William Needham is set to join the top 25 US firm after nine years at KKR and will co-chair its European restructuring practice with fellow partner Mei Lian.
Stewarts has poached Norton Rose Fulbright partner Sherina Petit as the latest hire for its international arbitration practice, the firm announced today (3 November). The disputes expert will also lead the firm’s India team and will assist in its expansion across the Middle East, Africa and Singapore.
Reed Smith has been actively hiring for its Asia practice and now has 140 lawyers, including nearly 50 partners, across its four Asian offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has made simultaneous U.S.-qualified partner hires from Latham & Watkins and Mayer Brown in Tokyo in an effort to win U.S. work mandates from Japanese clients and inbound work from U.S. companies.
The Latin America-focused law firm has recruited Argentine lawyer Alejandro Fiuza, whose cross-border experience includes private equity and venture capital deals.
Brendan McGuire advised Mayor Eric Adams as his administration grappled massive influx of more than 100,000 migrants into a city with a “right to shelter” law and a potential federal takeover of the jail complex on Rikers Island, where inmate deaths have spiked in recent years.
Alessandra “Aly” Simons, after close to 10 years at Goodwin Procter, where she ascended to co-chair of that firm’s technology M&A practice, is joining Debevoise & Plimpton.
The announcement of Cohen’s move comes just after Stroock announced that–following a string of grim developments for the 147-year-old firm that has included botched merger talks and mass departures of talent–the firm is forming a wind-down committee to oversee a potential dissolution or restructuring.
Vinson & Elkins partner Gabriel Silva joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a partner in the energy and infrastructure practice in New York, as the firm continues to seek out Big Law partners working in that sector.
Jonathan Hawk has worked with many online platforms over the years and his practice seems well positioned as regulators continue to scrutinize online content such as hate speech.
The Latin America-focused law firm has recruited Argentine lawyer Alejandro Fiuza, whose cross-border experience includes private equity and venture capital deals.
“With her as our chief legal officer, our team, business, vendors and customers will all benefit,” S&S Activewear CEO Fred Meyers said of Alaina Brooks’ hiring.
“My main criteria for the future will be to work with fantastic humans and to find yet another challenge that puts my experiences to their best possible use,” Stark said in a LinkedIn post.
“The leadership team is committed to continuous improvement and driving shareholder growth. I look forward to working with the team to reach our goals.” General Counsel Stephen Zamansky said.
Raytheon in-house veteran James Wallace is taking the legal reins of G2CI, which has hired its own management team now that it operates as a stand-alone business.
Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell announced that Alexandra Cumings and Kyle Pinder have been invited to join the firm partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2024, and Elizabeth Mullin will be promoted to special counsel.
Under Ryan’s direction, the firm saw its highest revenue year to date in 2022, growing 6.2% from a strong 2021 to $3.68 billion. The U.S. offices accounted for just over $2 billion of that tally.
In short: mergers between healthy firms work, Hugh Simons explains, detailing data that shows adding an unhealthy firm into the mix is a recipe for multi-year declines in PEP rank.
Whether the firm lands in bankruptcy is unknown at this point, sources said, as Stroock will be dealing with both preferred and non-preferred creditors. Its full liabilities are unclear at this point.
The tech-focused firm follows Sidley Austin, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Winston & Strawn, Kirkland & Ellis and King & Spalding in the bustling South Florida legal market.
The firm’s latest office launch coincides with the recent hire of international dispute resolution lawyer Arie Eernisse, who was most recently a senior foreign attorney at Big Six South Korean law firm Shin & Kim.
“There’s a lot of people trying to play a little bit of catch-up, and they’ll run out of opportunity runway if there’s a recession,” said Mark Medice, a principal at LawVision and law firm consultant.
The decision to add a non-equity tier is often a play to compete for senior associate and counsel-level talent by offering the title of partner without diluting shares of the firm’s equity, so firms can continue to pay for top-performing talent.
The majority of Am Law firms in Atlanta around 2021 “figured out” they were competing with New York firms, rather than only other Atlanta firms, for talent, noted Rebecca Glatzer of Major, Lindsey & Africa.
A newly released survey found departments also are trying to save money by switching from large law firms to smaller ones, and by leveraging artificial intelligence.
A few firms have omitted PEP from their most recent financial results—there’s really only one way the market will interpret this, writes The London Lawyer.
As a follow up to her April article in this publication, “ChatGPT as a Legal Tool? Ethical Considerations in the Evolving Generative AI Landscape,” Kimbrilee Weber, partner with Norris McLaughlin, continues the discussion, covering some of the caselaw that has cropped up with the rise of ChatGPT, including court rules and privacy issues.
The firm plans to soon expand the platform into Cooley D+O 2.0, which will include additional features such as scalable initial public offering filings.
In the employment discrimination context, the use of AI offers the possibility of eliminating bias from employment decisions, but the current reality may be just the opposite, according to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Chet Kronenberg, Laura Lin and Rachel June-Graber.
The one-day innovation tournament was held virtually on Oct. 13 and was sponsored by JAMS, the American Arbitration Association and the New York State Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section. Nine teams of law and engineering students entered the competition this year.
Susman Godfrey plans to increase the number of law students participating in its 1L Diversity Fellowship and the number of winners of the Susman Godfrey Prize.
In The Legal’s Labor & Employment supplement, read about new protections for pregnant and nursing employees, evolving DEI efforts and a push for unions in the arts and culture sector.
Welcome to Mid-Market Roundup, where our team of regional editors shares the trends, challenges, opportunities and observations emerging in their markets.
“The way to minimize risk is the engage in conduct that promotes diversity without making decisions or limiting opportunities explicitly on the basis of race or gender,” said Rutgers Law School professor Stacy Hawkins.
Using precise, thoughtful language in communication about DEI initiatives, both internally and externally, can take the proverbial bullseye off a company. The authors of this column offer some specific examples of how this plays out in practice, identifying high-risk and low-risk alternatives in five common scenarios.
In-house staffers say in a new survey that they want law firms to provide better visibility into their costs and processes. But the respondents gave the firms high marks for the quality and responsiveness of their communications and for how they collaborate on strategy.
Four newly-minted boutique partners who participated in Law.com’s “How I Made It” series over the past year highlight the striking amount of practice diversity out there in smaller firms.
It’s a buyer’s market for midsize firms across the country as Big Law associates struggle to hit hours and partners get priced out of their own practices.
Partners in their prime business development years, often in key transactional practice areas for the firm they’re at, are leaving for firms that can offer more robust associate teams.
The sensational story of a non-lawyer allegedly masquerading as a qualified attorney in Kenya has led to growing concerns of ‘widespread’ malpractice across the continent.
Pre-pandemic, large firms were reserved in making changes to their equity partner head count. “But one of the interesting trends we saw in 2022 was there was a significant jump in firms growing equity partner head count,” one researcher said.
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan missed its window of opportunity to find a merger partner, and now the firm is shutting down. Could leaders have done anything to secure greater support for their plans?
Derval Walsh joins hot on the heels of commercial litigator Robin Pickworth’s move from Armstrong Teasdale. Brown Rudnick has hired a senior partner from Mishcon de Reya in London to bolster its disputes bench. Derval Walsh has joined the US firm’s litigation and arbitration practice as a partner after 13 years at Mishcon, where he was head of finance and banking disputes.
Gawain Hughes has joined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman as a partner in London, the firm said Tuesday. Hughes works with global institutional fund managers and investors on the structuring of an investment into unregulated investment funds. He has a focus on private equity, infrastructure, real estate, and debt investments, according to Pillsbury. He previously practiced at Morgan Lewis and led the EMEA funds practice at DLA Piper, Pillsbury said.
Pinsent Masons is expanding its Johannesburg office with the hire of new Partners, David Woodhouse and Anthony Crane, Legal Director Mark Thomas, and Senior Associates Nanri Labuschagne and Annelle Kamper. The new additions, together with other Associates from their teams, will join Pinsent Masons from the highly regarded, boutique Johannesburg law firm, Tabacks, and will help expand the firm’s client service offering in Africa, bringing in expertise in commercial and M&A law, employment and competition law, and commercial dispute resolution.
Norton Rose Fulbright has bolstered its disputes offering with the appointment of top-ranked partner Nick Sharratt as its new regional Head of Dispute Resolution in the Middle East. Known for his exceptional client service, Nick has worked in the region for more than a decade, focussing primarily on litigation, international arbitration, asset recovery and multi-jurisdictional enforcement. His bluechip client base spans across a range of industry sectors including financial institutions, energy and infrastructure, construction, commodities, hospitality and transport. Nick will be based in the UAE.
Anglo-Australian law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has hired a second energy-focused M&A partner from U.S. law firm King & Spalding in Asia in less than a month, as Lachlan Clancy joins the firm in Tokyo. Herbert Smith Freehills added energy pro-Anthony Patten from K&S in Singapore last month. The latest hire is part of a planned expansion of its Asian energy practice in response to growing client demand, the firm said in a statement. “At such a critical time for energy transition investment, their appointments strengthen both the firm’s energy credentials and its ability to respond to growing client demand in Asia and beyond,” said Graeme Preston, Asia managing partner.
Christopher Crumbley moves into private practice after long stints at the US Patent and Trademark Office and Department of Justice. A lead administrative patent judge at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has joined Texas-headquartered firm Bracewell as a partner in its Austin office. Christopher Crumbley brings more than 20 years’ experience to his new firm.
Montreal (Canada) – Fasken is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Quesnel as a legal counsel in the Life Sciences group at our Montreal office. He was until recently the Head of Legal Affairs & General Counsel Canada for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. With over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Robert advises his clients on issues primarily related to life sciences and intellectual property. He is recognized for his expertise in managing complex product liability class actions, as well as high-profile patent litigation.
Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP recently announced the continued growth of its bankruptcy practice with the addition of Brett M. Haywood as counsel. With the addition of Brett, the Potter Anderson bankruptcy group now includes 5 partners, 2 counsel and 8 associates dedicated to advising clients in complex restructurings. Haywood joins Potter Anderson from Bespoke Financial, Inc. where he was Vice President, Corporate Counsel.
Firm continues to strengthen its global M&A and private equity bench. Global law firm Baker McKenzie announced today that Erika López has joined as a private equity and M&A partner in the Firm’s Chicago office. A rising star in private equity and M&A, Erika brings significant experience advising clients on all aspects of complex M&A and private equity transactions. “Erika has very strong business acumen and a legal skillset that fits squarely within our needs in North America” said Alan Zoccolillo, M&A Partner and Baker McKenzie North America Transactional Practice Chair.
For the second time in two months, Williams Mullen has lured a group of attorneys over from a smaller competitor. The downtown Richmond-based law firm in recent days added a team from Norfolk-based Pierce McCoy. The move involves six lawyers, including Pierce McCoy co-founder and namesake Gabe McCoy, and follows Williams Mullen’s addition earlier this month of a group of 10 attorneys from Richmond firm KVCF.
Quinn Emanuel has hired Avi Perry, the justice department official who oversaw market-rigging cases, he will co-chair Quinn Emanuel’s securities litigation group as well as its commodities and derivatives group.
Monogram Health, the nation’s leading value-based provider of in-home, evidence-based care and benefit management services for patients living with chronic kidney and end stage kidney disease, has hired Adam McAnaney as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Adam is a proven leader, and his extensive history of successful executive leadership roles at public companies as well as large-scale healthcare organizations demonstrates his robust capabilities. Adam served as General Counsel and Secretary for Signify Health, following its acquisition of Remedy Partners.
