www.thelawyer.comUK 2OO ANNUALREPORT 2010THE COST OF CUTTINGTHE LAWYER UK 200 ANNUAL REPORT 2010TLS_001_UK200_cover_dis:TLS_001_UK200_cover_dis20/8/1014:01Page 1TLS_002_UK200_10_di s : TLS_002_UK200_10_di s 18/ 8/ 1009: 06Pa ge 1THE UKS largest 200 law firms are toughening up. For as long asthere have been lists of revenue, profit and numbers of lawyers, firmshave claimed they are being run as efficient businesses.In the past the sheer fat on the bone at most firms has told a different story. But the headcount reductions seen in the pastcouple of years suggest that at least some of the realities of corporate life havefinally reached a bunch of businesses used to clearing upwards of 40 percent profit on their activities. The measures many firms have taken tocut costs, and the wider implications of that cost-cutting, is the theme ofthis years book.The changing profit margin is just one of the thousands of numbers in this years The Lawyer UK 200 Annual Report. But what is even more critical than statistics is context. For the first time we are includingindividual profiles of each of the UKs top 200 firms independent editorialthat includes detail on remuneration, equity structure, geographical locations and core practice areas.This is by some way the most comprehensive and exhaustive round-up ofthe UKs largest firms the main actors in a UK legal market that has neverbeen more competitive, recession or no recession. The game is changing. These are the players.Methodology At the start of the summer The Lawyer sent aquestionnaire requesting financial and headcount data to almost 300firms. Most answered every question. This year we have identified firmsthat refused to divulge headline total revenue and average profit figures.Nine firms in the top 100 and just three in the second 100 refused todivulge the key results. For the first time we have also named the barristerschambers where figures have been estimated. We believe transparency cutsboth ways.Headcount figures are averages of the 2009-10 financial year. Net profit is themoney available for distribution to full equity partners only, and differs fromthe total profit available to all classes of partner, a proportion of which isbooked as a cost. Matt Byrne, features editorContentsThe Lawyer|UK 200|3Editor Catrin Griffiths Features editor Matt Byrne Newseditor Margaret Taylor Senior reporters Katy Dowell , Luke McLeod-Roberts Reporters James Swift , Gavriel Hollander, Andrew Pugh Lawyer 2B Editor Husnara Begum 020 7970 4644 Reporter CorinneMcPartland Group productioneditor Damian Lawrence Deputy productioneditor Vanessa Lawrence Senior sub-editor Stephen Godson ArteditorMarionFrancis Web sub-editor Kirsty Wright Recruitment advertising manager Jamie McGregor Recruitment sales Elizabeth Owen-Pam,Shilpa Suthar, James OGorman Display sales Richard Edwards BusinessdevelopmentPhilippa Schlaefli International salesdirector Mark Doyle International salesmanager David Freeman CPD/events Mita Versani Lawyer 2B sales manager Mark Philbrick Senior conference producer Gareth WilsonPublisher TheLawyer.comDavid Hall Publishing director Libby Child Email: forename.surname@thelawyer.comThe Lawyer is published weekly by Centaur Media plc, St Giles House, 50 Poland Street,London W1F 7AX. Switchboard 020 79704000. Forcirculation and subscriptionenquiries: 020 7292 3716,email lawcirc@centaur.co.uk. ISSN 0953-7902. THE LAWYER IS PRINTED ON 100 PER CENTRECYCLED PAPER4 Introduction12 The bar18 InternationalSectors22 Corporate24 Banking and finance26 Real estate28LitigationProfiles30 The big four36 Five to 10073 101 to 200Tables89 Profit per equity partner90 Net profit93 Cost per lawyer94 Revenue per partner97 Revenue per lawyer100 UK 200 100 to 200102 UK 200 one to 100UK 2OO ANNUALREPORT 2010TLS_003_a ug_uk200_c ont e nt s _e d26/ 8/ 1014: 56Pa ge 3Introduction4|The Lawyer|UK 200FIRST, a surprise. Although the total revenue generated by the UKs200 largest law firms fell by 676m last year, a 4 per cent drop to14.94bn, these firms still generated more fees last year than theydid at the height of the boom in 2007-08.That year the top 200 posted a total turnover of 14.84bn. Theyear before, the first year that The Lawyer began tracking the top200, the total was just 13.53bn, nearly 10 per cent lower than itwasattheendof2009-10.Indeed,thefive-yearincreasesince2005-06 was 10.4 per cent.It is a similar story when the focus shifts to the top 100 largestfirms. Last years total revenue was 13.73bn, 667m and 4.6 percent down on 2008-09. Compared with the boom year of 2007-08,however,thereisvirtuallynodifference(94mor0.6percent)between the two totals. For all the talk of the dire straits facing theUK legal market, that is some performance.OverfiveyearsthestoryoftheUKstop100isevenmore dramatic. In 2005-06, a year after The Lawyer christened the termsilvercircletodescribeabunchofhigh-rolling,high-earning private equity-led firms capitalising on the corporate boom, such asAshurst, Macfarlanes andSJBerwin,thetop100generated10.88bn. Since then, despite the recession, the total has grown by26 per cent (and if it is truly surprising statistics you are after, thenhow about this: the firm that put on most revenue over the past fiveyears was DWF, which posted an 111 per cent bump, from 33.9mto 71.5m, closely followed by Bird & Bird, up by 109 per cent, from96.7m to 201.8m).So the demise of Halliwells notwithstanding it is by no meansall doom and gloom out there. But as readers of The Lawyer oftenlike to point out, building revenue is not usually the problem. Profitis what counts.Profit of doomHere there are signs of stress. The total net profit among the top100 shrank significantly last year when compared with the heightoftheboom.Thatyear,2007-08,thetop100generatedatotalprofit of 4.79bn. Last year that had dropped by 13.4 per cent to4.15bn, a figure that was also down on 2008-09 (4.16bn) and2006-07 (4.26bn). You would have to go all the way back to 2005-06 (3.57bn) to find a year when the top 100 made less profit thanit did last year. Indeed,asnapshotofthetop100saverageprofitperequity partner (PEP), that oft-disparaged metric, is even more illustrative.Althoughitroseby3.7percentlastyear,from402,000to417,000,PEPatthelargest100UKfirmsremainedsomewayshort of the boom years 497,000 and also a way off the figure in2006, when it was 482,000. But then, if ever there was a year in which the value of PEP as aguidetoafirmsfinancialhealthwasundermined,itwassurely2009-10. This was the year of the double-digit bounce, largely theresult of it reflecting a recovery from the lowest of low ebbs. At times during this years financial reporting season it seemedthat, if you were not posting hefty PEP increases, you were either inthe wrong market or you were Halliwells.ThissummerasuccessionoffirmspostedPEPincreasesthat borderedonthefarcical.OneafteranotherfirmsincludingLG,Shoosmiths, BlakeLapthorn andTraversSmith queueduptotrumpetrisesof50,60andeven70percent(thehighestTheLawyer spotted was Scottish firm Burness, where PEP was up by94 per cent).These results provided plenty of ammunition for those who claimit is a devalued indicator. As more than one law firm partner andlegal market commentator pointed out, the astronomical rises inPEP figures were more often than not due to nothing more than thefact that said figures had been so dire the year before.The final cutsButtheywerealsoduetotheextrememeasuresfirmshadbeen taking to get back on track, namely cutting costs. This is the flip sideto these, at first sight, impressive returns to form. So how to judge a firms performance in this most turbulent ofperiods? And what has been the impact on a battered profession ofthe most ruthless period of cost-cutting in living memory?Itiswidelyacceptedthattheonlywaytoassessafirms performance accurately is to consider a range of indicators. Or, asCliffordChance managingpartnerDavidChildsmemorably putitearlierthisyear:Useadashboardofmetricstoreview performance, including revenue, PEP, RPL [revenue per lawyer]andRPP[revenueperpartner],andotherimportantmeasures,such as client retention, client wins and so on.But if anything can be relied upon as predictable and certain at lawfirms, it is costs. Costs are harder to fudge than PEP. They are evenharder to change. They are all but fixed except for headcount, the onlyvariable that can be adjusted with any degree of rapidity and one thatatmostfirmsaccountsforaround60percentoftotaloverheads.Consequently, over the past couple of years most firms have beentaking full advantage of that fact. Even so, only 60 of the 93 firms for which The Lawyer has costs datastretching back five years posted reductions in their total costs lastyear. Over five years 81 of the 93 saw their costs increase in line withthe overall growth of their businesses, with the expansionist DWF andBird & Bird seeing the greatest increases in costs (127 per cent and 122per cent respectively) out of the top 50. Clifford Chances total partner count downby 75; PEP up by 27 per centChopping and changingDespite excelling in fee generation, a tough recession has been characterised by client power and law firms clawingtheir way into the black via outsourcing, merging and squeezing their staff to the max. By Matt ByrneTLS_004_a ug_uk200_i nt r o_e d26/ 8/ 1014: 59Pa ge 4Only Hammonds from the top 50 saw a costs reduction over fiveyears, with total overheads dropping by 6 per cent, from 101.4m in2006to95.4mlastyear.Goodnewsperhapsforitsprospectivemerger partner Squire Sanders & Dempsey.But what is astonishing is the firm that has reduced its costs themost FreshfieldsBruckhausDeringer.Themagiccirclefirm,which last year generated 3.1m per day, slashed 132m out of itsoverheads during 2009-10, from 684m to 552m. Ofcourse,whatreallymattersiswhichfirmsawthebiggest reduction in total cost proportionately. And that firm, slashing itscosts bill by 19 per cent, is Freshfields.According to the firms chief executive Ted Burke, this stunningperformance was helped in part by Freshfields disproportionatelylarge European practice and the depreciation of the euro.Around half of our revenue and costs are in euros, Burke says.Other than that Burke struggles to pinpoint a single silver bulletsolution to his firms record cost-cutting.Weve outsourced some services and looked hard at our internalspend,andwewereverycarefulaboutnewhiring,Burkeadds.Likeallfirmswevebeenpressuredtobemoreefficientandtoadjusttodifficultconditions.Butwestartedpreparingforthedownturn well in advance, as early as 2007, and that helped a lot.AspartofthatFreshfieldsformedan10-memberoperations executivetwoyearsagochairedbyBurke,whichmonitorsand manages any capital expenditure above 200,000.This growth has been really helpful in bringing a more disciplinedapproach to major expenditures, explains Burke.The Lawyer tracked the UKs four largest firms performances overfive years, monitoring costs growth versus turnover and headcount.Three statistics immediately leap out: the 15 per cent and 19.6 percentreductioninpartnersandequitypartnersrespectivelyat Freshfields since 2005-06; and the 25 per cent increase in equity partners at Linklaters over the same period, the result of the lattersdecision to