Weekly Update - 22nd July 2024
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Office Openings & Closing:
Thomas Fulcher, chair of the legal tenant practice group at Savills said, "As much as people are trying to skinny-down their offices, getting rid of workrooms, getting rid of administrative stations, the experience of relative inefficiency is still happening."
JLL research shows that commercial leasing in Los Angeles has decreased by 20% over the past two quarters.
John Hensien, CEO of Clark Hill said, "Our desire is to grow in the Atlanta market, and really leverage our national and international footprint for other clients".
The new agency will concentrate on government investigations, sanctions, international trade, commodities and shipping, and international dispute settlement. said the company.
Kirkland, Sidley and Winston & Strawn arrived relatively around the same time, and all three have displayed an appetite for fast growth.
Last month, Thompson Hine opened its first office on the West Coast after acquiring the litigation boutique Conkle, Kremer & Engel. This month, Alston & Bird announced the opening of a second office in Century City, Los Angeles.
Since the office is the firm's entry point into Latin America, its attorneys are already engaged in cross-border work. Cost savings in the expensive South Florida market is probably one advantage.
The New York firms are believing that the tech industry, and the talent necessary to work its matters, are resurging in San Francisco.
As bilateral relations between China and Singapore have improved, Rajah & Tann is the second Singaporean company to announce the opening of a new location in mainland China this year.
KPMG is shutting down its personal legal practice in Australia and will seek to form alliances with law firms instead.
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Financials:
Certain companies are shifting their payment methods to laterals from fixed shares to guarantees, or a combination of both.
The Anglo-Australian company reported a 9% increase in revenue for the fiscal year 2023–24, reaching ￡961 million—its seventh year of growth.
Other firms may follow their example and give out referral bonuses soon, if they are not already, according to some legal recruiters and consultants.
According to this year's annual New Jersey Top 40 report, only four firms saw significant revenue declines, meanwhile 17 saw gross revenue growth of more than 5% compared with 2022.
Wachtell leads the revenue per lawyer leaderboard once more, this time by a wide margin.
In terms of gross revenue, Kirkland & Ellis led New York's top companies once more in 2023.
The percentage of female partners at the company has increased, according to the report.
In this measure, more and more businesses are surpassing the $7 million threshold.
The firm reported that the U.K. made up just under half of its total revenue (47%), while Europe was Clyde & Co’s fastest growing region, with European revenues up 17%.
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Diversity & Inclusion:
Danielle Carr, president of the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, "Diverse workplaces have stronger governance, better resilience, and more effective problem-solving abilities".
With a varied attorney population occupying more than 25% of the executive committee seats, Carlton Fields and Shutts & Bowen stood apart.
Kubicki Draper, a litigation shop, is the only company on the DBR 100 rankings to disclose that more than half of the partnership is made up of women.
Pro- and anti-ESG ideas on the same issue are being sent to some corporations, demonstrating how difficult it has become for corporate America to address issues like diversity and climate change.
Recruiter Shannan Rahman said, "Billing over 2,000-plus hours a year while being a primary caregiver is unsustainable for most women long term, which is why they burn out at higher rates in Big Law".
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Moves:
Team Moves
Jeffrey Fickes, who co-chaired Ballard's private equity practice, and Christopher DePizzo join the firm as partner in New York.
A five-person team lead by lawyers Michele Beilke and Julia Trankiem has joined Seyfarth Shaw LLP's Labor & Employment department in Texas and California, the company said today. From their partnership at Hunton Andrews Kurth, Beilke and Trankiem join Seyfarth.
The three-partner team is headed up by Justin Stock, the London managing partner of the Palo Alto-headquarted firm.
Carole Miller, who will co-chair the financial services industry team said "Law firm transitions are never easy, and if you had told me 10 years ago that I would be back at Maynard a decade later, I wouldn't have believed you. But I've actually returned to a very different firm".
Ryan Purpura, a former co-chair of the energy and natural resources practice, is one of the three partners on the team.
JSA is on an impressive hiring streak, having also raided another rival firm for a team of 20 in June.
Laurence Ho is a returnee, having joined Stephenson Harwood in the United Kingdom in 2017 after leaving the private, client-focused business. He brings with him a group of three attorneys from Loeb & Loeb, two of whom are associates and one of whom serves as special counsel.
The team is led by partners Corrado Fiscale and Federico Del Monte, who have joined in Milan alongside five associates.