Locus Robotics, the market leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for fulfilment warehouses, today announced the appointments of Kian Sin Ng as General Manager, APAC, and Joel Collins as Chief Legal Officer. These executives join Locus Robotics’ leadership team as the company continues expanding globally to serve growing customer demand. As Chief Legal Officer, Joel Collins will lead Locus’s global legal operations.
Samallie Kiyingi, who will be based in Singapore, joins the bank from the Africa Export-Import Bank and will take over the role from current group GC Sandie Okoro, according to a LinkedIn post by the latter.
US outdoor and sporting brands giant Vista Outdoor has named Jung Choi as general counsel of its outdoor products business following the announced sale of its sporting goods division to Czechoslovak Group (CSG).
Arthur Cox has named Lynsey Mallon as the next managing partner of its Northern Ireland practice. Ms Mallon will take up the position in April 2024 in addition to her role as head of the firm’s corporate and commercial department, succeeding Catriona Gibson who, after an eight-year tenure as managing partner, will become chair while continuing as head of litigation. Having joined Arthur Cox in 2007, Ms Mallon is among the most pre-eminent corporate lawyers in Northern Ireland and is a specialist in mergers and acquisitions, investments, and corporate reorganisation and restructuring.
Inigo Esteve succeeds Dipen Sabharwal as head of US firm’s 500-plus lawyer London office amid wider leadership reshuffle. White & Case has named capital markets lawyer Inigo Esteve as the new executive partner of its London office. Esteve will take over on 1 November from international arbitration partner Dipen Sabharwal KC, who has led the London office since the start of last year and has recently been appointed to White & Case’s global executive committee.
Blank Rome has brought on Ashton Batchelor, formerly chief value and analytics officer at Robins Kaplan, as the firm’s latest chief innovation and value officer. Batchelor took up the position, previously held by Linda Novosel.
Private wealth sector head Nick Warr to succeed Dominic FitzPatrick in January. Taylor Wessing has appointed the head of its international private wealth practice, Nick Warr, as its next UK senior partner. London-based Warr will begin his three-year term in January and succeeds Dominic FitzPatrick, who completes six years in the role in December having been re-elected to serve a second term in November 2020.
Ivor Fitzpatrick and Company Solicitors has announced the appointment of Sandra Casey, previously a senior associate, as a litigation partner with the firm. Sandra joined the firm in 2001 and has been a valued, dedicated and hardworking member of the litigation team.
Specialist boutique employment law firm McInnes Dunne Murphy LLP has appointed Jane Babb as a consultant and Fiona Sharkey as a senior associate. Ms Sharkey joins from one of the biggest Irish law firms, where she trained and practised as an employment solicitor for eight years.
Cohort grows 26% from 2022 in round once again focused on US firm’s transactions team. McDermott Will & Emery has made up 46 lawyers to partner in its latest promotions round, which also saw eight lawyers become counsel. The class represents a 26% increase on the 2022 cohort, when 32 lawyers made partner and 11 became counsel, and also sees the proportion of women increase from 47% last year to 61%. Last year the firm reported that 37% of the cohort identified as racially, ethnically and/or LGBTQ+ but declined to disclose the figure this time round.
Porter Hedges has announced the election of Joyce Soliman as Co-Managing Partner – External Affairs. She succeeds Rob Reedy who has served in that role since July 2022 and prior to that, as the Firm’s sole Managing Partner since 2009. Joyce will lead the Firm alongside James Cowen who serves as Co-Managing Partner – Administrative Affairs. Rob will assume the role of Chair Emeritus. Joyce will prioritize lateral partner recruiting, marketing and business development, innovation, strategy and growth, and will serve as the primary external spokesperson for the Firm.
Target Corporation has promoted Matt Zabel, who has been executive vice president and general counsel at the company since 2022, to become chief corporate affairs officer. Matt Zabel has been with the retailer since 2010.
The firm said it couldn’t reach an agreement “that adequately balanced Pillsbury’s long-term strategic objectives with the more immediate financial and other risks involved.”
Clients, compensation, partner exits, and regulator consent is next on the agenda for the management of the merged firm, writes one partnership expert.
The Singapore office will start off with an initial team of five staff members consisting of associates and paralegals with Craig Luton being the first partner on the ground.
McNees Wallace is thying to modernise its approach to the business of law, by letting go of the three professionals that made up its HR team in September and putting their headquarters on the market for nearly $11 Million in August.
Northern Ireland law firm Millar McCall Wylie is on track to exceed its goal of growing turnover by 50 per cent in three years, the firm has announced. Having set the three-year target in 2021, the locally-owned firm said expansion across its real estate, matrimonial and family, and employment law departments has outperformed expectations.
All practising solicitors in England and Wales may have to pay up to £400 in order to cover the costs to clients following the collapse of a City law firm. Axiom Ince was closed down by regulators last month and police are investigating allegations of a £64 million fraud. The Law Society Gazette has calculated that each of the approximately 160,000 practising solicitors south of the border will have to stump up as much as £400 in top-up fees for the profession’s compensation fund.
Legal departments are ramping up efforts to control costs by bringing more work in-house, shifting work to smaller firms, and leaning more on technology, including artificial intelligence, a new report from the Association of Corporate Counsel and Everlaw revealed.
Artificial intelligence, access to justice and ethics in the legal profession are among the issues being examined by the two-day International Conference of Legal Regulators (ICLR) which opened this morning in Dublin. Ireland’s Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) is hosting the 12th annual event, welcoming more than 100 attendees to the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire to share experiences and good practices, explore trends and themes, and network. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘The Future of Legal Regulation – Navigating the Decade Ahead’.
Initially unveiled in May, Lexis+ AI is now publicly available and comes with an updated user interface, new educational resources and added capabilities.
While legal tech prices didn’t come out of last year’s peak inflationary period unscathed, law firms’ technology budgets are feeling even more of a pinch these days.
“The differences that data reflects are that mothers are disproportionately not getting important assignments, not being assigned matters with travel, not having sponsors and mentors, and there’s a disparity in income particularly as income rises”, attorney Roberta Liebenberg, a co-author of the report said.
Telling your story can inspire, help others speak out and made a great impact – something more women in law should be encouraged to do, writes the London Lawyer.
Law firms also lack sufficient investment in their marketing and business development teams. A majority of law firm marketing and business development (MBD) teams are spending most of their time dealing with problems rather than on strategic initiatives, according to new research, presented at the Law Firm Marketing Summit earlier this month.
Paul Weiss reportedly is considering tinkering with the firm’s partner compensation system, including potentially creating a non-equity tier. A move to convert bonus payments to equity shares for the firm’s top-paid partners is also said to be on the table.
As traditional deal markets remain deathly quiet, sports has developed into its own asset class, spawning all kinds of work for Big Law firms that have their foot in the lucrative door.
The firm is building muscle in a region that increasingly intersects with its global network, while it has also increased referrals from local law firms.
US firm grew African headcount 177% between 2019 and 2022, according to Africa Legal. US firm White & Case was the fastest growing law firm by headcount in Africa between 2019 and 2022, according to new research published by Africa Legal.
Lateral partner moves in Washington D.C., have slowed down in 2023, according to two legal industry groups, as law firms continue to show caution in hiring. Still, organisations that track lateral moves and recruiters say they are still seeing sustained demand for laterals in antitrust, competition, and government practices. Recruiters and practice leaders have pointed to robust demand within regulatory practices in D.C. this year.
Firms with aging managing partners should develop a succession plan for transferring clients and management responsibilities (over a five-to-ten-year transition period) to the firm’s younger attorneys.
An increasing number of law firms are questioning whether senior associates and partners are the best people to train associates on foundational skills. When Abdi Shayesteh arrived at King & Spalding as a New York corporate associate in 2007, he had a scary realization: Law school didn’t teach any of the tasks he was being asked to complete.
Once described as Anglo-German, the 280 year old firm is steadily transforming itself into a US firm, with far-reaching consequences for partners in its former power bases, sources say.
Recruiters who place laterals at Big Law firms said firms in many cases are more focused on Due Diligence before hiring, assessing books of business of the prospective partners and talking to their clients.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have welcomed back antitrust and competition lawyers, both rejoining their previous firms as partners. At Freshfields, competition specialist Colin Raftery is set to join the firm from the Competition and Markets Authority, where he spent five years as senior director of mergers, following two years as director of mergers.
Kirkland & Ellis has hired two private equity partners from rival elite U.S. outfit Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in London, following a few defections at the firm to another rival, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison. Partners Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea are set to be joining Kirkland’s London ranks, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The pair count some of the world’s largest private equity houses including KKR, Blackstone and Melrose as clients. The hires will go some way to rebuilding Kirkland’s Ranks following Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison defections.
EU law veteran and former Wilmer Cutler Hale Pickering & Dorr partner John Ratliff has rejoined London’s Henderson Chambers. Ratliff was a door tenant with Henderson from 1986 to 1999 while also practising in Brussels with Stanbrook and Hooper, a specialist competition and trade law firm, which merged with McDermott Will & Emery in 2005. He joined WilmerHale after leaving Henderson, retiring from the partnership at the end of last year but remaining with the firm until this month.
Linklaters has hired the head of Addleshaw Goddard’s (AG) competition team in London to bolster its antitrust and foreign investment practice. Bruce Kilpatrick brings more than 25 years’ experience advising clients on complex merger control, antitrust enforcement and foreign direct investment cases, as well as defending high stakes antitrust damages litigation and director disqualification proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. His return to Linklaters will follow more than 16 years at AG, where he had led the competition and regulatory team for more than a decade.
Senior fraud partner Andy McGregor is leaving Allen & Overy (A&O) to join London boutique Enyo just 18 months after joining the Magic Circle firm. His departure comes hard on the heels of Friday’s announcement by A&O and Shearman & Sterling that their respective partners had voted overwhelmingly to approve their landmark transatlantic merger.
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has bolstered its private capital offering in the City with the hire of a private equity partner from Sidley Austin and a venture and growth capital specialist from DLA Piper. Eleanor Shanks will join HSF from Sidley to serve in the new role of head of international private equity in London, while Dylan Doran Kennett is leaving DLA Piper to co-lead the firm’s UK venture capital and growth capital practice with partner Michael Jacobs.
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has hired a partner from Stephenson Harwood to lead its dispute resolution team in the Middle East. Nick Sharratt has joined the firm in Dubai after four years as a partner at Stephenson Harwood, prior to which he was counsel at Winston & Strawn. He replaces NRF’s former Middle East disputes head Paul Stothard, who recently relocated to the UK and remains with the firm.
From Singapore, the firm’s first and only Asian office, it now counts 7 lawyers who are admitted in Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, India, mainland China, U.S. and the U.K. Littler Mendelson, the world’s largest employment-law focused firm, has added a trio of counsel-level lawyers to its four-year old Singapore office. Furthermore, joining the firm are Soowon Hong, Betty Lee and Shiau Sang Tee. Their additions will give Littler a total count of seven lawyers in Singapore, from where the team will advise on matters related to the U.S., South Korea, Hong Kong, Indian, mainland China, Malaysia and the U.K.
A high-profile mergers and acquisitions partner has left Australian firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth following an incident on a domestic flight. Chris Allen, one of six top corporate and banking partners poached by Corrs in a raid on rival ‘MinterEllison’ in 2021, has left the firm.