head back towards an all-equity partnership.What is also remarkable about Freshfields figures is that last yearitwasthefirmthatreducedheadcounttheleastofthefour.Freshfields cut total lawyer numbers by just 5 per cent, in contrastwith 7 per cent at Allen & Overy (A&O), 8.5 per cent at Linklatersand 11 per cent at Clifford Chance (the latter firm reduced its totalpartner numbers by a similar proportion, again the highest of thequartet).Almost as surprising as Freshfields posting the biggest reductionin costs last year is the gap between it and the firm that posted thesmallestchange,A&O.Between2008-09A&Omanagedacostsreduction of just 39m.Sowhileallfourhaveimproved,A&Oreduceditscostsasa proportion of turnover by just one percentage point last year despiteits restructuring. In contrast, Freshfields and Clifford Chance both cut proportionalcosts by five percentage points between 2008-09 and last year, theformer without the benefit of any major restructuring during thepast two years.CliffordChancesfigures,likeLinklaters,showthatbothfirmstook the hit of the restructuring, but also managed to improve thebottomlinebyreducingcostsinspiteofareductioninoverallturnover at both firms.Super saversA&O global senior partner David Morley defends his firms positionby pointing out a few other headline stats.IntroductionThe Lawyer|UK 200|58 per cent total headcount reduction at Freshfields, from 5,038 to 4,653; partner numbers remained static at 444111 per cent five-year turnover growth at DWF, from 33.9mto 71.5mThe table on page 10 shows thefirms with the top 30 margins inthe UK. These are the firms thatwere most successful last year inkeeping a lid on costs.Everyones favourite pensionsboutique Sacker & Partnersheads this years top 100 marginslist at 53 per cent, one place andone percentage point ahead ofSlaughter and May, whichmaintained a 50 per cent-plusmargin despite a dip in averageprofit per equity partner last year,and ahead of FreshfieldsBruckhaus Deringer (althoughthe latters 52 per cent margin isone off the pace, it steals the totalnet profit crown with 589m,81.8m ahead of Linklaters).All 30 of these firms posted amargin of 30 per cent or above, ameasure that has long been thetraditional mark of a top-tiercommercial practice. So far theworst recession in living memoryappears to have done little toaffect that headline statistic.The 30-somethingsMcGrigorsheadcount in Belfastincreased from 10to 100 thanks to its October 2009merger withLEstrange & Brett177 the number of days it took Freshfields to clear its costs in 2009-10TLS_005_a ug_uk200_i nt r o_e d26/ 8/ 1015: 01Pa ge 5Introduction6|The Lawyer|UK 200We had the largest increase in turnover over the period of the fourfirms [43 per cent], we have the largest number of offices [36, com-pared with Clifford Chances 29, Freshfields 28 and Linklaters 26]and we had the largest increase in the number of lawyers. Also ourfeesperfee-earnershowedthesecond-highestincreaseat 29 per cent.Despite that growth the cost savings achieved by A&O and the rest ofthe magic circle reflect the cuts that have been taking place throughoutthe UK legal market over the past two to three years. Longer, if theincreased efficiencies looked for by outsourcing are factored in.Weve been outsourcing document production to India for sevenor eight years its as old as the hills, says Morley. Freshfields Burke agrees. Outsourcing isnt as new as some wouldhave you believe, he says. I remember US law firms outsourcingcleaning, reproduction and so on as early as the 1980s. What is trulydifferent is the increased momentum to outsource certain types oflegal services.Whatsinterestingnow,agreesMorley,isthatoutsourcingisbeginning to lap up against the shore of legal services.As he confirms, this recent trend towards legal process outsourcing(LPO) is also being driven by the increasing expectations of clientsfor greater efficiencies. Or to put it another way, a recognition thatthe conditions that have long applied to law firms clients and therest of UK industry also apply to them. Lawfirmshavebeencushionedfrommarketforcesthatapply to other industries, argues Eversheds managing partnerLee Ranson. Until now they didnt have to do it. Look at the profitmargins there were so many firms with margins of 35 per cent ormore. Thats unheard of in the vast majority of industries.Now those margins are attracting the attention of rivals rivalswithoutlawfirmshistoricalhang-upsthatcouldhappilycutaswathe through the market.Couplethatwithincreasedcompetitionandanoversupplyoflawyers, and the conditions are ripe for change, adds Ranson, whoinsiststhatcost-savingwasnottheprimarydriverforhisfirms decision to outsource much of its back office services to Accenture(the Eversheds boss says international expansion and best practicewere two of the three key imperatives, along with saving money).Cuttingcostsisveryimportant,butitsnottheonlydriver,emphasisesRanson.Ifitwaswedhavecomeupwithanother solution. Accenture isnt cheap.Human blightsThe increasingly hard-nosed approach to the provision of legal servicestheindustrialisationofthelaw,ifyoulikehasanother cost, of course: human.Along with the ranks of support staff fired during redundancy programmes or cut adrift as firms outsource to the subcontinent,hundreds of lawyers have lost their jobs during the recession. If outsourcing, and increasingly LPO, become widely accepted astools to increase efficiency across the market, this is a trend thatis sure to accelerate. DAYS TO PROFIT 2009-10R A N K F I R M TURNOVER (M)DAILY REVENUE (M)TOTAL COSTS (M)DAYS TO PROFITSlaughter and May 439.5 1.20 211.4 176Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 1,141.0 3.13 552.0 177Linklaters 1,183.0 3.24 675.8 209Travers Smith 72.0 0.20 41.7 211Macfarlanes 92.4 0.25 54.0 213Dundas & Wilson 61.0 0.17 35.7 214Allen & Overy 1,050.0 2.88 662.0 230Ashurst 293.0 0.80 189.7 236Burges Salmon 60.7 0.17 40.3 242Reynolds Porter Chamberlain 60.0 0.16 39.7 242Barlow Lyde & Gilbert 81.5 0.22 54.9 246Watson Farley & Williams 80.2 0.22 54.7 249Wragge & Co 96.2 0.26 65.8 249Taylor Wessing 177.9 0.49 121.6 250Ince & Co 86.3 0.24 60.4 255Norton Rose 307.0 0.84 214.7 255Lovells 542.0 1.49 382.0 257Stephenson Harwood 91.9 0.25 64.6 257Clifford Chance 1,197.0 3.28 847.0 258LG 64.9 0.18 46.1 25994 per cent the PEP rise at Burness, from 157,000 to 305,000, on a turnover increase of 5 per centTLS_006_a ug_uk200_i nt r o_e d26/ 8/ 1015: 08Pa ge 6 icaew.com/thelawyer +44 (0)1908 248 040THE ICAEW CERTIFICATE IN INSOLVENCYOA practical understanding of corporate and personal insolvency principles forlegal professionals.OStudy options and computer-based assessments to suit individual preferencesand business needs.OClassroom tuition, distance learning and study materials fromBPP Professional Education (BPP).OFormal recognition from ICAEW, the UKs largest insolvency regulator.PRACTICAL SKILLS TO DEAL WITH CRITICAL BUSINESS SITUATIONSTLS_007_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1010: 11Pa ge 1The likelihood is that, over the coming months and years, morefirms will follow the lead of CMS Cameron McKenna, Eversheds,Pinsent Masons and others that have embraced outsourcing. Throwthe implementation of the Legal Services Act (LSA) into the mixnext year, paving the way for new business structures and externalinvestment,andyouhaveamarketthatisonthecuspofapotentially brutal new era most of it driven by cost-saving.Although there are currently signs of life in certain transactionalmarkets and recruitment levels are slowly kicking back into gear, thewidespreadlayoffshavelefttheirmark.Moraleamonglawyers buffeted by layoffs, frozen salaries and long hours is said to be at anall-time low. It is a situation not helped by the sky-high PEP increases postedbyseveralfirmsthisyear.MarkBrandonofMotiveLegal Consulting says the true impact of the volatility has not yetbeen felt. Theres a feeling that bridges have been burnt and that partnersIntroduction8|The Lawyer|UK 200RankFirmGross fees 2009-10 (m)Costs 2009-10 (m)Costs 2008-09(m)Costs 2007-08(m)Costs 2006-07 (m)Costs 2005-06 (m)One-year change (m)One-year change (%)Five-year change (m)Five-year change (%)1 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 1,141.0 552.0 684.0 583.0 496.0 449.0 -132.0 -19.30 103.0 22.932 Shoosmiths 90.0 79.0 93.4 91.0 78.7 60.9 -14.4 -15.42 18.1 29.723 Dundas & Wilson 61.0 35.7 41.7 44.5 38.4 31.8 -6.0 -14.39 3.9 12.265 Linklaters 1,183.0 675.8 784.4 729.0 631.0 560.0 -108.6 -13.84 115.8 20.676 Simmons & Simmons 251.0 192.5 221.8 196.2 172.7 159.0 -29.3 -13.21 33.5 21.067 Charles Russell 63.2 51.8 58.9 53.5 46.5 42.4 -7.1 -12.05 9.4 22.168 Clifford Chance 1,197.0 847.0 955.0 868.0 796.1 720.6 -108.0 -11.31 126.4 17.549 Pinsent Masons 206.0 160.0 179.0 159.0 143.0 126.8 -19.0 -10.61 33.2 26.1810 Hammonds 118.0 95.4 106.1 104.7 98.3 101.4 -10.7 -10.08 -6.0 -5.9111 Withers 92.7 72.0 79.7 69.8 60.4 51.6 -7.7 -9.66 20.5 39.6712 Barlow Lyde & Gilbert 81.5 54.9 60.0 55.1 49.2 52.0 -5.1 -8.50 2.9 5.5713 Nabarro 113.8 83.3 91.0 86.9 74.8 70.3 -7.7 -8.46 13.0 18.4914 SJ Berwin 171.0 132.0 144.0 141.7 121.0 96.0 -12.0 -8.33 36.0 37.515 Taylor Wessing 177.9 121.6 132.4 120.4 102.0 90.4 -10.8 -8.16 31.3 34.5816 Wragge & Co 96.2 65.8 71.1 74.6 67.3 60.3 -5.3 -7.45 5.5 9.1217 Burges Salmon 60.7 40.3 43.5 43.4 38.8 33.7 -3.2 -7.36 6.6 19.4418 Ashurst 293.0 189.7 204.1 187.8 148.8 122.9 -14.4 -7.06 66.8 54.319 Eversheds 355.2 285.1 305.4 310.0 280.8 257.0 -20.3 -6.65 28.1 10.9320 Halliwells 67.0 67.0 71.2 67.0 58.6 42.4 -4.2 -5.90 24.6 58.0121 Allen & Overy 1,050.0 662.0 701.0 569.0 523.8 466.0 -39.0 -5.56 196.0 42.0622 Denton Wilde Sapte 167.5 136.1 144.0 124.0 118.9 114.6 -7.9 -5.49 21.5 18.7623 Slaughter and May 439.5 211.4 222.7 196.1 209.1 185.5 -11.3 -5.07 25.9 13.9624 Norton Rose 307.0 214.7 225.6 198.3 156.7 147.7 -10.9 -4.83 67.0 45.3625 Travers Smith 72.0 41.7 43.5 44.8 40.1 35.0 -1.8 -4.14 6.7 19.1426 Trowers & Hamlins 89.4 75.0 77.6 64.2 55.8 45.5 -2.6 -3.35 29.5 64.8327 LG 64.9 46.1 47.5 46.5 43.2 42.3 -1.4 -2.95 3.8 8.9828 Lovells 542.0 382.0 390.4 326.3 289.0 263.3 -8.4 -2.15 118.7 45.0829 Macfarlanes 92.4 54.0 55.1 57.2 50.2 44.7 -1.1 -2.00 9.3 20.8030 CMS Cameron McKenna 214.4 168.7 172.0 152.8 133.0 119.1 -3.3 -1.92 49.6 41.64Top 30 firms by per cent cost reduction, 2009-1014,938m total revenue of UK 20013,728m total revenue of UK 1004,150m total profit of UK 10030.2 per cent average margin of UK 100417,000 average PEP of UK 100TLS_008_a ug_uk200_i nt r o_e d26/ 8/ 1015: 09Pa ge 8IntroductionThe Lawyer|UK 200|9dont get it, claims Brandon. They see their assistant resource baseas being infinitely malleable. But theres been a step change in morale,the glue is going, and although firms have kept the utilisation rateshigh, assistants are saying theyre suffering because theyre workingweekends with a pay freeze while partner profits are back up.Eversheds Ranson is enough of a realist to admit that the humancost of redundancies is significant.Theres been a big impact, he says. This is an industry unusedto this type of scenario. Most lawyers are used to making moneyand the recessions been a big cultural shock, a big impact on themorale within the profession. But