ShareResizeThe City heavyweight has brought Annie Lewis back into the foldPhoto: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesClifford Chance has continued its private capital hiring spree, rehiring a former colleague from Blackstone.Annie Lewis is moving back to the Magic Circle firm and will join as a partner in the firm’s private capital team in a few months’ time,Financial Newshas learned.
ShareResizeParis is attracting interest from US law firms looking to grow in Europe KIRAN RIDLEYKIRAN RIDLEY/AFP via Getty ImagesThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereKramer Levin’s Paris office is attracting interest from US law firms looking to fast forward their continental expansion.
ShareResizeHogan Lovells has made a series of hires to its London office this year Photo by Peter Dazeley/Getty ImagesHogan Lovells has expanded its US capital markets capabilities in London with the hire of a lawyer from Linklaters. The law firm is hiring US-qualified equity capital markets lawyer Alex Parkhouse as a partner, according to people familiar with the matter.
ShareResizeSkadden is opening its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty ImagesSkadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is launching its first office in the Middle East, with the New York legal giant picking Abu Dhabi for its regional debut. Skadden has hired corporate partner Michael Hilton from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to spearhead the launch of the Abu Dhabi office, according to people familiar with the matter.
ShareResizeThe boutique litigation law firm is moving to the 230 metre tower in the City of London David Cliff/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesPallas Partners is set to move to a new London base at 110 Bishopsgate.The boutique litigation law firm is moving from its current office at 1 King William Street, to the Salesforce Tower at 110 Bishopsgate.
ShareResize‘People generally want to have satisfying careers where they feel respected, where they feel engaged, where they like and trust their colleagues’Photo: Danilo Agutoli for FNLondon has been a happy hunting ground for US law firms over the past decade. Some of the largest names from across the Atlantic have expanded into the City in a big way — and there is no sign of the trend slowing.The market remains gripped by gossip and storie...
ShareResizeEmea head Peter Scott (left) and US head Jeff Cody (right) have been appointed to jointly lead the global law firmNorton Rose Fulbright has shaken up its top-team following the exit of its chief executive last year.The law firm will be led by US managing partner Jeff Cody and EMEA managing partner Peter Scott, the firm said on 24 September.
ShareResizeKirkland boosted its London office with new partner hires last year Photo: Mike Kemp/Getty ImagesKirkland & Ellis equity partners were paid more than $9m on average in 2024 after another strong year for the world’s top-grossing law firm.The firm posted average profit per equity partner of $9.2m for 2024, up 16% from nearly $8m the previous year,Law.comreported.
ShareResizeThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereMichael Gerstenzang pulled no punches in our headline interview this weekPhoto: Danilo Agutoli for FNFor this week’s Audience With, FN online editor James Booth sat down with Cleary Gottlieb boss Michael Gerstenzang to get the lowdown on the firm’s London strategy.
ShareResizeA&O Shearman’s Hervé Ekué with editor in chief Shruti Tripathi Chopra at the Financial News and Private Equity News networking event held at The News Building on 18 MarchPhoto: Alicia CanterThe dizzying rise of lawyers’ salaries could intensify further as global elite law firms battle for talent to advise major clients on complex deals, according to A&O Shearman managing partner Hervé Ekué.The onslaught of US law firms in Londo...
ShareResizeThe power of US capital is driving UK law firms to boost their presence across the AtlanticPhoto: Peter CrowtherEven before Donald Trump’s presidential election victory earlier this month, London legal firms were looking for a way to gain a foothold in the US. The importance of the US legal market has increased over the past decade thanks to the country’s booming economy and the success overseas of Kirkland & Ellis, Latham &am...
ShareResizeSkadden is the latest major law firm to look at introducing a non-equity partnership tier Peter Summers/Getty ImagesThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereTo critics, so-called non-equity partners are little more than glorified senior associates in the law firm hierarchy.
ShareResizeClifford Chance has added an experienced M&A partner in London Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesPhoto: Getty ImagesClifford Chance has boosted its M&A offering in London with the hire of a senior partner from US law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.Bruce Embley is moving to the Magic Circle law firm after more than four years at Skadden in London, Clifford Chance said in a statement. He previously spent more than 15 years at F...
ShareResizeSimone White, 28, was a lawyer in the London office of US law firm Squire Patton BoggsA junior lawyer at a US law firm in London has died after drinking poisonous alcohol while on holiday in Laos.Simone White was an associate lawyer in the London office of Squire Patton Boggs.
