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International Edition

KWM-SJB tie-up gets cautious thumbs up as other merger moves fail to convince

SJ Berwin's merger with King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has been met with guarded optimism by law firm partners, who are more cynical about other recent high-profile tie-ups. Legal Week's latest Big Question survey has found that nearly 50% of partners believe legacy SJ Berwin's merger with Asia-Pacific giant KWM, which went live last November, looks like a good deal, while a further 6% believe the tie-up will be game-changing. However, 44% of respondents have a 'negative' or 'very negative' view of the union. Nearly half (46%) of partners see the KWM combination as being on a par with other sizeable international mergers in recent years, namely Norton Rose's tie-up with Texas firm Fulbright & Jaworski, which went live last June, US firm Hogan & Hartson's merger with City firm Lovells in 2010 and the three-way union between SNR Denton, Salans and Canada's Fraser Milner Casgrain last March forming Dentons.
6 minute read

Legal Week

A pawn among kings – early days will be vital in shaping legacy SJ Berwin's future

Among a string of recent tie-ups, UK firm SJ Berwin's November union with Sino-Australian partnership King & Wood Mallesons stands out as having the potential to bring real change both to the legacy firms and the wider legal market. The combined firm is justifiably proud of its achievement, which in its own words has created "the first global law firm headquartered in Asia". There is no denying the opportunities this ambitious merger offers, giving SJ Berwin unrivalled access to what is set to be the world's largest economy and granting King & Wood Mallesons a greater role on an increasing volume of outbound Chinese work. The deAmong a string of recent tie-ups, UK firm SJ Berwin's November union with Sino-Australian partnership King & Wood Mallesons stands out as having the potential to bring real change both to the legacy firms and the wider legal market. The combined firm is justifiably proud of its achievement, which in its own words has created "the first global law firm headquartered in Asia".
6 minute read

International Edition

A pawn among kings – early days will be vital in shaping legacy SJ Berwin's future

Among a string of recent tie-ups, UK firm SJ Berwin's November union with Sino-Australian partnership King & Wood Mallesons stands out as having the potential to bring real change both to the legacy firms and the wider legal market. The combined firm is justifiably proud of its achievement, which in its own words has created "the first global law firm headquartered in Asia". There is no denying the opportunities this ambitious merger offers, giving SJ Berwin unrivalled access to what is set to be the world's largest economy and granting King & Wood Mallesons a greater role on an increasing volume of outbound Chinese work. The deAmong a string of recent tie-ups, UK firm SJ Berwin's November union with Sino-Australian partnership King & Wood Mallesons stands out as having the potential to bring real change both to the legacy firms and the wider legal market. The combined firm is justifiably proud of its achievement, which in its own words has created "the first global law firm headquartered in Asia".
3 minute read

International Edition

DLA Piper to cap pay for managers as firm pushes US-UK integration

Partners in management positions at DLA Piper will have their basic pay capped under plans to encourage more fee-earning among practice and sector heads. The proposals will see managers paid a fixed sum, with extra remuneration available based on their individual contribution to the firm's revenue.
2 minute read

International Edition

Trailblazers – what next for post-merger King & Wood Mallesons?

July 2013. In a meeting room in King & Wood Mallesons' Hong Kong office, a group of journalists wait for an announcement about the firm's pending merger with UK outfit SJ Berwin. The press invitation had been sent out a day before voting closed – a sign the firms were confident about winning partner approval for the union. Cheering and clapping from a room next door confirms the tie-up will go ahead; office staff having just been informed. At the press conference, management finally announces the details, with all of the partners visibly excited – not to mention relieved – after months of deliberation. Today, four months after the merger went live on 1 November 2013, the new entity – not so catchily named King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) SJ Berwin in the UK and Europe for the time being and KWM elsewhere – is very much a reality. SJ Berwin lawyers have moved into the China/Australian firm's offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, London-based KWM teams have switched to legacy SJ Berwin's City headquarters, global practice coordinators have been appointed in nine core areas and management bodies with representatives from China, London and Australia have already started meeting regularly.
20 minute read

International Edition

BLP joins rivals in fast-growing Myanmar through local partnership

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has expanded into Myanmar through a tie-up with local outfit Legal Network Consultants (LNC). The Yangon-based firm is now a member of BLP's Asia network, which has been created so that the firm can tap a steady flow of deals coming out of the country. To date BLP has been servicing the market out of Singapore, with a practice led by the firm's Singapore head and project finance partner Alistair Duffield, corporate partner Ken Cheung and energy and projects partner Nomita Nair.
3 minute read

International Edition

Freshfields appoints Adam Siegel as new US managing partner

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed litigator Adam Siegel as US managing partner, succeeding corporate partner Julian Pritchard whose term is nearing an end. Siegel will take up a three year term from 30 April when Pritchard's tenure comes to a close.
2 minute read

International Edition

Willkie Farr London talks raise questions over future of Dickson Minto alliance

The future of Willkie Farr & Gallagher's formal alliance with Dickson Minto has been called into question after it emerged that the US firm is considering a push into private equity work in London. Legal Week has learned that the New York-headquartered firm has in recent months held recruitment discussions with at least one high-profile UK-qualified private equity partner in London.
3 minute read

International Edition

The appliance of science – the scientific approach to boosting business efficiency

Oliver Campbell's education and training may explain his unusual career path. The grandly titled global head of business transformation at Clifford Chance (CC) is a qualified doctor who spent one day a week working in A&E while studying for his legal qualifications. His aim was to become a medical lawyer, but after a few years working as a CC associate he decided instead to devote himself to knocking his own organisation into shape by leading its ground-breaking programme of 'continuous process improvement'. While the unglamorous name of the project carries echoes of the dead hand of the management consultant, it is in fact a fairly radical attempt to force people to work far more efficiently in the notoriously ego-driven and individualistic culture of a law firm partnership. 'Permanent revolution' would be a livelier way to describe what is being attempted, but would probably frighten the partners.
11 minute read

International Edition

CMS launches in Oman with partner-free office

CMS has added a second Middle East office to its international network with the launch of a base in Oman yesterday. The office adds to its presence in the region after it opened its first Middle Eastern base in Dubai in September 2012.
2 minute read

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