Halliwells has given the wholemarket a real shock. It showed the consequences of not doing itright are real. If you dont get it right, everybody loses their job.Noteveryoneisconvincedthisnecessarilymeansanall-outembracing of new business models, however. Wragge & Co seniorpartner Quentin Poole believes there is a danger that the major costsavings generated by layoffs and outsourcing programmes may be aknee-jerk reaction to what could be a temporary situation. It may be that some elements of pricing or supply and demandwill never come back, agrees Poole, but you have to be careful notto go too far down the track of sacrificing the delivery of quality inan attempt to save costs. Were already seeing some banks bringingsome of the things theyve outsourced back on shore. I dont know ifoutsourcing is high-risk, but its certainly risky.The difference beingNo one of course knows the extent to which the legal market willchange, although most agree that there are at least some elements ofchange that are permanent.Ive spoken to three general counsel in the past couple of weeks,who each told me the genies out of the bottle, says Pinsents disputeresolutionheadNigelKissack,themanbehindhisfirmsSouthAfrican outsourcing venture. They know they can negotiate on fees,and theres always going to be at least one firm on their panel or intheir immediate orbit that will blink and give away good work forstupid money. Theyre holding the whip hand. Its going to be prettytough to come back from that.A&OsMorleybelievesthechangesareamixofcyclicaland structural.Butwhatwillnotgoaway,headds,istheincreased competition, and from that flows everything else. Everythings a function of competition, adds Morley. The LSA,non-lawyers entering the professions, Indian and Chinese law firmscoming into the UK market its all competition. I say bring it on.All for oneIn that context, here is another thought. If this years reportingseasonwas characterised by the double-digit PEP rise, then this year has beenDespite all that has been writtenabout lawyer redundancies, onlyone category of headcount showsa reduction in 2009-10 fromwhere it was five years ago support staff.In every other category total staff, full equity partners, fee-earners, qualified lawyers or all classes of partner thenumbers have grown over fiveyears, even if the year-on-yearfigure from 2008-09 shows areduction.But the cuts in support staffclearly indicate the pruning thathas been going on across the UK. The biggest drop came last year,when a total of 3,762 positionsdisappeared (in 2006-07 therewere 994 more support staffpositions than last year).Take Allen & Overy. The firmhas cut its lawyer to support staffratio over the past five years from0.95 to 0.81.Thats a very dramatic changein absolute numbers, says thefirms senior partner DavidMorley. If you think that thereare around 2,500 lawyers and2,000 support staff, then that cut means around 300 people. Its a quiet revolution.Pull supportBurke: Freshfields large Europeanoffering came to the rescue David Morley, Allen & Overy3.1m the amount Freshfields turned over each day last yearAllen & Overy 230 days to profit in 2009-10The average CPL among the UK top 100 dropped by 3 per cent, from 241,000 to 234,000, during 2009-10TLS_009_a ug_uk200_i nt r o_e d1/ 9/ 1010: 24Pa ge 910|The Lawyer|UK 200characterisedbythetransatlanticmerger.Whetherconsummated(HoganLovells)orstillflirting(SJBerwinandProskauerRose),there have been more public deals and talks than in any recent year. It is hard not to read this as another form of efficiency hunting byfirms particularly second-tier City or national players that areunder the cosh from spoilt-for-choice clients. If I was at one of those firms Id be asking, Dear God, how am Iansweringthequestion,whatsdifferentaboutus?,saysoneregionalmanagingpartner.Theyvemanagedtogetawaywithbeing good all-rounders because theres been so much demand inthe market. Now theres far more supply than demand and prices areappalling. Its very difficult to compete on price with the nationalsand the non-price sensitive work goes to the magic circle. Whats theway out? I believe thats one of the reasons why youve been seeing somuchtalkaboutUSmergers,becauseifallelsefailsfirmsthinkthats the get out of jail free card. Its not.Structural integrityThe questions over firms futures, including new cost-saving meas-ures, are no longer hypothetical. The story of Optima Legal Services,whichblazedathree-yeartrailintoalternativebusinessstructureterritory until the Solicitors Regulation Authority finally put a blockon its association with Capita this summer, is sure to be repeated legally, this time once the LSA comes fully into force next year. Firmsarealreadychanging.Buttheyareonthecuspoffar greater change. RankFirmGlobal grossfees (m) Margin 2009-10 (%)Margin 2008-09 (%)Margin 2007-08 (%)Margin 2006-07 (%)Margin 2005-06 (%)=1 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 1,141.0 52 47 51 50 49=1 Slaughter and May 439.5 52 56 59 50 423 Linklaters 1,183.0 43 40 44 44 40=4 Macfarlanes 92.4 42 44 48 51 50=4 Travers Smith 72.0 42 33 45 49 496 Dundas & Wilson 61.0 41 37 41 37 407 Allen & Overy 1,050.0 37 36 44 41 378 Ashurst 293.0 35 32 42 46 43=9 Burges Salmon 60.7 34 32 36 37 38=9 Reynolds Porter Chamberlain 60.0 34 33 33 34 3511 Barlow Lyde & Gilbert 81.5 33 31 33 35 35=12 Taylor Wessing 177.9 32 30 35 37 37=12 Watson Farley & Williams 80.2 32 33 37 39 41=12 Wragge & Co 96.2 32 31 41 40 40=15 Ince & Co 86.3 30 30 33 36 37=15 Lovells 542.0 30 26 32 32 34=15 Norton Rose 307.0 30 28 33 33 30=15 Stephenson Harwood 91.9 30 31 31 30 25=19 Clifford Chance 1,197.0 29 24 35 33 30=19 LG 64.9 29 21 31 35 36=21 Clyde & Co 192.0 28 25 30 31 32=21 Mills & Reeve 67.3 28 26 28 28 27=21 Olswang 91.0 28 25 30 32 31=24 Nabarro 113.8 27 28 39 39 34=24 Speechly Bircham 58.4 27 21 26 26 2726 Herbert Smith 449.9 26 26 35 33 3427 Addleshaw Goddard 167.5 25 26 33 35 32=28 Osborne Clarke 83.7 23 24 32 33 31=28 Simmons & Simmons 251.0 23 24 32 31 30=28 SJ Berwin 171.0 23 22 34 36 38Margins 2006-10240,000-1.6m Gordons equity spread3.3m the amount Clifford Chance generated each day last yearIntroductionTLS_010_a ug_uk200_i nt r o_e d1/ 9/ 1010: 26Pa ge 10Flexible, professional coursesto enhance your careerwww.law.qmul.ac.ukMeet Academics - PG Open Evening Wednesday 24 Novemberwww.qmul.ac.uk/visitus/opendays/pgopenevening/ CPD accredited classes taught by leading academics, visiting practitioners and industry experts Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) established in 1980 first in UK Classes held in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Russell Square and BarbicanAuthorized CPD provider for SRA & BSB. American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation (LLM modules)Wide range of 6-8pm commercially focusedLLM/Diploma classes including: Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Banking Law Competition Law Computer Law Corporate Insolvency Int.Merger Control Int. Trade andInvestment Legal Aspects of Int.Finance Tax -Business/EU General LLM + 18 Specialist LLMs - F/T & P/T PG Diploma - P/T only MSc Law and Finance Programme MA Research in Law PhD PG Diploma in International Dispute Resolution - Arbitration/ Mediation MSc Management of Intellectual Property PG Certificate in IntellectualProperty Law PG Certificate in Trade Mark Law and PracticeDistance Learning Diploma/LLM in Computer and Communications Law Diploma inInternational Commercial Arbitration Diploma in International MediationJames FreemanSenior Associate, Litigation, Allen & Overy LLPCurrent Student, PG Diploma in International Dispute Resolution-Arbitration Chambers of Philip Havers QC1 Crown Office Row, Temple, London EC4Y 7HH Contact: Senior Clerk, Matthew PhippsT 020 7797 7500 F 020 7797 7550 E mail@1cor.comCrown Office Row, 119 Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UD Contact: Senior Clerk, David BinghamT 01273 625 625 F 01273 698 888 E clerks@1cor.comwww.1cor.com1Excellence across a wide area of civil & common law...Itstopflightperformersamassbetweenthemanenviablebankofknowledgeofmedicalandregulatoryissuesallofwhichisseasoned withefficientcasemanagementandexcellentresponsiveness.Italsoprovessurprisinglyversatile.Expertsinfamily,environment,personalinjury and general public law abound at an outfit that forms a whole that is very much greater than the sum of its parts.(Chambers & Partners)Specialisms: clinical negligence, professional disciplinary, public and administrative law,human rights, judicial review and public inquiries, inquests, personal injury including childabusecompensationlawandothertorts,medicalandhealth,environmentallaw,professional negligence, employment, technology and construction, tax, costs, matrimonialfinance and sports law. TLS_011_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1011: 05Pa ge 1The Bar12|The Lawyer|UK 200OVER thepastdecadethebarhassuccessfullyriditselfofitsslightly fusty image, emerging from the wilderness years when theeconomyboomedandlitigantswerefewandfarbetweenwithrenewed professional direction. So, having dusted themselves down, the UKs top 30 chambers areusing the countercyclical revenue they have raised in the pastcoupleof years to invest in new talent and help secure their futures. Theyare also examining how best to compete in a post-Legal Services Act(LSA) environment. The question now for the bar is how to embrace the next decadeof change without losing the traditions that have helped to make itunique and keep clients coming back.Attracting talentIn 2009-10 the total revenue generated by The Lawyers bar top 30increased by 6 per cent, from 750.6m to 797m. This is a slowerrate of growth than in the previous year, when revenue grew by 13.6per cent from 661m to 750.6m. But this slower growth disguisesthe fact that many sets are using their increased revenues to investin people and processes. In July, The Lawyer reported that Blackstone Chambers, EssexCourt, MaitlandChambers, OneEssexCourt,3Verulam Buildings andWilberforceChambers,allsetsthathaveseen revenue increase, posted 100 per cent retention rates for their newly qualified (NQ) barristers (The Lawyer, 15 July). Leading sets have been busy gearing up for a whole newseries of challenges, varying from law firms seducing the best talent to making the most of the opportunitiespresented by the Legal Services Act. By Katy DowellBarometric pressureRank 2009-10Rank2008-09 Chambers2009-10turnover (m)2008-09turnover (m)Per centchange Revenue perbarrister (k)Chambers contributions (%)1 1Brick Court Chambers* 42.5 41.5 2.4 598 10.00-11.002 3One Essex Court* 41.5 38.5 7.8 610 11.003 2Essex Court Chambers* 40.4 38.8 4.1 531 11.004 4Fountain Court* 40.1 36.8 8.9 636 13.005 6Blackstone Chambers* 38.5 33.0 16.7 464 16.00-17.006 6Wilberforce Chambers* 37.6 33.0 13.9 767 **13.57 5No5 Chambers 36.3 36.1 0.5 197 0.5-15.008 93 Verulam Buildings* 34.1 29.9 14.0 568 9.009 839 Essex Street 33.6 30.4 10.5 430 22.0010 117 Kings Bench Walk* 31.7 27.8 14.0 674 10.00-12.0011 10Maitland Chambers* 30.1 28.5 5.6 485 13.512 1220 Essex Street* 27.2 25.7 5.8 544 11.00-12.0013 133-4 South Square* 27.0 25.0 8.0600 11.00-12.0014 154 Pump Court* 24.8 23.7 4.6 