Morrison & Foerster has expanded its mergers and acquisitions practice in Tokyo with the hire of highly experienced corporate M&A lawyer Stephen DeCosse from Jones Day. DeCosse, most recently of counsel in Jones Day’s Tokyo office, joins Morrison & Foerster as a partner. The move marks a return to the firm for the veteran lawyer. He was a partner at Morrison & Foerster in Tokyo before leaving in 2006 for Jones Day, where he was also a partner. He moved to of counsel last year.
Stephenson Harwood has added a team of seven lawyers plus shipping partner Paul Ho to its Hong Kong and Shanghai offices. Ho was the chief representative of Ince’s Shanghai office and the firm’s head of Greater China. The firm hopes the hire will provide opportunities to work with a greater pool of Chinese mainland clients, from shipyards to traders to LNG operators.
Nishimura & Asahi, Japan’s largest law firm by headcount, has expanded its corporate offering in Thailand with the hire of M&A lawyer Christopher Osborne. Osborne was most recently a partner and head of the Thai corporate practice at Watson Farley & Williams in Bangkok, he joins the Big Four Japanese firm as a partner. Osborne specializes in advising international and Thai companies on the development, sale and acquisition of renewable energy projects in Thailand and across Asia. He advises on onshore wind, solar and waste-to-energy projects, and provides legal advice related to power purchase agreements, project finance to post-commissioning exits and acquisitions. He also advises on mergers and and acquisitions in the region and has previously acted on deals involving the manufacturing, logistics, and technology, media and telecommunications sectors.
Cuatrecasas has hired the former head of mergers at Chile’s antitrust authority to lead a new practice area for the Spanish firm. Francisca Levin joins Cuatrecasas as a partner and head of its newly formed competition practice in Santiago, joining a team of nine partners and 28 lawyers in the country.
Vinson & Elkins has expanded its corporate and finance practices in London with the hire of a partner from Milbank. Chris Taufatofua joins the U.S.-headquartered firm after more than a decade at Milbank, where he was most recently a partner.
Continuing its growth in the Bay Area, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has hired litigation partner Angela Dunning from Cooley. Dunning joined the firm as a partner in its Bay Area offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, marking Cleary Gottlieb’s fifth lateral partner hire since it opened in the market in late 2021. It has about 20 lawyers in the Bay Area now, according to its website. After hiring Angela Dunning, who spent 23 years at Cooley, Cleary Gottlieb now has roughly 20 attorneys in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
U.K. firm Clifford Chance continues to expand the energy and infrastructure team in its new Houston office by adding Kirkland & Ellis M&A partner Cephas Sekhar as a partner and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett M&A counsel Kyle Kreshover as counsel. Sekhar is the 11th partner to join Clifford Chance in Houston since the office opened in early June. The others include a total of seven lateral partners hires from Big Law firms Latham & Watkins, Jones Day, Kirkland, Baker Botts and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and three Clifford Chance partners who transferred to Houston from New York and Paris.
Florida-based Gunster is bringing in two corporate lawyers to handle issues surrounding products liability, real estate and tax matters. Devin Moss is coming to the firm’s Miami office and joining the business litigation group as a shareholder from Shook, Hardy & Bacon, where he focused on products liability work. Meanwhile, David Sawyer is joining the firm’s tax group in Fort Lauderdale as of counsel after coming from an in-house job.
After a year of growth at Day Pitney’s Miami office, it’s adding another health care-focused lawyer before the firm pivots to grow its West Palm Beach outpost. Magda Rodriguez is joining the East Coast-based Am Law 200 firm as a partner focused on health care clients out of the Miami office. Rodriguez is at least the firm’s fifth hire in Miami this year.
Paul Hastings has hired partners from Goodwin Procter and Cooley as it moves to build its private equity and capital markets practices in Northern California. Scott Joachim has joined the firm as global vice chair of its private equity practice in Palo Alto from Goodwin Procter. Paul Hastings said he will be joined by two additional partners with extensive experience advising on tech-focused transactions, strategic investments, M&A and growth equity and venture financings. Meantime David Ambler, a partner specialising in capital markets, public company advisory and venture capital, has joined the firm from Cooley, also in Palo Alto.
U.K. supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has completed a review of its legal panel, opting to reappoint all of its current advisors for at least the next three years.
Mattos Filho has selected a longtime mergers and acquisitions partner to represent the Brazilian legal powerhouse in the U.S. as the firm’s resident partner in charge of the New York office. Paula Vieira takes on the role following the departure of Amadeu Ribeiro, an antitrust specialist who left Mattos Filho in September to join DLA Piper.
International law firm Dentons has appointed a new leader for its office in Papua New Guinea, where mining, oil and gas are major industries. Wavie Kendino Leki, who is currently head of legal and company secretary for Australian bank ANZ in Papua New Guinea, will start with Dentons in January of next year. It will be her second stint at the firm, having worked there as an associate for nearly a decade until September last year.
Eversheds Sutherland has promoted one of its longtime business professionals to a new position as global business development and marketing officer— the firm’s first administrative position in its history that covers all of its offices. Erin Meszaros’ move, announced on Wednesday, highlights the firm’s intent to “collaborate” more closely across offices on developing new business.
Attorneys with the Winstead law firm and at Irell & Manella secured a $240 million Texas jury verdict on three patent infringement claims against California-based Cloudera Inc., a major cloud data management software company.
“It was a success story of two firms working together. I think this is a top five verdict in the State of Texas for this year,” said plaintiff counsel Jamie H. McDole of Winstead.
Am Law Second Hundred defense firm Wilson Elser has launched in Portland, Oregon, as Am Law 200 firms continue to plot geographic expansion on the West Coast. The Portland office is led by partner George Pitcher, who is joined by partners Michael Belisle, Dmitriy Golosinskiy and Ross Van Ness. All arriving from Lewis Brisbois, the team is focused on medical malpractice, professional liability, products liability and toxic tort work. Additionally, Wilson Elser hired six Lewis Brisbois partners in the Pacific Northwest.
Herbert Smith Freehills has announced that it will shutter its Kuala Lumpur office by the end of April next year, making it the firm’s second Asia office closure in 12 months. The firm counts a total 38 staff members in its Kuala Lumpur office, around 40% of those are legal practitioners, the rest are business professionals, a firm spokesperson told Law.com International. Two of its lawyers are partners including head of office Peter Godwin, who had relocated from the firm’s Tokyo office in 2017, and disputes lawyer Craig Shepherd.
Whatever job the GC did before, the transition to GC is an unfathomable leap for which there is no training. Many of the job specs which boards give to recruiters now look like mission impossible. f this was an easy job, anyone could do it. That’s the adage. But for lawyers, it understates the true picture. The levels of complexity and challenge faced by lawyers are not at a steady state. Nor do they grow evenly. They spike without warning or preparation. Yes, of course the job gets harder every year for a host of reasons, but then there are these big “transitioning moments” when the skills gap can be enormous. Transition training, or rather the lack of it, is one of our big themes at Lean Adviser.
Kirkland & Ellis launched SideTrack, a proprietary enterprise software platform for its investment fund attorneys. The development of the solution, publicly disclosed for the first time to Legaltech News, was led by James Desjardins, a partner in the firm’s Investment Funds Practice Group, as well as other members of the group. The development didn’t involve third-party vendors or even the firm’s own information technology department.
Legal departments are starting to embrace generative AI to drive legal and business efficiencies. And just as in-house lawyers are under pressure to adopt new technologies, they’re placing similar expectations on their outside counsel. Certainly, caution reigns supreme in the ongoing dialogue between legal departments and law firms concerning the adoption of generative AI. Yet, in-house leaders are increasingly looking to outside counsel to at the very least understand the technology, if not use it to drive their own business efficiencies.
New technologies, regardless of how advertisements and marketing campaigns may present them, are more often a part of a larger puzzle rather than the end-all-and-be-all of a finished product. For example, ChatGPT, which initially seemed to be a magic bullet to many, is slowly being broken down into its various elements beyond the tool itself, with many leveraging the underlying generative AI Model in new ways.
A panel at the Soft Law Summit in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday looked at the drawbacks and advantages of having a light touch when it comes to AI regulation. In the U.S., efforts to regulate AI technologies have very much been ubiquitous. Just this year, state legislators have introduced almost 200 AI-focused bills, a 440% increase compared to the previous year, according to a report from the Software Alliance. Out of those, 14 became law.
A New York lawmaker has introduced a bill that aims to set a series of parameters regarding the admission of evidence arising from artificial intelligence, relative to criminal and civil court proceedings. The proposed rules of the bill state that the AI-based evidence must be supported by something other than artificially created evidence, and the independent evidence must be admissible under the existing rules of evidence. It is still seeking a sponsor in the Senate.
Today, the private equity firm Consello Capital, itself part of The Consello Group, announced it has acquired a majority stake in the e-discovery and compliance provider ProSearch.
For law firms investing in resource management, the technology streamlines operations and increases transparency. It can also assist with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and career development programs, which boost talent recruitment and retention. DEI efforts and a well-functioning legal staff also demonstrate to clients that the firmday is keeping up with their interests and concerns.
Top UK legal awards now accepting entry submissions for glittering ceremony in March 2024. More than 250 individuals, law firms, legal teams and not-for-profit groups are unveiled today as nominees for the Women and Diversity in Law Awards. The publication of the roster of contenders completes a crucial stage of the awards process in the run up to a glittering awards ceremony, to be held in London on 13 March 2024. All nominees are now invited to submit entries for consideration by a high-level judging panel comprising some of the legal profession’s leading DE&I campaigners, role models and experts.
For World Menopause Day, Moore Barlow’s Sarah Andrews discusses how senior managers can help women continue to thrive in their legal careers as she describes her own menopause story. When I started my role at Moore Barlow three years ago, I was excited to work in the legal sector, but just six months in, I started to feel massive imposter syndrome. My concentration, focus, memory and sleep all began to change suddenly, and I stopped contributing to meetings in case I forgot what I would say. I started having high and low, dark moods. I regularly hid in the toilet, berating myself for being useless and feeling shame walking back into the office, my internal critical voice in overdrive. I wanted to make a good start at the firm, but instead, I felt like a failure in the workplace and that my career may be over. My relationship with my husband was strained, and parenting my six-year-old son became more challenging. I couldn’t work out what was happening to me.
The grouping of what once were the biggest and best UK law firms no longer holds any meaning and should be retired for good.
The annual PwC law firm survey has showcased the developments for firms within the last year and noted the general trends across the industry in recent years. With a particular focus on four areas across financial performance, people, working capital, and strategy/transformation, here are the main things reported for 2023:
1. Financial Performance
Although the last few years were profitable for law firms, the industry has faced several challenges within the last year. Globally, firms have been impacted by geopolitical factors, including the Russia/Ukraine war; within the UK, firms have further faced a cost-of-living crisis and numerous increases in interest rates, with a UK peak in October 2022 of 11.1%. The shift these have caused in market conditions and deal activity has impacted the financial performance of law firms.
The survey suggests that although income growth was achieved across the sector, this is generally sitting below inflation. For example, across the Top 100 bandings, average UK fee income growth was between 8.0 but costs have increased for staff, property, marketing, and technology, limiting overall net profit margins. As a result, 44% of the Top 100 firms have reported a drop in profits, reportedly one of the biggest drops in recent years.
Regardless, firms remain optimistic for the next period of growth, with all Top 100 firms anticipating some increase in profit for the coming year. Overcoming the impact of cost inflation and pricing is likely the main challenge firms will face in accomplishing this.
