Allen & Overy opens in Munich
MAGIC-CIRCLE law firm Allen & Overy has opened for business in Munich.

A new lease of life in law
Launched as recently as 2003, Keystone Law employs over 65 ex-city solicitors, has an annual turnover of £5m and boasts year-on-year expansion of 60 per cent. The cornerstone of its rapid growth has been a commitment to cultural change.

Yale Law Women names most family-friendly firms
YALE LAW Women (YLW), a student body at Yale Law School, has named what it considers to be the ‘top ten family-friendly firms’.

Orrick agrees German merger
INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is entering the legal market in Germany via a merger with German firm Hölters & Elsing.

Irwin Mitchell leader to step down
TOP-10 UK law firm Irwin Mitchell is set to find a new managing partner with the announcement that present incumbent Howard Culley is to relinquish the top role in 2009.

Law firms meet their Indian matches
REPRESENTATIVES OF 20 Indian law firms spent three days in the UK in September, learning about business opportunities and meeting their UK counterparts.

Freshfields launches Washington arbitration group
MAGIC-CIRCLE law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has launched an arbitration practice in US capital Washington DC.

Clifford Chance releases CSR report
CLIFFORD CHANCE, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, has followed in the footsteps of magic-circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer by publishing its first corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.

Bird & Bird opens four European offices
INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Bird & Bird has announced the opening of new offices in the capitals of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and The Czech Republic.

Appleby unveils expansion plans
OFFSHORE LAW firm Appleby has announced plans to open for business in two new jurisdictions – Switzerland and Dubai – in early 2009.

Editor’s letter
I think it’s fair to say that we ‘media types’ – flashy or otherwise – get a fair amount of stick for our endeavours. Indeed, where professional image is concerned, we may be less popular even than the lawyer types it is my constant pleasure to write about.

Law Firm of the Future: case study
Jeffery Ng (JN), information director, and Phil Cousins (PC), HR director, talk to Managing Partner about Beachcroft’s drive for client focus, fight for talent, and future vision of where legal firms needs to pay attention to the technology that drives the industry.

Case study: Web wins
The website was one shop window law firm Withers decided it couldn’t afford to get wrong.

Small firms remain robustly confident
TWO-THIRDS of smaller law firms remain confident of their firm’s prospects over the next six months despite the current economic climate, according to a recent survey conducted by Key Business Finance (KBF), the professional finance arm of Heritable Bank.

Bryan Cave expands Chicago office
INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Bryan Cave LLP is to expand its Chicago office with the appointment of five new lateral partners from the Chicago office of rival firm Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP.

Baker & McKenzie posts profits surge
INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Baker & McKenzie has posted an 18 per cent rise in profits for the 2008 fiscal year, which it attributes to a strategic shift dating back to 2004.

Legal Services Board starts work
THE BRITISH Government has announced the first members of the newly-established UK regulatory authority, the Legal Services Board (LSB).

Weil Gotshal declares new DC head
INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges has chosen a new managing partner for the firm’s Wasington D.C. office.

Dorsey hires former Eversheds litigation partner
DORSEY & WHITNEY has boosted its litigation practice with the appointment of a former litigation partner from international law firm Eversheds.

asb law appoints new corporate finance partner
UK LAW firm asb law has announced the appointment of a new partner to its corporate finance team.

Southern US firms agree merger
JONES, WALKER, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre L.L.P (Jones Walker) and Miller, Hamilton, Snider & Odom LLC (Miller Hamilton) have agreed a merger that extends both firms’ stature in the southern US legal market.

Linklaters hires former FTC director
MAGIC-CIRCLE law firm Linklaters has boosted its US competition and anti-trust practice with the appointment of a new competition and antitrust partner in the firm’s New York office.