468 14.00 15 16Keating Chambers* 24.7 23.5 5.1 484 16.0016 20Quadrant Chambers 24.4 21.9 11.4 497 13.417 17Serle Court* 23.8 22.7 4.9 466 17.0018 184 New Square 22.5 22.4 0.4 321 11.0019 19Landmark Chambers 22.0 22.2 -0.9 314 16.0020 22Exchange Chambers 21.7 18.8 15.4 160 12.0021 21Kings Chambers 20.1 19.1 5.2 225 10.4522 24One Crown Office Row* 19.1 17.4 9.7 192 16.0023 23Outer Temple Chambers 18.2 18.0 1.1 252 15.00=24 30Matrix Chambers 17.2 13.6 26.5 257 17.5=24 277 Bedford Row 17.2 15.8 8.9 202 16.0026 25Monckton Chambers 17.0 17.2 -1.1 340 14.0027 2611KBW 16.7 16.3 2.3 354 16.0028 284-5 Grays Inn Square 16.0 14.6 9.5 296 14.0029 NE*** 3 Paper Buildings 15.9 13.5 17.8 118 20.530 29Hardwicke 15.8 13.9 14.0 190 18.25* Estimated figures; **Includes payment ofmembers professional inBar top 30 by turnover, 2009-10TLS_012_a ug_uk200_ba r _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 18Pa ge 12The BarThe Lawyer|UK 200|13Number of tenants(silks)Number of female tenants (silks)Total number of clerksTotal number of staff71 (35) 11 (3) 13 2268 (24) 12 (1) 11 1576 (35) 8 (2) 14 2263 (29) 13 (2) 9 1283 (32) 22 (4)8 3049 (23) 10 (2)10 8184(21) 60 (1)27 3860 (18)11(0) 11 1178 (27) 23(2) 15 2647 (19) 10 (2) 15 862 (18) 11(2) 8 2250 (17) 10(0) 9 945 (19) 7 (1) 4 2053 (19) 9 (0) 8 1951 (20) 14 (4)9 2249 (12) 9 (0) 14 851 (15) 7 (1) 8 1270 (19) 19 (2) 7 2870 (20) 12 (2)10 10135 (16) 31 (1)11 3289 (10) 19 (1) 10 1499 (21) 38 (7) 13 2372 (14) 16 (0) 10 2267 (17) 22 (4) 12 3285 (18) 22 (3) 15 750 (10) 12 (1) 6 1647 (17) 15(1) 10 1454 (15) 11 (1) 8 17134 (10) 43 (0) 26 983 (5) 27 (0) 17 28onal indemnity insurance premiums up to 5m from central expenditure; ***New entryWith fewer students looking for seats at the bar, sets are keen toinvest in the next generation to help secure their futures. One EssexCourt demonstrated this when in August 2009 it set a precedent atthe Inns of Court by raising pupillage salaries to 60,000 for theOctober2010intake.Theannouncementstarted atrend,withWilberforce raising pupillage salaries to 48,000 from 40,000and Essex Court upping salaries to 55,000.With increased competition for talent, chambers fear losing futurestars of the bar to higher-paying law firms. US firms in particularhave set new standards in NQ salaries, with Bingham promising100,000tonewlawyersandDebevoise&Plimpton,afirmknown for preferring its in-house advocacy team to the bar,offering93,250.What those at the top of the commercial and chancery hierarchywanttoattractisanexcellentsetofjunioradvocateswhowill produce the next Jonathan Sumption QC (Brick Court Chambers),Lord Pannick QC (Blackstone) or Lord Grabiner QC (One EssexCourt).We see ourselves as being at the top of the market, recruiting thebest people year-on-year, and we understand what they refuse whenthey come here, One Essex Court senior clerk Darren Burrows tellsTurnover: 42.5mTenants (silks): 71 (35)Chambers contributions: 10-11 per centRevenue per barrister: 598,000Leading cases:#Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National & Ors (Bankcharges litigation)Jonathan Sumption QC, Mark Hoskins QC, Jemima StratfordQC and Sarah Love#Colour Quest v Total/Chevron (Buncefield litigation)Jonathan Sumption QC and Alan McLean QC#Fiona Trust and Holding Corporation & Ors v Yuri Privalov & Ors (Fiona Trust litigation)Andrew Popplewell QC#Boris Berezovsky v Roman AbramovichHelen Davies QC#BSkyB v OfcomJames Flynn QC, David Anderson QC, Helen Davies QC and Mark Hoskins QCTurnover: 41.5mTenants (silks): 68 (24)Chambers contributions: 11 per centRevenue per barrister: 610,000Leading cases:#Digicel & Ors v Cable & WirelessLord Grabiner QC, Edmund Nourse and Cornall Patton#Boris Berezovsky v Roman AbramovichLaurence Rabinowitz QC, Richard Gillis QC, Simon Colton,Sebastian Isaac, James Edelma and Nahali Shah#Colour Quest v Total/Chevron (Buncefield litigation)Laurence Rabinowitz QC and Lord Grabiner QC#Tullet Prebon plc & Ors v BGC Brokers & OrsJeffrey Onions QC#CPC Group Ltd v Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company (Chelsea Barracks litigation)Lord Grabiner QC, Neil Kitchener QC and Alexander Polley2 One Essex Court1 Brick Court ChambersTop 10 setsSumptionTLS_013_a ug_uk200_ba r _e d26/ 8/ 1017: 44Pa ge 13The BarThe Lawyer. Theres increasing competition for those people.Leadingsilksacceptthathavingatop-heavysetwithtoofew juniors can have an adverse effect on the mix of work coming intochambers. Forexample,FountainCourtrecognisesthatabroadermixofinstructions is important to give junior members exposure to thecourts. That mix of work is essential to help keep the coffers toppedup in quieter times.People look at us and see us on the top cases, but we cant surviveon that alone we need the other work too, comments FountainCourt director of clerking Alex Taylor.FountainCourthasjusthaditsmostsuccessfulyeartodate, withthesetpostingarevenueof40.1m.Inrecentyearsithas overhauled its clerking function in an effort to shrug off its stuffyimage and build a reputation in the City for being businesslike.The top four sets all broke through the 40m barrier last year.Brick Court increased its member count from 68 to 71 as revenueincreased by 2.4 per cent to 42.5m; One Essex Court added twomembersovertheyearasrevenueincreasedby7.8percentto41.5m; while Essex Court, which kept its membership steady at 76,increasedrevenue by 4.1 per cent, from 38.8m to 40.4m.Outside the magic circle the top 10 sets have seen greater revenuegrowth, reflecting increased demand for skilled advocates from abroader range of chambers.Forexample,Wilberforcecelebratedarecordyear,findingitsexpertise in pensions litigation well sought after. With a turnover of37.6mand49tenants(including23silks)thesetrecordedthehighest average revenue per barrister (RPB) of 767,000. There are plans for Wilberforce to grow over the next 12 months,including the opening of an overseas base to accommodate demandforoffshore advocacy skills.Getting in on the actWhile those at the top of the pile are sticking to their traditionalframeworks, others are considering the implementation of the LSAand how best to move forward. OneinnovationistheintroductionoftheProcureComodel,astructure intended to provide the bar with an effective method ofresponding to cuts in public spending and increased competition. The ProcureCo model has been described by the chair of the BarCouncil Nick Green QC as a model procurement company for thebar that can be used now, giving sets increased flexibility in biddingfor work in new and existing areas of practice as well as in areaswhere they face increased competition.Outer Temple Chambers, which posted a revenue increase of 1.1percent,from18mto18.2m,wentlivewithaninternationalProcureComodebrandedOuterTempleInternational(OTI)in February (The Lawyer, 22 February). Initially OTI will operate as anot-for-profit company, but the aim is for the set to turn it into ashareholding organisation. Weve had to seek legal advice, draw up documents, work out therelationship between OTI and Outer Temple and agree new rolesand responsibilities, says practice director Christine Kings. This isuseful for other business structures we may want to set up. It alsoallowsthosewhowanttoexpandanddevelopinternational practicestomakedecisionsandallocatefundingwithouthaving togetagreementfromtherestofchambers,whichreducesthe likelihood of tensions.AccordingtoOuterTemple,thebiggestchallengeismoving chambers forward in unison when not all members are benefitingfromProcureCo. This is a problem facing all sets wanting to investin new structures. Thereisthoughadegreeofscepticismsurroundingthenewframework.What happens when our members want to get work from anotherset. How will the other members feel about that? asks one seniorpracticedirector.Andwhatdoesitmeanforclerksorganising barristers work?Nevertheless,accordingtotheBarCounciltherehasbeen widespreadinterestinalternativestructures,ifonlytohelpsetsTurnover: 40.4mTenants (silks): 76 (35)Chambers contributions: 11 per centRevenue per barrister: 531,000Leading cases:#Fiona Trust and Holding Corporation & Ors v YuriPrivalov & Ors (Fiona Trust litigation) Steven Berry QC, Graham Dunning QC, Nathan Pillow, DavidDavies, Simon Bryan and Jern-Fei Ng#The Kosovo Case Professor Malcolm Shaw QC, Professor Vaughan Lowe QCand Amy Sander#CPC Group Ltd v Qatari Diar Real Estate InvestmentCompany (Chelsea Barracks litigation) Joe Smouha QC and David Foxton QCTurnover: 40.1mTenants (silks): 63 (29)Chambers contributions: 13 per centRevenue per barrister: 636,000Leading cases:#Boris Berezovsky v Roman Abramovich Michael Brindle QC#Digicel v Cable & Wireless Stephen Rubin QC and Rupert Allen#Clydesdale Financial Services & Ors v Smailes & Ors Tim Dutton QC and Bridget Lucas#Colour Quest v Total/Chevron (Buncefield litigation) Richard Handyside QC#Administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) v Lehman Brothers Finance SA & Ors Michael Brindle QC and Nick Yeo3 Essex Court Chambers4 Fountain Court(l-r) Dutton, Taylor, Brindle14|The Lawyer|UK 200TLS_014_a ug_uk200_ba r _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 21Pa ge 143PB is one of the largest sets in the UK with over 130 barristers offering teams of experts in a wide variety of specialist fields.Our inclusion in this years Lawyers UK Top 30 Bar Listing affirms our pre-eminence and recognises the quality of servicewe deliver to our clients.For its strength and depth and geographical spread 3PB is consistently chosen by professional clientsand by members of the Bar.Size does matter.Our commitment and focus is on each clients particular needs, so no matter how large or small a problem, we provide anindividual advisory and advocacy service to match your specific requirements.Specialist areas of expertise include:Friendly, professional clerks operate from modern well-equipped offices to ensure that professional and lay clients expectationsare met. 3PBs size ensures it can arrange meetings and conferences at locations and venues to suit.For further information please contact the appropriate Practice Group Clerk, as detailed on our website, or telephone 020 75838055 to speak with a clerk. ADR, mediation and ENE Employment and discrimination Asset Forfeiture Family Clinical negligence Personal injury Commercial Professional Negligence Construction Property and Chancery Crime SportDOES SIZE MATTER?London BournemouthBristolOxford Winchesterwww.3pb.co.ukOur business is complexcommercial chancery litigation,offering cross-disciplinary andspecialist expertise asadvisors and trial lawyers7 STONE BUI LDI NGS, LI NCOLN' S I NN, LONDON WC2A 3SZTELEPHONE +44 (0)20 7406 1200FAX +44 (0)20 7406 1300cl er ks@mai tl andchamber s. comwww. mai tl andchamber s. comFor fur ther information please contactour Senior Clerks Lee Cutler or John Wiggs Maitland may be the leading commercialchancery set in the country but you are justas likely to see its members in the commercialcourts as the Chancery Division Commercial Dispute Resolution, Chambers UK 2010 thoroughly commercial in their outlook,very responsive and user - friendly Leading Sets, Chambers UK 2010TLS_015_UK200_10_di s 26/ 8/ 1014: 38Pa ge 1 tender for the increasing amount of block