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APAC
Japanese disputes veteran Hisaya Kimura, who was a senior counsel at Nagashima Ohno, has joined the American firm as a partner.
Ari Bessendorf and Michael Tardif, who are from A&O Shearman in Jakarta, have been hired by Orrick.
Leading the capital markets practice for the Western region at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Abhinav Kumar left the prestigious Indian law firm to join Talwar Thakore & Associates. His departure is the most recent in a line of high-profile exits.
U.S. law firm Dorsey & Whitney has bolstered its capital markets capabilities in Hong Kong with the addition of Rachel Han as a partner from Dentons.
Prominent Indian dealmaker Shishir Vayttaden, along with two other members of his team, K. Aishwarya and Aditi Singhvi, has joined Khaitan & Co. from the equity partnership at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
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UK & Ireland
Ted Craig has been a partner in Paul Hastings’ investment funds and private capital practice since 2021, joined from Dentons where he was U.K. head of private funds.
After nearly 25 years at Clifford Chance, André Duminy is leaving, and his move will strengthen the Chicago-based company's London technology and intellectual property transactions expertise.
Ms. Curran brings to the position more than 20 years of specialized experience, and her knowledge spans a broad spectrum of employment law issues, from complicated restructuring procedures to equality and diversity.
Ryan joins Travers Smith from Watson Farley & Williams where he was an infrastructure partner since 2022.
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EMEA
The first lady's former chief of staff, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, will return to Winston's New York office to work in the litigation department.
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The Americas
Most of her clients are expected to move with her, according to longtime Kasowitz Benson partner Jessica Rosenberg.
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According to Heather Wyckoff, she frequently works to establish funds for which "there is no precedent," since it "meshes well with the team here and the level of sophistication and creativity I see among my colleagues in the funds space."
Nick Caro leaves Goodwin after almost eight years to join Davis Polk's sponsor finance practice in New York.
The Sidley lateral partners are "in further discussions" with other individuals there, according to Brad Drake, "about who else could be joining our group."
"Dallas is a thriving market. There are all sorts of opportunities," said Adam Sloustcher, who is succeeding Michael Abcarian.
In recent weeks, the firm has added four new partners to its New York office, including Kate Napalkova.
A firm spokesperson said, "Usha has informed us she has decided to leave the firm".
Aryeh Kaplan, a former leader of Pillsbury's Miami litigation practice, joined the firm this week. As the firm approaches its second anniversary in the Magic City, the number of professionals in its office there is approximately fifty.
Adam M. Weiss has joined Antheil Maslow & MacMinn's practice group focused on business and finance.
Akerman has added two partners to the Tax Practice Group, expanding its skills. Leading figure in global tax disputes, Jennifer Lindy, has joined the Atlanta office. Along with her is Farid Khosravi.
Harmony Jones was recruited by Eversheds Sutherland from Steptoe as pro bono counsel. After four years as the commissioner of insurance for the state of Maryland, Kathleen Birrane returned to her job at DLA Piper in Baltimore. Additionally, Polsinelli brought on veteran Axinn Veltrop lawyer Chad Landmon.
Emma Mann-Meginniss, the new partner at Cooley, stated, "After a few [rocky] years in the market, deal activity is up at all stages this year, which is a welcome change."
Returning to the company, Alexandre-Philippe Avard works in the litigation group at its Montreal location.
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In house
Mark Allen bounced around the globe helping build the company's international operations before taking the legal reins in 2017.
Lesley Freeman was the head of Amazon's $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM when she joined the company.
Damier Xandrine said she was drawn to Tala's purpose since it uses an app to provide microloans of between $10 and $500 to people all over the world.
Julie Glynn is making a big comeback to FINRA, where she worked as an enforcement attorney for seven years before to joining the massive financial institution in 2011.
Ava Harter, who replaced Ava Hahn as chief legal officer earlier this year, has been appointed as the new chief legal officer of US semiconductor services company Lam Research.
Originally from Derry, Mr. McGonagle will serve as in-house counsel at Tokenovate, a leader in trade lifecycle event management, and will spearhead the development and implementation of the company's legal-first product vision and strategy.
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Promotions & Appointments:
Six lawyers, including one in Delaware, were elected to the firm partnership, while two others were promoted to of counsel, according to a statement from Ballard Spahr.
