After another year of twists and turns in the legal market, including a spate of mergers and international office openings, as well as a number of high profile hires and internal changes, here are the highlights of another 12 months from the legal industry with Legal Week's 2011 news round-up…

January

• CMS Cameron McKenna announces the final details of its outsourcing agreement with Integreon, with the firm planning to lay-off or relocate almost one third of its support staff.
• Legal Week reveals that Ashurst has ushered in a 50-hour benchmark for partners – the magazine's most popular story of the year.

 

February

• Clifford Chance (CC) launches in Australia after months of rumours, through a tie-up with two local firms – Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe and Chang Pistilli & Simmons.
• Allen & Overy announces its intention to launch a 300-strong support centre in Belfast delivering some core internal business support processes, as well as a legal services centre delivering routine elements of legal work.

 

March

• CC becomes the first leading City firm to announce a launch in South Korea in the run-up to market liberalisation in the summer.

 

April

• Legal Week reveals CC's plans to launch in Morocco, prompting a flurry of law firms to follow suit.
• SNR Denton reviews its UK strategy as profits-per-equity-partner in its UK arm look set to fall by more than a third at the end of the fiscal year.

May

• Jonathan Sumption QC (pictured) is appointed to the Supreme Court straight from the Bar, causing controversy in the market, and marking the first time a barrister has been directly appointed to the UK's highest court in more than 60 years.

 

June

• Legal Week reveals that Clyde & Co and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert are in advanced merger talks in a deal that would result in one of the largest-ever unions between two UK law firms in over a decade.
• Norton Rose's three-way merger with Canada's Ogilvy Renault and South Africa's Deneys Reitz goes live on 1 June.
• Weil Gotshal & Manges makes one of the largest-ever team hires from the magic circle, with the New York law firm bringing in the bulk of CC's London funds partners.
• Legal Week exclusively reveals Ashurst's merger talks with Australian leader Blake Dawson.
• Eversheds announces its intention to launch a presence in the US and look at the possibility of a merger in London as part of its 2012-15 strategy.

 

July

• A raft of law firms including Olswang and Carter-Ruck win roles acting for News International and other affected parties as former Sunday newspaper News of the World announces its closure.
• The UK top 50 law firm rankings for 2011 is published, with CC topping the list for a second year running, and firms across the board achieving their best growth performance since 2008.

 

August

• Ashurst confirms its tie-up with Australian law firm Blake Dawson, which sees the firms combine their Asian arms, with Blakes' domestic Australian operation to rebrand as Ashurst in March 2012, bringing the combined businesses under a single brand.

 

September

• Twenty-three UK and Irish law firms come together in ground-breaking initiative under the banner 'PRIME' in an attempt to boost social mobility in the profession with a wide-ranging work experience scheme.

 

October

• DLA Piper announces its intention to usher in an all-equity partnership across all of its offices outside the US from 1 May 2012.
• DLA Piper hires former Linklaters managing partner Tony Angel (pictured) as co-global chairman and senior partner of its business outside of the US.

 

November

• Herbert Smith formally withdraws from its alliance with European partners Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe in the wake of its failed merger bid with the two firms.

 

December

• Linklaters confirms its second partnership restructuring since 2009, with some within the firm predicting up to 35 departures from the equity globally over the coming year.
• King & Wood and Australian leader Mallesons Stephen Jaques vote in favour of a tie-up, with the firm set to combine under a Swiss verein structure in the first quarter of 2012, rebranding as King & Wood Mallesons.