contracts that have comeonto the market. MatrixChambers,whichhasdeeprootsinpubliclawwork,posted its strongest year to date, with its revenue up by 26.5 percent,from13.6mto17.2m.Thesetsmodelisalignedmoreclosely with that of a law firm than a traditional chambers. It seesthe LSA as an opportunity rather than a threat. Making the most of the LSA, our model means we can have anumber of businesses, argues Matrix chief executive Lindsay Scott. Scottsuggeststhiscouldmeanthoseworkingincriminallawmight be able to take block bookings and charge project fees, whilecommercial barristers continue to use the hourly rate. Each area would have its own profit margin and the overheadsmight be different, she adds.The next waveIf the past decade has been about the modernisation of the bar, thenextdecadewillbringaboutitsdiversification.Thedemandforexpertise from independent advocates will ensure the survival ofleading sets if they have the right mix of barristers.But there are other sets that will want to change their structuresto embrace opportunities presented by the LSA, and it is this thatwill drive the next wave of change in the profession.The Bar16|The Lawyer|UK 200Turnover: 38.5mTenants (silks): 83 (32)Chambers contributions: 16-17 per centRevenue per barrister: 464,000Leading cases: #RAB Special Situations (Master) Fund (Re NorthernRock)/SRM Global Master Fund v Commissioners of HerMajestys Treasury Michael Beloff QC, Lord Pannick QC, John Howell QC, Javan Herberg, Tom de la Mare, Claire Weir, Ben Jaffey andIain Steele#R (Binyam Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsDinah Rose QC, Pushpinder Saini QC, Tom de la Mare, BenJaffey, Tom Hickman and Tristan Jones#National Grid plc v Gas and Electricty Markets AuthorityMonica Carrs Frisk QC, Brian Kennelly and Tristan Jones#R v Morley, Chaytor, Devine and WhiteLord Pannick QC and James Segan5 Blackstone ChambersRank 2009-10Rank 2008-09 ChambersNumber of silks 2009-10Number of silks 2008-09Number of juniors 2009-10 Silk-junior ratio=1 2 Brick Court Chambers 35 32 36 1:1=1 5 Essex Court Chambers 35 22 41 1:1.23 1 Blackstone Chambers 32 33 51 1:64 5 Fountain Court 29 22 34 1:25 3 39 Essex Street 27 25 51 1:96 4 One Essex Court 24 23 44 1:87 5 Wilberforce Chambers 23 22 26 1.1=8 5 No5 Chambers 21 22 163 7:8=8 5 One Crown Office Row 21 15 78 3:7=9 6 Keating Chambers 20 20 31 1:6=9 8 Landmark Chambers 20 18502:5Top 10 sets by number of silks, 2009-10RoseScott: making the most of the LSATLS_016_a ug_uk200_ba r _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 23Pa ge 16The BarThe Lawyer|UK 200|17Turnover: 37.6mTenants (silks): 49 (23)Chambers contributions: 14 per centRevenue per barrister: 767,000Leading cases:#PNPF Trust Company v Geoffrey Taylor & Ors (PilotsNational Pension Fund)Michael Tennet QC, Paul Newman QC, Brian Green QC,Robert Ham QC, Michael Furness QC, Christopher Nugee QC,John Martin QC, Jonathan Hilliard, Jonathan Evans, JamesWalmsley and Emily McKechnie #Chartbrook Ltd v Persimmon Homes Ltd and Persimmon plcChristopher Nugee QC and Julia Greenhill#Foster Wheeler Ltd v Hanley & OrsBrian Green QC and Jonathan Hilliard#easyGroup IP Licensing v easyJet Airline Michael Bloch QC and James WalmsleyTurnover: 36.4mTenants (silks): 184 (21)Chambers contributions: 0.5-15 per centRevenue per barrister: 197,000Leading cases: #Vercoe & Ors v Rutland Fund Management Ltd & Ors Richard Jones QC and David Holloway#R (Bard Campaign) v Secretary of State for Communitiesand Local GovernmentIan Dove QC, Anthony Crean QC, Chris Young and TimSheppard#Horwood v Land of Leather (in administration) & ZurichInsurance (Toxic sofas)Ralph Lewis QC, Gordon Wignall, Matthew Brunning, HenryPitchers, Richard Cooke, Katie Feeney, Jack Smyth andGemma RobertsTurnover: 34.1mTenants (silks): 60 (18)Chambers contributions: 9 per cent plus rentRevenue per barrister: 568,000Leading cases:6 Wilberforce Chambers7 No5 Chambers8 3 Verulam Buildings#Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros (AHAB) Algosaibi vMaan Al-SaneaEwan McQuater QC, Stephen Phillips QC, Ali Malek QC,Gregory Mitchell QC, Andrew Onslow QC, David Quest, PeterRatcliffe, Sandy Phipps, David Simpsons, Peter Cranfield andRichard Edwards#CRC Credit Fund & Ors v Administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) & OrsJohn Jarvis QC, John Odgers and Adam Kramer#Springwell v JPMorganAdrian Beltrami QC and Catherine GibaudTurnover: 33.6mTenants (silks): 78 (27)Chambers contributions: 22 per centRevenue per barrister: 431,000Leading cases:#The Queen on the Application of London Borough ofHillingdon & Ors v Transport for London Hillingdon & Orsand Secretary of State for Transport (Heathrow expansion)Nigel Pleming QC and Richard Wald#Motto Y & Ors v Trafigura LtdEdwin Glasgow QC, Sean Wilken QC, Stephen Tromans QC,Robert Jay QC, Rohan Pershad, Katherine Scott and JamesBurton #Linklaters v Sir Robert McAlpineRichard Wilmot-Smith QC and Karim Ghaly#Horwood v Land of Leather (in administration) & ZurichInsurance (Toxic sofas)Neil Block QC and Derek OSullivanTurnover: 31.7mTenants (silks): 47 (19)Chambers contributions: 14 per centRevenue per barrister: 674,000Leading cases:#Colour Quest v Total/Chevron (Buncefield litigation) Jonathan Gaisman QC and Sioban Healy (now a QC)#Equitas v R and Q Alistair Schaff QC and Simon Kerr#Wasa v Lexington Alistair Schaff QC, Sioban Healy and Christopher Butcher QC#American Reliance Insurance Company & Ors v WillisStephen Kenny QC, Gavin Kealey and Jessica Sutherland9 39 Essex Street10 7 Kings Bench WalkTony McDavid,practice directorAli Malek QC, head of chambersTLS_017_a ug_uk200_ba r _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 24Pa ge 17International18|The Lawyer|UK 200FOR A growing number of US firms, the past year has been all aboutthe transatlantic tie-up. When legacy firms Lovells and Hogan &Hartson confirmed their merger plans half way through the year ittriggeredascrambleonbothsidesoftheAtlanticamongfirms desperate to declare themselves the next global powerhouse. This acceleration to consolidation has shown off the good, the bad andthe ugly side of the transatlantic merger. First the good. When HoganLovells went live on 1 May it created a behemoth of more than 2,400lawyersand40offices,witha combinedrevenueof$1.8bn(1.15bn).Barring a catastrophe the firm is on course to overtake Allen & Overy(A&O) in the turnover stakes in the 2010-11 year. Teething problemsAs with any marriage, the union has not been without its setbacks.In the run-up to the merger Hogan began haemorrhaging partnersinWarsaw,GenevaandBerlin,whileLovellsannouncedthatitsChicago office would not be part of the newly merged firm. It has not been without its difficulties post-merger either. Since 1 Maythe combined firm has been hit by several departures, including those offormerHoganLondonchiefGarryPeggandex-Beijingmanaging partner Roger Peng. But if Lovells last set of financial results is anything to go by, then jointCEO David Harris has good grounds for optimism. In contrast with someof its rivals in the UK top 10, global revenue for 2009-10 was up by 2 percent to 542m, driven largely by itssuccess in London, while averageprofit per equity partner (PEP) rose by 13 per cent to 663,000.Itisstilltooearlytobegindrawinganyfirmconclusions,butthe market consensus, for now at least, is that the tie-up will be asuccess.And that might go some way to explaining the wave ofpotentialmergerssubsequently mooted in recent months. Big talksFirstcametheultimatelyunsuccessfultalksbetweenSJBerwin andOrrick Herrington & Sutcliffe that began in April 2010. Following aseries of meetings spread over several weeks, the talks collapsed whentheUSfirmsaiditwaspullingoutofthediscussions,withOrrick managing partner Ralph Baxter insisting that no single issue led to thetalks breaking down. DayslaterthestorytookanothertwistwhenitemergedthatSJBerwin, desperate to boost its presence in the US, had set its sights onNew York-headquartered Proskauer Rose. Talks are still ongoing andthe merger looks increasingly likely, with one source describing it as afait accompli although some have questioned the wisdom of such amove. While both have strong funds practices, there appears to be fewother areas where the firms complement each other.NextupwasnewsthatDentonWildeSapte andSonnenscheinNath & Rosenthal were in advanced discussions. Unlike similar mergertalks,however,thingswentwellbeyondthestageof clandestine meetings, and in June both firms partnerships agreed to the deal. The new firm, SNR Denton, is set to go live on 30 September,creatinga1,400-lawyerfirmwithaturnoverofaround$750m.AccordingtoDentonschairmanMartinKitchen,thenewfirmhassetitselfan ambitious target of raising revenue to $1bn andgrowing lawyer numbersto between 1,500 and 1,600 within three years. Less successful were the on-off discussions between Mayer Brownand Simmons & Simmons. In June 2010 The Lawyer revealed thatMayer Brown had been in secret talks with Simmons over a move thatwouldhavecreatedanother1bnglobalfirmwithmorethan2,400lawyers in the US, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Talks appeared to break down days later, only to resume with a series ofdiscussionsbetweenthefirmsseniormanagementteams.Then,inaHere be giantsThe past year has been notable for international mergers,with the 1 May Hogan Lovells tie-up finishing the year instyle. Andrew Pugh looks at the motivations behind themoves and highlights the successes and the non-starters(l-r) David Harris and Warren Gorrell, Hogan LovellsTLS_018_a ug_uk100_i nt _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 29Pa ge 18InternationalThe Lawyer|UK 200|19Top 30 US firms by London revenue, 2009movereminiscentofthediscussionsbetweenSJBerwinandOrrick,MayerBrownandSimmonsreleasedajointstatementsayingthatacombination between our firms is not the right option. Brit fitLooking at the performances of US firms London offices, it is notdifficult to see why some are so keen to tie up with a UK outfit. Forthemajorityofthetop30USfirmsinLondon,lastyearwas characterised by plummeting revenues and profits. A total of 21 sawtheir revenues fall. On average, revenue among the top 10 fell by 12per cent and among the top 30 by 5 per cent. In results that presaged the financial figures of the UK 200, almost halfposted an increase in PEP, although admittedly none reached the 70 percent hike achieved by Shoosmiths. As with their UK counterparts, many US firms ramped up profits byslashing lawyer numbers. A total of 22 of the top 30 firms reported fallsin fee-earners. Overall, lawyer numbers among the top 10 fell on averageby 14 per cent, and among the whole of the top 30 by 9 per cent. By and large there was very little movement among the top 30 in termsoftherevenuetable.Someimpressiveperformanceswereachieved, however, most notably from Bingham, which increased its revenue by$9.8mto$40.8m,andPaulHastingsJanofsky&Walker,whichachieved a 44 per cent hike in turnover to $39m. Binghams success was down to its restructuring and finance litigationpractices,whichhitboomtimewhentherecessionkickedin.Paul HastingssteppedupinvestmentinLondonwiththearrivalofsevenpartners from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and, like