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Search results for tag "Global economic downturn"

• London firms show signs of recovery

  May 16 2011 London law firms are showing signs of recovery after tough times according to the annual Law Society profitability survey, which is widely regarded as the annual... more

• Beyond the crisis - what does the future hold for biglaw?

  May 06 2011 After sustained growth for a period of twelve years, the last three years have seen the legal markets in decline around the world. Work in mergers and acquisitions has... more

• US legal Industry lost 2900 jobs in February

  Mar 09 2011 The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that US unemployment fell to 8.9 percent in February, but the legal industry lost 2,900 jobs in the same month. In... more

• What do you get for $5 mill? DLA Piper's newest recruit

  Mar 02 2011 Last month DLA Piper announced the hire of James Wareham, the former head of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker's global litigation practice, who joined the firm with... more

• 300 year old firm Dawsons in trouble?

  Dec 20 2010 Dawsons, a firm with 300 years of lawyering to its name, is showing signs of wobbling in the tough economic climate - asking staff to consider working a four-day week... more

• Billing rates at US firms up by less than 3%

  Dec 09 2010 The tough economic environment has chilled fees, with average law firm billing rates increasing by a mere 2.7 percent in 2010. This is the second consecutive year that... more

• Corporate jargon skews reality in the legal profession

  Nov 26 2010 This article from The Guardian observes that the legal industry’s love of corporate jargon Last week, for example, DLA Piper heralded a fresh round of redundancies... more

• Job prospects down, but fees and applications at law schools are on the rise

  Nov 17 2010 While the job market in the legal sector remains dire, students are applying to law school in record numbers and are willing to borrow to finance soaring tuition fees.... more

• Top London firms streak ahead as mid-tier firms struggle

  Nov 04 2010 An annual survey of the legal services market by PricewaterhouseCoopers has shown a widening gap between London’s biggest law firms and the mid-tier firms.... more

• Clients crave predictable legal costs

  Oct 22 2010 Under difficult economic conditions an old conflict between traditional law firms and corporations has intensified, as demonstrated by a survey conducted by BTI... more

• In-house legal departments slash spending

  Oct 20 2010 A new survey reveals that in-house legal departments have cut spending for the first time in a decade. The survey, conducted by legal consultants Hildebrandt Baker... more

• Scottish firm McGrigors to lay off 40 lawyers

  Oct 20 2010 Scottish law firm McGrigors has announced its entry into a redundancy consultation, with plans to cut 40 lawyers from the roster, as well as a number of support staff... more

• Britain's top 100 firms see revenues rise by 5%

  Sep 23 2010 According to latest figures, Britain’s 100 biggest law firms saw revenue increase by an average of 5 per cent for the last quarter, despite continued uncertainty in... more

• Are the tough times over? US Associates see pay increase

  Sep 22 2010 Associate pay seemed for some time to be directly linked to the financial health of law firms – when demand for legal services outstripped supply, the cost of labour... more

• European GCs say the party is over

  Sep 20 2010 At a roundtable discussion at London's College of Law yesterday, general counsel from major corporations including Royal Dutch Shell, Nokia Corporation, and British... more

• Citibank sells student loan business

  Sep 20 2010 Citibank has entered into an agreement for the sale of The Student Loan Corporation to Discover Financial Services. Under the deal, Discover will become the owner of... more

• Salaries for US associates hold steady through recession

  Sep 16 2010 A new study of salaries for US associates has shown that they have remained steady throughout the recession. The report by the National Association for Law... more

• Robust growth for fees in the heart of the recession: US Report

  Sep 09 2010 Among all the talk of increased competition and clients demanding more value from legal practitioners, a new report from CT TyMetrix and the Corporate Executive Board... more

• London's top earners see billings drop by £875,000

  Sep 07 2010 New figures show that partners in London’s top 10 law firms saw their fees drop by an average of £875,000 per partner during the economic downturn. Recruitment... more

• US legal sector gains 1000 jobs in August

  Sep 06 2010 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics' has reported that the US economy lost 54,000 jobs in August. But things were looking ever-so-slightly better in the legal industry,... more

• Mid-level associates are not happy

  Sep 02 2010 The American Lawyer has conducted a survey focusing upon mid-level associates, finding that overall satisfaction level is down to the lowest level in six years.... more

• Firms cut costs to battle declining revenues

  Sep 02 2010 A new survey indicates that small and midsized firms saw declining revenues during 2009 as a result of tough economic circumstances, but cuts in expenses resulted in... more

• Deferred lawyers no longer keen to work for big firms

  Aug 20 2010 Many young lawyers are reconsidering their career goals after their job offers with major law firms were deferred in response to recession in the industry.... more

• Dewey & LeBoeuf ‘pauses’ summer program in three US offices

  Jul 28 2010 Dewey & LeBoeuf has announced that its 2011 summer program will be ‘paused’ in Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston. The number of people affected by the decision is... more

• Emerging scandal in legal education

  Jul 13 2010 The Guardian reports on the ‘emerging scandal’ in legal education, which is churning out thousands of aspiring lawyers in the face of declining job prospects. The... more

• Allen & Overy raises bonuses and grants extra day of holiday

  Jul 09 2010 Allen & Overy has announced amended bonus guidelines for associates in light of increased profits. Newly qualified solicitors will see an average $5,000 bonus, those... more

• Freshfields posts 11% drop in revenue

  Jul 08 2010 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has posted an 11 per cent drop in revenue for the 2009-10 financial year, bringing in £1.14 billion. The average profit per equity... more

• Arent Fox to launch NY insurance/reinsurance practice

  Jul 05 2010 Washington-based firm Arent Fox is set to launch a new insurance and reinsurance unit in New York. The move is designed to make up for lower revenue as corporate... more