2. People
Most law firms have continued to grow headcount across fee-earners and business services, with growth ranging from 2% to 4.6%. Firms report that they are placing particular emphasis on evaluating the size and shape of their workforce, aiming to hire skillsets which align with the industry’s shift towards digitalisation, as well as those which can fill skill gaps in areas such as change and leadership.
Considering one aspect of diversity and inclusion, the survey has noted an increasing trend in female representation at full equity partner level, rising in the range of 0.8% to 2.3% across the Top 100 firms.
With a general slowdown in recruitment, firms report that they will be adopting less aggressive hiring tactics to match reduced demand within certain practice areas. Where they continue to hire, they will focus on talent within practice areas that are growing to minimise the spare capacity arising from reduced hiring.
3. Working Capital/Financing
Assessing priorities for 2023, over 50% of the top firms report improving working capital performance is at the top of their list. Notably, it barely featured in past years but has been bolstered by high inflation and interest rates.
Following this, their next highest priorities – standardising and centralising performance, and increasing the use of data analytics – also support improving working capital performance. This is mainly because year-end lock-up levels have seen very little improvement; to overcome this, firms will need to sustain performance throughout the year rather than emphasising billing performance at the year-end.
The survey predicts firms will also be utilising extended funding and capital calls to improve working capital. Additionally, firms will be checking operating models for business support to build working capital across all service lines.
4. Strategy and Transformation
The survey allows us to conclude there are four key threats to law firms in the upcoming year. The first is macroeconomic volatility. Despite the pandemic in recent years, most firms reported they were still unprepared for the impact of Russia and Ukraine.
The second is cybersecurity, which has been a consistent trend throughout the shift towards digitalisation and AI. Firms report concerns about how to protect client data and information under GDPR when trialling new AI.
The third is cost inflation. Firms are unlikely to recuperate increased costs by simply increasing their chargeable hours or rates. Instead, potential solutions span improving client and account management, hiring rainmakers, and building up focused practice groups.
The fourth is a shortage of talent. To deal with this, 73% of the firms report they will be implementing commercial training. They also add that they will be making long-term investment decisions for recruitment and staff retention; in particular, they note the market seems to be shifting towards the contentious space.
In discussing transformation, up to 79% of firms report they recognise the positive impacts that AI can have on the legal sector. However, the level of implementation ranges across firms, with firms citing tech costs, GDPR concerns, and failed trials as some of the reasons why they are reluctant. In particular, we can note that for smaller firms focusing on growth (and even for larger firms focusing on increasing working capital), the pricing of AI can be quite unsustainable. However, as the industry shifts towards an overall transformation, we may see tech offerings become more widely available and cost-friendly, so the survey reports this is a space to watch.
We are delighted to share some exciting news from Fides Search! Four of our talented team members have been promoted to new roles, reflecting their hard work and dedication.
🎉 George Eves – Researcher to Delivery Consultant
🎊 Gwendolyn Shaw – Delivery Consultant to Consultant
🎉 Mathew Parker – Consultant to Senior Consultant
🎊 Inka Fukalova – Head of Research and Delivery to Associate Director
Please join us in congratulating them on their achievements!
Let’s see what Edward Parker our Managing Director had to say on the news:
George joined Fides just under a year ago and has been a tremendous asset since the get-go. His approach to onboarding new information, focus on outcomes for clients and ability to work across different international markets sets him apart. He has now been involved in projects across the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Luxemburg and has developed an exceptional level of understanding of complex markets like Funds and PE. I am delighted to see George progress into the Delivery team and look forward to working with him closely.
Gwendolyn joined us as a researcher and was promoted within 12 Months to Delivery Consultant. During that time I had the pleasure of working closely with Gwen on several successful high-profile searches, numerous Due Diligence exercises and several consultancy projects. It is exciting to see her reach yet another milestone and be promoted to the Consultant team. Gwen has developed exceptional market knowledge, knows the search process inside out and she is tremendous to work with. She is totally deserving of this promotion and I am delighted to be welcoming her into the consultant team.
Mathew joined Fides in July 2020, at that time the conditions were somewhat different to those that we have today. He developed his skillset in one of the toughest markets for search but still managed to achieve a great deal. He progressed very quickly up the consultant ranks and has outperformed even his own exceptionally high targets. Mat has had a focus on highly competitive areas like Digital, Data, TMT, Tech Transactions, PE etc, he has also worked across numerous jurisdictions including the UAE, Dublin, Germany and London. His commitment to clients and consultative approach help him to stand out in a busy market and clients regularly feedback on how impactful he has been. He also demonstrates the qualities of a leader and is someone who will go a very long way in this industry. I’m very excited to continue to work with Mat and to see him step into the role of Senior Consultant.
Inka joined us as Head of Research and Delivery and in so doing created a new function for us, prior to Inka’s arrival we’d never had a delivery function and her joining the business was a pivotal moment in training and developing talent a first for Fides. Inka’s approach to operational rigour and delivering the highest quality search to our clients has enabled us to become even more data-led outcomes-focused and to successfully manage a higher volume of searches. I’m delighted to see her step into the role of Associate Director where she’ll take on more leadership responsibility but more crucially keep supporting clients with their searches and leading a vital part of the business.
Bruce Kilpatrick to rejoin Magic Circle firm’s leading antitrust practice after 16 years at AG. Linklaters has hired the head of Addleshaw Goddard’s (AG) competition team in London to bolster its antitrust and foreign investment practice. Bruce Kilpatrick brings more than 25 years’ experience advising clients on complex merger control, antitrust enforcement and foreign direct investment cases, as well as defending high stakes antitrust damages litigation and director disqualification proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. His return to Linklaters will follow more than 16 years at AG, where he had led the competition and regulatory team for more than a decade.
Kathlene Burke has joined Maples and Calder’s dispute resolution and insolvency practice as an of counsel in Dublin. Ms Burke will provide Irish restructuring advice to the firm’s European and global clients from Dublin and will work closely with the firm’s global dispute resolution and insolvency practices on cross-border matters.
Ed Kelly has re-joined Holmes as a senior solicitor specialising in commercial litigation and dispute resolution, while Isabel Treacy has joined as a senior associate solicitor specialising in the areas of commercial property and public and administrative law. The firm’s Dublin office has also been bolstered with the appointment of Susan O’Reilly as of counsel in Holmes’ corporate unit and Rachel Naughton BL as legal counsel specialising in data protection.
Power Law LLP has welcomed Billy Casserly to the firm as a senior associate in its dispute resolution team. Mr Casserly is an experienced corporate lawyer with a decade of experience working in-house and in large Dublin law firms. He will be based in the firm’s Galway office.
The US-headquartered firm has seen a number of partner exits in 2023. Linklaters has hired a Kirkland & Ellis partner to boost its intellectual property litigation team in London. IP litigator Katie Coltart will join at the end of October after five years at Kirkland, according to LinkedIn. She previously worked at Allen & Overy for six years.
Public sector and EU law duo join in Dusseldorf alongside corporate partner and team of associates. Pinsent Masons has bolstered its bench in Germany with the hire of a trio of partners from Dentons. Public sector and EU law partners Andreas Haak and Dr Lars Hettich have joined the firm in Dusseldorf alongside corporate partner Dr Michael Krömker. The trio is joined by EU and state aid legal director Dr Barbara Thiemann and a team of associates.
Zingisa Motloba brings 20 years’ experience to Bowmans, having previously worked at Mercedes, Eskom and the South African Bureau of Standards. Bowmans has enhanced its private equity skills-base with the appointment of Zingisa Motloba as a partner in its Johannesburg practice. She is joining from the South African Bureau of Standards where she was an executive for standards development.
Dentons LuatViet, AZB & Partners and Tilleke & Gibbins have all hired new partners. CMS has hired a partner for its Hong Kong office, less than a month since the firm brought on a team of four lawyers including former Hauzen partner Anthony Woo as a senior consultant and DLA Piper of counsel Adrian Elms as a partner. This time around, joining CMS is shipping and insurance partner Richard Oakley from the Hong Kong office of Ince & Co. Ince recently also lost its litigation partner Stephen Chan to U.K. firm Charles Russell Speechlys.
With Arie Eernisse joining, Peter & Kim, which has offices in Korea, Switzerland, Australia and Singapore, now counts 21 lawyers in Seoul. Swiss-Korean international arbitration boutique Peter & Kim has strengthened its cross-border dispute resolution capability with the hire of Arie Eernisse, who was most recently a senior foreign attorney at Big Six South Korean law firm Shin & Kim. At Peter & Kim, Eernisse will take on the title as senior foreign attorney.
The firm’s Japan practice launch has been enabled, in part, by its hire of corporate M&A lawyer Hiroshi Sarumida. U.S. law firm Akerman has launched a Japan sector team focusing on Japanese businesses operating globally. The firm’s sector launch has been enabled, in part, by its hire of corporate M&A lawyer Hiroshi Sarumida, who was most recently the U.S. chair of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s Japan transactional practice. Sarumida is joining Akerman as a partner. Sarumida will serve as a co-leader of the Japan sector transactional team alongside corporate partner and co-leader Michael Doherty, with litigation partner Richard Brosnick acting as the Japan litigation team leader. The Japan sector team, which consists of 10 lawyers, covers transactional, litigation, regulatory, commercial and operational matters. Akerman currently has no offices based in Asia.
Duo include first-chair trial veterans Grant Esposito and David Fioccola. Top 50 US firm Proskauer Rose has made a twin litigation partner hire from Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) as it seeks to expand its disputes coverage in New York. The duo include first-chair trial lawyers Grant Esposito and David Fioccola, who will join the firm’s commercial litigation and trial strategies groups respectively. Esposito brings experience across commercial and class action litigation in areas such as antitrust, mass torts, product liability, healthcare, environmental, securities and transactional disputes. Fioccola defends clients in complex commercial disputes and consumer class actions, including ‘bet the company’ litigation.
M&A and regulatory partners join in New York and Chicago. Paul Hastings has added three partners from Sidley Austin and Mayer Brown to expand its insurance industry work. Insurance M&A partners Kirk Lipsey and Chad Vance have joined from Sidley in New York and Chicago respectively, while insurance regulatory partner Sanjiv Tata has joined in New York from Mayer Brown.
Rottenstreich Farley Bronstein Fisher Potter Hodas, focused solely on high net-worth family law matters, is already in West Palm Beach and New York. Family law litigation boutique firm Rottenstreich Farley Bronstein Fisher Potter Hodas is expanding into Miami with a new office, adding to its outposts in West Palm Beach and New York. The firm tapped Miami-based Richard Segal as co-managing partner along with Zachary Potter, who was already at the firm in its West Palm Beach office. Segal joins from Segal Zuckerman, a boutique he helped found with his lifelong friend Jamie Zuckerman.
Quartet of patent experts joins recent Cooley hire Amy Baker Mandragouras to boost Foley’s life sciences IP practice. Boston-based law firm Foley Hoag has put the finishing touches to a team hire from rival Cooley to bolster its life sciences and IP offerings. The all-female team is led by partner Amy Baker Mandragouras, who moved over from Cooley in August, and includes counsel Erika Wallace and Maya Elbert, an associate, a patent agent and a number of patent administrative professionals who have since joined the firm. Technology specialist Lillian Schmaltz has also joined the group; she was previously a graduate research and teaching assistant at the University of Texas. All the team members are based in Boston except Elbert, who will work out of Foley’s New York offices.
Frost Brown Todd M&A partner Cleve Glenn, who joined Baker & Hostetler as a partner in Houston, is also a former general counsel and chief financial officer at an energy company. Baker & Hostetler expanded its energy team in Houston by adding Frost Brown Todd M&A partner Cleve Glenn, who earlier in his career was an energy services company general counsel and chief financial officer. Glenn joined Baker & Hostetler as a partner on Monday in the business practice group and as a member of the M&A team and the energy team.
Legacy firms Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton both had similar capabilities in the area, according to partner Will Taylor, one of the two founders of the group. Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders has announced the creation of a new corporate espionage response team, which looks to help clients combat third-party theft or use of confidential or proprietary information for their own commercial advantage. The group, founded by national labor and employment practice partner Evan Gibbs and commercial litigation partner Will Taylor, is comprised of attorneys scattered across Troutman Pepper’s Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Boston and Richmond, Virginia, offices, including 14 partners, one counsel and two associates.
Alexis Bortniker, who spent more than a decade at Foley & Lardner, joined Cooley as a partner in San Diego. Cooley has hired Alexis Finkelberg Bortniker, the co-chair of the health care transaction group at Foley & Lardner, as a partner in San Diego. Bortniker joined Cooley in its global life sciences and health care regulatory practice group. Previously, Bortniker spent more than a decade at Foley & Lardner, where she also led its health care and life sciences sector’s payer/provider convergence area of focus.
Kirkland & Ellis corporate partner Tony Johnston joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner in Dallas as the firm, like others, expands its energy and infrastructure team due to activity in the sectors. With energy and infrastructure a standout sector this year, Willkie Farr & Gallagher continues to hire lawyers with that focus by adding Kirkland & Ellis private equity partner Tony Johnston as a partner in Texas. Johnston practices in Dallas, but will be based in the firm’s Houston office. He joined the firm on Wednesday as a partner in the corporate and financial services department.
Skims Body, the underwear and fashion label co-founded by US reality TV star Kim Kardashian, has hired Colin Bennett as its first general counsel, Bloomberg reported this week.Bennett joined in July from meal-kit company Hello Fresh, where he was GC. At Skims, he will also serve as chief compliance officer. He told Bloomberg that he expects to grow the company’s in-house legal team and will report directly to Skims’ co-founder and CEO Jens Grede.
US broadband and cable operator Charter Communications has named Jamal Haughton as its new general counsel, replacing Rick Dykhouse, who announced his retirement plans earlier this year. Haughton joins from Madison Square Garden (MSG) Entertainment, where he was GC, corporate secretary and executive vice president. At Charter, he will also serve as corporate secretary and executive vice president. As head of the company’s legal department, he will oversee all legal and regulatory matters.
Music publishing and management business Seeker Music has hired veteran music lawyer Dan Stuart as general counsel. Stuart joins from Sony Music’s AWAL US, where he was senior vice president of business affairs. At Seeker, he will be responsible for handling all of the label’s legal matters.
Digital verification and ID platform Prove Identity has hired Mitch Bompey as its inaugural chief legal officer, taking over from interim general counsel Lesley O’Neill. Bompey joins from fintech data platform Addepar, where he was general counsel and chief risk officer, overseeing all legal matters and helping grow the company’s international presence. At Prove, he will assume a similar mandate.
US financial services group Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp has named Frederick Erikson as its new general counsel, replacing Michael Guarino who is retiring from the business next year. Erikson arrives from Liberty Bank, where he was deputy GC. In his new role, he will also oversee all legal matters for Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB), a community-focused bank in New York City and surrounding areas.
US commercial and residential construction company Barton Malow has hired Brandon Booth as its chief legal officer, returning to the company after almost 14 years working in private practice. Booth joins from Honigman, where he has spent the past two years as a partner. He originally left Barton Malow as a project engineer in 2009 before going to law school. He will now lead all legal matters for its construction business and report directly to president and CEO Ryan Maibach.
GoDaddy is seeking a successor to Michele Lau, who made a splash at the internet domain registrar immediately on joining in July 2021. The chief legal officer of one of the world’s largest internet domain registrars will soon be changing her own web address. Michele Lau, CLO and corporate secretary of GoDaddy, will step down effective Nov. 17, the company said in a securities filing.
“With her expertise in M&A, technology licensing, and corporate governance, Liz [Fischer] emphasizes our commitment to upholding top-tier legal standards,” Rocket Software CEO Milan Shetti said. Rocket Software, an enterprise software development firm owned by Bain Capital, is building up its executive ranks to help boost growth, hiring seasoned tech industry lawyer Liz Fischer as its first chief legal officer. Fischer will report to Rocket Software CEO Milan Shetti. She joins Rocket Software from Perch, a venture-backed e-commerce platform that sells direct-to-consumer products made by its more than 100 brands. Fischer handled all legal functions as Perch’s general counsel, including managing litigation, negotiating mergers and acquisitions and debt transactions, and overseeing its intellectual property portfolio.
Business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran has announced the appointment of Martin Kelleher as its new head of corporate. Mr Kelleher is a senior corporate partner with significant experience in international transactions, particularly in the technology and life science sectors.
Mid-West law firm MHP Sellors has announced the appointment of Caroline Meaney and Marina Keane as partners. Ms Meaney, a solicitor with 23 years of experience, now leads the commercial department at MHP Sellors. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in commercial law, commercial property transactions, and banking to clients. Ms Keane, with over 20 years of legal experience, is an experienced litigator with significant experience advising clients across a broad spectrum of contentious and non‐contentious matters. Her focus areas include public administrative law, judicial review, and regulatory law.
New global department leaders and chief marketing officer named amid wider leadership shuffle. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has finalised the changes to its leadership team, following up the appointment of its first CEO and senior partner with new leaders for its transactions and real estate teams, among others. Earlier this week the transatlantic firm said it had appointed Carol Osborne as global leader for its corporate and finance transactions practice, Nazir Dewji as global leader of its real estate team and Joel Lander as regional leader for corporate and finance transactions. Today the firm also said that it had appointed Alessandra Almeida Jones as global chief marketing officer, with responsibility for leading the firm’s business development, marketing and communications function. Almeida Jones, who is based in London, joined the firm in the role of global marketing and communications director from Baker McKenzie in January.
Roger Wilkes, the former chief operating officer for U.S. marketing and sales at PwC, joined Perkins Coie as COO in New York. Perkins Coie has hired Roger Wilkes, the former chief operating officer for U.S. marketing and sales at PwC, as its new COO, based in New York. “Roger is a high-performing and collaborative business leader who will help further elevate our position as a trusted advisor to the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders,” Bill Malley, Perkins Coie’s managing partner, said in a statement.
Bayard announced that Ericka F. Johnson has joined the firm as a director and chair of the business restructuring and liquidations practice. Bayard announced that Ericka F. Johnson has joined the firm as a director and chair of the business restructuring and liquidations practice. Johnson brings over 15 years of local and national corporate bankruptcy and restructuring experience to Bayard. She is versed in bankruptcy litigation matters, including preference, fraudulent transfer, turnover, and breaches of contract and fiduciary duty actions.
Martin Denyes takes over the lead management role in January after 13 years as a regional managing partner. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin’s longtime managing partner for the region that includes Toronto and Canada’s capital, Ottawa, will take on the leadership of the entire firm in the new year. For the last 13 years, Martin Denyes has been managing partner of the firm’s Ontario region, a member of its management board. He also played a management role in the U.K. office in 2015-16. He will take over the firmwide managing partner role on Jan. 1 from Peter Feldberg, who has led the firm since 2015.
Deal will create transatlantic law firm with revenue of around $3.5bn. Partners at UK Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy (A&O) and New York’s Shearman & Sterling have voted through a landmark merger deal to create a transatlantic law firm with revenue of around $3.5bn, housing 3,950 lawyers across 48 offices. A partner vote on the planned merger began in late September and was completed today. The merger required approval from 75% of each firm’s partnership, however the firms said in a statement that more than 99% of the votes cast at each firm were in favour of the merger. It said that was “a powerful testament to the strength of the combination and partner support for it”. The merged firm will be called A&O Shearman and will have approximately 800 partners working across 29 countries. Its combined revenues will catapault the firm ahead of its three global Magic Circle rivals: Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters.
Bakers to offer Korean law advice through partnership with 20-lawyer KL Partners. Baker McKenzie is set to significantly expand its offering in Korea after forming a joint venture with high-profile Korean corporate and disputes firm KL Partners. Known as Baker McKenzie & KL Partners Joint Venture Law Firm (Baker McKenzie KLP JV), the JV will officially launch later this month and will be Korea’s largest international law firm by partner bench strength according to Bakers. Its 20-plus lawyer team will offer clients international and Korean legal advice spanning areas including energy and infrastructure, cross-border arbitration and litigation, and corporate/M&A.
The arrivals, including two partners, will establish a practice in life sciences and strengthen the firm’s force in regulatory compliance, energy, technology and insurance. A Dentons affiliate firm in Turkey has acquired a 23-lawyer firm in Istanbul to establish a practice in life sciences and strengthen its force in regulatory compliance, energy, technology and insurance. Balcıoğlu Selçuk Ardıyok Keki Attorney Partnership (BASEAK), the Istanbul-based firm that collaborates with Dentons in Turkey, has absorbed Bozoğlu İzgi Attorney Partnership (BI Legal).
Yuli O’Grady, the first Venezuelan-born solicitor to qualify in Ireland, has launched a new practice based in Kildorrery, Co Cork. O’Grady Solicitors & Co will provide services throughout the north Cork region in areas such as family law matters, property matters, succession planning including wills, probate and inheritance, power of attorney, personal injuries, employment law and immigration.
Gibson Dunn, Willkie and Gunderson Dettmer are among the firms that signed new office leases in San Francisco in the first half of 2023. Law firm leasing activity in San Francisco appears to be headed up, as firms regain confidence in the office market and look to take advantage of soft market fundamentals and increased concessions, according to a new report from Cushman & Wakefield. In fact, it’s not uncommon to receive an offer with greater than a year of free rent and over $200 per square foot in tenant improvements on a 10-year lease, the report said. “Legal occupiers are taking landlords up on those deals,” it said.
With its lease at 1500 Market St. expiring in the next year, the firm is looking to shrink from 80,000 square feet over four floors to 50,000 square feet spread over two. Philadelphia firm Dilworth Paxson is the latest law firm in the region looking to downsize its physical footprint, with chairman Lawrence McMichael indicating the firm was looking to shrink from 80,000 square feet over four floors to 50,000 square feet spread over two. “Like most law firms we expect to shrink the size of our footprint, largely because people work from home,” McMichael explained. “Most of our senior lawyers are here five days per week. … We have some people who are permanently working from home for personal reasons, and we accommodate that, others are in 2-3 days per week.”
The firm is looking to build on opportunities presented by the Greater Bay Area projects. New Zealand firm K3 Legal has launched its debut international presence in Hong Kong via an association with local practice, Fred Kan & Co. The firm attributes its launch in the city to the synergies with its existing clientele in mainland China, Hong Kong and Australia, as well as the desire to build on opportunities presented by the Greater Bay Area projects.
Latham’s new office space will be nearly 55% bigger than its current occupancy, while Kirkland is expected to be leasing more space than Linklaters. Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins have opted to take on additional office space at their new London offices, as U.S.-headquartered firms continue to grow their U.K. footprint. Kirkland & Ellis, whose new home is currently under construction at London office development 40 Leadenhall Street, will add space to the original minimum 215,000 sq ft it agreed to lease, according to one person close to the process.
Trowers to shed around 25 lawyers, including six partners, as Mishcon axes software solutions team. UK law firms Trowers & Hamlins and Mishcon de Reya have become the latest law firms to cut jobs. Trowers has begun a redundancy consultation, which is understood to affect around 25 UK lawyers including six partners, with most of those impacted working in the firm’s real estate department. Meantime, Mishcon de Reya is understood to have cut a team from its business services arm, making an 11-strong software solutions team redundant as its needs for lawtech change.
The cuts in pay and hours for senior staff raise questions about Stroock’s financial footing during its merger talks. Amid Stroock & Stroock & Lavan’s protracted pursuit of a merger, the law firm cut pay and hours for senior business professionals at the beginning of July, according to sources familiar with the moves. The cuts in pay and hours raise questions about Stroock’s financial footing during its merger talks with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.
General counsel compensation is rising partly because companies want their legal chief to have a slate of skills that is difficult to find in one person, according to a new report from Equilar. General counsel compensation is growing faster than CEO compensation, narrowing the pay gap for the two C-suite roles, a new study from the research firm Equilar found. The study found that median compensation for CEOs was 4.1 times that of general counsel in 2022. That compares with 4.3 times in 2018. The study included the 500 largest public companies by revenue that included GC pay in their proxy statements—179 firms in 2022.
Deloitte Legal’s total lawyer headcount in the UK has also increased and is now comparable with some of the country’s Top 50 law firms. The legal arm of Deloitte has boosted its revenue in the U.K. by over a fifth, according to people with knowledge of the professional services firm. In its U.K. firmwide results announced last week, revenue for Deloitte’s wider tax and legal business was given as £1.21 billion in the 12 months to May 2023—which represents growth of 9% on last year. However, Deloitte Legal has seen revenue growth of over twice this percentage, at a rate that is higher than the vast majority of U.K. Top 50 firms in the last financial year.
“We call it ‘change slipping through the back of the sofa,'” Steven Manton, part of a group of senior pricing professionals, said. ‘It’s millions and millions across a large law firm, when you add it all up.” Law firms have been increasing their investments in pricing and financial professionals. Yet, Big Law has still lost out on revenue over the last couple of years, due significantly to “self-inflicted” damage during the billing process. Why? It’s not that the pricing teams and firms’ own billing analysis aren’t working, analysts and consultants say. But a confluence of factors is holding firms back in realization.
Still, other law firm leaders are expressing concerns to partners about meeting budget, according to area legal recruiters. With the fourth quarter now underway, some law firm leaders in the Washington, D.C., region are optimistic about 2023 profits, citing sustained demand in large litigation and regulatory practices, despite slowdowns in transactional work.Firms in D.C., however, are still putting a greater emphasis on billing hygiene, as seen industrywide, according to the LawVision/BigHand report. Compared with last year, more law firms reported a focus on financial hygiene in billing and timekeeping and conducting profit education and training, according to the report.
An updated ranking based on 2022 data has revealed shifts in the compensation structure among the highest paid general counsel in Texas, with notably less cash among the top 20 than last year but an increase in total compensation. Texas’ top-earning general counsel saw a notable decrease in cash earnings but an uptick in overall compensation, according to Texas Lawyer rankings based on 2022 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Several familiar names remained within the top 10 by total cash, including AT&T legal chief David McAtee, who held the No. 1 spot for the third year in a row. Several people also moved higher within the top 10, including Lori Schechter, with health care wholesaler McKesson; Sean N. Markowitz, with oil and gas companies Cheniere Energy; and Marcia Backus, who recently retired from Occidental Petroleum.
The costs to run or buy generative AI-powered tools can be considerable, but there are no easy ways of getting around them. There are many questions still left unanswered about generative artificial intelligence: How will it be leveraged by the legal industry? How will it transform the delivery of legal services? But perhaps most interestingly, how much will it really cost?
Law.com International sat down with Macfarlanes’ chief knowledge innovation officer to see what Harvey really brings to a law firm. Harvey has quickly become one of the most recognizable names in legal AI. Major law firms, including Allen & Overy, adopted the tech to leverage the newfangled generative technology where they could. So popular is the technology that you need to join a waiting list to start the Harvey journey. But, last month, following a pilot programme which involved more than 70 fee earners and knowledge lawyers, Macfarlanes became one of the fortunate few to have joined the ‘Harvey’ pack.
Clio will roll out over a dozen product updates and new tools through the early months of 2024, including a solution tailored to personal injury firms that is already available. On the first day of ClioCon 2023, Clio announced that it will be rolling out a bundle of new tools in the coming months. In total, the company is releasing 15 upgrades or new solutions from now through the early months of 2024. Hemant Kashyap, the chief product officer at Clio, told Legaltech News that many of the add-ons to the company’s offerings are a result of client demand, an effort to adopt new innovations within their tools, and a move to centralize capabilities and allow more personalization.
The White House’s National Cybersecurity Strategy rests on five pillars, all of which will affect law firms. So, it’s time for law firms to double check their cyber sophistication and cyber readiness. Their clients and the federal government are starting to demand much more from everyone—including law firms. And I can vouch for the seriousness of these demands—earlier this summer, I was invited to the White House by the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), the executive office which advises the president on cybersecurity and policy, to participate in the Technical Workshop on Space Systems Cybersecurity. The ONCD workshop is part of the White House’s ongoing efforts to identify gaps in U.S. cybersecurity policies and systems and prepare plans for tangible next steps to remedy those gaps in support of their National Cybersecurity Strategy. The report, released in March 2023 as a continuation of efforts started by previous administrations, aims to coordinate cybersecurity strategy and usher in a concentrated and centralized approach to cybersecurity.
Much has been written about the impact of generative AI on the legal profession, including in this column. This week we asked ChatGPT to compose an editorial on the issue and this is what we got.In an era where technology is rapidly reshaping industries, the legal profession finds itself at a crossroads, facing both incredible opportunities and pressing challenges. One such challenge that demands our immediate attention is the growing concern surrounding the misuse and abuse of generative AI in the legal field.
If your firm or organization has yet to explore AI for intellectual property processes, now is the time to begin exploring its capabilities and how AI can help your IP teams streamline operations and save time on manual tasks. The conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) in the intellectual property (IP) space is constantly evolving, and it is crucial to actively evaluate its potential. We often think of AI as a new technology because of its increased daily use and widespread media attention; however, while AI was once considered a novelty reserved for experts, it has now become a valuable tool for individuals and businesses alike, with increasing daily use and media attention. Law firms are recognizing the potential of generative AI, an AI system capable of generating, text, images or other media in response to prompts. A recent survey reported that 82% of law firm lawyers believe generative AI can be readily applied to legal work, and 51% said generative AI should be applied to legal work.
Sofiya Kalinova has become the first Deaf person to qualify as a barrister in Ireland and the first to practice law in Irish Sign Language (ISL). A graduate of University College Dublin and the King’s Inns, Ms Kalinova was called to the Bar by Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell.
Kelly Batts will work with firm management and various diversity teams to develop and implement DEI objectives at Cooley. Cooley has hired Kelly Batts, a managing director focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy and workforce transformation at Deloitte, as its first chief diversity officer. In an email, Batts said he was drawn to “the opportunity to further DEI objectives at one firm, as opposed to the varied clients that I would be advising on the consultancy side.”
UK law firm TLT, which operates in Northern Ireland, has announced a new ethnic diversity target designed to eliminate barriers to entry into the legal profession for aspiring ethnic minority lawyers and to improve diversity.
The Diversity Dividends Collective shares in this article five “lessons learned” for legal departments that wish to influence inclusion with their outside counsel. The current profusion of outside counsel DEI surveys that law firms receive from their clients has hit an all-time high. While well intended, these surveys haven’t moved the needle at a rate commensurate with the work involved. And, at their worst, they can actually work at cross-purposes with legal departments’ objective of fostering a culture of diversity and inclusivity by diverting valuable time from diversity leaders to repeatedly define the problem rather than working on solutions. This need not be the case. Most legal departments have neither the resources nor the scientific expertise to craft and conduct an effective assessment of their outside counsel DEI that produces more inclusive teams. Many have told us they don’t know where to start other than perhaps the raft of firmwide data produced annually by dozens of reputable third-party organizations. And even then, it takes substantial time and ability to analyze the data and successfully operationalize the findings to align with organizational values.
While law firms are prudent to view remote and hybrid work arrangements as an important recruiting and retention tool, the reason why some candidates prefer remote work illustrates the importance of robust and effective DEI programs. Some three years after the pandemic we are in a new world—and the workplace, like so many other spaces, has drastically changed. Of course, one of the most debated topics in the changing workplace is the long-term adoption of hybrid or fully remote working arrangements. While law firms are prudent to view remote and hybrid work arrangements as an important recruiting and retention tool, the reason why some candidates prefer remote work illustrates the importance of robust and effective DEI programs. The Desire for Flexible Work: Though hybrid and remote work arrangements were around before the pandemic, they were generally the exception, with only 2% of pre-pandemic job listings offering remote or hybrid work schedules. See Ella Ceron, “Escaping Discrimination by Working from Home,” L.A. Times, Nov. 3, 2022. Today, the number of positions offering remote work arrangements is trending at 15% of all job listings on LinkedIn, down from a peak of 20% in the early part of the pandemic. Though a seemingly low figure, it’s important to keep in mind that only about 39% of American jobs are capable of being performed remotely. See Kim Parker, “About a Third of U.S. Workers Who Can Work From Home Now Do So All the Time,” Pew Research Center, Mar. 30, 2023.
In a roundtable published by litigation funder Burford Capital, leaders at Morgan Lewis, Gibson Dunn, Mayer Brown and Proskauer discuss the client- and firm-side motivations behind the growth in Big Law contingency practices.
Law firms risk missing out on an already-short list of leadership candidates without rewards and incentives that are directly linked to leadership goals. Law firms are tweaking partner compensation in response to competitive pressures. And certainly, some firms have taken steps to recognize nontraditional compensation criteria such as collaboration. But on the whole, compensation drivers have largely remained unchanged since comp plans were first developed. Many comp plans still in use today were created as early as the ’80s, when firms had fewer competitors, more regional work, and not many LPOs or other ancillary businesses. As a result, “compensation plans for yesteryear often fail to recognize what is required of lawyers today,” said Tim Corcoran, a law firm consultant at Corcoran Consulting Group.
The merger between Allen and Overy and Shearman and Sterling has been voted in favour of.
As you may have heard, these two firms have been in discussions for some months, exploring the possibility of creating a global powerhouse in the legal industry. This comes after both firms failed to secure other merger deals with Hogan Lovells and O’Melveny respectively.
This is an exciting development and will fundamentally change the offering of a Magic Circle firm. The combined firm would have a strong presence in key markets, such as the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and would offer a full range of services to clients across various sectors and practice areas. The merger would also create opportunities for our staff to work on high-profile and complex matters, as well as to collaborate with talented colleagues from different backgrounds and cultures.
As we wait to hear more about the synergies and client benefits of the merger, we would like to update you on some of the recent announcements. Namely, that the leadership team of the new firm is likely to include more Allen and Overy partners, with a limited number of places allocated to Shearman and Sterling. This reflects the relative size and profitability of the two firms, as well as the strategic vision of the merger. Allen and Overy have also been in the news for their collaboration with Harvey, an AI provider that helps lawyers automate tasks and improve efficiency.
We hope that this has given you some insight into the potential merger and its implications for our firm. We will keep you informed of any further developments as they arise. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Cooley’s London office has been given a significant boost with the addition of Jenner & Block’s international arbitration practice chair and former London head, Charlie Lightfoot. Lightfoot, who joins Cooley after eight years at fellow U.S. outfit Jenner & Block, was originally brought in by the U.S. litigation specialists in 2015 to launch and subsequently lead the new London office.
The firm, which hires again from Latham in the space of a week, is making a concerted effort to strengthen its US leveraged finance group. Clifford Chance has added another Latham partner, less than one week after it hired an infrastructure duo in London, in a significant boost to its U.S. leveraged finance and capital markets capabilities. New York-based debt finance partner Jason C. Ewart is to join Clifford Chance’s U.S. leveraged finance team, alongside current CC partner Thomas Critchley, who relocates from the firm’s London office.
Earlier this year, Latham experienced two partner departures in the space of a week. David Berman joined Latham as a partner in 2017, having previously been head of financial services regulation at Macfarlanes.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired a partner to join its global ESG and sustainability practice in London, the firm announced on Thursday. Doug Bryden is set to join the firm from Travers Smith, where he spent more than 13 years as partner, most recently as head of its environment and operational regulatory practice, as well as co-heading the firm’s ESG and Impact group.
Adam Kowalczyk had practiced as a partner at Bird & Bird since 2018. Prior to that he was head of litigation, regulatory disputes, and white-collar crime at PwC Law in Warsaw, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Dhabaan & Partners, the associated firm with Eversheds Sutherland, has poached corporate partner Walid Salib as head of M&A in Saudi Arabia from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he spent nearly 13 years, latterly as head of its Saudi M&A practice. In recent years, several major firms have boosted their corporate M&A practices in the Kingdom.
He is the second partner to join from Clifford Chance in recent months. Gerd Hegele joins the firm after nearly a decade at Clifford Chance, where he was most recently a counsel, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Greenberg Traurig has expanded its banking and financial markets regulatory offering in Japan with the hire of Akihiro Wani, who was most recently a senior counselor at Morrison Foerster and a former joint managing partner of Linklaters in Tokyo, as a senior counsel. The latest lateral hire comes less than three months after the U.S. firm added Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s Japan real estate practice head Yuko Ino.
Hong Kong-based law firm Georgiou Payne Stewien has bolstered its corporate and commercial practice with the addition of a partner from Asia Pacific law firm FitzGerald Lawyers. John Koh was previously the managing partner of U.K.-headquartered Osborne Clarke’s Hong Kong office, and a Hong Kong-based partner at Bird & Bird.
The hiring of Diego Sánchez complements recent promotions and a move into a new office in the Mexican capital as the Texas-founded Am Law 100 firm bets big on Mexico.
Life sciences patent litigators Howard Levine and Jennifer Swan from Dechert have joined Hogan Lovells as partners in its regulatory and IP, media, and technology practice.
Shawn O’Brien, who joined McDermott Will & Emery on Monday as a partner in Houston in the tax practice group, had been global co-head of the tax-energy group.
Philadelphia Board of Education President Reginald Streater, formerly of Berger Montague, Daniel Klaproth of Murray, Stone & Wilson and Samuel Mukiibi of Grant & Eisenhofer will also continue their individual niches in civil rights and nursing home neglect cases.
Latham is the latest firm to enhance its bench to support technology-related transactions. Jessica Cohen, the firm’s new partner, regularly counsels on IP and tech-related M&A, spinoffs and other ventures.
Todd Schwartz brings a new private equity capability to Hogan Lovells in Silicon Valley, as well as a restructuring practice that aligns with the firm’s broader California team.
The products liability team includes partners Claire Weglarz, Macy Chan and Thomas Remillard in Los Angeles, and partner Mirna Scheffy in San Francisco, all of whom are arriving from Hawkins Parnell.
The supply-chain-software company Flexport—not long ago one of the nation’s hottest startups, with a valuation of $8 billion—has shed an estimated 80% of its value and is seeing an exodus of executives, including chief legal officer Chris Ferro.
“Parting ways with these valued leaders—all of whom have been at the company for many years—is very hard,” chief legal officer David Hyman said in a statement to Law.com.
London’s governmental transportation body, TfL, has appointed an interim general counsel for the next 12 months following the retirement of its former long-time general counsel. Andrea Clarke has taken over the top legal job from Howard Carter, who is stepping away after 17 years in the role.
While the leadership structure is in line with a trend of law firms spreading out management duties, new leadership may lack the diversity of some Big Law peers, especially those with recent changes. Fried Frank named as its upcoming chair Kenneth Rosh, a longtime member of the firm and chair of its private equity funds group, a position he will maintain in addition to his role as chair. He succeeds longtime chair David Greenwald on March 1, 2024
The firm was taken over by private equity investor Allegro earlier this year. Dina Tutungi, Slater & Gordon’s chief client officer, will take over from current CEO John Sumerville when he retires in March next year.
Goodwin & Procter has promoted 40 lawyers to its partnership, a drop from last year’s record figure of 58, but still its second largest cohort on record. The majority of the promotions were concentrated at the Boston office, where the firm was first founded, which saw 15 lawyers make the cut. About a sixth of the promotions were at its Europe and Asia offices, with one in Munich, and one at the Paris, Singapore and Luxembourg.
The London managing partner is set to retire at the end of 2024 after over 20 years at the helm. As Francies winds down his tenure, he will be joined in the leadership by private equity partner Jonathan Wood, and head of London M&A partner David Avery-Gee, who will both step up to co-managing partner, the person added.
Allen & Overy’s current senior leadership will head the combined operation of A&O Shearman & Sterling, if the deal is approved. Senior partner Wim Dejonghe and managing partner Khalid Garousha will lead the newly combined firm in their current roles, according to several people with knowledge of the situation. Current Shearman senior partner Adam Hakki is expected to play a senior role in the new firm’s leadership, including sitting on its executive committee, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Rimon and Ligris & Associates are among the midsize firms that have completed mergers in the past week, finding commonality across culture and business objectives that set them up for the future.
The addition of boutique firm Escalante y Asociados, which specializes in tax law, foreign trade and money laundering prevention, means five more lawyers, including one partner and a certified public accountant, are now part of CMS in Mexico.
The firm’s two Asian office launches, taking place just months apart, are an indication of increased client demand and needs around complex, high profile commercial litigation and investigations in the region.
Nishimura became the second Big Four Japanese law firm to adopt a foreign law joint enterprise structure, enabling it to hire and promote foreign-qualified lawyers as equity partners and attract the talent needed to expand its U.S. and European client base for Asia-bound work.
The firm’s new licence to practice in the Kingdom follows a feverish period of global expansion, with combinations and tie-ups in Mexico, Brazil and Mozambique.
The move means the firm’s highest paid partners will receive towards the upper end of what UK Top 50 law firms tend to pay out, ahead of many other mid-market firms.
In-house attorneys are embracing “a mindset of staying put and appreciating ‘the devil you know’ job security,” according to legal department recruiter Mike Evers.
Eversheds Sutherland, Bird & Bird and Baker Botts join a raft of firms that have introduced more structured approaches to non-traditional sectors that have grown exponentially over the course of 2023.
Law firms, as a whole, haven’t been keen on swift cloud adoption. But like implementation of many technologies, external factors have done much to twist legal’s arm.
They are working with law firm training provider SkillBurst to develop materials that give legal professionals “the basics” on how to effectively use these emerging tools.
“The issue that’s so egregious is that the number has only increased by about 0.5% in 15 years,” said Jill Lynch Cruz, a coach for young lawyers and researcher in career development for Latinas in law.
Edward Blum’s lawsuits against the two law firms were successful in opening diversity fellowships to all applicants, although firms are still asking for diversity of background and experience.
As the legal landscape continues to change shape and find its footing among its corporate counterparts, it’s essential that those of us in this environment work to remain competitive while expanding our identity to become more inclusive.
Early and ongoing exposure to the legal profession is important given that attorneys often hold positions of influence in education, justice, legislation, business, regulations and global trade. The path begins early and starts with basic needs—particularly important in communities such as ours, where resources are lacking on so many levels: employment, housing, food security, and markedly personal safety.
While diversity within the legal profession has improved over the last few years, progress has been slow, and law firm leadership must be further educated on the importance of diversity and inclusion so they will take greater steps toward enhancing diversity among leadership and increasing transparency of their firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
“This stuff about skipping lunch; I’m not going to stop—that has to go. We have to prioritize and make some decisions,” said Sheila Robinson-Kiss, CEO of Rebalancing America and Beyond.
The team is led by Ince’s former head of private client and tax Matthew Biles and follows the arrival of former Ince tax lawyer Roger Harding, who joined Greenwoods earlier this month as head of tax and trusts.
Nigel Tranter will head up the firm’s data and business transformation team in Birmingham. Tranter joins the firm’s Birmingham, UK office alongside a team of five, including head of data Chad Schuessler and director of business transformation Adam Marsland. The team will work closely with the firm’s innovation and IT teams, as they seek to use data, AI and other tools to improve productivity and client service.
Latest losses include exits to Birketts, HF and Wikborg Rein. The team of 17 lawyers joining Wikborg Rein’s London office bring expertise across international dispute resolution and finance. They include a team of seven shipping disputes experts (Michael Volikas, Ian Chetwood, Charles O’Connor, Amanda Urwin, Sophie Henniker-Major, Jack Maxted, Alice Hoare), a team of three finance lawyers (Beatrice Russ, Sian Sanders and Ben Orchard) and a team of seven commercial disputes and international arbitration lawyers (Gillie Belsham, Ben Ogden, Chris Crane, Daniel Boden, Tim Wright, Iain Preston and Ellie Jones).
The pair include Craig Nethercott and Chirag Sanghrajka who join in London and Dubai respectively. Nethercott brings with him almost three decades of experience in banking, capital markets and Islamic finance, advising energy and infrastructure companies on a range of project financings. Sanghrajka adds 16 years of experience advising on energy and infrastructure projects and complex financings, including export credit agency-led deals.
Litigation giant hires KWM Dubai office head plus another partner to set up shop in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The litigation heavyweight has hired a pair of partners from King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) for the launch – current Dubai managing partner Joanne Strain and Parnika Chaturvedi, who will join Quinn Emanuel later this year.
Sara Aranjo joins Morgan Lewis to lead arbitration practice in Africa and Middle East as Arun Visweswaran moves over to Addleshaw Goddard from Clifford Chance.
Team includes Shearman’s former Paris office head Xavier Norlain and three other partners. The partners include Xavier Norlain, Jeremy Scemama, Maud Manon and Matthieu Lampel alongside a team of 15, who all bring extensive experience in private and public M&A, leveraged finance and restructuring. They regularly advise private equity firms, banks and alternative lenders, services groups and management teams.
Gartlan Furey LLP has welcomed Paula Fallon to its private client team following a merger with Paula Fallon & Associates. Ms Fallon brings nearly four decades of experience in the law, having qualified in 1986 and run her own specialist practice in the area of wills and administration of estates since 2001. Her areas of practice include wills and estate tax planning, powers of attorney, probate and administration of estates and trust management.
Partner Julian Pinder will join the firm in Sydney, while MinterEllison associate David McLaren also joins as a partner. Five other lawyers will also join Mills Oakley from MinterEllison.
Winston & Strawn partners Douglas Lionberger and James Brown joined Holland & Knight as partners in the corporate, M&A and securities practice group in Houston, rejoining former Thompson & Knight colleagues.
“We find our growth curve to be very significant and we don’t see that diminishing,” said Michael Snyder, partner in charge of the firm’s five-office Midwest region.
“We are seeing big developments in the industry overall related to energy transition and more, and this has brought increasing demand from clients and also new opportunities for us to expand our practices,” Eric Pogue said. Eric Pogue is joining as Willkie’s global chair of power and renewable energy; Samantha Leavitt and Amanda Rosenberg are joining as partners.
Schulte Roth & Zabel has hired Perkins Coie’s Michael Didiuk, who brings to the firm deep experience on both sides of the financial regulation coin as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission prepares to enforce new rules for private equity and asset management.
David Weiss, who joined Mayer Brown on Monday, said the firm is a good fit for his international arbitration practice, because of its global reach, and the caliber of its arbitration and energy practices.
Latham & Watkins has hired mergers & acquisitions and private equity partners Brian Mangino and Amber Banks from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, as the firm continues to bolster its M&A practice.
LGBTQ social network Grindr has appointed Zac Katz as general counsel, a newly created position. Katz joins from digital education provider Age of Learning, where he was head of legal and corporate affairs. At Grindr, in addition to his legal responsibilities, he will also serve as head of global affairs where he will be responsible for building the department and providing support to its Grindr for Equality initiative. He will report directly to CEO George Arison. The legal team was previously led by Bill Shafton, vice president for business and legal affairs, who remains in that role.
Scott Graziano will try to help Faraday Future Intelligent Electric stay on track after years of struggle. Last month, the company began delivering its $300,000 crossover, the FF 91.
“You draw on the expertise of the team,” Rachel King, previously the chief compliance officer for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said of the model at Health Law Strategists.
Patricia “Trish” Walsh is taking the legal reins of American International Group, returning to a corporate giant after four years in the startup sphere.
Veteran restaurant lawyer Mark Heilig has exchanged the Bloomin’ Onion for BBQ bison meatloaf as the new general counsel of the fast-growing Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar chain.
Leading litigator to step up from UK managing partner role in January to work alongside new global CEO Steve Baumer. Osuntokun, currently UK managing partner, also leads the firm’s Africa and civil fraud litigation practices, with deep experience of such disputes in that continent’s key industries. He will work alongside the firm’s global chief executive officer, Steve Baumer, from 1 January 2024.
Browne Jacobson partner Jeanne Kelly has been elected as president of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce (BICC). Ms Kelly, a founding partner of Browne Jacobson’s Dublin office, has spent the last year as vice-president of the Chamber and is also outgoing chair of its ICT committee. She will now lead the organisation alongside vice-president Marie Doyle, president at Deloitte Northern Ireland.
Voting will be completed on Friday 13 October, with the outcome to be announced shortly after. If partners approve the deal, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling will – subject to customary closing conditions – come together to create a transatlantic behemoth with just under 4,000 lawyers and about $3.4bn in annual revenue. The combined firm will be known as A&O Shearman.
Agreement adds to CMS’s Latin America presence in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. São Paulo-based FAS has 11 partners and more than 120 professionals, covering a full range of services including M&A, tax, banking and corporate law. It is also active in sectors with cross-border advisory and transaction work opportunities with CMS, including renewables, infrastructure, technology, consumer products, life sciences and healthcare, manufacturing, automotive and agribusiness.
Firm leaders with fresh experience of acquisitions said the non-exclusive nature of Pillsbury and Stroock’s letter of intent is unusual. But other market watchers find evidence of compatibility.
Firm will provide legal advisory and financial management services under one roof. The founders include Keystone Law partners Sofia Syed and Gregor Kleinknecht, Spencer West family law specialist Julie Taylor and former Mishcon de Reya lawyer Gray Smith. The team will focus on law but with a range of advisory services bolted on, including financial management and support.
After more than a century of being a top adviser to some of the world’s largest shipping companies, Ince’s brand began to tarnish before it ended in inglorious fashion.
While a powerful technology, generative AI can also come with a hefty price tag. While some law firms are hopeful of lower bills down the line when using the technology in e-discovery, others aren’t so sure yet.
Many legal technology companies are under pressure from their venture capitalist and private equity founders, which some say has led to a surge in prices across the industry.
2023 GC Compensation
In The Legal’s GC Compensation supplement, find out how general counsel fare across the state and take a look at how the SEC’s new disclosure rule has held up one year in.
Hugh Simons looks at the growth of in-house counsel, the future impact of Gen AI and what it will really take to be an equity partner in Big Law moving forward.
As AI technology evolves at a rapid pace, so do the opportunities that it will present to substitute human decision-making. As we approach this threshold, we must carefully consider and determine whether the lack of a human element in decision-making is acceptable to all those involved and whether AI might undermine trust in the process.
The Spanish firm plans to use the technology across its 27 offices in 13 countries to dramatically cut turnaround time for drafting documents and other legal needs.
“Corporate adoption, while swift, is never breakneck speed, especially when the regulations are not finalized and the tech itself is not stabilized,” Niloy Ray, a Littler Mendelson shareholder, said.
The most recent threats to dismantle DEI in the United States are now aimed at the legal industry, but we cannot relent against these attacks and instead must remain resilient with our DEI efforts now and well into the future.
The author revisits three predictions made at the beginning of the year regarding AI, cybersecurity and the economy, and see where things are headed as 2023 winds down.
UK-based employment law firm Lewis Silkin has more than doubled its Belfast footprint since expanding into Northern Ireland in 2021, the firm has announced.
“We learn how to be lawyers in law school, but law school doesn’t teach you how to run a business,” said Kristen Corpion, founder of CORPlaw, which recently merged with Trembly Law.
Former insiders spoke of issues around the firm’s inflexible lockstep and a perceived lack of global ambition—but the firm’s managing partner Edmund Reed explains how these and others matters are being addressed.
International firms made up 13 of the top 50, while 15 South African firms featured in the table and 11 were from Nigeria, according to the research produced in partnership with Africa Legal.
Law firms across Asia are feeling pressure from both foreign and domestic players, prompting them to seek out mergers. Smaller firms fear they could end up missing out on a share of the pie, or worse, become irrelevant.
London disputes boutique Bellevue Law has hired a senior manager from Slaughter and May as its first chief operating officer. Kay Osborne has joined Bellevue after nearly six years at Slaughters, where she was most recently a senior manager in the firm’s partnership and executive office, working with outgoing senior partner, Steve Cook, who will retire in May 2024.
At least 15 lawyers have quit the troubled Axiom Ince group over the past week. The outgoing lawyers joining RWK Goodman include Marta Mendiondo, Martin Pratt, Holly Freuchen and Sudipta Dey. Mendiondo joins as head of immigration London and employment lawyer Pratt joins as a partner. Freuchen joins as a senior associate in the employment team and Dey joins as an associate and a senior immigration advisor.
Herbert Smith Freehills counts 56 lawyers in its Singapore office while King & Spalding now has 29. King & Spalding project finance partner Antony Patten has left the firm to join Herbert Smith Freehills as a partner in Singapore.
“There’s a culture of congeniality here that’s very palpable. But they also hold each other accountable,” said new Baker Donelson shareholder Scott Bowers.
Antitrust specialist Amadeu Ribeiro, who is licensed to practice in Brazil and the U.S., has been the face of a leading Brazilian firm in the U.S. for more than a decade.
Susan Shin has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth as a partner in its commercial litigation group. She joins from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where she was a partner in that firm’s complex litigation practice. Brown Rudnick has hired Kevin Brown as a partner in the firm’s tax group. He was previously counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
The firm just added two litigation shareholders in Phoenix, after adding another one in July. Laura Sixkiller’s practice mainly revolves around securities and M&A litigation while Kate Benveniste is focused more on real estate litigation, particularly in the property tech space. Both are rejoining Greenberg Traurig after leaving the firm for DLA Piper a number of years ago.
This week’s roundup of top in-house moves also includes appointments at Disney Parks, Alcoa, Webster Financial Corporation and Cogeco. Global software giant Microsoft has promoted Hossein Nowbar to chief legal officer, replacing Lisa Tanzi, who announced her departure from the tech company earlier this month. Nowbar is elevated from general counsel, with former deputy GC and head of litigation Jonathan Palmer moved up to the GC role, Bloomberg reported. Cynthia Randall will take over Palmer’s previous role.
“I am honored to be joining Hilton, a company I have long respected for its history, innovation and award-winning workplace culture,” said Anne-Marie D’Angelo, who started Friday as general counsel.
John Joyce to stand down next April a year before end of third term. The managing partner of UK law firm Addleshaw Goddard (AG), John Joyce, has announced he will stand down a year ahead of the end of his third term. Joyce will step down as managing partner 30 April 2024 at the end of the current financial year, 10 years after he was first elected and at the end of his 25th anniversary as a partner in the business.
“I am looking forward to working with my teams to address the challenges we face in light of industry headwinds and to execute on our plans and deliver results,” newly appointed CEO Horace Dawson said.
Katz Banks Kumin, a civil rights boutique known for its work representing victims of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein and others, launched in San Francisco via a merger with another boutique with wage-and-hour class action expertise.
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer has become the latest law firm to open an office in Boston, securing a co-leader of Foley Hoag’s life sciences industry group for the launch. Hemmie Chang has left Foley after nearly 13 years to lead Arnold & Porter’s new office, which the Washington DC-based firm said would focus on life sciences and health care transactions, litigation, regulatory counselling and government investigations.
Seyfarth Shaw has opened an office in Dallas, with real estate lawyers and litigators, nearly three decades after it moved into Texas with an office in Houston. A Bryan Cave real estate partner in Charlotte, North Carolina, also made the move to Seyfarth.
“Base salary and bonus cash compensation isn’t something I’ve spent a lot of time discussing with my peers, because at some point it tops out. What we talk about is equity,” said Danielle Sheer, general counsel of Commvault.
The 200 largest law firms in the world, made up mainly of U.S. firms, saw growth slow in the latest fiscal year, with some regions out-performing others.
LLMs and generative AI are still under development, but they have the potential to revolutionize the way lawyers work, including automating the drafting of contracts, translating legal documents, and identifying potential risks in contracts.
The firms with a decided advantage in the AI arms race will be those who are operating from a place of “connectivity,” meaning that their internal operational teams are empowered to interact seamlessly. And this starts with an overlooked but crucial practice: good data hygiene.
While blockchain-related law firm practices are still expanding, blockchain may have lost some of its development potential in the eyes of some lawyers.
Legal leaders can no longer be distracted by bells, whistles and gimmicks, and instead must be focused on identifying and implementing meaningful tools that enable in-house teams to be true catalysts for change across the business.
A New York State Bar report from a group of Big Law partners, corporate lawyers and academics focuses on methods of enhancing diversity that won’t leave organizations vulnerable to legal risks.
Many legal tech panels on generative artificial intelligence are still dominated by a homogenous group: white men. It’s a glimpse into the more insidious barriers that stand in the way of women tech founders fighting to make it in the industry.
That the pace of change is “accelerating” is surely an understatement. What seemed almost a near certainty a year ago — that law firms would fully and permanently embrace work-from-home — is experiencing a seeming reversal. While many firms have, in fact, embraced hybrid operations, the meaning of hybrid has evolved from “office optional,” to an average required 2 days a week, to now many firms coming out with four-day work week mandates — this time, with teeth.
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