2009 – a year in commentary

Remaining in 'year in review' mode as 2009 draws to a close, I've taken the time to pick out a selection of commentary pieces from Legal Week over the 12-month period, either because they highlighted interesting issues or just because they came out better than some other pieces.

So in (very rough) calendar order, here are my picks...

There was no doubt about the biggest story in the opening weeks of the year with Clifford Chance's redundancy programme setting the scene for what proved to be a period dominated by a stream of job cuts. Click here to read our initial reaction.

In January, Legal Week also put forward the deeply unpopular argument that pay should be frozen in 2009 to safeguard jobs (which swiftly came to pass).

The following month, CC's cuts were followed by its arch rival, with Allen & Overy putting together a more comprehensive restructuring in February, and this was only the beginning.

Another piece that stuck in my mind from around this time was a slightly off-the-cuff leader in early March about the drive for many top-tier law firms to become smaller and more targeted. It sticks in my mind due to the level of reaction I had from magic circle firms and it was a theme we returned to over the year.

The year was also joyously stuffed to the brim with regulatory developments, with various bodies issuing what felt like several thousand consultation papers in 2009. Here was one jaded response from March.

As the flood of job losses began to slow in the spring, attention began to turn to the state of the 2008-09 financial year which, despite some hyperbolic claims regarding law firms' pain, looked set to be less catastrophic than forecast. Here in May was an early crack at that theme.

This issue was bookended in July when Legal Week compiled its full 2008-09 results for the UK top 50, which confirmed that, while it was tough out there, it was nothing like as tough as the environment facing many clients.

In a more upbeat development, Norton Rose's surprise tie-up with Deacons around this time produced this quick-fire verdict.

Given the recessionary times there was much angst-ridden debate over the business model of law. Legal Week's contribution to that subject included pieces on how firms charge out their lawyers, whether they were hiring the right kind of staff, the benefits of outsourcing and the small matter of whether the whole thing was getting a bit over the top. There was also the healthy debate generated over whether junior lawyers were equipped to bring in business.

As always, there was time to assess the shifting fortunes of various law firms, among them Clifford Chance, the newly-launched Greenberg Traurig Maher and SJ Berwin.

With Lovells and Hogan & Hartson this week securing their much-touted merger bid, Legal Week first sized up the deal in October before assessing the wider impact on the market. - and there is also that McDonald's debate...

With 2010 promising to be another eventful year, there should be plenty of things for Legal Week to have opinions about in the New Year. Best wishes for Christmas.

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