Legal Business – Legal Business

LB320 – issue menu

Legal Business — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:30:25 +0000

Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 320

The ESG report 2024

As ESG becomes a business fundamental, LB looks at how the top firms are responding

Overview: Beyond ‘nice to have’ – ESG goes business fundamental

Amid a tsunami of regulation and snowballing client demand, law firms are assembling ESG practices to take on the world, while also grappling with the challenges of getting their own houses in order. LB reports on the results of its fourth annual ESG survey

Mental health: Stress test – Partners on how they deal with a life under pressure

Long and unpredictable hours can make transactional work hard to reconcile with mental health considerations. LB spoke to City partners about how they keep things in check – and why the industry still needs to change

‘I mistakenly thought severe anxiety was a good thing’ – Vinson’s London head on opening up about mental health

‘I have this condition, and I’m owning it’: HSF’s Samantha Brown on managing mental ill health alongside a legal career

Gen Z: ‘Employers need to make sure they’re providing an environment in which people want to stay’: what Gen Z’s lawyers really want from their careers’

Much ink is spilled about Generation Z and the challenges of recruiting and retaining them. As more and more members of the cohort born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s enter the legal profession, LB finds out what today’s more idealistic lawyers want from their careers and how they’re changing the profession

ESG Awards 2024: ESG Award winners

‘Non-binary people aren’t going away, no matter how much hate is expressed towards us’

‘You don’t need to be a partner at a law firm to effect change’ – ESG Award winner Ranajoy Basu on leveraging his structured finance expertise to support ESG causes in emerging economies

Eversheds, A&O, and Standard Chartered GC among winners at debut Legal 500 UK ESG Awards

Enterprise winners

On 29-30 April, more than 200 senior in-house counsel gathered at the Hilton London Wembley for the seventh annual Enterprise GC event.

MENA focus: Middle Eastern dreams

LB speaks to local players and international firms about the market across the region, including Saudi Arabia and UAE

Stressing the positives – why opening up about the demands of City life helps everyone

If you knew nothing about City law and the gender diversity problems it has at senior levels, you certainly wouldn’t think there were any issues when reading our feature on dealmakers and stress.

Making an ESG lawyer – law firms search for the magic formula

‘I don’t believe there is such a thing as an ESG lawyer’ – the words of one environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice head in an interview for this month’s lead feature aptly sums up one of the key challenges for firms trying to establish themselves at the top of this much-hyped market.

Legal 500 US: Latham tops the charts in new US rankings

The Legal 500 United States 2024 rankings have arrived, and with it a bevy of new numbers to crunch.

The new £150k benchmark for Magic Circle associates – ‘rewarding the best’, or ‘slightly alarming’?

Associate pay reaches eye-watering heights as the war for talent at the top of the market goes further into the salary stratosphere

‘Shaping the City’s tech industry’ – Perkins Coie lands in London with hire of private equity veteran Bagshaw

US West Coast firm becomes latest to target London tech transactions market with eye-catching hire of ex-White & Case dealmaker

The China conundrum – why so many US law firms are pulling out

Once seen as the next big thing for all self-respecting international law firms, China is now seeing a wave of retrenchment by US firms, with Morrison Foerster the latest to close an office in Beijing – Alex Ryan spoke to those who know the market to find out why

The Last Word: ESG to the fore

As part of our annual ESG report, management at top law firms give their views on ESG’s importance to both lawyers and clients

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Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 320

Legal Business — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:30:24 +0000

We are providing more options for you to access your copy of Legal Business. Please see below for links to a limited version followed by a complete version. The complete version is only accessible to subscribers. Please make sure you are logged into the site to see the link.

Limited version

Complete issue

The post Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 320 appeared first on Legal Business.

The ESG report 2024

Legal Business — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:30:22 +0000

Overview: Beyond ‘nice to have’ – ESG goes business fundamental

Mental health: Stress test – Partners on how they deal with a life under pressure

‘I mistakenly thought severe anxiety was a good thing’ – Vinson’s London head on opening up about mental health

‘I have this condition, and I’m owning it’: HSF’s Samantha Brown on managing mental ill health alongside a legal career

Gen Z: ‘Employers need to make sure they’re providing an environment in which people want to stay’: what Gen Z’s lawyers really want from their careers’

ESG Awards 2024: ESG Award winners

‘Non-binary people aren’t going away, no matter how much hate is expressed towards us’

‘You don’t need to be a partner at a law firm to effect change’ – ESG Award winner Ranajoy Basu on leveraging his structured finance expertise to support ESG causes in emerging economies

Eversheds, A&O, and Standard Chartered GC among winners at debut Legal 500 UK ESG Awards

The last word: ESG to the fore

As part of our annual ESG report, management at top law firms give their views on ESG’s importance to both lawyers and clients

The post The ESG report 2024 appeared first on Legal Business.

