Nathalie Tidman

As we go to press on Legal Business’ third annual ESG report, the data points gathered on firms’ ethnicity and gender diversity make for disheartening reading, not least because they are entirely predictable in their lack of substantive progress from last year. In truth, the continued lack of engagement on diversity data as part of our ESG survey among many of the top 25 Legal Business 100 and top 25 Global London firms is wearing a little thin now. The response rate among firms approached for g…

Rich Youle, Skadden’s much-admired co-head of private equity, has taken over from Pranav Trivedi as the head of Skadden’s London office. Youle (pictured) took the helm on 1 July and will continue as global co-head of the firm’s private equity group alongside Ken Wolff in New York. Widely regarded as one of the most influential dealmakers in the Square Mile, Youle joined Skadden from White & Case in 2017 amid much fanfare. For his part, Trivedi has been at Skadden for 30 years and is widely held…

‘Have I told you my friend’s story about being a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz in Aberdeen in the 1980s? Phone me when you are bored.’ Such messages – as apparently apropos of nothing as they were impossible to ignore – were not uncommon from Professor Paul Quayle Watchman, former Freshfields partner and ESG guru who sadly passed away at the start of July. Paul’s more irreverent missives were often intermingled with ‘serious’ work-related emails about ESG initiatives, the climate crisis and other…

So much ink has been spilled over game-changing developments in recent weeks – namely the partnership vote in favour of the A&O Shearman deal, and Paul Weiss’ assault on the talent pools of the Square Mile – that it can be difficult to find an angle that isn’t hackneyed to within an inch of its life. Nevertheless, a ring around senior contacts for a different take paid dividends, even if some of the suggestions are more about playing devil’s advocate and mischief-making. One partner at a US firm…

‘What’s happening with Kirkland would make a great Netflix documentary, although maybe a bit niche,’ quips one managing partner of the recent saga of the Chicago-bred powerhouse and Paul Weiss’ London office. ‘Let’s hope they’ve had cameras dotted around the office!’ The amused detachment with which the remark is delivered could be said to sum up the stance of Ireland’s law firm leaders in the round – often looking on at the dramas besetting other international markets from a rarefied position o…

Nathalie Tidman, Legal Business: Welcome everyone. We have a fantastic panel of extremely talented and insightful people here this evening. As a starter for ten, what do you see as the real opportunities and benefits for in-house lawyers using generative AI in your day-to-day dealings? Helen Dooley, AIB: In-house lawyers add value to the business, but we are an overhead. I am scared by GenAI, but I see it as a huge opportunity for in-house lawyers. I am sure law firms can utilise this for the lo…

Date: Thu 9 Nov 2023 Time: 8.15am-6.00pm Venue: QEII Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London, SW1P 3EE AGENDA 8.15am – 9.00am Registration 9.00am – 9.10am Opening remarks Nathalie Tidman, editor, Legal Business 9.10am – 10.00am The next big thing or tomorrow’s fish and chip paper? Recent trends in banking litigation. The panel will discuss a broad range of topics that have been prevalent in 2023: ESG-related litigation; The rise of securities class actions; The impact of the PACCAR decision on litigation funding; Claims for breach of the so-called Quincecare duty post Philipp v Barclays; Disputes arising from Russian sanctions; and The continued debate regarding

Just when the market thought Paul Weiss had eased up on its hiring spree in the run-up to Christmas, the firm has hired John Patten, a partner in the London technology and intellectual property (IP) transactions practice of Kirkland & Ellis. The move sees the Wall Street giant continue to pursue with gusto the build-out of the English law practice that has gathered momentum in short order, much to the chagrin of the management of Kirkland and Linklaters, among others. For his part, Patten, who i…

When I was 12, I was a competitive swimmer, and I used to swim every morning before school. If you’re swimming that much, your swimsuits get see-through, so for training, sometimes you’d have to wear double swimsuits, and that’s a bit of a drag when you’re in a competition. I’d asked my mum for a new swimsuit, but she said I would have to wait till the end of the month. I asked her how I could become rich to be able to afford a new one. She said: ’You can become a solicitor, or you can marry som…

Whether it is the prospect of another few weeks still left of winter, many law firm leaders seem to have started the year under an uncharacteristic cloud of despondency. Of course, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the other reasons why even the peppiest of senior partners might appear noticeably dispirited. The US contingent at least will be frantically number-crunching ahead of financial results coming out and, after the year that most transactional practices have had, the task will be abou…