Comment: Last orders – The final reflections of a veteran legal pundit Alex Novarese I’ve always suspected that, like politics, careers in journalism largely end in failure. Here is how mine ends. After 20…
‘The top firms can hardly believe it’ – City law firms are quietly gathering momentum amid the uncertainty Alex Novarese The back-to-school feel in the City is unmistakable, not least because the actual schools are back, as major law firms…
The totally scientific secrets of leadership – What I learnt from years of drinking with managing partners Alex Novarese The upheavals of 2020 have given me more time than normal to reflect on something that I’ve spent a good…
Comment: City law shows remarkable crisis immunity (but managing partners aren’t ready to spread that message) Alex Novarese Everybody likes to go along with the crowd, in business as much as life. So as the global economy is…
Comment: Apocalypse never – City leaders’ 2020 results show resilience to test the most confirmed Cassandra Alex Novarese Given the savaging that Covid-19 has done to our collective sense of time, forgive a quick history lesson on the…
‘Making Freshfields an American brand’ – Inside the Silicon Valley launch handing the City giant a rare opportunity Alex Novarese Roughly 30 seconds into conversation with Boris Feldman it becomes apparent why the charismatic litigator is regarded as a local…
CC becomes third City leader to achieve post-pandemic growth as revenues climb £110m Alex Novarese With the coronavirus pandemic still wreaking havoc across many industry sectors, London’s legal elite has continued to buck the dire…
A&O shrugs off lockdown to hike revenues 4% to £1.69bn in first post-pandemic results from UK law elite Alex Novarese There has been much speculation about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the profession but the first set of…
CC breaks ground with 15% ethnic minority target for partners but can the profession follow through? Alex Novarese Is the next front on diversity in the profession targets for ethnic minority representation? The industry looks to be slowly…
Comment: Are stressed junior lawyers being struck off too easily? It’s time for watchdogs to consider a more flexible approach Alex Novarese In my line of work you’re supposed to pretend ideas come out of nowhere but this column was triggered by…
Signs of intent – Freshfields shrugs off US caution to secure high-stakes West Coast launch Alex Novarese Observers of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have grown used to the City giant undercutting bold claims for its US strategy with…
Resetting associate comp – Better to bend than break but a rethink is still overdue Alex Novarese While it’s surprising in some regards that it took this long, Allen & Overy has done the UK legal market…
Kirkland vs Covid-19 – How the world’s largest law firm handles this crisis will define it… and the global elite Alex Novarese For journalists, ill winds usually bring a few benefits, not least that readers have greater interest in what we’re churning…
Comment: We need to talk about George – It’s time the profession found its voice on race Alex Novarese If there is one topic on which the legal profession manages to be both verbose and yet perennially avoid substantive…
Comment: Falling stock – DWF’s predictable woes will hang over the listed legal sector for years Alex Novarese It’s fair to say that Legal Business has long been sceptical of the prospects for listed UK law firms, and…
Comment: After their lost decade, the current crisis should see the Magic Circle back on world-beating form Alex Novarese Sometimes a shock looks certain to leave life forever changed only for things to carry on much as normal. Sometimes,…
‘Stay home, save jobs’ – How the legal elite are charting a course through half-lockdown summer Alex Novarese Try driving across London or walking its crowded parks in sunny May and it becomes hard to remember that the…
Comment: Gauging the profession’s Covid-19 response – Turns out five years of spouting values wasn’t just puff Alex Novarese Casting my mind back to the ancient history of mid-March when I penned my first piece assessing the impact that the…
Comment: Allen & Overy’s election delivered an all-star line-up but have the big issues been resolved? Alex Novarese Towards the end of 2019, Legal Business remarked that the issue at the heart of Allen & Overy (A&O)’s looming…
Comment: Latham vs Kirkland means everyone else loses – They own the global elite now Alex Novarese Skadden Arps, Clifford Chance, Linklaters and, currently, Kirkland & Ellis – over the last 30 years these firms have all…