The new £150k benchmark for Magic Circle associates – ‘rewarding the best’, or ‘slightly alarming’?

Legal Business — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:30:14 +0000

Associate pay reaches eye-watering heights as the war for talent at the top of the market goes further into the salary stratosphere

With all eyes on the upcoming election to see what a potential new government might do about the cost of living crisis, this May saw things get a little easier for the notoriously hard-done-by Magic Circle associate demographic, as their salaries reached new heights.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer fired the starting gun on a new pay race at the beginning of the month, increasing newly-qualified (NQ) rates from the previous benchmark of £125,000 to £150,000.

Trainee pay was also bumped up, with first-year rates rising from £50,000 to £56,000 and second-year salaries up from £55,000 to £61,000.

In a statement announcing the increases, London managing partner Mark Sansom said the firm was ‘committed to embedding a culture that supports our people to deliver their best, knowing their contribution is valued and rewarded’.

‘This move follows a year of strong growth for the London business,’ he added, while also citing ‘the success of the material investments in the US’, where the firm has made big strides in recent years with a bold series of lateral hires.

That hike piled the pressure on the rest of the Magic Circle to follow suit, particularly considering the competitive pay packages on offer at their US counterparts, such as Quinn Emanuel, where NQs are now paid £180,000.

And sure enough, Clifford Chance, Linklaters and A&O Shearman joined the party at the end of the month matching Freshfields’ £150,000 hike, leaving Slaughter and May the sole Magic Circle firm still on the lower rate of £125,000.

Linklaters firmwide managing partner Paul Lewis said the firm was ‘committed to rewarding our people competitively’, and that the salary changes would ‘enable us to attract and retain exceptional lawyers to provide the highest quality service to our clients’.

A&O Shearman’s statement, meanwhile, quoted new London managing partner Denise Gibson, who said that the compensation structure gives the newly merged firm ‘flexibility to reward expertise, performance and wider contribution’ and that it was ‘designed to be highly competitive to reflect the markets in which we operate.’

That move also means that legacy Shearman lawyers at the now-merged firm will avoid a situation in which the tie-up would have seen their pay decrease as a result of the deal. It had been reported earlier this year that A&O Shearman would stick with the legacy A&O NQ salary of £125,000, rather than matching Shearman’s £145,000, but the new rates mean £150,000 is now the benchmark for all.

‘The compensation structure is designed to be highly competitive to reflect the markets in which we operate.’ Denise Gibson, A&O Shearman

While this is of course good news for London associates, some market-watchers are warning that this latest round of pay hikes will raise concerns among mid to senior-level lawyers.

Speaking to Legal Business, David von Dadelszen, director at James Legal, said: ‘This is a slightly alarming continuing trend that isn’t [reflective] of increasing salaries for more senior lawyers where it may create retention issues. Clients must question getting advice from junior lawyers who are paid so highly.’

In a similar vein, Hannah Benger, business manager at Montresor Legal told LB: ‘Magic Circle salaries usually level out at the mid to senior level, which may create some issues, particularly given the consistent increases at leading US firms.’

The increases are likely to pile the pressure on other London firms to up salaries. Slaughter and May last raised NQ salaries in November, with no further increase after its most recently six-monthly pay review in April.

This pressure is exacerbated by the fact that many US firms continue to offer pay packets still more generous than even the increased Magic Circle rates. In Benger’s words: ‘The client base of Magic Circle firms is different to US firm clients who are used to paying a lot more.’

With NQ bonuses to be paid out in the coming months, Benger added: ‘It will be interesting to see what the Magic Circle firms do with bonuses. It is coming up to bonus season, and there is likely to be renewed interest in making a move to premium US firms if Magic Circle firms cannot compete with Cravath bonuses.’

