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 [...]
Burford Capital restores dividend following record year for realised gains March 24, 2021 Burford Capital has restored its dividend to its pre-pandemic level of 12.5 cents per share, and plans to pay out a full dividend in June, despite not paying an interim dividend in December 2020. The litigation founder enjoyed a record year for realised gains. The group saw asset realisations up 72 per cent this year [...]
Linklaters offers voluntary redundancy to all legal secretaries and PAs in London March 22, 2021 Law firm Linklaters has offered voluntary redundancy to all 225 legal secretaries and business team personal assistants in London. It is understood there will be no compulsory redundancies, nor are there targets or plans to make redundancies at the firm compulsory. In a statement Linklaters said: “This is a voluntary programme which we are offering [...]
Listed law firm Knights buys 60-year-old Surrey firm March 22, 2021 UK law firm Knights will acquire Surrey-based Mundays for £5.3m in a move that will increase the group’s presence in the South East. Knights will pay £3.93m up front for the smaller law firm, followed by cash payments worth £1.375m to be paid over two years. Knights CEO David Beech said: “The acquisition of Mundays [...]
Exclusive: Texas law firm Vinson & Elkins on half a century in London March 20, 2021 Texan law firm Vinson & Elkins just celebrated 50 years in London, having set up shop in the capital in 1971 to take advantage of the booming oil and gas industry, after oil was discovered in the North Sea. The firm began its London life with two English lawyers working in temporary space near Piccadilly [...]