Magic Circle Salaries
June 9, 2011 by Damian
For anyone heading over to London in the not too distant future, I thought that you would be interested in the following article from Legal Week.
http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/2076615/clifford-chance-announces-pay-rises-city-associates
As you will see, even given the very poor exchange rate, these figures are still pretty mouth watering. (Even more frightening are the salaries on offer in the US firms based in London where you can add up to GBP15-20,000 onto these figures in some instances). Consequently, someone at the three year level at one of these Magic Circle firms can earn a similar wage to a senior associate in a top tier firm here.
That is the good news. The not so good news is that it is still very difficult to secure a role in one of these Magic Circle firms and only those working in a top tier or highly regarded boutique firm will stand any chance of availing themselves of one of these very attractive salaries. However for those of you who can, you literally will be ‘quids in’.
If anyone out there reading this would like to have a conversation with me about the London market, please get in touch now. I would be delighted to assist you.
Clifford Chance sizes up options for Australia launch
December 13, 2010 by Damian
It looks like the Australian market is bracing itself for the arrival of another international heavyweight, judging by this story in Legal Week :
Clifford Chance (CC) has been looking again at entering the Australian market, two years after informal merger talks with Mallesons Stephen Jaques ended in 2008.
The magic circle law firm has been considering options in the region and has held discussions with a number of firms on the ground in recent months.
Perth outfit Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe and Sydney firm Chang Pistilli & Simmons are among those CC is understood to have talked to within the last two months; however, discussions with both firms are now thought to have been concluded.
Seven-partner Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe was set up by two partners from Mallesons, Ian Cochrane and Michael Lishman, in 2006.
Seven-partner Chang Pistilli & Simmons was set up the same year by a group of partners from Sydney outfit Atanaskovic Hartnell, including dispute resolution partner Diana Chang and M&A partners Mark Pistilli and Danny Simmons.
News of the talks comes after informal merger discussions between CC and Mallesons ended in 2008 as a result of the market downturn. The firms had previously talked in 1999.
Name partner Ben Luscombe said: “This firm has been approached by inter-state and overseas firms interested in establishing a presence in Perth, but it is not our policy to comment on those approaches.”
CC refused to comment on its intentions but a partner conceded the firm was looking to launch via a team hire.
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose have both launched offices in Australia within the last year. Norton Rose tied up with Deacons, while A&O hired a group of partners from Clayton Utz and Freehills.
As the article states, it is not the first time that Clifford Chance has looked at establishing some sort of presence in Australia. However, with the arrival of A&O and Norton Rose, it looks like they have made the decision to look at it again, albeit in a more understated way than was planned with the Mallesons merger.
Looking at it in a broader sense, it is rare that where one international firm goes, the other international firms do not follow (unless you are talking about Slaughter and May). As such, in the coming few years, it would not be a surprise to see some of the other leading international firms making their way ‘down under’ and establishing a foothold in Australia.
Whether any of them will decide to travel the extra few miles to have a look down here is anyone’s guess but it would certainly make life interesting if they did!
UK/NZ Law Firm Mergers
June 30, 2009 by Damian
The big news this week in the legal world is the merger between UK heavyweights Norton Rose and the mid-tier Australian firm, Deacons – http://www.thelawyer.com/norton-rose-signs-tie-up-with-australias-deacons/1001147.article.
It is the first merger between a major UK law firm and a significant player in the Australian market and has provoked a lot of intense debate on websites such as The Lawyer and Legal Week, some of which has been very insightful, some of it being just downright xenophobic.
The rationale behind the merger seems to be a desire to shore up both firm’s practices in the Asian market. Only time will tell if it is successful or not but as more than one contributor to the debate has pointed out, it will definitely increase the amount of top quality Australian lawyers wanting to join Deacons as people see the inevitable secondment opportunities that the merger will bring to lawyers within the firm.
The merger has got me thinking about the possibility of a UK/NZ merger. I have never heard any talk of it, probably because the UK firms cannot see any upside to it but if it did happen, how about these potential merger partners?
If Slaughter & May merged with Russell McVeagh, the firm could be called Slaughter & McVeagh.
If Simmons & Simmons merged with Simpson Grierson, the firm could easily be called Simpson & Simmons.
Similarly, Olswang and Kensington Swan could be Olswan and AJ Park and SJ Berwin could be AJ Berwin.
It is doubtful that any of these fanciful mergers will ever happen but I am sure that the leading lights in the NZ firms, as well as the Australian firms, will be looking at the Norton Rose/Deacons merger to see how successful or not it turns out to be.