United Kingdom / Great Britain
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Biglaw, Law Firm Mergers, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Mayer Brown and Simmons Call Off Their Courtship
Earlier this month, we mentioned the possibility of a merger between Mayer Brown and the U.K.-headquartered firm of Simmons & Simmons. Today we learn that the merger won’t be happening. Legal Week reports: Simmons & Simmons and Mayer Brown have called off merger talks, the two firms have confirmed in a joint press statement sent […] -
Drugs, Lovells, Sex, Sex Scandals, United Kingdom / Great Britain, Violence
Lawyer of the Day: A Hogan Lovells Ex-Partner Who Likes It Rough
Why are British lawyers always getting caught with their pants down? We all remember the classic scene in A Fish Called Wanda, in which an unsuspecting family walks in on a naked barrister, Archie Leach (John Cleese), as he’s getting ready for a roll in the hay with Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis). But this kind […] - Sponsored
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Biglaw, Law Firm Mergers, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Mayer Brown Looks Into the Transatlantic Merger Thing
First Hogan & Hartson merged with Lovells. Then Sonnenschein merged with Denton Wilde. Now comes news that Mayer Brown is looking for a transatlantic partner — again. (Mayer previously merged with London-based Rowe & Maw.) The Lawyer reports: Mayer Brown and Simmons & Simmons have resumed merger talks, with both firms’ management set to brief […]
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Lawsuit of the Day, Rank Stupidity, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Lawsuit of the Day: Man Cuts Himself Out of a Tree
I am by no means an expert on cutting down trees. If you hand me a chainsaw, I am far more likely to injure myself than any wood in my immediate area. But if the people from Ax Men kidnapped me and forced me to chop my way out of their trailer park hideout, there […] -
Magic Circle, Musical Chairs, United Kingdom / Great Britain, White & Case
Musical Chairs: White & Case Loses Lawyers to Latham in London
Our coverage of the London legal market tends to be episodic. We tried offering more regular coverage for a while, with our Letter from London column, but we put the feature on hold to focus on domestic developments. (We might revive the London column if we can find a sponsor for it.) We will, however, […] -
Allen & Overy, Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Magic Circle, Salary Freeze, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Associate Bonus Watch (and Salary Thaw): Allen & Overy
Cheerio, old chap! This week brings news of bonuses — and a salary “unfreeze” — in the New York office of Allen & Overy. Allen & Overy — a global mega-firm with over $2 billion in annual revenue, headquartered in London but with a worldwide footprint — is making a go of it here in […] -
Lawsuit of the Day, Rudeness, Sex, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Lawsuit of the Day (from Across the Pond): Climactic Noise Pollution
English couple Caroline and Steve Cartwright have a healthy sex life. But it doesn’t sound healthy. According to BBC News, their love-making sounds to neighbors like “murder” and has been described as “unnatural.” So prudish, those Brits. Neighbors complained the noise kept them up all night, making them oversleep in the morning and arrive late […] -
Hogan & Hartson, Law Firm Mergers, Lovells, Mergers and Acquisitions, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Law Firm Merger Mania: Lovells and Hogan & Hartson Talks Still on Track
Earlier this month, we mentioned that Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells were in “early stages of merger talks.” Today brings the news that the firms are in “advanced talks to merge,” according to Nathan Koppel of the Wall Street Journal. But it’s not a done deal yet: One of the biggest challenges to a […] - Sponsored
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Hogan & Hartson, Law Firm Mergers, Lovells, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Law Firm Merger Mania: Lovells 'Hearts' Hogan & Hartson
Back at the beginning of the legal recession, when Heller and Thelen were collapsing, there was talk that a number of firms would either have to fold or engage in mega-mergers. For the most part, that hasn’t happened. But today, Legal Week is reporting that Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells are at least talking […] -
Letter from London, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: Why Do You Hate Us?
Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to Letter from London, a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. You can reach Isaac […] -
Letter from London, Magic Circle, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Letter from London: U.K. Confidential
Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to the inaugural installment of “Letter from London,” a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. […] -
Layoffs, Staff Layoffs, United Kingdom / Great Britain
International Layoff Watch: Good News! Cadwalader Only Lays Off 16 in London
You didn’t seriously think we’d get through an entire day of layoff stories without Cadwalader getting into the mix? Legal Week is now reporting that Cadwalader has decided to send 16 of its London employees into “redundancy consultation. The firm said three lawyers, three paralegals and 10 support staff are subject to the redundancy consultation. […] -
Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Biglaw Perk Watch: London Pay is Falling Down
Last year, we reported on a nice perk for Cravath associates abroad: a hefty cost of living allowance, which had junior associates in London making over $300,000. It looks like the half-Skadden mentality has made its way across the Atlantic. From a tipster: Cravath Swaine & Moore cuts its COLA in the London office from […]
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Layoffs, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Nationwide International Layoff Watch: DLA Piper
And now, some layoff news from the other side of the pond, courtesy of TheLawyer.com: DLA Piper is conducting a firmwide review of staffing levels, resulting in five redundancies in the firm’s technology, media and communications (TMC) group. The layoffs, which were all in London, include three assistants, a legal director and an associate. The […] -
Dubious Defenses, Media and Journalism, Parties, Privacy, Sex, Sex Scandals, Technology, United Kingdom / Great Britain
ATL International: 'We were just role-playing a German prison, not a Nazi German prison.'
British barrister Max Mosley is the president of the International Automobile Federation (F.I.A.). When he’s not overseeing Formula One, he’s allegedly into sadomasochistic sex play. Unfortunately for him, a $5,000 “party” that he arranged was caught on hidden cameras by News of the World, a British tabloid. The encounter, now on YouTube, involved German prison […] -
Biglaw, Law Firm Mergers, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Mayer Brown Is A Woman Now
Still no bonus announcement from Mayer Brown. But check out this intriguing email, sent out in the last hour: From: D’Esposito, Jr., Julian C.Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 12:41 PMTo: FW-Assocs; FW-CnslCc: Holzhauer, James D.; Geller, Kenneth S.; Maher, Paul; Favoriti, Gail A.; Pepper, Margery; Madden, Emilie S.; Dabrowski, Heidi M.; Reichert, Kathleen S.; Harris, […] -
Asians, Biglaw, Sex, Sex Scandals, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Lawyer of the Day: Lord Peter Goldsmith
Last week, we mentioned in passing the news that the former U.K. Attorney-General, Lord Peter Goldsmith, QC, is joining Debevoise & Plimpton. Lord Goldsmith will head up Debevoise’s European litigation practice. The Times of London reported the news here, and the WSJ Law Blog posted on the move here. But both write-ups omitted the most […] -
Biglaw, Rudeness, Summer Associates, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Forget About the Summer Associate Stories
Maybe we should feature stories about the full-time associates who mistreat summer associates. For one such story, involving a senior associate in New York who’s an a**hole of Ari Gold proportions, see here. Or maybe we should feature stories about partners who, despite being partners, comport themselves in a manner that would make Aquagirl blush. […] -
Biglaw, Job Searches, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 50 UK Law Firms
Lately we’ve been talking to a lot of 2Ls about the law firm recruiting process. From these conversations, we’ve learned that (1) a fair number are interested in working abroad, especially in the fabulous (and fabulously expensive) city of London, and (2) many law students treat the Vault law firm rankings as the Gospel. In […] -
Biglaw, Money, Skaddenfreude, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Biglaw Pay Raise Watch: Paul Hastings to 180 In London
We previously had an open thread on London salaries, when Weil and Cleary went to 180 and Latham went to 190. Now TheLawyer.com reports that Paul Hastings has raised to £90k, or roughly $180k, in its London offices. So we’ll ask again: does this make London more attractive than New York? Will the London raises […]