January investigation was published in July – you can find it here. A Year in Moves The year started with news of    transformation in the UK’s February Former global co-head of top tier, with both Freshfields Banking at and Clifford Chance (BLP) and Greenberg Traurig Patrick Sarch joined the announcing changes to their announced merger talks, office of White & lockstep. Freshfields which could have led to a Case. introduced an alternative significant trans-Atlantic tie- lockstep ladder whilst CC Allen & Overy raided the IP up of over 2,500 lawyers began a review that considers practice of Simmons & based across New York and a full equity partnership. Simmons with the hire of London. Unfortunately, talks practice head Marc Doering The Competition and Markets fell through in March, with and partners Mark Heaney Authority also launched an reporting that and David Stone. investigation into UK legal they couldn’t “find enough services, assessing the level of commonalities for the tie-up”. White & Case hired 10 competition in the sector. The partners from March interim report of this Freehills to launch Slater & Gordon was forced to Australian team and build restructure its UK outfit as the practice in Asia. released their H2 Ashurst lost key members of 2015 financials in March, its financial regulation showing a whopping £493m practice in London, with the loss. The poor results are move of Rob Moulton and largely attributed to a sharp Nicola Higgs to Latham & decline in UK business Watkins. performance, combined with the acquisition of professional services firm Quindell in May 2015, which was shrouded in scandal for potentially overstating its profits. April major insider-trading operation. Quinn Emanuel set up a We saw law firms focus on London white collar practice cybersecurity as it was April was also the start of the with the hire of Robert reported some of America’s year’s promotions season, Amaee from Covington & largest law firms could have with a number of firms Burling been subject to hacking for focusing on gender balance in confidential information on their partnerships across the Stephen Kensell left Allen M&A deals. This news broke UK. You can read our analysis & Overy after 22 years at the at the same time as reports of here. firm to join Latham & 48 law firms being targeted by Watkins in their London May a Russian cybercriminal in the office form of phishing attacks. Offshoring topped the Former Director of Retail headlines in May as a string of Later in the month, hacking and Regulatory firms announced the remained in the legal news as Investigations at the FCA relocation of a number of we saw the eruption of the Tom Spender joined Lloyds support roles to low-cost Panama Papers scandal. Banking Group as General service centres across the Counsel for Group globe. Litigation, Regulatory and Competition Legal. The trend became popular in 2015 and 2016 proved no The US public finance team different, with , at Sidley Austin moved en-

Norton Rose Fulbright and masse to Norton Rose Panamanian law firm DLA Piper as just a few Fulbright, with the 17- Mossack Fonseca experienced examples of firms shifting lawyer team sitting in San the largest data leak in their back-office support to Francisco, New York and history, implicating a variety regional or overseas locations. Washington. of current and former heads Acritas released the results of of state and global institutions Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & their Law Firm Brand Index in amongst many others for McCloy partner Laetitia May, with Eversheds ranked dodging taxes, money Costa joined PwC Legal as first place for the third laundering and evading Head of Banking and consecutive year. The result sanctions. As a result of this, Finance in London recognises Eversheds for the Financial Conduct making and maintaining a Authority and National Crime meaningful impression with Agency put together a clients through experience, Panama Papers taskforce in relationship development and November to explore a taking an approach to market number of leads relevant to a that really aligns with clients’

goals and needs. June break its lockstep in 2016, which was announced shortly Brexit engulfed most of the London office after the firm carried out a news outlets in June, with was raided again by five partner strong leveraged many law firms preparing Kirkland & Ellis for finance team hire in New Brexit advice services for their private equity partner York. clients. Stuart Boyd, corporate This saw partners joining partner David Holdsworth After the result of the from White & Case, Proskauer and private equity tax referendum, a record number Rose and Milbank, Tweed, partner Tim Lowe. of UK-based lawyers applied Haley & McCloy and further to join the Roll of in pointed towards a push from Allen & Overy’s head of Ireland, in the hopes to the to build their non-contentious financial sustain their European practices in the US. services regulation Bob offerings post exit from the Penn joined Cleary Gottlieb European Union. Still on the topic of Steen & Hamilton. remuneration, in an attempt July to steady it wavering Baker & McKenzie made a July was a turning point for partnership numbers, Ashurst second high-profile hire King & Wood Mallesons, as voted in changes to reward from Barclays with MD and partners voted in favour of a strong performers and by Head of Competition Nicola £14m cash injection into the adding points to its equity Northway. firm. KWM announced a ladder and introducing a Former head of the FCA’s EUME restructuring in March, performance-based bonus enforcement and market culling 15% of its partnership. pool. oversight division Guy This led to numerous partner September Wilkes joined Mayer Brown exits, followed by a demand as a partner in their financial for salaried partners to pay CMS Cameron McKenna, and regulatory enforcement capital contributions and a Nabarro and practice. further string of partner confirmed discussions to enter departures. into a three-way merger, Sidley Austin took six which would form a private equity partners from August combined revenue of almost Kirkland & Ellis to set up £1bn. It was later decided that private equity team in the firm will be titled CMS London Cameron McKenna Nabarro

Olswang and is set to go live

on 1 May 2017.

Gender equality was a hot Allen & Overy were the next topic in the US legal sector in magic circle firm to decide to September as a Chadbourne & Parke partner filed a $100 business models. The top 50 agreement must be voted in million class action complaint most innovative firms were by MP’s. against her employer. Kerrie ranked based on legal King & Wood Mallesons lost Campbell, a litigation partner expertise and the business of their last chance for survival based in its Washington law. last month, when partners office, claimed that the all- 2016 also marked the 25th refused to back the male management committee anniversary of PwC’s annual recapitalisation plan proposed at the firm consistently made Law Firms Survey, which by the Asia-Pacific arm of the compensation and promotion provides one of the most business. The plan stipulated decisions that discriminated extensive insights into the UK a 12 month lock-in for against female members of the legal sector, noting its key partners, with only 21 partnership. findings and future trends for partners voting in favour of This called the firm’s culture the industry. this, far below the 70 partners into question and exposed (60%) of the partnership November that out of the 20 non-partner required. lawyers who left December Chadbourne’s litigation team last year, 17 of them were Good news for Eversheds as women. the firm made real headway in securing a long awaited October trans-Atlantic tie-up. Altanta- October celebrated law firm based Sutherland Asbill & innovation as the FT Brennan hope to merge with The High Court put an end to announced the winners of its the traditional UK firm, with the uncertainty of whether the Innovative Lawyer Awards. the respective partnerships UK can begin the process of Innovation has skyrocketed expected to vote on the deal leaving the EU. The Lord this year, and the FT took a by the end of the month. Chief Justice ruled that look at how law firms were triggering Article 50 must be innovative both for their an act of parliament and any clients and within their own