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International Edition

Career Clinic: How can I get into a business development role in law?

"I have been married to the legal profession for more than eight years, starting way back when as a paralegal, before eventually moving to a fee earner role in commercial litigation with a national top-tier firm, while at the same time undertaking an LL.M in international business law. "I currently work for a private investor as corporate strategist and business development consultant, but I really want to work in a similar role at a law firm - how does this happen? Am I missing something? How do you get into business development in law, and what are the prospects?
1 minute read

International Edition

How law lost its soul – the epidemic of over-charging clients by City law firms

Over-charging by major City law firms could be as high as £5bn over the last five years. I estimate that the flawed system that lawyers continue to use to produce bills has led to charges that are, on average, 5%-10% higher than they should have been across the board. And I believe that when the fundamentally flawed system finally unravels, it will make the MPs expenses scandal look like children taken a few loose sweets from a corner shop. The background to these comments comes as a result of having compiled what is considered the definitive survey of hourly rates charged by the profession for the last 13 years.
3 minute read

International Edition

Olswang reintroduces COO role for international growth drive

Olswang has appointed a chief operating officer (COO) for the first time in four years in a bid to support the firm's recent international expansion. Simon Glynn, formerly group director of strategy and operations at Management Consulting Group (MCG), will join the firm at the end of the month. He will initially work alongside former COO Kevin Munslow – who stepped down from the role in 2007 to become chief executive and is now a consultant at the firm – while he gets to gripswith the new position.
2 minute read

International Edition

Unique over-selling points - why slick execution usually trumps differentiation

Don't get me wrong – there's a lot of truth to the criticism that law firms aren't good at differentiating themselves. In a fragmented industry, many large firms blur into each other – either because the business has grown in a haphazard fashion or the firm can't stomach the internal politics of selling some parts of the business over others. That said, you still have to wonder if the benefits of a law firm being highly differentiated – even having a unique selling point – are oversold. Fifteen years of covering business makes me suspect so. The world is teeming with famous brands that ran with ideas others came up with, only did it better – Apple is probably the most celebrated current example. And what evidence is there that law firms benefit hugely from being first-movers or unique? A very select handful of legal institutions can be said to have attained that status, and very good for business it is, too. But what can the wider legal market extrapolate from the genesis of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz? Not much.
3 minute read

International Edition

'Living in interesting times': CC's Sweeting on lockstep, law firm culture and the emerging markets

Clifford Chance (CC) senior partner Malcolm Sweeting is certainly no Stuart Popham. Popham, a born public speaker, who many suggest would have made a brilliant politician, ended his eight years as senior partner with a strong profile in industry that reflected the figurehead style he brought to the role. In contrast, Sweeting's electoral platform was a very different one. As a self-proclaimed "guardian of the partnership culture", Sweeting's take on the role is much more internal-facing. Indeed, one of the City finance partner's key objectives during his first nine months in office has been to ensure he is constantly visible to the partners and that they know what he is up to.
6 minute read

International Edition

White & Case hands key management roles to global partner trio

White & Case has appointed a new executive committee following its re-election of firmwide chair Hugh Verrier. Verrier will begin his second term as firm chair when his current four-year term elapses in March 2012. Brussels executive partner Jacquelyn MacLennan, Americas banking chief David Koschik and London managing partner Oliver Brettle (pictured) will join him at the helm of the firm, with all three also retaining their client-facing responsibilities.
2 minute read

International Edition

BLP signs up Linklaters partners for double Germany office launch

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is set to launch two offices in Germany with the hire of a four-strong team from Linklaters, marking the firm's first venture into the country. The firm announced today (19 September) that it will open in Berlin and Frankfurt by the end of the year, with a focus on high-end real estate work.
2 minute read

International Edition

Slaughters ups secondments to referral firms in Asia

Slaughter and May is set to tighten its relationships with local firms in Asia, with the firm planning to increase secondments to the region and send lawyers to Korea for the first time. The elite law firm is aiming to increase its lawyer secondments across Asia in general but particularly in Japan – where it works with firms including Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu – and South Korea, where despite links with Kim & Chang and Shin & Kim the firm has not carried out secondments to date.
2 minute read

International Edition

Norton Rose on agenda as US leader Fulbright reviews global strategy

Fulbright & Jaworski has kicked off a review of its international strategy that could see the top 50 US firm pursuing a much-touted merger with Norton Rose. The Texan firm's global chairman Steven Pfeiffer launched the review two months ago, with a prospective UK merger forming a central plank of the consultation. A merger with Norton Rose is not thought to be the only option under consideration; however, the firm is the preferred target for a number of partners within Fulbright, which has not yet engaged Norton Rose in any discussions.
3 minute read

International Edition

McDermott unveils London growth agenda in wake of restructuring and departures

McDermott Will & Emery is planning to double its lawyer headcount in London in the wake of a restructuring that will see the firm refocus its City practice around six key practice areas. The US firm wants to build its London operation up to more than 100 lawyers over the next three years, compared with a current team of 53 lawyers. The office will focus on corporate, energy and commodities, tax, employment, intellectual property and private client work, with London managing partner and European chair Hugh Nineham also planning to rebuild an arbitration practice and launch a white-collar defence team within the next year.
2 minute read

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