Legal Business

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The Last Word: ESG to the fore

Legal Business — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:30:12 +0000

As part of our annual ESG report, management at top law firms give their views on ESG’s importance to both lawyers and clients

Dance it out

‘When I was in the middle of negotiating one of my most stressful deals, Beyoncé released a new song, so the only thing to do was download it and have a dance party for one in my study at 2am in the morning. It’s a stress management technique I would highly recommend!’
Nallini Puri, M&A partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

Hair today, gone tomorrow

‘There are a few of my male colleagues who I always know have just finished their deal when they turn up with a “signing/completion haircut”. While we do drop everything for the big push, that’s a good sign indicating they’ve probably had time to catch up again with everything else that’s fallen behind, including some proper sleep, and quality time with partner, family and friends, as well as life housekeeping.’
Gavin Davies, head of global M&A, Herbert Smith Freehills

School run

‘Flexible working is something I hope to see the legal profession increasingly support. I’m a single parent of two five-year-old girls. I couldn’t do this job unless I was more often than not taking them to school and putting them to bed at night. At this stage of my career, I’m lucky that I can manage this. For me, that’s enormously important.’
Lisa O’Neill, London corporate team co-head, Milbank

Laughter is the best medicine

‘Of course, laughter is one of the best ways of relieving stress. Sometimes you get an email setting out a ridiculously impossible deadline, but you can just roll your eyes and think, “Yeah, here we go again,” and have a laugh with the team. But if you’re there on your own with the pressure of your inbox constantly filling up with emails, it’s much harder to laugh by yourself and see the funny side of the quirks of our job.’
Penny Angell, UK managing partner, Hogan Lovells

Opportunity knocks

‘What I see among junior team members is a strong focus on wanting to combine interests in specific fields with their careers, and the ESG focus allows for that. It’s rare in the legal space to witness the development of a new area of law. These are massive opportunities for juniors to come in and experience the evolution of a legal space in real time.’
Jannis Bille, UK head of ESG, Herbert Smith Freehills

Working together

‘One thing I’m finding as a sustainability partner is that sharing our journey with clients is powerful. A collaborative approach with clients in this area has been effective. We’re working with them in the same arenas, sometimes moving ahead of them, sometimes behind, but always sharing. This has become a real area of collaboration for the business.’
Caroline May, ESG co-lead, Norton Rose Fulbright

Don’t forget the S and G of ESG

‘There’s a risk at times of overemphasising climate or environmental aspects to the detriment of understanding that these are all interrelated issues. The social risks and opportunities related to corporate governance and corporate activity are intrinsically linked to environmental issues – one can’t address one without the other.’
Michael Watson, head of climate and sustainability advisory, Pinsent Masons

Remember the essentials

‘It’s not just a “nice to have”. ESG is essential to doing business now.’
Alexandra Holsgrove-Jones, partner, knowledge – ESG, TLT

Empathetic leadership

‘We need a compassionate form of leadership. We are all increasingly global, and a good understanding of multiculturalism is crucial. It’s not just “this is how we do things in London; therefore, this is how we will do it everywhere else”. We need to understand our people, our clients, and the environments and cultures in which they operate.’
Farmida Bi, chair, Europe, Middle East and Asia, Norton Rose Fulbright

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M&A Yearbook 2024 – Ready for takeoff?

Legal Business — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 11:00:30 +0000

Access your pdf version of the M&A Yearbook 2024

Editor’s Letter

Foreword – Taylor Wessing: Blue skies ahead

After two subdued years, global M&A activity is showing signs of recovery.

Cleared for departure – charting the course for deal optimism

After a dismal 2023 for dealmaking, partners are focusing on the positives, despite lingering economic and geopolitical uncertainties. So is the M&A market ready for takeoff?

Dialling in the deal – the inside track on the Vodafone/Three merger

The planned tie-up between Vodafone and Three UK stood out in last year’s stuttering M&A market. Here, Slaughter and May M&A partners Victoria MacDuff and Richard Hilton, lead counsel for Vodafone, tell Legal 500 London editor Cameron Purse all about the deal

The real deal – the firms dominating the rankings for M&A

From premium, multibillion-pound practices to national players handling heavy volumes of transactional matters, the Legal 500’s M&A rankings cover the full gamut of the deals market

Stress test – partners on how they deal with a life under pressure

Long and unpredictable hours can make transactional work hard to reconcile with mental health considerations. We spoke to City partners about how they keep things in check – and why the industry still needs to change

To live or die in DC – getting deals done amid US antitrust crackdown

Elite US law firms are stocking up on antitrust expertise as the Federal Trade Commission cracks down on enforcement. Barnaby Merrill speaks to top practitioners about the current deal landscape and the key issues for clients under scrutiny

M&A perspectives

Jennifer Bethlehem

‘We were at the centre of a deal that was necessary to ensure global financial stability – the stakes don’t get higher’ – Freshfields’ head of consumer and healthcare Jennifer Bethlehem on deal highlights and having the personality for M&A

Lorenzo Corte

‘The deal was the most complete learning experience I could have ever hoped for’ – Skadden’s global head of transactions Lorenzo Corte on deal highlights and coming from a family of lawyers

