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International Edition

Eversheds overhauls sector focus as firm revamps management line-up

Eversheds has revamped its sector line-up with the introduction of four new key industry groups, as the firm continues to shake up its structure in response to major changes in the markets in which it operates. The overhaul, which comes after chief executive Bryan Hughes last summer set out the firm's new three-year strategy, has seen the creation of four new sectors – propcos; public sector; consumer; and diversified industrials – and has involved several management changes. City corporate partner Robin Johnson will lead the diversified industrial group, which has been formed by the combination of the former industrial engineering; aerospace, defence and security; chemicals; and automotive sectors. The group covers a list of major clients including BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Tyco and Volvo.
3 minute read

International Edition

Mother of all problems – firms still need to try harder when it comes to women

Sometimes law firms' efforts to boost female representation in the partnership can seem a little trite. We all know the statistics – more than half of new trainees are female and yet many City firms are struggling to get women to make up 20% of their partnerships, despite numerous initiatives in recent years to try to rectify the problem. And the higher up the chain you go the worse the problem inevitably becomes, meaning you don't even need all the fingers on one hand to count the number of female leaders of top 50 law firms. Mentoring, women's groups and flexible working are all now on offer to some degree at most firms in a bid to meet the challenge, with a few going further and introducing targets for the percentage of female partners they want or for women in management roles.
3 minute read

International Edition

Taylor Wessing, Olswang lead on £1bn London 2012 media centre development

Taylor Wessing, Olswang and Eversheds have taken roles on a deal which will see the 2012 London Olympics press and broadcast centres developed into a new digital quarter in the capital. The project will see iCITY – a joint venture between data centre operator Infinity and real estate investment company Delancey – develop a hub for the digital and creative industries in east London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. According to iCITY, the deal takes total investment in the press and broadcast centres to more than £1bn, including London 2012 construction costs, secured tenants, Infinity clients and iCITY development costs.
2 minute read

International Edition

Charles Russell posts solid financial results amid management shake-up

Charles Russell has unveiled solid financial results for 2012-13 as the firm pulls together a new management line-up in the wake of senior partner Patrick Russell's retirement. The UK top 50 firm saw fee income rise 1% during the year to almost £69m, with profits per equity partner up 7% to around £300,000. Meanwhile, private client partner Christopher Page – who has been with the firm since 1997 – has been appointed to succeed Russell as senior partner, with corporate and commercial partner Keir Gordon named deputy senior partner. Both men's terms will run for three years from 1 May.
2 minute read

International Edition

Law firm layoffs mount up as top 50 job cuts reach 750 over past year

Nearly half of the UK's 50 largest law firms by revenue have announced job cuts over the past year, with the number of roles placed under threat of redundancy since May 2012 fast approaching the 1,500 mark.
3 minute read

International Edition

Lock down – the impact of the downturn on the recruitment market

Partnership used to be for life as a general rule – barring exceptional circumstances. This meant that any moves between law firms in a partner's career were the exception, rather than the rule. And then the world changed. The impact on major and mid-tier law firms, and by implication the outlook of their top talent, has been significant and has continued to shift in response to a range of macro and micro situational indicators. Over the past 25 years, there have been many contributory macro-economic, corporate and political factors to contend with: a technological revolution; the huge expansion of law firms into global businesses; the advent of the US firms' threat to City firms from the late 1990s onwards; and most recently, the global credit crunch.
7 minute read

International Edition

Call of the Wild – Kent County Council's Geoff Wild on transforming the local authority's legal team

Given that Geoff Wild won the general counsel of the year award at the 2012 British Legal Awards, it is perhaps ironic that his role more accurately reflects that of a managing partner at a small law firm than any in-house position...
12 minute read

International Edition

Cambridge retains crown as students rank top law faculties

The University of Cambridge has retained its spot as the top-ranked university law faculty, according to a major study carried out by Legal Week's research arm into the perceptions of more than 3,000 law students at some of the UK's leading institutions. Legal Week Intelligence's 2013 Law Student Report found more students at Cambridge graded their university as 'excellent' than at any other institution, with the faculty coming top for the quality of its teaching, value for money and teaching facilities – three of the four categories students were asked to rate.
3 minute read

International Edition

Dealmaker: Michal Berkner

The Skadden London partner on not deviating from the plan and the pros of being the only woman at the table
4 minute read

International Edition

Hill Dicks mulls removal of two-term managing partner limit as Jackson wins third vote

Hill Dickinson is considering whether to overhaul its partnership deed as managing partner Peter Jackson has been elected to serve a third term in office. Jackson (pictured), who succeeded David Wareing in the post in 2005, is due to begin his third four-year term in May 2014, despite the firm's limited liability partnership deed restricting incumbents to a maximum of two terms.
2 minute read

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