Keystone Law CEO: ‘There’s always been a culture of presenteeism in law firms – but that makes less sense now’ April 29, 2021 AIM-listed Keystone Law has enjoyed a good financial year, with profits and revenue at the firm up, something it attributes to being accidentally pandemic-ready thanks to its flexible approach to work. Revenue for the year jumped nearly 11 per cent to £55m, while profit before tax rose to £5.4m, some £200,000 more than the previous [...]
Litigation funders’ cash pipeline hits £2bn for the first time amid growing popularity April 28, 2021 The value of the pipeline of court cases and cash held by top UK litigation funders has hit £2bn for the first time as the asset class grows in popularity. The value held by litigation funders has rocketed in recent years, according to data by law firm RPC, with funding doubling in three years from [...]
Clifford Chance to make redundancies in London April 22, 2021 Clifford Chance has launched a redundancy scheme that will see tens of London-based employees leave the law firm. The Magic Circle law firm will make between 44 and 73 people redundant in the capital, with those working as legal support secretaries and in the document production unit and the mail room to be affected. The [...]
Ex-City law firm accountant jailed for stealing £400,000 from Clyde & Co April 19, 2021 A former Clyde & Co accountant has been banned from working in the legal profession after she stole £400,000 from the firm over the course of six years. Victoria Lucy Brown was convicted of one count of fraud by false representation at Guildford Crown Court in October 2019, having pleaded guilty to the offence. She [...]
Enforcement of judgments: Brussels opposes UK entry to the Lugano Convention legal pact April 13, 2021 Brussels is pushing for the UK to not be able to join the Lugano Convention, an international legal pact, after officials held a crunch meeting yesterday. The EU is reportedly against allowing the UK to join the convention on the grounds that it is not a member of the European Economic Area or the European [...]
Law firm Irwin Mitchell gears up for London stock market float April 9, 2021 Irwin Mitchell is readying itself to float on the London Stock Exchange, in a move the law firm hopes would value it at around £500m. The firm, which offers legal and wealth management services, is working with investment bankers at Rothschild on plans for a potential IPO that could take place this year, Sky News [...]
World’s largest law firm Dentons to offer permanent home working March 31, 2021 Dentons in the UK, Ireland and the Middle East will allow people to permanently work from home when Covid restrictions ease. As part of a new agile working policy, people working at Dentons will be able to choose when to work from home or in the office. All 750 of Dentons’ London-based staff will be [...]
Allen & Overy joins magic circle firms offering ‘thank you’ bonus March 31, 2021 Allen & Overy has become the latest magic circle law firm to offer non-partners a ‘thank you’ bonus for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. Allen & Overy will give staff a one-off fee bonus in April, equal to five per cent of their annual salary. The Covid-19-related bonus will be in addition to the [...]
Linklaters becomes second magic circle law firm to offer Covid bonus March 30, 2021 Linklaters has become the second magic circle law firm to offer a five per cent ‘thank you’ bonus to non-partners for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The five per cent bonus is that of a person’s annual salary, and is pro-rated where Linklaters deems to it to be appropriate. The bonus will be paid [...]
Hiring for lawyers at highest since pre-pandemic March 25, 2021 Recruitment for lawyers is at its highest level since before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, new labour market data for England and Wales has found. Professional legal recruitment took a big hit during the UK’s first national lockdown, resulting in hiring levels in Q2 2020 falling by 74.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Year-on-year vacancies across [...]