Bingham,the firms strength in restructuring and insolvencyprotected it throughthe downturn. The partner exodus fromCadwalader, which left it withonly two partners in the capital at the year-end, saw the firm fall out ofthe top 30.Firms with a strong finance focus, such as White & Case, were theworst hit last year. Yet despite the firms revenue in London falling by 20per cent it still maintained its position at the top of the table. This wasprimarily because most its competitors fared equally poorly. When they were interviewed in April the majority of seniorpartnerswere confident that, by the end of 2010, the recovery would be in fullswing. Since then a change of government in the UK, coupled with thecontinuing fragility of the eurozone, has helped spark fears of a double-dip recession and has subsequently dampened theiroptimism a little. Mergers will continue to be on the agenda for US firms in the comingmonths, a trend highlighted by the news this August that HammondsandSquireSanders&Dempsey areintalks.IfDentonschief executive Howard Morris is correct, then the Hogan Lovells and SNRDenton deals will be the vanguard of a period of consolidation in thelegal industry for years to come. Rank FirmLondon revenue 2009 ($m)London revenue 2008 ($m)Global revenue2009 ($m)Globalrevenue 2008 ($m)Global PEP 2009 ($m)Global PEP 2008 ($k)1 White & Case 197.0 245.9 1,307 1,460 1.60 1.592 Baker & McKenzie* 190.3 184.5 2,104 2,080 1.13 0.983 Latham & Watkins 151.1 150.0 1,821 1,923 1.90 1.804 Mayer Brown 146.3 202.0 1,118 1,290 1.05 1.115 Reed Smith 141.1 159.0 1,013 980 1.00 0.946 Skadden130.0 137.0 2,046 2,200 2.05 2.057 Sullivan & Cromwell 117.4 121.0 1,050 1,100 2.94 3.008 Dewey & LeBoeuf 110.0 125.0 914 1,030 1.60 1.579 Sidley Austin 101.0 107.9 1,489 1,480 1.46 1.4310 Shearman & Sterling 99.7 113.8 801 876 1.74 1.6711 Jones Day 86.3 85.5 1,337 1,310 0.77 0.77=12 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 85.0 90.0 961 965 2.33 2.33=12 Weil Gotshal & Manges 85.0 103.0 1,233 1,230 2.32 2.3014 Kirkland & Ellis 80.8 87.0 1,428 1,320 2.50 2.5515 Dechert 80.7 91.8 713 816 1.96 2.1416 Debevoise & Plimpton 77.4 86.0 668 761 1.87 2.2217 WilmerHale 58.1 49.9 941 955 1.16 1.0818 Milbank 56.0 58.9 601 621 2.23 2.2319 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 52.5 56.3 871 904 2.41 2.4820 Gibson Dunn & Crutcher 51.8 51.8 995 957 1.91 1.8721 Hogan & Hartson 49.6 52.3 864 923 1.11 1.1722 McDermott Will & Emery 48.1 55.9 961 966 1.52 1.5223 K&L Gates 43.4 60.2 1,034 959 0.86 0.85=24 Bingham40.8 31.0 860 767 1.40 1.42=24 Davis Polk & Wardwell 40.8 40.0 782 767 2.10 2.0526 Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe 40.5 38.0 847 835 1.36 1.32=27 Covington & Burling 39.0 35.0 583 531 1.20 1.30=27 Paul Hastings39.0 27.0 889 986 1.88 1.9029 Salans 38.3 54.3 269.5 340.8 0.82 1.0430 Morrison & Foerster 33.7 36.3 844 911 1.14 1.10Average exchange rate 2009 to $ 1.56953; Average exchange rate 2008 to $ 1.85518; *1 July 2009-30 June 2010TLS_019_a ug_uk100_i nt _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 30Pa ge 19International20|The Lawyer|UK 200Top 30 US firms in London by revenue per lawyer, 2009Rank FirmRevenue per lawyer 2009 ($m)Revenue per partner2009 ($m)Number of lawyers inLondon 2009Number of lawyers inLondon 2008Number ofpartners inLondon 2009Number of partners in London20081 Sullivan & Cromwell 1.57 6.18 75 75 19 212 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 1.38 4.77 40 40 11 103 Milbank 1.37 4.67 41 41 12 134 Davis Polk & Wardwell 1.24 5.83 33 33 7 85 Skadden1.20 4.64 108 108 28 276 WilmerHale 1.16 4.84 50 50 12 127 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 1.12 5.31 76 76 16 178 Gibson Dunn & Crutcher 1.08 2.73 48 48 19 18=9 Kirkland & Ellis 1.02 2.45 79 79 33 27=9 Latham & Watkins 1.02 3.22 148 148 47 3911 Dechert 1.00 2.78 81 81 29 3212 Bingham0.97 2.72 42 42 15 1113 Shearman & Sterling 0.92 3.84 109 109 26 24=14 Dewey & LeBoeuf 0.89 2.56 123 123 43 46=14 McDermott Will & Emery 0.89 0.89 54 54 26 36=14 Weil Gotshal & Manges 0.89 3.86 96 96 22 2317 Sidley Austin 0.86 2.66 118 118 38 41=18 Covington & Burling 0.78 2.44 50 50 16 13=18 Paul Hastings0.78 3.90 50 50 10 720 Debevoise & Plimpton 0.70 4.30 110 110 18 1721 Hogan & Hartson 0.68 2.61 73 73 19 1722 White & Case 0.65 3.13 301 301 63 7323 Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe 0.63 2.03 64 64 20 2524 Morrison & Foerster 0.62 1.69 54 79 20 2025 Baker & McKenzie 0.61 2.24 314 290 85 8526 Reed Smith 0.57 1.37 248 247 103 10627 Mayer Brown 0.53 1.46 275 275 100 10928 Jones Day 0.45 1.88 190 190 46 4729 Salans 0.44 1.20 88 92 32 3430 K&L Gates 0.34 0.78 126 126 56 59An anticipated uptick in commerciallitigation, particularly in the financial servicesarena, has seen several US firms expand orlaunch litigation teams in the City over thepast year. One of the most ambitious has been US trialoutfit Kobre & Kim. It opened its Londonoffice in the summer of 2009 and remainedunder the radar until April, when it launched arecruitment drive with the high-profilecapture of Serle Court silk James Corbett QC.Corbett give the firm an English lawcapability for the first time; and a month later he was joined by Fladgatelitigator Simon Cullingworth and EnterpriseChambers barrister Tim Prudhoe. Furtherarrivals are expected at the firm, whichspecialises in cross-border financial services litigation, in the coming months. US litigation powerhouse Quinn EmanuelUrquhart & Sullivan was another firm to stepup its activity in the City. Growing in Londonis central to founding partner John Quinnsstrategy and he has not ruled out doubling oreven trebling the firms workforce in thecapital. This strategy was underlined with thecapture of rising star Alex Gerbi, a partnerfrom Olswang. In November 2009 Sidley Austin launchedits London dispute resolution practice, againin the hope of capitalising on an upswing incommercial litigation as a result of theeconomic downturn. As with Kobre, the firmis targeting the area of cross-border financialservices regulation. Another firm that revealed its interest inLondon was US securities class action outfitLabaton Sucharow, which began raising itsprofile in the UK in a bid to pick up clients inthe pension funds arena.Not everyone shares the Americansoptimism. One UK-based recruiter, who hasseen several US firms fail in their bids to openbases in the UK, told The Lawyer: In Americathey make bucketloads of cash from litigation.A star litigator in the US can bill tens ofmillions of dollars and gain a big following ofclients. British lawyers dont have that same kind offollowing. US firms think that, when they hirea British litigator, they ll bring lots of clientswith them, but that doesnt happen and thentheir plans fall apart. Its a different ball gameto the US. US litigation practices in LondonTLS_020_a ug_uk100_i nt _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 31Pa ge 20www. conyersdi l l . comMul t i mi l l i ondol l ardeal sdon t wai t foryourpart of t heeart ht ot urn aroundandfacet hesun.Qui ckanswersregardlessof t i mezone.BERMUDALONDONBRI TI SHVI RGI NI SLANDSMAURI TI USCAYMANI SLANDSMOSCOWCYPRUSSOPAULODUBAISI NGAPOREHONGKONGTLS_021_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1010: 18Pa ge 1Corporate22|The Lawyer|UK 200FOR THE UKs top corporate practices, 2009-10 was very much acase of plus ca change, plus cest la meme chose, with dealflow still indecline and competition for the work as tough as ever.Revenues across the top 20 firms dropped by an average of just over4 per cent, with total fees across all practice areas also dropping bythatamount.Butwhereaslastyearbroughtwithitsomedrasticaction from City firms, the feeling this time around is that things mayfinally be picking up.Its definitely better than last year, says Allen & Overy (A&O)London corporate head Richard Browne. Over the course of thepast12monthsitsbeentoughandthemarketsbeendown substantially, but theres more happening now.Leaders of the packIt is no surprise to see that the magic circle, along with Slaughter andMay, monopolised the few big deals that did see the light of day. Clifford Chance and Slaughters took the honours by acting on theyears standout deal, Krafts hostile acquisition of Cadbury.CliffordChance rainmaker Guy Norman led for Kraft and also acted for Bab-cockonits1.3bntakeoverofVTGroup.SlaughtersM&AchiefStephen Cooke led the defence for Cadbury. However, with privateequity not making the comeback that some were predicting, CliffordChance still saw its corporate revenue fall by more than 6 per cent. Againstlevelsofactivityinthemarketwewereprettypleasedwith our performance, says global corporate head Matthew Layton.Weve had a raft of good deals across the network.Slaughters, meanwhile, could not match last years performance,aidedbyahealthyslewofGovernmentworkonthebackof the banking crisis. It too lost ground on its rivals, although A&Os12 per cent drop-off was the most alarming among the big five.Linklatersextendeditsleadatthetopofthetable,withitscorporate revenue dropping by only 1 per cent. A prize role actingforLloydsBankingGrouponitsrecord-breaking13.5bnrightsissue helped Linklaters stay on an even keel following last years 14percentfall.JeremyParrledthecapital-raisingexercisebefore stepping up to fill David Barnes shoes as global head of corporate.In contrast to Slaughters, Linklaters reaped the rewards from thecontinuing fallout from the financial meltdown of 2008, courtesy ofits relationships with Lloyds and RBS.Best of a bad crunchDespitesufferinga6percentyear-on-yearfall,Freshfields BruckhausDeringer canjustifiablyclaimtohavehadthebestrecession of all the leading corporate lights. It is the only firm tohave increased corporate revenue since 2007-08.GlobalcorporateheadEdBrahambelievesthatthecontinuingabsence of deals is acting as a differentiator for the best firms.Itsbeenahorriblemarketinwhichwevemorethanheldourown, he says. Wed probably say we took market share.Braham highlights the firms European spread as key to keeping thecorporate practice on track. A German and French team landed a rolefor Daimler on its three-way tie-up with Renault and Nissan, whilepartnerIanFrostledtheinternationalgroupactingforSpringer Science & Business Media on its sale to private equity house EQT.Thestrugglesofthemid-marketcontinued,withfirmseither consolidating after a poor 2008-09 or suffering a delayed dip.SJ Berwin steadied the ship after its disastrous performance theprevious year. Its 1.5 per cent fall is a sound performance consideringits emphasis on a thin privateequitymarket.CorporatechiefStevenDavisswork forApaxPartnersonthe 600m investment by ChinaInvestment Corporation evenbagged The Lawyers Corpo-rateTeamoftheYeargong.Thisyearsbiggestfallerswere AddleshawGoddard,Norton Rose and Simmons&Simmons,allofwhichposted double-digit corporatedrops.Norton Rose did win a roleactingforFranceTelecom ononeofthebiggestEuro-peandealsoftheyear, last SeptembersT-Mobile-Orange merger, but still sawrevenuefallby10percent.Theresbeenlotsofpric-ingpressureandasqueezeonthemid-market,saidheadofcorporateTim Marsden. We can expect toseethemagiccirclepushintotheareaswherewerestrong.Herbert Smith