How to find information on Law Firms and Solicitors in the UK

If you are a member of the public looking for information on a solicitors or law firm in the UK what are the best resources to use and which resources can be trusted in terms of reviews and rankings that they give to a law firm.

There are three main legal directories in the UK that have long a distinguished history of rating and reviewing law firms. The three main players are The Legal 500, Chambers and The Lawyer.  I will examine each one of these sites in more detail.

The Legal 500

The Legal 500 website and matching printed directory are the flagship products of Legalese Publishing who were formed in 1987. The Legal 500 was the first was the first UK website that provided reviews of large firms and it is currently the largest site of its type.

Legalese was founded by John Pritchard and he still edits and publishes the directory. Although it initial started as a directory of UK legal services the Legal 500 series now covers most regions in the world.

A firms listing in the directory covers areas of specialism and their position in their region or location. The Legal 500 listing also includes information on key individuals and a firm profile.  The Legal 500 is seen as the most authoritative of the legal directories in the UK due to the in depth nature of the research it carries out and the length of time it has been established.

The legal 500 can be viewed on the internet, in a hardback book form an as an ebook.

http://www.legal500.com/

An example of a Legal 500 company profile – LesterAldridge LLP Bournemouth

Chambers

Chambers was established in 1990 and currently employs 140 highly qualified full-time researchers who conduct thousands of interviews with lawyers and their clients worldwide. The legal directory covers a wide range of practice areas and locations within the UK and abroad. They also publish the UK Bar Guide for barristers and barrister chambers and a UK Student Guide that looks at law firms from the view point of those what a career in law.

Lawyers and law firms are ranked in Bands from 1-6 and these rankings are based on a number of criteria including technical legal ability, professional conduct and client service.

Chambers and Partners is avalible as a hardback book, via their website and as an e-book.

http://www.chambersandpartners.com

An example of a Chamber company Profile – Lester Aldridge LLP

The Lawyer

The Lawyer is the leading magazine in the UK for solicitors, lawyers and other members of the legal profession. It has first published in 1981 and is owned by Centaur Media who also own Marketing Week and The Creative Review. The magazine and website cover a wide range of legal news stories, briefings and legal jobs. Unlike both The Legal 500 and Chambers the law firm reviews are not the primary function of the lawyer. That is not to say that the reviews do not carry weight and value. The reviews in the lawyer tend to focus on the profit and turnover of the firm with less in depth analysis of the type carried out by The Legal 500 and Chambers. There is a neat little tool that allows you to compare law firm turnovers and plots them against each other on a graph.

The Lawyer

An Example of a company Profile - http://www.thelawyer.com/lester-aldridge/414809.supplier

There are also a number of other ways to check law firm feedback including checking local forums, Google+ pages, sites such as Trip Advisor and Qype. The issue with these sites is that the information is not always verifiable and the identity of the reviewers cannot be checked.

If you are a member of the public looking for information on a law firm then Chambers and The Legal 500 provide the best information in terms of reputation and areas of expertise. If you are a student thinking about working for a firm then the tools on the lawyer can be useful as well.

  Tony Heywood ©

Stone King Charity Law Workshop London March 2013

Charity Law Workshop in London: "Are we in a mess yet? Avoiding Fraud, Mismanagement and Trouble with the Charity Commission"

Stone King Solicitors are running a Charity Law workshop in London in March 2013.

These are the details of the speakers:

Speakers: Michael King (Head of Charity and Education Team) and Alexandra Whittaker (Associate Solicitor) of Stone King LLP and Sudhir Singh (Chairman Not for Profit sector) and Alan Caperon (Associate Director) of Baker Tilly LLP.

Venue: Stone King LLP, 16 St John’s Lane, London, EC1M 4BS.

Timings: Registration 2.15pm, start 2.30pm and finish 4.30pm.

Fee: £30 (incl. VAT) refreshments will be provided.


http://www.stoneking.co.uk/events/listing/-/page/1666/

New Licencing Team at Davenport Lyons

At the beginning of this year Davenport Lyons was joined by leading licensing practitioner, Philip Somarakis to take our licensing practice forward.

This is an exciting new development for Davenport Lyons and we plan to expand our licensing practice further to include gaming and regulatory issues.

We would welcome the opportunity to explore how we can assist you in these areas in the future.

Phillip Somarakis will be supported by Phillip D’Costa, a partner in the firm with substantial licensing expertise who will deal with matters on a day to day basis.

http://www.davenportlyons.com/news/news-stories/new_licensing_team_for_davenport_lyons/

Bond Pearce and Maclay Murray Merger shelved?

