

The proportion of equity partners across the UK top 20 is continuing to shrink as law firms tighten their grip on the equity amid ongoing pressure on profits. The UK's 20 largest law firms by revenue have seen the overall proportion of equity partners fall by 12% over the last seven years, with equity partners accounting for 59% of the total partner count in 2012-13, according to Legal Week research. While the number of partners across the top 20 has risen by 31% since 2005-06, the number of equity partners has grown by just 15% over the same period.

By Pui-Guan Man

4 minute read

September 05, 2013 | International Edition

In Abu Dhabi Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has been looking in recent months to sub-let half its office space on the 23rd floor of the prestigious Al Sila Tower. The firm stresses it remains committed to the city, but its move nonetheless reflects a broader readjustment of international law firm ambitions in the UAE capital. "It's no secret that we are looking to sub-let half of the floor we originally let," says Zubair Mir, head of HSF's Middle East operations, before adding that "we are not looking to return the lease in any way". He explains: "What happened was we bought an entire floor in Dubai which became more full than we expected, so when we negotiated in Abu Dhabi we took out more space than we needed to try to avoid the situation of not having enough room." HSF is not alone in rethinking its needs in Abu Dhabi. Hogan Lovells closed its outpost there last year and transferred its work to the firm's Dubai office, having decided that it made for a stronger regional hub.

By Pui-Guan Man

14 minute read