and Lovellswerebothwidelyseenashaving solid if unspectacularyears. But the gap to the bigboys remains as large as ever.RankFirmCorporateturnover2009-10 (m)Corporateturnover 2008-09 (m)Per cent differencePer cent of totalturnoverNumber of corporatepartnersRevenue per corporate partner (m)1Linklaters 449.5 454.3 -1.1 38.0 199 2.262Freshfields 399.0 424.7 -6.0 35.0 147 2.713Clifford Chance 347.1 370.0 -6.2 29.0 169 2.054Allen & Overy 315.3 360.0 -12.4 30.0 155 2.035Slaughter and May 228.5 247.0 -7.5 52.0 55 4.156Herbert Smith 199.8 202.2 -1.2 44.0 122 1.647Lovells 162.6 159.3 2.1 30.0 123 1.328DLA Piper 139.4146.2 -4.0 24.0 153 0.919Eversheds 127.8 124.0 3.1 36.0 133 0.9610Norton Rose 107.4 119.3 -10.0 35.0 101 1.0611CMS Cameron McKenna 107.2 105.0 2.1 50.0 60 1.7912Ashurst 87.9 87.3 0.7 30.0 71 1.2413Simmons & Simmons 85.0 105.2 -19.2 34.0 92 0.9214Denton Wilde Sapte 70.4 71.3 -1.3 42.0 75 0.9415Taylor Wessing 70.0 71.4 -2.0 40.0 90 0.7816SJ Berwin 59.8 60.7 -1.5 35.0 63 0.9517Berwin Leighton Paisner 53.5 52.2 2.5 28.0 58 0.9218Macfarlanes 50.4 54.5 -7.5 55.0 31 1.6319Clyde & Co 42.2 40.7 3.7 22.0 38 1.1120Addleshaw Goddard 40.2 48.5 -17.1 24.0 51 0.79Reasons to be cheerful?Although the corporate practices of the top 20 firms sufferedan average fall in revenue, by the end of the year things werepretty much the same as before. By Gavriel HollanderTop 20 corporate performances, 2009-10TLS_022_a ug_uk200_c or por a t e _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 33Pa ge 22Our strong Canadian roots have served us well.Operating within one of the worlds soundestbanking systems, RBC provides a solid base fromwhich to deliver our unique trust offering.As nimble and exible as an independent, but withthe global resources of an international nancial institution, we offer trust services of exceptionalquality coupled with the provision of world-classwealth management solutions.This unparalleled service is based on putting ourclients at the centre of everything we do. We believein delivering solutions tailor made to suit the needsof our clients, even if that means looking beyond oursuite of in-house solutions.Were like a boutique,but with a balance sheet.To nd out more, please contact us on: +44 (0) 1534 501656Email: trustinfo@rbc.com or log on towww.rbcwminternational.comCondence.A word you dont hear very often these days. 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The Company is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission in the conduct of fund services and trust company business, registered company number 57903, and has its Registered Ofce at: La Motte Chambers, St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, JE1 1PB. A full list of addresses of local legal entities may be obtained thorough RBCs website at the following address : www.rbcwminternational.comRegistered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada.Trademark of Royal Bank of Canada used under license. All rights reserved.TLS_023_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1010: 19Pa ge 124|The Lawyer|UK 200ALL FINANCE practices had a difficult 2008-09, when they borethe brunt of restructuring, but 2009-10 saw a distinct pick-up in thefinance market. Althoughcapitalmarketswasvolatile,Allen&Overy (A&O)pulled in one ofthe choisest structured deals of the year with itsrepresentation of Lloyds Banking Group on its 2.47bn residentialmortgage-backedsecuritisation(RMBS)issue thefirstRMBSissuance since the credit crisis (February 2010). Elsewhere, banking(where, like Clifford Chance, A&O had made deep cuts, particularlyon the leveraged finance side) had a stormer. With some 499m intotalrevenues,A&Owaspullingin2.33mperpartnerandwasinvolved in a number of major deals for both sponsors and lenders.A standoutdealsawpartnerGeorgeLinkadvisingthebankson the1.7bn(1.4bn)SpringerScience&BusinessMedia debt refinancing, which led to one of the biggest European buyouts of2009,withasecondarysalefromCandoverandCinventoEQT.Structurally, the mezzanine market may have frozen over, but high-yield was going great guns despite a hiccup in the latter part of thefinancial year following the Greek crisis. A&Os move to recruit high-yield specialist Kevin Muzilla from Milbank saw the firm catching thetrend early and benefiting. One of his first deals in January was toadvise Manchester United on its 500m bond issue (Latham actedfor the banks). The hire of Muzilla to bolster A&Os issuer side wasechoed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer this July when it hired GilStrauss from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett straight into the equity.Thearrivalofhigh-yieldasadominatingforcewithinfinance underlines the changing transactional landscape for banking lawyers.In the pinkLinklaters,whichhadbeenbuoyedinthepreviousyearbythemammothLehmanBrothersadministration,polishedupits mega restructuring credentials with its roles for RBS and for Lloydson the Governments asset protection scheme, but continued to bevisibleonaseriesofmoreconventionalmarkettransactions:partnerStephenLucasactedforCommerzbankandRBSonthe corporate restructuring of Schaeffler Group; partner Gideon Mooreactedforthearrangersofthe690mfundingofCVCCapital PartnersacquisitionofAnheuser-BuschInBevsCentraland Eastern European operations (the largest new-money financing of2009);MoorealsoadvisedINGonthedebtfinancingofApax Partners 975m acquisition of Marken from Intermediate CapitalGroup;andpartnerNickSysonadvisedNomuraandCalyononKKRs 955m acquisition of Pets at Home from Bridgepoint. Freshfields had a strong year in both restructurings (Four Seasons,Zim and McCarthy & Stone) and new-money deals. Partners suchasChrisHowardandPresleyWarnerexcelled.Freshfieldslean practice accounts for 20 per cent of total firm revenue, but only 17per cent of total partners. Clifford Chance put its difficult 2008-09 behind it to post some ofits best figures for three years. It grossed a total of 486m, of which348mwasbankingand138mwascapitalmarkets.Itsbiggestacquisition finance deal was advising HSBC (partner Nicola Wherity)on its 1.25bn loan to fund Reckitt Benckisers takeover of SSL.Down a bitBelowthebigfourrevenuesatbestheldsteady.Ashurstsneat leveraged finance team remained busy and kicked off its summer in2009witharoleonthelandmarksecondarybuyoutofWoodMcKenzie,boughtbyCharterhousefromCandoverfor553m.Mark Vickers advised Lloyds, Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Nomura.Itcontinuedtobeactiveintheuppermid-marketandsawitsturnover inch up from 63.2m to 67.4m.Lovells, initslastyearbeforemerging with Hogan & Hartson,edged up by just 1m to 107m,mainlythroughrestructuringwork.AlthoughthecomplexstructuredinvestmentvehiclerestructuringsthatoccupiedLovellspracticein2008-09taperedoff,thefirmwasinvolved on the 3.5bn financialrestructuringofPearlGroup,advisingtheseniorsyndicatebanks.Lovellsacquisitionfinancehighlight was on Krafts9.8bn hostile bid for Cadbury,whereithadasubsidiaryroleadvisingCitibank,DeutscheBankandHSBContheEng-lish law aspects of the financing.DLAPipersturnoverof81.3myieldedalowaveragerevenueperpartnerof753,000 somethingnewbanking head Bob Charlton willbe looking to improve, althoughhis firstpriority is to cohese thenationalandEurope,MiddleEastandAsiapractices.Thefirms trade, energy and projectfinancepracticeheldupwell,with work such as the IntercityExpress fleetprogramme.Banking & FinanceRank FirmFinanceturnover 2009-10 (m)Financeturnover 2008-09 (m)Per centdifferencePer cent of totalturnoverNumber of financepartnersRevenue per financepartner (m)1 Allen & Overy 499.0 492.0 1.4 48 214 2.332 Clifford Chance 486.0 472.0 3.0 39 216 2.383 Linklaters 473.0 493.0 -4.0 40 180 2.634 Freshfields 228.0 257.4 -11.4 20 79 2.895 Norton Rose 119.7 119.0 0.6 39 101 1.196 Lovells 107.0 106.2 0.8 19 63 1.647 Slaughter and May 99.0 80.0 23.8 23 33 3.008 Simmons & Simmons 95.0 93.0 2.2 38 71 1.349 DLA Piper 81.3 93.6 -13.1 14 108 0.7510 Ashurst 67.4 63.2 6.6 23 56 1.2011 Herbert Smith 44.8 42.6 5.4 10 30 1.49=12 Addleshaw Goddard 38.5 34.6 11.3 23 34 1.13=12 Denton Wilde Sapte 38.5 40.0 -3.8 23 45 0.8614 CMS Cameron McKenna 36.4 50.4 -27.8 17 22 1.6615 Berwin Leighton Paisner 34.4 34.6 -0.6 18 39 0.88The biggest players enjoyed a return to form in the beleagueredbanking and finance sphere, with their mid-market rivalslooking on enviously. Andrew Pugh provides the lowdownTop heaviesTop 15 finance performances, 2009-10TLS_024_a ug_uk200_ba nki ng_e d26/ 8/ 1015: 35Pa ge 24TLS_025_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1010: 22Pa ge 1Real Estate26|The Lawyer|UK 200PROPERTY was hit first and hardest during the financial crisis andtwo years on most of the leading UK real estate practices have stillfailed to bounce back.Mostpracticesexperiencedstaticgrowthordipsinrevenue. Pre-mergerLovells,thebestperformerofthetop20realestate practices during 2008-09 with a revenue increase of 5 per cent, from45m to 47m, is a case in point. It fell by 13 per cent last year to41m.AsimilarfallwasfeltatDLAPiper,whichsawrealestaterevenueslideby14percent,from87.75mto75.53m,whileAddleshawGoddards revenue shrunk by 13 per cent, from 34.62mto 30.2m.Success in the CityAtfirstglancethisissurprisinggiventherecentactivityintheLondon prime real estate market. Examples include DLA PipersadvicetoFunderburkEurope2ontheacquisitionofAllen&Overys (A&O) headquarters at One Bishops Square from CliffordChance clientHammerson.AlsoHerbertSmithandSJBerwinadvised Al Salam Bank and Evans Randall on their joint purchaseofAddleshawsLondonheadquartersatMiltonGatefromUBSAsset Management. The building was subsequently sold once againto an unnamed Middle East investor. OnthelettingssideBerwinLeightonPaisner (BLP)actedforOxford Properties on the letting of Watermark Place to JapaneseinvestmentbankNomura(oneofthelargestpre-letsevertobe completed), while Lovells assisted fund manager BlackRock on itsrelocation to Drapers Gardens in the City. But despite this relatively frenetic level of activity, joint head ofLovells legacy real estate practice Michael Stancombe points outthat high-grade City property is still a relatively narrow marketand alone is not enough to sustain revenue growth.One firm that did experience an increase in real estate revenue wasCMSCameronMcKenna.The7percentgrowthrateinthe property department was all the more striking because it took placeagainstthebackdropofanoverall11percentdropinfirmwideturnover.RealestatepartnerMarkHeightonclaimsthiswasbecauseofawell-hedgedpractice.Thisincludesahotelssectorfocus,withdealsincludingactingforGrosvenoronthesaleof theHiltonHotelLiverpoolto TaylorWessingclientAbilityDevelopments and work for Dutch entity Citizen M Hotel Group onthe redevelopment of two London hotels. The departments cofferswere also boosted by acting on the sale of retail warehouses, an areathat boomed as a result of the weight of money coming in, the factthatitssafeincomeand[involves]goodtenants,accordingtoHeighton. Real estate assistance in non-core areas, such as actingfor an energy joint venture on its acquisition of sites for new nuclearpower stations, also provided a strong income line.De-stressing newsOne of the great mistakes made by commentators at the start of