Follow up article in the Lawyer discussing mergers between mid size law firms following on from the news of the shelved merger between Bond Pearce and Maclay Murray 


"News that Bond Pearce and Maclay Murray & Spens have called off merger talks after months of discussions (TheLawyer.com, 14 March) sheds new light on the rush to consolidate among mid-market firms – all the mergers that have been announced in the past few months and  all the merger talks known to be going on at the moment are only the tip of the iceberg..."

Full article is here


http://www.thelawyer.com/maclays-keeps-on-knocking-after-bond-pearce-talks-end/1011842.article

Penningtons Solicitors London are sponsoring the International Student Affairs Conference 2012. The following is from there website:

"Penningtons' leading immigration team will be sponsoring the opening plenary of the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) annual conference in July. The session, presented by John Vine, independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, will focus on the ongoing review of Tier 4 of the points based system."

For the full article visits here:

http://www.penningtons.co.uk/Global/Events/2012/UK-Council-for-International-Student-Affairs-annual-conference-2012

Stone King Appoint Graham Burns as Partner

Stone King LLP are pleased to announce the arrival of Graham Burns as a Partner and other new assistant colleagues in their Education Law team.

Graham is an acknowledged expert in complex education sector procurement and organisational change. He has previously worked for a local authority before joining Eversheds and then established a well-regarded education practice at TPP Law. As well as specialising in some of the most complex education procurement projects such as PFI and BSF, Graham has more recently developed a national reputation in setting up free schools and other forms of academy.

For more information on academy conversions or education law visit the education team at Stone King.

Stone King is independently recognised for its education and charity practice and acts for over 400 educational organisations throughout the UK.

Lawyer have released a preview of Lawyer 200

The Lawyer have released a preview of Lawyer 200 on it website.

The intro text reads.

"..As London’s top sets ride the litigation boom they are also having to face up to the realities of working in a changed commercial environment, where economic pressures are more intense than ever..."

The full article is here:

http://www.thelawyer.com/the-lawyer-uk-200-preview-the-bar-rate-cuts-dampen-litigation-boom/1008931.article

Linklaters' HR director to retire from firm

"In a statement, managing partner Simon Davies said: “Jill will be much missed. Under her leadership, the firm has made significant progress in articulating and executing our people strategy and she leaves a legacy of a strong and well regarded global HR team.

“We can confirm that the search for her successor is underway. In the meantime, we thank Jill for her tremendous contribution to the firm and wish her all the very best in her retirement.”

The Lawyer reports that Linklaters is to lose a second senior member of its HR team, with HR director Jill King set to retire from the firm.

The full story is published here:

http://www.thelawyer.com/linklaters-hr-director-to-retire-from-firm/1008964.article

BLP Hires Linklaters Lawyer For Hong Kong Launch

News at the Lawyer at BLP Hire Linklaters Lawyers for its launch in Hong Kong.

"...No date has yet been set for the launch, but managing partner Neville Eisenberg said the process of getting regulatory approval for the new office is “quite well advanced..."

http://www.thelawyer.com/blp-hires-linklaters-lawyer-for-hong-kong-launch/1008268.article

The Apprentice 2011 - Its Back!

The glory that is The Apprentice returns to the BBC on the 10th May 2011 for its seventh series.

The twist this year is that the winner doesn't get a job with Sir Alan but a cool £250,000 to invest in their own business with Lord Sugar taking a 50% stake.

It's always such top entertainment with the candidates falling over themselves to knife each other in the back.

Alan Sugar seems to have an issue with those who are too clever - I think that Thomas might get on his goat right from the start.

Emmetts to Recruit 100 Staff

Good Legal Recruitment news over at The Recruiter. Emmetts LLP are set to recruit 100 legal and admin staff this year. New head of HR Charles Crookall

" Emmetts is a great place to work. There are some really talented people here. It’s young. It’s vibrant. It’s entrepreneurial. And that’s why we’re urging anyone seeking out their next employment challenge in the legal sector to get in touch and build their career with Emmetts..."

The full post is here.

http://www.recruiter.co.uk/emmetts-to-recruit-100/1009116.article

First bar census reveals little improvement in diversity statistics.

The Lawyer are covering the story about the Bar Barometer report which is a census of the state of the professional currently and it also compares the data with the profession in 2005-06

This is the introduction to the report.

"Bar Barometer provides statistics and trends about the Bar of England and Wales over the period 2005-2010. Particular focus is on figures relating to the profile of the profession and those in the training stages over the past five years. This is the first report to unite information in this format, outlining general statistical information on the composition of

the barristers’ profession since the introduction of the Legal services act (2007)..."

The results show very little movement in terms of diversity.

