Fides Weekly Update – 5th July 2019


Hello and welcome to the Fides Weekly Update, your digest of this week’s key legal trends, moves and developments from across the globe.

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This week:

 

1). Clifford Chance and Freshfields Report Financial Results

The season of law firm financial reporting is upon us, with magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer being among firms revealing their 2018-19 figures this week.

At Clifford Chance, revenue and profit per equity partner (PEP) both hit record highs, although growth at the firm was much smaller than in previous years. Revenue at the firm increased 4.3% to £1.69 billion, whilst PEP increased 1% to £1.62 million. This is compared to a 16% growth in PEP reported last year.

Global managing partner Matthew Layton attributed slowing growth to several significant investments in technology, such as e-billing and data management in line with client demands.

The firm is also scaling up its six best delivery hubs – which aim to improve client services via legal technology – with the with the Newcastle low-cost service centre (formerly of the collapsed construction giant Carillion) now fully integrated into the business.

Magic circle competitor Freshfields meanwhile posted a flat revenue growth of 5%, equalling figures posted last year. By adding £70 million to its top line, total revenue at the firm now stands at £1.47 billion. PEP also increased by £96,000 (6%), totalling £1.84 million.

Both firms took the decision to increase their newly qualified lawyer pay to £100,000 last month.

Global firms Hebert Smith Freehills and Simmons & Simmons also reported their financial results this week. Revenue at HSF grew 4% to £965.7 million, while PEP grew to £949,000, an 11% growth. Simmons posted a 6% revenue growth to £374 million, with PEP rising 4% to reach £710,000.

 

2). Movers & Shakers

Panel Watch

Utilities giant Severn Trent kicks off legal panel review

 

Appointments

Freshfields lawyer becomes first GC of HSBC-backed fintech startup

Following a $20m cash injection from HSBC and Goldman Sachs, UK fintech startup Bud has turned to Freshfields senior associate Ryan Taylor to fill its newly-created general counsel position

Kraft Heinz Appoints New EMEA General Counsel

Food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz has named Thomas Loest as its new general counsel for EMEA, joining from personal care corporation Kimberly-Clark

Charles Russell Speechlys Appoints New Managing Partner

London-based restructuring and insolvency partner Simon Ridpath will stand as managing partner for a four year term from May 2020

Rio Tinto Strikes Appoints New General Counsel

Barbara Levi Mager, long time in-house leader for Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis International AG, is set to join Rio Tinto in January 2020

Dentons Names New Benelux Managing Officer

Marien Glerum will be responsible for the management and financial oversight of the Amsterdam, Brussels and Luxembourg offices

DLA Piper appoints new head of its Birmingham office

Real estate partner Trevor Ivory to become the new managing partner of DLA’s Birmingham office

 

Moves

Deloitte Legal raids BCLP for its first chief tech officer

Bruce Braude, BCLP’s director of legal operations solutions for EMEA, is joining Deloitte Legal as the firm’s first chief technology officer

Dentons Hires Fieldfisher Cyber Heavyweight

Dentons has hired Fieldfisher cyber and security law head Antonis Patrikios

Crowell & Moring Hires Seventh Squire Patton Boggs Partner in London This Year

Disputes partner Nicola Phillips is set to make the move to Crowell as the firm continues to bolster its London office

Akin Gump Adds White & Case Partner as London Hiring Spree Continues

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has continued its spate of London hires with the addition of White & Case M&A partner Gavin Weir

Stephenson Harwood Partner Joins Proskauer

Proskauer Rose has hired Stephenson Harwood corporate finance partner Warren Allan as a partner in its London office, reuniting him with several former King & Wood Mallesons colleagues

Deloitte hires Head of Innovation from Taylor Wessing

Laura Bygrave has been appointed Head of Innovation at Deloitte Legal, marking the Big Four’s first key legal hire since Allen & Overy banking partner Michael Castle was brought in last January as managing partner

Reed Smith Bolsters Paris IP Offering with Dentons Team Hire

Reed Smith has bolstered its Paris intellectual property practice with the hire of a three-strong team from Dentons led by partner Marianne Schaffner

Goodwin Procter hires White & Case Restructuring Partner in Paris

Goodwin Procter has recruited White & Case restructuring partner Céline Domenget Morin as a partner in Paris to lead its financial restructuring practice

Kennedys Departures to Insurance Rival Hit 27

Kennedys departures to insurance rival Plexus Law have now hit 27 in recent months, two years after the firms held merger talks. A Kennedys team comprising seven partners, 11 associates, three trainees, a consultant and five support staff are due to be making the move

Eversheds Bulks out Dutch Offering with Trio of Hires

Corporate partner Jeroen Hoekstra and commercial partner Benjamin van Kessel join Eversheds from local firm Nineyards Law, while corporate lawyer Elmer Veenman joins from De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, where he was a senior associate

Reed Smith Recruits Simmons & Simmons Beijing Office Head

Eric Lin joins Reed Smith as an energy and natural resources partner, the latest in a string of partner hires by the U.S. firm in China and Hong Kong in recent months

Paul Weiss ramps up NY corporate team with Kirkland hire

Sarah Stasny is joining Paul Weiss from the Manhattan office of Kirkland & Ellis

 

Partner Promotions

KWM Promotes 42 to Partner in Global Round

 

Financials

Freshfields Revenue Growth Stays Steady as PEP Inches Up

Clifford Chance Revenue and PEP Hit Record Highs, But Growth Slows

Herbert Smith Freehills PEP Jumps 11% as Revenues Pick Up

Simmons & Simmons Adds £20M to Top Line as Growth Slows

HSF Ups Available NQ Pay Package to £105,000

Macfarlanes Joins Fight for NQ Talent With Salary Uplift

Linklaters Matches Magic Circle Rivals’ NQ Rate

DAC Beachcroft Pays Out £8.7M in Bonuses As PEP Continues to Climb

 

Technology and Innovation

Exigent launches ‘evergreen’ fund for legal tech

DAC Beachcroft reinvigorates innovation strategy with group launch

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