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International Edition

LLPs to face NI contribution hike in move to clamp down on taxing self-employed staff

Law firms structured as limited liability partnerships (LLPs) may be liable for increased national insurance contributions (NICs), under Government plans to rein in tax lost to self-employed partners. If passed, the National Insurance Contributions Bill, formally announced in the Queen's Speech on 8 May, would remove the presumption of self-employment for LLP members from April 2014.
4 minute read

International Edition

Uphill battles - the future is not looking bright for today's law students

Employment prospects may be dwindling as law firms continue to scale back trainee intakes and slash associate ranks through redundancy consultations, but this seems to have done little to dent law students' confidence in their higher education. This year's Law Student Report shows 10 UK institutions receiving an average overall score of good/excellent from their own students when questioned on a range of factors including employability, value for money and quality of teaching, with 17 law faculties rated above average.
2 minute read

International Edition

Ex-Cobbetts partners face £100k penalty to break two-year DWF lock-in

Legacy Cobbetts partners could face a financial penalty of up to £100,000 if they choose to break the two-year lock-in set out in the failed firm's pre-pack purchase agreement with DWF. The former Cobbetts partners, who had their capital contributions protected following the Manchester firm's collapse earlier this year, all joined DWF as fixed-share partners as part of the £3.8m distressed purchase. In order to protect its investment, DWF imposed a two-year lock-in on the transferring partners and it is now understood that this includes a release clause penalty of £100,000 for any partners trying to leave during the first year and £70,000 for any trying to leave in the second.
2 minute read

International Edition

Olswang and Farrer & Co confirm redundancy figures

Olswang and Farrer & Co have both confirmed the results of redundancy consultations which began earlier this year, with the pair managing to save some jobs. Farrer & Co has made nine people redundant after kicking off a redundancy consultation in January putting 12 staff at risk. The consultation affected one fee earner role, two professional support lawyers, three secretaries and six business services staff. Alternative employment has been found for the remaining three roles affected. The firm would not say which roles were lost.
2 minute read

International Edition

Travers trio make partnership in reduced round

Travers Smith has made up three lawyers to its partnership, down on last year's round when eight lawyers were promoted. The promotions - which are effective as of 1 July due to Travers' financial year running from 1 July to 30 June - include litigator Jan-Jaap Baer, investment funds lawyer Jeremy Elmore and banking and corporate recovery lawyer Danny Peel.
2 minute read

International Edition

DWF to make small number of redundancies in Scotland

DWF is to make a small number of fee-earners and secretaries redundant across its Edinburgh and Glasgow offices following a review of its Scottish business. Twelve staff are included in the consultation, with the firm anticipating that eight of these could go after identifying a number of duplicate roles as a result of last summer's tie-up with Scots firm Biggart Baillie
2 minute read

International Edition

BLP to cut 100 UK lawyer and secretarial jobs, support services also under review

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has announced a redundancy programme putting around 100 UK lawyer and secretarial jobs at risk, with further cuts anticipated across its business services divisions. The redundancy consultation, announced today (14 May), is expected to affect around 58 legal staff and 44 secretarial staff. No numbers are yet available for business services, however the target will be a reduction in total salary costs of 15%.
2 minute read

International Edition

Fixed fee venture Riverview and DMH Stallard sign strategic alliance

Fixed-priced legal services business Riverview Law has signed a strategic alliance with southeast commercial law firm DMH Stallard. The alliance, which will cover a range of areas including dispute resolution, M&A and real estate, will see DMH Stallard providing additional services to Riverview clients when needed, with the law firm benefiting from additional work from new customers and an extended range of services.
2 minute read

International Edition

Freshfields holds associate and trainee pay bands at 2012 rates

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced details of its 2013 associate salaries - holding rates at 2012 levels as the magic circle firm becomes the third to reveal junior lawyer pay this year. Despite the rates remaining broadly the same as last year, junior lawyers at Freshfields will still be able to take home the same or more than their magic circle peers. Trainee salaries remain at £39,000 for first year recruits and £44,000 for those in their second year, marking the fifth year they have stuck at this rate. Meanwhile, the foundation stage in the magic circle firm's 'milestone' pay bands - which were introduced last year and replace the previous system of pay based on number of years of post-qualification experience (PQE) - remains in the range of £65,000 to £72,500. This band is largely equivalent to newly-qualified (NQ) and one year PQE lawyers.
3 minute read

International Edition

Cashing in on cachet – why a little prestige in your firm can go a long way

Apple has it by the bucket load. High-end fashion houses such as Gucci and Prada have it. Ferrari, Aston Martin and Jaguar all have it. But do Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy? According to more than 3,000 students, the answer is a resounding yes. What we're talking about is prestige – which, according to this year's annual Legal Week Intelligence Law Student Report, is one of the biggest factors in attracting would-be solicitors to apply to any given firm.
3 minute read

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