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July 11, 2013 |
When K&L Gates published comprehensive financial results on its website back in February it marked a rare bid for transparency by a major US law firm. Without the disclosure requirements foisted on their UK counterparts by regulations governing limited liability partnerships, financial information about US firms to date has been fairly limited and available on their own terms. That is not to say that UK firms have been a beacon of transparency. While we aim to shed light on the performance of the leading firms in the form of our UK top 50, and most do co-operate – thank you – it seems each year there are new and varied excuses as to why certain figures are not available (although Allen & Overy deserves credit for its efforts at financial disclosure, being one of the few firms to produce detailed – and audited – figures at this stage). Several others have been far more opaque, with much jiggery-pokery around exchange rates and the exact definition of an equity partner, while the way in which profits per equity partner are calculated varies wildly from firm to firm.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
July 11, 2013 | International Edition
When K&L Gates published comprehensive financial results on its website back in February it marked a rare bid for transparency by a major US law firm. Without the disclosure requirements foisted on their UK counterparts by regulations governing limited liability partnerships, financial information about US firms to date has been fairly limited and available on their own terms. That is not to say that UK firms have been a beacon of transparency. While we aim to shed light on the performance of the leading firms in the form of our UK top 50, and most do co-operate – thank you – it seems each year there are new and varied excuses as to why certain figures are not available (although Allen & Overy deserves credit for its efforts at financial disclosure, being one of the few firms to produce detailed – and audited – figures at this stage). Several others have been far more opaque, with much jiggery-pokery around exchange rates and the exact definition of an equity partner, while the way in which profits per equity partner are calculated varies wildly from firm to firm.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
July 4, 2013 | International Edition
Futurology by its very definition is a bit of a hit-and-miss art. Back in 1914, HG Wells' fantasia The World Set Free, predicting the existence of the atomic bomb, probably felt like scaremongering. And Arthur C Clarke's 1945 proposal for the satellite certainly wasn't taken seriously at the time. But Google's recent appointment of futurist Ray Kurzweil – best known for his theories about the moment technology will outsmart humans on its own – as director of engineering is evidence of how seriously these 'strategic thinkers' can be taken. In the legal sphere Richard Susskind has been foretelling the demise of law firms' dependence on high-cost lawyers for low-value repetitious work for years. But despite numerous calls from influential clients – not least Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland – it seems law firms have until recently paid little heed.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
July 4, 2013 |
Futurology by its very definition is a bit of a hit-and-miss art. Back in 1914, HG Wells' fantasia The World Set Free, predicting the existence of the atomic bomb, probably felt like scaremongering. And Arthur C Clarke's 1945 proposal for the satellite certainly wasn't taken seriously at the time. But Google's recent appointment of futurist Ray Kurzweil – best known for his theories about the moment technology will outsmart humans on its own – as director of engineering is evidence of how seriously these 'strategic thinkers' can be taken. In the legal sphere Richard Susskind has been foretelling the demise of law firms' dependence on high-cost lawyers for low-value repetitious work for years. But despite numerous calls from influential clients – not least Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland – it seems law firms have until recently paid little heed.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
June 27, 2013 |
For some people it's the gym; others prefer a few drinks down the pub, while our Prime Minister is partial to a game of Fruit Ninja on the iPad. Most of us have a way to unwind after a hard day at work. But for a significant minority this day-to-day stress can morph into something more insurmountable. If the legal profession follows the population-wide trend of about one in four people in the UK suffering from issues including stress and anxiety annually, of the 92,000 lawyers at law firms across England and Wales, some 23,000 could be expected to be affected each year. This is no small problem for law firms and their staff. And as our feature shows, the advent of the downturn has only made the job more stressful, with more than two thirds of respondents to a recent Legal Week survey saying pressure to perform and less job security is making life as a lawyer ever-more stressful.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
June 27, 2013 | International Edition
For some people it's the gym; others prefer a few drinks down the pub, while our Prime Minister is partial to a game of Fruit Ninja on the iPad. Most of us have a way to unwind after a hard day at work. But for a significant minority this day-to-day stress can morph into something more insurmountable. If the legal profession follows the population-wide trend of about one in four people in the UK suffering from issues including stress and anxiety annually, of the 92,000 lawyers at law firms across England and Wales, some 23,000 could be expected to be affected each year. This is no small problem for law firms and their staff. And as our feature shows, the advent of the downturn has only made the job more stressful, with more than two thirds of respondents to a recent Legal Week survey saying pressure to perform and less job security is making life as a lawyer ever-more stressful.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
June 20, 2013 | International Edition
Back when the downturn first started to bite, it was an acknowledged – if not popular – fact that many law firms were more heavily resourced than they needed to be, and so for many it was no great surprise when the first wave of redundancies hit the market in 2008-09. Since then, of course, there has been something of a pandemic of job cuts – not least in recent months – as firms take increasingly tough measures to control costs as the long-awaited market recovery fails to emerge. As such, our annual Employee Satisfaction Report (ESR), which this year canvassed the views of almost 4,000 lawyers below partner level at leading firms practising in the UK, has provided a regular barometer of the mood at the junior end of the market.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
June 20, 2013 |
Back when the downturn first started to bite, it was an acknowledged – if not popular – fact that many law firms were more heavily resourced than they needed to be, and so for many it was no great surprise when the first wave of redundancies hit the market in 2008-09. Since then, of course, there has been something of a pandemic of job cuts – not least in recent months – as firms take increasingly tough measures to control costs as the long-awaited market recovery fails to emerge. As such, our annual Employee Satisfaction Report (ESR), which this year canvassed the views of almost 4,000 lawyers below partner level at leading firms practising in the UK, has provided a regular barometer of the mood at the junior end of the market.
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
May 23, 2013 |
Given that Geoff Wild won the general counsel of the year award at the 2012 British Legal Awards, it is perhaps ironic that his role more accurately reflects that of a managing partner at a small law firm than any in-house position...
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
May 23, 2013 | International Edition
Given that Geoff Wild won the general counsel of the year award at the 2012 British Legal Awards, it is perhaps ironic that his role more accurately reflects that of a managing partner at a small law firm than any in-house position...
By Charlotte Edmond
1 minute read
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MELICK & PORTER, LLP PROMOTES CONNECTICUT PARTNERS HOLLY ROGERS, STEVEN BANKS, and ALEXANDER AHRENS