ShareResizeThe Big Four is going through a period of rapid change. What will the result look like?Photo: Robert Evans/AlamyEY’s major overhaul under new boss Janet Truncale will use lessons learned from its failed breakup to cut costs and boost growth.The reorganisation is likely to lead to job cuts that fall heaviest on a middle layer of management, which will be shrunk under the proposals, people familiar with the firm said.
ShareResizeSports and entertainment lawyer Rachael Astin is one of five new partners at the firm in LondonLatham & Watkins has promoted five lawyers to partner in London out of 19 new partners worldwide.On 20 February, the firm said it was promoting five counsel to partner in London with effect from 1 March, with 19 counsel raised to partner in total worldwide.
ShareResizeFreshfields hired two partners from the US law firm in London earlier this year Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty ImagesFreshfields has added a third infrastructure partner from US law firm Paul Hastings in London.The Magic Circle law firm tapped Paul Hastings for infrastructure duo Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson in February.
ShareResizeEY and its Big Four accountancy rivals had big ambitions for their UK legal businesses Peter Dazeley/Getty ImagesThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereA decade ago, the Big Four accountancy firms spooked the UK legal sector by making a foray into the market, using their financial firepower and technology savvy to try and gain market share.
ShareResizeSidley Austin has been making hires to its London office this year John Keeble/Getty ImagesPhoto: Getty ImagesSidley Austin has hired its eighth partner from Latham & Watkins in London as part of a major team raid this year.Sidley has hired the co-chair of Latham’s London finance practice, Tania Bedi, a spokesperson for Latham confirmed.
ShareResizeListen(53 sec)Nominate top legal talent nowPhoto: Julieanne Birch/GettyFinancial Newsis looking for legal sector leaders for its annual list of Fifty Most Influential Lawyers.The list is being brought back due to high demand this year.It will include senior lawyers working in private practice across M&A, capital markets, financial regulation, and private markets, plus the heads of leading firms.Newsletter Sign-upFN LawThe biggest s...
ShareResizeHervé Ekué at Financial News and Private Equity News’ showcase event on 18 March 2025 at The News BuildingPhoto: Alicia Canter for FNWhat drove A&O Shearman boss Hervé Ekué to become a lawyer?“It’s a funny story,” Ekué tellsFinancial Newsin his first sit-down interview since being promoted to managing partner following the blockbuster merger of Allen & Overy with its US rival Shearman & Sterling in May last year.
ShareResizeFreshfields moved to a new London base at 100 Bishopsgate in 2021 Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty ImagesPhoto: In Pictures via Getty ImagesFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has dropped “Bruckhaus Deringer” from its name and has unveiled a new logo as part of a major brand overhaul.The firm’s name was coined in 2000 as a result of a three-way-merger between London-based Freshfields, German firm Deringer Tessin Herrmann & Sedemund and A...
ShareResizeHSF CEO Justin D’Agostino and senior partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage talk to FN about their plans after scoring a deal for New York’s Kramer LevinThe leaders of Herbert Smith Freehills said their planned merger with New York law firm Kramer Levin marks the beginning of an ambitious US expansion drive.The two law firms said on 11 November that they had agreed to merge, with the combined firm to be called Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
ShareResizeCMS’s website states the firm currently has 800 lawyers across its 73 offices globally. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)Photo: Getty ImagesCMS is slashing 15 roles in its real estate transactions practice in London,Financial Newscan reveal.This marks the global law firm’s second redundancy round in 16 months. CMS kicked off a redundancy round in 2023 in the firm’s corporate team, axing up to 19 junior lawyers.
ShareResizeThe US law firm has released a smaller promotions round amid a red-hot talent warPhoto: Mike Kemp/Getty ImagesFour lawyers in Latham & Watkins’ London office have made the grade to partner out of 24 promotions globally. The promotions mark a decline on the previous year, when Latham added six new partners in the City out of 34 worldwide.
ShareResizeBerkner with her husband, the Conservative Party leadership contender Robert JenrickPhoto: Ian Forsyth/Getty ImagesConservative MP Robert Jenrick’s wife Michal Berkner is leaving McDermott Will & Emery after less than a year.Her profile on the US law firm’s website redirected to a message saying that she had left the business. “This lawyer is no longer with McDermott Will & Emery.”
ShareResizeThe US law firm has grown rapidly in London over the past year Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesPaul Weiss has raided Kirkland & Ellis for the second time in a week to establish a financial regulatory practice in London.Paul Weiss has hired Revathi Raghavan from US law firm rival Kirkland where she was a partner, according to people familiar with the situation.