"...that the proportion of self-employed female barristers has increased by just 1.5 percentage points over the period....."

and

"...Similarly, the proportion of BME barristers at the self-employed bar increased by a small margin. In 2005-06 BME barristers accounted for 9 per cent of the 11,818 self-employed barristers practising at the bar. By 2009-10 the proportion had risen by just 0.6 ...."

The full report on the Lawyer is here:

http://www.thelawyer.com/first-bar-census-reveals-little-improvement-in-diversity-statistics/1007393.article

Dawson and Penningstons set for Merger

Main story on the Lawyer is the possible merger between Penningtons LLP and Dawsons.

"...According to sources close to Dawsons, the firm has been scouring the market for months for a merger ­partner to help it stabilise after ­suffering a series of exits and being hit with two ­significant lawsuits.....A statement from Penningtons added: “Part of our growth plan is to consider possible merger partners. We’ve been impressed by Dawsons’ lawyers; their practice would be a good cultural and strategic fit with our own, complementing our existing strengths.”

While Dawsons’ turnover has remained relatively ­static over the past few years, in July last year it was forced to settle a High Court claim for unpaid fees brought by Simmons & Simmons (The Lawyer, 5 July 2010). The firm also settled a claim for unfair dismissal brought by former chief executive Jeremy Ward that November."

Read the full story here at the lawyer

http://www.thelawyer.com/dawsons-and-penningtons-set-for-imminent-merger/1007245.article

Unemployment on the rise among solicitors

Article on the Law Gazette about the rise in unemployment among solicitors.

"...The number of unemployed solicitors on benefits has quadrupled during the recession to more than 1,800, according to an analysis of official statistics by the Conservative Party reported in today’s Daily Telegraph.

Along with architects, surveyors and vets, solicitors comprise one of the professional groups to have experienced the biggest percentage increase in unemployment rates since the economic downturn. Many of those made redundant are thought to be in their late 40s and early 50s....."

Full article is here

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/unemployment-rate-among-solicitors-climbs-400

Know The Net - Information About The Internet

A new site has been launched by Nominet (the people who look after the UK domain name market) to help people get the best out of the internet in the UK.

The site covers a wide range of business and personal topics including information on Job Searching Online that might be of interest to anyone looking for work.

There is also cyberbulling advice for parents and children worried about bullying online and related information on Internet Safety for Children.

For business users there is useful information on web analytics for small business, small business website advice and email marketing for smalll business.

The site is well worth a visit.

The Barristers

"The Bar is one of the most powerful professions in the country, producing prime ministers, millionaires, campaigners and the judges who shape our law. It is a glamorous world which attracts thousands of would-be barristers every year, but just one in five students will ever get to present a case in court; only the brightest and the very best survive."

The BBC have this excellent page where you can view the episodes of the barristers (just in case you missed it or forgot to record it) and it has has a video clip lookiung at 'What is the role of a barrister?' (provided by the open university.

Site worth a visit; BBC The Barristers

Drunken Swinging by Midlands Vicar!!

We scan the legal news most weeks and prefer to write about particularly amusing cases that catch our eye. This wee I nearly fell off my chair reading this one – whatever next!?

“The Rev Teresa Davies, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, was found guilty of inappropriate conduct at a tribunal in London yesterday and banned from practising for 12 years by the Church of England. Davies had admitted to colleagues that she went on swinging holidays in the South of France and had turned up drunk to church services on several occasions.”

View the full news story here: Church of England bans boozy vicar for swinging

Berg Legal Strengthen Corporate Finance Team

Law firm Berg Legal has taken on a new solicitor to strengthen its highly regarded corporate finance team. Russell Bateman joins from Hall Smith Whittingham LLP in South Cheshire.Russell has over three years industry experience dealing with corporate deals, both public and private, in particular mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buy-outs. Although relatively junior Russell has had huge exposure to transactions in a client facing role. This includes a £5.6m disposal to a plc that was completed in time for an announcement to be made on the opening of London stock exchange the following morning.

He has a particular interest in fast paced transactional work and has dealt closely with several sectors including healthcare, pharmacies, IT and green energy. His role at Berg Legal will be to build on the success of the corporate finance department.
Russell originally from Newcastle-under-Lyme is a fan of Stoke City FC and has learned to cope with the highs and lows of the first season in the Premiership all too soon. He is a keen swimmer and is currently busy perfecting his latest hobby horse - riding.

Senior Partner Reuben Berg said:

"I am delighted to welcome Russell on board. His experience will bring many different skills to the partnership. We are in no doubt that his recruitment will assist us to continue to go from strength to strength during this testing time in the corporate finance marketplace."