therecession was the prediction that banks would flood the market withdistressed assets. Transactions such as the White Tower portfolio,whichwasrecentlysnappedupbyCarlyleGroup,SchrodersandHammerson, are a rarity. While Camerons has retained a key rolesince the end of the 2009-10 financial year advising Halliwells onthecarve-upofitspropertyobligations,Heightonbelievesthat itwillcontinuetobeagradualprocessoverthenextthreeto five years.The banks own so much property that it would damage the banksthemselvesandpricesiftheyfloodedthemarket,hecomments.ThisisaviewthatStancombeechoes,arguingthatitwillbea controlled release.Despiteachallenging2009-10,CliffordChancemaintains its positionashavingthe largestrealestatepracticegroup, with the best real estaterevenueperpartnerfigureofany Citypractice at 2.15m. CliffMcAuley,globalpracticearealeader,sharestherelative optimismexpressedamonghiscounterpartsatotherfirmsabout the year ahead. The past two years have beenchallenging for the global prop-erty market, but were pleased toseeactivitybeginningtopickup,hesays.Thepracticeis showingsomeimprovement inthedevelopedWesterneconomies and, although theresstillsomewaytogo,weexpectthis upward trend will continueover thecoming year.WithhisfirmrecentlycompletingitsmergerwithHogan&Hartson,LovellsStancombe is also positive thatanupwardtrendisaroundthecornerand anticipatesacting forhotelsandopportunityfunds.Property clashRank FirmReal estateturnover2009-10 (m)Real estateturnover2008-09 (m)Per cent differencePer centof totalturnoverNumber ofreal estate partnersRevenue per real estatepartner (m)1 Clifford Chance 86.0 93.6 -8.1 7.2 40 2.152 DLA Piper 75.5 87.8 -13.9 13.0 89 0.853 Eversheds 63.9 69.5 -8.0 18.0 56 1.144 Berwin Leighton Paisner 55.4 59.4 -6.8 29.0 43 1.295 Linklaters 51.3 58.2 -11.8 4.3 31 1.656 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 43.8 51.5 -14.9 3.8 25 1.757 Allen & Overy 42.0 41.1 2.4 4.0 40 1.058 Lovells 41.0 47.0 -12.8 7.6 24 1.719 Taylor Wessing* 38.0 24.5 55.2 21.4 40 0.9510 Herbert Smith 34.2 36.1 -5.2 7.6 20 1.7111 Nabarro 33.0 35.4 -6.8 29.0 32 1.0312 Trowers & Hamlins 32.2 32.2 -1.2 36.0 45 0.7213 Pinsent Masons 30.9 34.4 -10.2 15.0 39 0.7914 Addleshaw Goddard 30.2 34.6 -12.8 18.0 30 1.0015 Ashurst 29.3 33.1 -11.5 10.0 20 1.4716 Denton Wilde Sapte 28.5 27.2 4.8 17.0 23 1.2417 CMS Cameron McKenna 27.9 26.0 7.2 18.0 18 1.5518 Wragge & Co 26.9 28.2 -4.6 28.0 33 0.8219 SJ Berwin 25.7 29.4 -12.9 15.0 24 1.0720 Shoosmiths 24.3 24.8 -1.8 27.0 42 0.58*2009-10 figure is a global figure, whereas 2008-09 figure is UK onlyDespite an active London real estate market,property teams continue to suffer from hangovers coming out of the recession. Luke McLeod-Robertslooks back at a difficult year for the sectorTop 20 real estate performances, 2009-10TLS_026_Aug_uk100_r e a l e s t a t e _e d26/ 8/ 1015: 43Pa ge 26Driving careersforwardKeep ahead of the competition with The College of LawTo stay ahead ih the legal professioh, your team heeds high quality legal traihihg ih the areas that really couht. At The College of Law we've got the right courses to drive your orgahisatioh forward.All our professiohal developmeht programmes are desighed to hohe your team's skills ahd give them a competitive edge. Ahd with ohlihe traihihg available through College of Law Media, your staff cah study where ahd wheh they waht so their CFD woh't get ih the way of their day-to-day work.Subscribe to Traihihg Matters, our topical CFD e-hewsletter at college-of-law.co.uk/traihihgmattersFind out morecollege-of-law.co.uk0800 289997 or e-mail pd@lawcol.co.ukFegistered charity TLS_027_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1010: 25Pa ge 1Litigation28|The Lawyer|UK 200LITIGATION revenue improved across the top 15 UK practices lastyear, but the long predicted litigation boom has still failed to mate-rialise. Nevertheless, total revenue for the top practices rose by 3.9percent,from1.78bnto1.85bn,withFreshfieldsBruckhausDeringer leading the way, posting a litigation turnover of 250.8m.Undoubtedlytherecessionhaspromptedariseindispute resolution activity, but clients are now on the hunt for value, whichmeans they are spreading the work around.That should not detract from those at the top of the pile, whichhave invested to build up quality global practices capable ofworkingat full capacity to meet demand for global legal solutions.Big countryHaving invested heavily in its US practice, Freshfields is beginningtoreapthefinancialrewards.Thefirmextendeditsleadoveritsnearestrivalsbypostingan8.1percentriseinturnoveratthe 2009-10 year-end. Freshfields litigation practice now accounts for22 per cent of the firms 1.18bn turnover, compared with 18 percent at the 2008-09 year-end. Since January 2008 Freshfields has made seven high-level lateralhires in its US litigation practice. These include partners MarshallFishmanfromKramerLevinNaftalis&Frankel andTimothy Coleman from Dewey & LeBoeuf in New York, plus Vinson & Elkinspartner Walter Stuart, who joined the Washington DC practice.States slideThis contrasts sharply with Clifford Chance, which suffered a seriesof exits from its US group last year. These included former globallitigation chief Mark Kirsch, who quit in May 2009 to join GibsonDunn & Crutcher along with partners Joel Cohen and ChristopherJoralemon. The firms US practice is now run from Washington DCby Juan Morillo. Clifford Chance is now 28 per cent behind Freshfields in terms oflitigation turnover, with 179.5m, down 5.1 per cent from 189m.However,overallpartnerheadcountdeclinedbyjustoneto74,meaning that revenue per litigation partner (RPLP) has fallen by 3.9per cent, from 2.52m to 2.42m.Main contendersThebestperformanceoftheyearintermsofgrowthcamefromAllen&Overy,anotherfirmthathasinvestedheavilyinitsUSpractice. The firm posted a 24.2 per cent jump in litigation revenue,from 110m to 136.6m. Nevertheless, with partner headcount upby nine to 50, RPLP rose only marginally, from 2.68m to 2.7m,putting it behind Linklaters and Freshfields.Linklatersmayhaveasmallerlitigationpartnershipat40,butthose partners produced an RPLP of 3.24m, generating a revenueof 129.8m, down from 130m a year earlier.ThefirmiseclipsedbyHerbertSmith,hometoaweighty contentiouspractice,whichcontributed38percentofthefirms449.9m revenue, in terms of turnover. HerbertSmithreporteda4.8percentincreaseinlitigation revenue, from 163m to 170.96m, with 81 partners producing anRPLP figure of 2.31m. Gain sayersAt the end of the next financial year the magic circle will feel the fulleffect of the Hogan & Hartson-Lovells merger. At the latest year-endLovells 52 legacy litigation partners posted an RPLP of 2.5m, 8.2per cent ahead of Herbert Smiths, giving it a turnover of 130.07m. That said, the firms contentious practices in tax, real estate, IP andemployment sit outside the dispute resolution revenue stream. Ifthese are taken into consideration, litigation work accounted for 34per cent of Lovells turnover, or 184.2m.An interesting pattern is beginning to emerge, with those firms thatsit just outside the top 15 increasingly stealing a march on their peers. Addleshaw Goddard, for instance, revealed its litigation groupturnoverforthefirsttimethisyear.Thefirmpostedadisputesturnover of 53.6m, up by 14.8 per cent from 46.7m a year earlier.If the upward trend continues the firm is likely to break into the top15 in 2010-11. Similarly, Norton Rose saw a 23.6 per cent jump in its litigationrevenue, from 34.8m to 43m, and with 70 per cent of the firmswork deemed contentious, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain posted alitigation turnover of 42m.While litigation practices for the top 15 firms can boasta 4 per cent average rise in revenue, there is still nosign of the predicted boom, reports Katy DowellRank FirmLitigation turnover2009-10 (m)Litigation turnover2008-09 (m)Per centdifferencePer cent of totalturnoverNumber of litigationpartnersRevenue perlitigation partner (m)1Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 250.8 232 8.1 22.0 63 3.982Clifford Chance 179.5 189 -5.1 15.0 74 2.423Herbert Smith 171.0 163 4.8 38.0 81 2.314Allen & Overy 136.6 110 24.2 13.0 50 2.735Irwin Mitchell 133.5 134 -0.4 85.0 102 1.306Clyde & Co 130.6 119 9.7 68.0 108 1.207Lovells 130.1 122 6.6 24.0 52 2.508Linklaters 129.8 130 -0.2 11.0 40 3.249DLA Piper 122.0 104 17.3 21.0 108 1.1210Beachcroft 86.5 73 18.4 66.0 79 1.0911Simmons & Simmons 84.0 79 6.3 33.6 57 1.4712Holman Fenwick Willan 81.6 82 -0.4 81.7 78 1.0413Kennedys 76.8 58 32.4 87.0 125 0.6114Eversheds 71.0 104 -31.7 20.0 53 1.3415Barlow Lyde & Gilbert 64.4 70 -8.0 79.0 60 1.07Up, up and a waitTop 15 litigation performances, 2009-10TLS_028_a ug_uk200_l i t i ga t i on_e d26/ 8/ 1015: 44Pa ge 2815-19 Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 1LBTel: +44 1624 638300Fax: +44 1624 638333Email: law@cains.comOne Love Lane, London EC2V 7JNTel: +44 20 7367 0030Fax: +44 20 7367 0031Email: london@cains.com19th Floor, 6 Battery RoadSingapore 049909Tel: +65 6307 9928Fax:+65 6307 9929Email: singapore@cains.comISLE OF MAN LONDON SINGAPOREINTEGRATED EXPERTISEWWW.CAINS.COMWe are a highly successful, dynamic firm andwork alongside the worlds leading law firmsand investment banks to provide integratedlegal and professional services expertise to aglobal client base.For more information please contact:Isle of Man - Richard VanderplankLondon - Geoff KermeenSingapore - Mike EdwardsThe Lawyer Awards 2008British Legal Awards 2007Offshore Firm of the YearTLS_029_UK200_10_di s 25/ 8/ 1010: 27Pa ge 1round meant headcount in the department remainedstatic,whileitcontinuedtoprovidearound15percent of firmwide fees. Despite a tricky corporate year there were plum roleson two of the biggest M&A transactions of the year.Guy Norman led on Krafts acquisition of Cadbury andforBabcockonitslessacrimoniouspurchaseofVTGroup.NormanssubsequentmovetoDubaicouldleave a deal-making hole in the London group.Thepastfinancialyearwasbookendedbytwo high-profile defections to Simpson Thacher & Bartlettin the shape of private equity heavyweight Adam Signyand funds chief Jason Glover, who left in July. Add inthe June 2010 loss of global competition head SimonBaxter to another US raider, Skadden, and the imagepersists of a firm where partners heads can be turned.Geographically,theUKandWesternEurope sufferedmost,withrevenuesfallingby9and8percent respectively. Despite the partner exits early in theyear,theUSpracticewasdownonlyslightly(3percent),whileAsiaperformedstronglyandnowaccounts for 10 per cent of revenue.Clifford Chances lockstep runs from 40 to 100 points,withequitypartnerstakingnineyearstoreachtheplateau. Unlike at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer andLinklaters, the firm has retained a significant rump ofsalaried partners, with one in three outside the equity. 1-430|The Lawyer|UK 200Turnover (M):1,197Average PEP (K):933Equity spread (K):451-1,130Profit margin (%):29RPL (K):463A GLANCE at the raw numbers might suggest thatClifford Chance enjoyed a more successful 2009-10than any of its magic circle peers. But few believe thefigures tell the full story of a firm that has been morerecession-hit than its illustrious rivals.In terms of turnover