ShareResizeSidley Austin has been pushing hard to expand its London office this year John Keeble/Getty ImagesThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereLatham & Watkins’s leveraged finance team has lost another 10 lawyers to rival US law firm Sidley Austin in London.
ShareResizePaul Weiss has invested heavily in its London office at 20 Air Street in Soho Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty ImagesPaul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison posted average partner pay of $7.5m for 2024, following a major year of expansion for the US law firm in London.The firm’s average profit per equity partner jumped from nearly $6.6m in 2023, to $7.5m in 2024, an increase of 14%.
ShareResizeCameron could join other political grandees like ex-Treasury Committee chair Andrew Tyrie at the legal giantPhoto: Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/Getty ImagesLaw firm DLA Piper is set to hire former UK prime minister David Cameron as a consultant, according to reports.Cameron is being lined up to advise on geopolitical risk, theFinancial Timesreports, citing individuals familiar with discussions that have not yet been finalised.
ShareResizeJeremy Hoyland was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010Photo: Danilo Agutoli for FNDealing with stress is just part of the job for top lawyers, for whom long hours and late nights are the norm.But it is a bigger priority for Jeremy Hoyland than for most others — one of the City’s longest standing legal leaders, the managing partner of Simmons & Simmons was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010.
ShareResizeThe private equity firm has strengthened its European legal team as buyout houses race for talentPhoto: Thomas Fuller/Getty imagesBlackstone has hired a White & Case M&A lawyer to beef up its European transactional legal team.The investment management giant has turned to US law firm White & Case to strengthen its legal ranks in London.
ShareResizeThe LME’s decision to cancel $12bn of nickel trades has led to a mass of litigation Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereLaw firm launches in the Middle East have been ten a penny in recent months.
ShareResizeSome cool and sexy auditors played by Henry Davis (left) and Sacharissa Claxton (right) Photo: ICAEWMost people watching a film about bean counters this week were witnessing Ben Affleck mow down his enemies in big-budget blockbusterThe Accountant 2.Not so the large and enthusiastic crowd in the Chartered Accountants’ Hall off Moorgate on 20 May, who settled in with their popcorn to watch 55 minutes of pure auditing drama.
ShareResizeSlaughter and May partners elected corporate lawyer David Johnson as the firm’s next managing partnerSlaughter and May has appointed a new managing partner to lead the Magic Circle law firm alongside senior partner Roland Turnill.The firm said in a statement corporate partner David Johnson will take the helm on 1 August this year. Deborah Finkler, who has been in the role since May 2022, will retire from the firm in July.
ShareResizeSquire Patton Boggs has boosted its City bench with a team from Big Four accountancy firm EY Photo: Mike Kemp/Getty ImagesEY legal partner Monica Gogna is leading a five-lawyer team to join US law firm Squire Patton Boggs.Gogna is leaving EY to join Squire Patton Boggs, according to a memo seen byFinancial News.
ShareResizeWhite & Case has made a series of partner hires in London this year John Keeble/Getty ImagesWhite & Case has promoted 37 lawyers to partner globally, with three lawyers making the cut in London. The US law firm promoted 12% fewer partners than the previous year, when 42 lawyers made the grade including seven in London.
ShareResizeSidley Austin’s London head Tom Thesing told FN the firm planned to continue its investment drive in the CityPhoto: Getty ImagesSidley Austin’s London hiring spree is set to continue as the US law firm seeks to bolster its position in the “fluid” City legal market.The firm has added 10 partners from rival Latham & Watkins in London over the past year. It also this month hired a team of three Weil Gotshal & Manges funds partners...
ShareResizeThis is an online version of FN’s weekly people moves newsletter, Trading Places. Click here to get it straight to your inboxHSBCchief executiveGeorges Elhederyhas unveiled a raft of senior changes at the UK lender.Adam Bagshawhas been appointed global head of investment banking,Lisa McGeoughhas been promoted to head the bank’s US business,Gerry Keefeis now head of banking for Europe and the Americas, whileJo Miyakewill lead the divisi...
ShareResizeTop law firms are telling their lawyers to spend more time in the office Photo: Jason Alden/Getty ImagesThis is an online version of Financial News’s weekly legal newsletter, FN Law. To subscribe, click hereTop US law firms are following their peers in banking by toughening rules on working away from the office.
ShareResizeChinwe Odimba-Chapman will take over the role from Michael Bates, who is stepping down at the end of the yearClifford Chance has appointed Chinwe Odimba-Chapman as its London managing partner and co-regional managing partner for Europe.Employment law partner Odimba-Chapman trained with the Magic Circle law firm and was promoted to partner in 2018.