Melissa Fogarty

‘I pinch myself (most days!)’ – Clifford Chance’s London corporate co-head Melissa Fogarty on memorable deals, embracing technology and why she would absolutely recommend a career in M&A law

Headline market briefings

AI spy: avoiding bad AI investments

In the wake of recent advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI), AI has shot to the top of the board agenda. No one wants to miss out on this transformative technology – but businesses need to ensure FOMO doesn’t lead to bad investments. Jonny Bethell and Jo Joyce of Taylor Wessing explore the potential pitfalls to avoid in AI acquisitions

Getting exit ready

Multiple signs are pointing to an increasing momentum around M&A activity. If you’ve been holding out for better conditions to sell your business, now is the time to make sure you’re exit ready. Taylor Wessing’s Emma Danks, Suzy Davis and Siobhán Langwade outline key areas of focus and practical matters

Argentina market briefing

Understanding mergers and acquisitions in Argentina

Rafael Salaberren Dupont, Juan Manuel Campos Álvarez, and Diego D’Odorico of SyLS discuss the processes, challenges, and prospects for M&A in Argentina

Belgium market briefing

Excess cash in a Belgian M&A context

Jérôme Terfve and Guillaume Charlier report on the treatment of excess cash in M&A transactions by the Belgian authorities

Philippines market briefing

Capitalising on opportunities in the Philippines

Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra lawyers led by Mark S. Gorriceta (managing partner), Kristine T. Torres (partner) and Kathleen T. Guiang (mid level associate) explore the challenges, cross-border elements and post acquisition disputes for M&A transactions in the Philippines

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M&A Yearbook 2024 – online PDF

Legal Business — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 11:00:29 +0000

Please see below for a link to an online pdf of the M&A Yearbook 2024.

M&A Yearbook 2024 complete pdf link

Return to M&A Yearbook 2024 contents.

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LB319 – issue menu

Legal Business — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:00:40 +0000

Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 319

Global London 2024: Back down to earth

Rocket-fuelled expansion slows as US firm rethink the race for London

When the going gets tough: Global London firms dig in as market reality bites

Following years of super-charged recruitment, uncertain times have prompted greater prudence among the Global London firms, with growth across the group coming to a near standstill. But, as LB finds, savvy firms are positioning themselves for the market revival

Paul Weiss and Kirkland: Market forces: Paul Weiss, Kirkland and the war for London talent

Paul Weiss is attracting the kind of headlines once reserved for Kirkland as it cherry-picks big names from the breadth of the City’s elite. But will its dream team approach pay off? And where does it leave the ambitions of the world’s biggest law firm?

The energy and renewables debate: Power shifts

Earlier this year, LB and Eversheds Sutherland hosted a roundtable made up of leading in-house counsel to look at navigating energy and renewables in a changing world

Legal Business Corporate and M&A Summit 2024

On 14 March, LB hosted the 2024 Corporate and M&A Summit, bringing together delegates from across the legal profession to discuss the latest trends in M&A, talking through the life cycle of a deal

The Latin American mosaic

Contemporary Latin America reflects the divergent social, political and economic pressures that mark a world that is not just post-pandemic, but – more profoundly – post-globalisation

‘So big it never stops’ – why Brazil’s legal market is still booming despite political instability and economic uncertainty

LB sounds out partners at some of Brazil’s leading firms about the practices keeping them busy and developments in the legal market

Life During Law: Wim Dejonghe

Allen & Overy’s Wim Dejonghe on mergers, learning from failure, and handing over the reins

Life During Law: Scott Hopkins

Retired Skadden partner Scott Hopkins on his early career as a junior hockey star, working for more than just the money, and the world of 4D combat

Talk of the town: Why Kirkland/Paul Weiss underlines the value of controlling the management message

Clandestine conversations, a recruitment strategy on steroids, eye-watering salaries and internal politics galore, the Paul Weiss/Kirkland story has enough drama in it to keep the attention of even those outside the legal market.

After the party – market slowdown pushes US leaders to take stock in London

The easy narrative is that the party is over. After years of rapid expansion by international law firms in London, 2023 saw lawyer headcount at Global London firms inch up by just 1.8% – a figure which appears to provide confirmation that the City interlopers are finally starting to apply the brakes in London as deal volumes dry up.

Access your pdf edition of LB magazine – issue 319

Legal Business — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:00:39 +0000

Limited version

Complete issue

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Global London 2024: Back down to earth

Legal Business — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 13:00:38 +0000