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Gearing up

16 March 2012 / Giles Murphy
Issue: 7505 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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Giles Murphy considers how the Legal Services Act will drive up competition & efficiency

News of M&A activity between law firms and businesses from outside the profession has come thick and fast in recent weeks and the unforgiving economic climate is likely to fuel this activity.

In recent weeks, we have seen Silverbeck Rymer acquired by Quindell Portfolio, Russell Jones & Walker join with Slater & Gordon, and DLA Piper has invested in LawVest, to name just a few.

Commentators have been saying for a long time that the Legal Services Act 2007 will accelerate consolidation among professional firms in the High Street, but few, if any, had predicted significant interest in alternative business structures from firms among the top 100. While recent events seem to confirm there is interest from the larger firms, a survey by Smith & Williamson of law firms found that 34% of the top 100 practices are interested in joining with a non-legal practice in the next two years.* 

While we are unlikely to see magic circle firms tie
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
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