• US legal sector gains 300 jobs in May

  Jun 07 2010 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the legal sector gained 300 jobs in May. The news is heartening, after the sector lost hundreds of jobs in April.... more

• Opportunity or Expolitation?: Junior lawyers work for free

  May 28 2010 In the current economic environment, where many new law graduates are finding it very difficult to find employment, a number of firms have taken the step of asking... more

• Greek lawyers protest new austerity tax

  May 21 2010 Lawyers in Greece are engaged in protest against the harsh fiscal measures put in place to stave off national default, which include a new 21 per cent tax on legal... more

• Freshfields keeps PEPs high through recession

  May 18 2010 Some interesting figures arise from The Lawyer’s Transatlantic Elite report, such as the fact that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has posted the industry’s highest... more

• No relief for legal sector as US unemployment drops

  May 10 2010 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a new employment report showing the addition 290,000 jobs to the US economy in April, with nearly 80 percent of them in... more

• Bleak outlook for recent graduates

  May 06 2010 Things are looking pretty bleak for this year’s crop of law school graduates, despite modest indications of market recovery. Many 2009 law graduates just started work... more

• Legal education must change

  Apr 28 2010 Law firms have had to make some big changes in response to the global financial crisis. But the legal education industry has not made any discernible changes to the... more

• DLA Piper raises pay to pre-recession levels

  Apr 19 2010 DLA Piper has announced that it will give US associates a pay rise of 10%. In January the firm increased salaries in New York to pre-recession levels for first year... more

• Clifford Chance recruiting more trainees

  Apr 16 2010 Methinks Clifford Chance senses impending market recovery: they have reopened the recruitment process for the 2011 trainee intake. The firm sent an email to... more

• Smaller firms take lions share of lucrative work acting against banks

  Apr 08 2010 Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about the role of small to midsize law firms in the lucrative legal work of acting against banks in the wake of the... more

• US Legal sector still in decline

  Apr 07 2010 New statistics show that while the US unemployment rate remained steady at 9.7 per cent in March, the Legal sector was slightly worse off, losing a further 500 jobs... more

• Loyola Law School teaches students to cheat

  Apr 01 2010 Loyola Law School in Los Angeles has decided to to respond to the global financial crisis and the difficulties it poses to law graduates by artificially raising... more

• Law firms of the future: less bottom heavy?

  Apr 01 2010 There are no shortage of articles pointing out the need for change in the legal industry under new economic conditions. This New York Times article is interesting... more

• Linklaters returns to normal lockstep pay rises

  Mar 31 2010 Linklaters’ move to reinstate the normal lockstep of pay rises for associates, announced this week, may signal the end of the pay freeze in UK firms. Certainly, it... more

• Clients demanding value rather than time

  Mar 25 2010 Interesting post over at the Wall Street Journal blog space – touching on some of the issues faced by big law firms in the contemporary economic environment. It... more

• Record profits without axing staff: Cravath Swaine & Moore and Davis Polk & Wardwell

  Mar 22 2010 A number of firms posted record profit per partner figures in 2009, despite a difficult economic climate. And while many of them boosted profits by paring back their... more

• Eversheds report predicts drastic changes to the legal services industry

  Mar 19 2010 Eversheds has released a report entitled 'Law Firm of the 21st Century: the Clients’ Revolution', which tries to anticipate the medium to long term effects of four key... more

• Chadbourne & Parke break bad news to 2009 associates

  Mar 18 2010 US firm Chadbourne & Parke is the latest to break the news to 2009 associates that there would be no job for them at the end of a series of deferrals. Eleven of the... more

• UK firms increase borrowing, rather than asking partners to pitch in

  Mar 16 2010 Top UK law firms have increased borrowing by 40 per cent in response to the financial crisis, according to an article published in Times Online today. The legal... more

• Howrey takes shears to partnership following drop in profits

  Mar 11 2010 Howrey is taking the shears to its partnership ranks following a 35 per cent drop in equity partner profits in 2009. Between 25 and 30 partners are expected to leave... more

• Revenues are down, so why are these equity partners in such a good mood?

  Mar 10 2010 Cost cutting efforts in a number of major law firms have resulted in high profit per partner figures despite a decrease in revenue. At Dewey & LeBoeuf, gross... more

• New chairperson at Arent Fox

  Mar 10 2010 Mark Katz, formerly the co-chair of the business department, has been appointed as the new chairperson at Arent Fox. After 14 years in the top role Marc Fleischaker... more

• Thirty staff laid off at Dewey & LeBoeuf

  Mar 10 2010 While numbers of lawyers being laid off seems to have slowed down in recent months, some employees are still losing their jobs as firms adjust to the new economic... more

• Firms Should Look to the Ranks of Partners for Costs Savings

  Mar 03 2010 2009 was without doubt a bad year for major law firms. And since a robust recovery is unlikely in the current economic environment, these firms need to come to terms... more

• Linklaters cuts bonuses and limits salary increases

  May 03 2009 Linklaters recently indicated that it will be cutting associate bonuses and will provide salary increases on a reduced basis for associates. Support staff at the firm... more

• Older partners also being hit by global economic downturn

  Apr 27 2009 While numerous reports have discussed the impact on associates at major firms of the global economic downturn, recruiters report that partners, and particularly older... more

• US firms consider cutting associate salaries

  Apr 08 2009 US firms are considering going one step beyond existing salary freezes to cut associate salaries. There is controversy, however, over whether such cuts could do more... more

• Is relief around the corner? Ask Freshfields, Denton Wilde, et al.

  Mar 30 2009 "Green shoots" might be the new phrase of the moment, as a number of heads of major London firms including Freshfields and Denton Wilde predict that recovery from the... more