Aryeh Kaplan stated that Sidley's offering is "an incredibly well-matched platform for the type of work that I do."
Nathan Murawsky, the trial lawyers section head of the Montgomery Bar Association, was recently elected, according to a press release from Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin.
Barley Snyder stated that EmmaRose Strohl, an attorney, has been chosen to the position of head of the board of directors for Berks Community Television (BCTV).
Connell Foley’s Taxation & Estate Planning Group has promoted four lawyers to partner and hired Sara Jane Holland as of counsel.
William Wan has been appointed as managing director of Fervent Chambers, a Singapore-based legal practice, and Clarence Lun has returned to his position as head of dispute resolution and international arbitration. These are major leadership changes for the company.
Experienced corporate attorney Mr. Casserly joined Power Law last year following ten years of in-house and major Dublin law firm work. He is based in the business's Galway branch.
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Mergers & Alliances:
The trend of nonprofit groups merging to save money on grants, donors, and board members is significant and is on the rise. By protecting these resources, nonprofit organizations may ensure that their services and initiatives continue for a number of generations to come.
Following the merger, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of this year, Mexico will overtake Spain as Garrigues's largest market.
Pérez-Llorca's strategy is different from that of Uría Menendez, its main rival in Spain, which chose to close its New York office in June and avoided acquiring in Mexico amid the COVID-19 outbreak. But it's anticipated that more Spanish businesses would choose to partner in Mexico.
Whilst the firms had hoped to hold partnership votes in July for an October merger, sources said, the plan is now to formalize the combination before the start of 2025.
The national company now has a seven-partner and 30-person presence in a significant jurisdiction thanks to the merger with Trinity Law of Canberra.
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Technology & Innovation:
Kate Orr, global head of practice innovation at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe said, "The challenge and the excitement is that it gives us an opportunity to reexamine what it is we thought was important and valuable, and to actually try to justify it".
The new application attempts to provide an end-to-end drafting workflow for transactional papers and interfaces with Practical Law.
The legal IT startup aims to set itself apart with Clio Accounting by providing support for both the profession and business of law.
The purpose of guidelines, whether they are public or not, is to emphasize the significance of human creativity and ingenuity and to stress that, even with AI's increasing powers, invention and artistic creation are fundamentally human.
Former Tinder product specialists founded LegalFly a year ago, and the company is looking to grow in the United States.
Nexis+ AI leverages multiple generative AI models and a number of licensed data repositories from publishers to power its research and analysis capabilities.
Legaltech Rundown: ILTA Announces ILTACON AI Chatbot, AffiniPay's 'Significant Investment,' and More
A recap of the previous week in the legal IT industry, including new partnerships and product debuts.
AI is being used by Afriwise, an African legal platform that purchased Pythagoria, a provider of AI-based legal software, in 2023, along with their own legal database to create a compliance toolkit.
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Market Commentary:
About ten years ago, the firm's executives created a plan for growth that targeted specific markets, procedures, and sizable lateral groups.
Nina Ginsberg of DiMuroGinsberg said "There is still a thriving market for well-known, respected lawyers who have kind of niche practices, but it's harder for smaller firms. Now, the advantage they have is that the fee structures are a lot lower".
For a legal company to assess performance, profitability, client satisfaction, and overall success, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are essential. Making wise business decisions requires knowing which lawyers the most successful, which cases are the most lucrative, and how much it costs to bring on new customers.
Considerate employers also try to resolve any residual conflicts that may arise after an investigation and prevent a productive work environment from being restored.
In the late 1990s, Righini was among the first WTO litigators to enter the private sector. Her skill set led to her being hired by the European Commission, where she would work for more than ten years.
Leaders of law firms are facing a growing number of challenges from dissidents and opt-out mindsets, which endanger the culture of the company, reduce operational effectiveness, and eventually make it more difficult for the firm to survive in a cutthroat legal market.
Last year, Kirkland saw another increase in the number of lawyers in Manhattan, rising by 6% to 842, maintaining its position as the biggest firm in the state.
Legal sector sources report that law firms are increasingly adopting lateral departure deterrent techniques such punitive non-competes or debits for overdue bills.
Managing Partner, Anne-Marie Allgrove, attributes the success of the Australian arm to a greater emphasis on performance and executing the company's goals.
Head of Research & Delivery | Associate Director; Retained Partner Mandates - Legal, EMEA
4 个月Great summary, Dash!