M6931 Legal Services

Salaries take a dive as profits fall

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Original article by Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 31-Jul-15

Data from Mahlab Recruitment shows that Australian lawyers’ salaries have risen by an average of 3.4 per cent in 2015, compared with 3.8 per cent growth in 2014. A Mahlab report also notes that the salaries of partners at some leading law firms have fallen significantly in the last three years. Meanwhile, the growing trend for top law firms to merger with offshore peers has prompted some partners to leave and join smaller firms that have stayed independent.

CORPORATES
MAHLAB RECRUITMENT, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, ALLENS, K&L GATES LLP, NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT AUSTRALIA, DLA PIPER, LINKLATERS LLP

Law firms’ new threat: accountants

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Original article by Agnes King, Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 41 : 22-Jul-15

Australia’s four major accounting firms are aggressively expanding into the legal services sector. Ernst & Young has assembled a 16-strong team of lawyers in Australia, while PricewaterhouseCoopers boasts about 120 lawyers. In the past, accounting firms have tended to focus on areas such as tax litigation, but they are increasingly expanding into areas such as property and employment law. There is speculation that this trend may prompt some law firms to give more of their accounting work to smaller firms at the expense of the "big four".

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAKER AND McKENZIE, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, K&L GATES LLP, DLA PIPER, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, BEATON RESEARCH AND CONSULTING PTY LTD, BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA, SOCIETY OF INDIAN LAW FIRMS

Gordon off to Clifford Chance

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Original article by Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 10-Jul-15

UK law firm Clifford Chance has significantly expanded its team of lawyers in Australia since it entered the local market in 2011. The firm intends to further expand its legal team via lateral hires, having recently recruited Allens’ banking and finance partner Richard Gordon. Other recent lateral hires in the legal profession include Chris Robertson’s move from Allen & Overy to King & Wood Mallesons.

CORPORATES
CLIFFORD CHANCE, ALLENS, ALLEN AND OVERY, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, CLAYTON UTZ, HOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLP, SLAUGHTER AND MAY, LINKLATERS LLP

Women dominant in senior ranks, next step still to come

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 3-Jul-15

Women account for 24 per cent of partners at the law firms that participated in the 2015 law partnership survey of "The Australian Financial Review". However, female lawyers comprise more than 60 per cent of senior associates at these firms. Some 66 per cent of senior associates at Corrs Chambers Westgarth are women, while 64 per cent at Herbert Smith Freehills are women.

CORPORATES
CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT AUSTRALIA, SEYFARTH SHAW LLP, ALLENS

A royal rift over the title to silk

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Original article by Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 22-May-15

New South Wales (NSW) dropped the Queen’s Counsel (QC) designation for barristers who have taken silk in 1993, but the state’s Bar Council will push for it to be reinstated. The NSW Bar Association rejected a push to reintroduce QC in 2014, and former president Phillip Boulten says there is still no compelling reason to do so. Victoria and Queensland have reinstated the title, and most silks in those states have made the switch from SC.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES BAR COUNCIL, NEW SOUTH WALES BAR ASSOCIATION, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL AND JUSTICE

Slater & Gordon takes $1b bet on fallen angel

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 31-Mar-15

Australian-listed law firm Slater & Gordon will raise $A890m from investors to partially finance the acquisition of Quindell, a UK-based professional services firm. The $A1.2bn deal, which will also be partly financed via debt, will make Slater & Gordon one of Australia’s 100 largest listed companies. Matt Haupt of Wilson Asset Management notes that the deal will increase Slater & Gordon’s market share in the UK to 12 per cent

CORPORATES
SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, QUINDELL PLC, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, ERNST AND YOUNG, LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE. ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT MARKET

Career dreams dashed as graduate oversupply worsens

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 20-Mar-15

There are not enough positions for Australian law graduate, and many of them are forced to work in other sectors. As law schools are producing too many graduates, they have started to promote law as a generalist qualification which does not necessarily lead to a career in law. Amanda Cutajar, the head of the Australian division of human resources at DLA Piper, says law firms are now in a comfortable situation of being able to be quite selective in recruitment

CORPORATES
DLA PIPER, GADENS LAWYERS, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

PwC woos lawyers with its promise of growth

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Original article by Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 6-Mar-15

Australian accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is continuing to recruit lawyers for its legal practice. The firm is targeting the corporate advisory, tax, workplace relations, projects and finance, and regulatory sectors of the legal market. The legal practice is headed by former King & Wood Mallesons partners Tony O’Malley and Tim Blue. Other major accounting firms are also expanding into legal services

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MADDOCKS LAWYERS, DELOITTE LAWYERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. BOARD OF TAXATION

Law graduates undeterred by dire job hopes

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis, Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 27-Feb-15

The latest Australian Law Students Survey has highlighted the challenging job market for law graduates. The Survive Law website’s survey found that 33 per cent of law students are not confident that they will gain a job after graduating, while more than 50 per cent say that universities should offer greater assistance in searching for jobs. In addition, more than 50 per cent of law students indicated their desire to practice law after graduating

CORPORATES
SURVIVE LAW, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Survey paints a dire picture

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Original article by Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 20-Feb-15

A survey by the Survive Law website shows that stress is a major issue for most Australian law students. The online survey found that nearly 50 per cent of respondents had contemplated quitting their degree due to stress. Kat Crossley, the website’s editor, notes that the limited job opportunities for law graduates is also a major issue. Melbourne Law School dean Carolyn Evans adds that the challenging graduate job market is an issue for all university students

CORPORATES
SURVIVE LAW, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. LAW SCHOOL, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN LAW DEANS, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN LAW STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION