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Simmons & Simmons and Wragge & Co have become the first top 25 law firms to release their financial results, with both firms shaking off the impact of the global slowdown to announce double-digit growth. The results come as other leading City players... more 08 May 2008 06:00

News of the early financial results comes as both Simmons & Simmons and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer announced their associate salary rates for 2008. Freshfields has broadly matched magic circle rival Linklaters by upping its newly-qualified (NQ) rate... more 08 May 2008 05:54

Pinsents scraps Dubai JV to go it alone

Pinsent Masons is overhauling its Middle East operation with the top 15 law firm pulling out of its joint venture in Dubai — Masons Galadari — to go solo in the region. The national heavyweight is planning to end its joint venture with the construction... more 08 May 2008 05:48

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has been crowned as the US’s most ethnically-diverse major law firm, according to research that shows US firms drawing on a wider pool of talent. The research, conducted by Legal Week sister title Minority Law Journal,... more 08 May 2008 05:45

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Macfarlanes and Hammonds have become the latest law firms to convert to limited liability partnership (LLP) status. All three firms converted with effect from 1 May, leaving just a handful of top City players to convert -... more 08 May 2008 05:43

I read an article recently by a prominent entrepreneur that bemoaned the negativity of the business media. Far from feeling defensive, the piece struck a chord, coming at a time when there has been some laughably melodramatic reporting of the current... more 08 May 2008 05:42

Simmons & Simmons has dropped plans to introduce a radical flexible working policy proposed by former senior partner Janet Gaymer after poor take-up from associates. The top 10 City firm has instead rolled out a toned-down version of the much-lauded... more 08 May 2008 05:05

A&O still on top in debt capital markets rankings

Allen & Overy (A&O) has held onto the top spot in the latest quarterly international debt capital markets rankings, advising deal managers on 130 deals worth $54.6bn (£27.6bn). Thomson Financial’s rankings show the firm held onto a 6.5% share of the... more 08 May 2008 05:03

Herbert Smith makes innovative ATE move

Herbert Smith has become the one of the first firms to use after the event (ATE) insurance to cover the bulk of a client’s litigation costs. In an unusual move, the firm managed to cover a large proportion of a client’s legal costs with the help of... more 08 May 2008 05:01

Salans exchanges its dollars for euros

Salans has overhauled its reporting regime, moving to conduct its billing and accounting in euros rather than dollars. The change has been rolled out across the firm with equity partners now set to be paid in euros instead of dollars. Lawyers and... more 08 May 2008 05:00

Norton Rose and DLA Piper have maintained their positions as the law firms with the broadest base of Alternative Investment Market (AIM) clients despite the drop in activity on the market, according to quarterly client rankings released this week. The... more 08 May 2008 04:40

Hunton & Williams is set to transfer two senior US partners to its London office in a bid to strengthen the firm’s position in the UK capital. The relocation of New York corporate partner Jerry Whitson and energy partner Ferdinand Calice mark a... more 08 May 2008 04:30

Field Fisher builds up franchising practice with Eversheds triple-lawyer appointment

Field Fisher Waterhouse has bagged a three-lawyer team from Eversheds, taking respected franchising head Chris Wormald to co-head its practice. Wormald joins Field Fisher along with consultant and former franchising head Martin Mendelsohn and senior... more 08 May 2008 04:27

Clifford Chance’s Asian team takes flight

Clifford Chance (CC) has bolstered its Asian finance team with the addition of partner Simon Briscoe from City rival Norton Rose. Briscoe will join CC’s Singapore asset finance team as a partner this autumn and will head up the magic circle law... more 08 May 2008 04:23

Fair weather for Nabarro with launch of climate change group

Nabarro has launched a climate change group, bringing together 20 partners from practice areas including fund management and construction to advise clients. The group will be headed by energy partner Tom Bainbridge, who has been at the firm for just... more 08 May 2008 04:15

Credit crunch leads to surge in insolvency

The number of UK companies going into administration has surged, with more than 850 businesses finding themselves insolvent in the first three months of 2008. The number of companies in administration rose 54%, from 557 in the last quarter of 2007 to... more 08 May 2008 04:12

US firm Howrey is planning to cut costs by hiring more non-lawyers and setting up more litigation support centres manned by staff attorneys. The plans form part of the firm’s new five-year business strategy presented to partners at a meeting in Miami... more 08 May 2008 04:10

K&L Gates and Kennedy Covington in merger talks

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis (K&L Gates) and Charlotte-based practice Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman announced last week (1 May) that they are in merger discussions. If the talks are successful, the merger would be completed by 1... more 08 May 2008 04:05

Indian Bar to visit UK for reform talks as long-running foreign firm dispute delayed

The Bar Council of India is set to visit the UK later this month, as the longstanding talks about opening up the country’s legal market to foreign law firms continue. The news comes as it emerges that a crucial court case, scheduled to take place at... more 08 May 2008 04:02

Women just a third of recruits, says JAC

Just over a third of the appointments made by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) were women, according to data released at the end of last month (30 April). The JAC received 2,535 valid applications for legal and non-legal positions with 458... more 08 May 2008 03:30