#WWW.THELAWYER.COM
2 THE WEEK
THELAWYER.COM
A weekly update on the
latest exclusive content
on TheLawyer.com, including
blogs and commentary on the
latest stories.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Without rapid
change, it’s
impossible to
conclude that the
current regulatory
arrangements are
fit for purpose.
Former Ministry of Justice
civil servant Nick Smedley
sums up his view of legal
industry regulation.
#News, 26 March
When is a firm not a firm?
Readers of TheLawyer.com
went a little bit crazy last
week, with those posting
comments on our story
‘Freshfields secures
Guardian gag for Barclays’
THE LAWYER
We’re a litigation
leviathan worldwide.
David Foster, the new head of
O’Melveny & Myers’ London
litigation group, shows his
confidence in his practice group.
(News, page 5)
From the moment I
became senior partner
completely ignoring the
content of the story and
focusing instead on
whether there is
such a firm as
Field Grieb:
Freshfields
have not entirely
cornered the
market; although
I have no association
with the firm my
understanding is that
Field Grieb are handling
some very big ticket stuff at
the moment and punching
above their weight. The
problem is the press pays
little attention to the smaller
firms, especially those
based outside London.
Date: 18 March @ 16:02.
From: Anonymous
who the hell is Field
Grieb?????
Date: 18 March @ 16:19.
From: Mary
It’s like herrings
who all stick
together, and
when they’re in
danger they form
an outline of a
bigger fish.
Norton Rose corporate
financial institutions
head James Bateson has
been spending too much
time on the life side of
work-life balance.
(City column, page 13)
[in 2006], the thought
of being in the
emerging markets has
fascinated me.
SJ Berwin senior partner
Jonathan Blake ponders a move
to foreign shores. (International
news, Page 8)
It’s something of an
Kent: where’s
Field Grieb?
Field Grieb hasn’t yet
made it onto Google it
seems. Nor can I think of
any firm that sounds
similar (and it’s my job to
know). What on earth are
you banging on about?
Date: 18 March @ 16:40.
From: Benny
Seems like City lawyers
work a bit like clockwork.
Wind them up and watch
experiment for us, but
one we’re confident will
pay off.
Quinn Emanuel New York head
Peter Calamari was a fan of
science classes. So much so that
he just keeps experimenting.
(New York, page 11)
I hated science at
school.
Wellcome Trust general counsel
John Stewart sums up the
feelings of a generation.
(The In-house Interview, page 18)
There’s going to be
pressure on fee rates,
particularly those rates
often charged by the
magic circle and
charmed circle.
Charmed circle? DLA Piper
joint chief executive Sir Nigel
Knowles invents a charming
new law firm grouping.
(Feature, page 16)
them go! Has no one else
noted how, if something so
obviously outrageous that
no one could seriously
believe it is posted – or
the person making it
is so ill informed as to
be completely irrelevant
– the response is
absolutely ballistic.
Let us try a few of the
best: ‘Slaughters in the
magic circle’. ‘City lawyers
get too much redundancy
pay’ and a new entry in the
top three, ‘Field Grieb are a
big ticket law firm’. Was I
the only one taught to
ignore people who act up
just to get attention?!
Date: 18 March @ 17:00.
From: Anonymous
I just did a Google search
on Field Grieb and they do
have a website. It is a Kent
Magic Circle firm and from
the web site references, it is
plainly retained on big
WEB WEEK
Salans announced last
week that it plans to offer
staff a four-day week and,
while readers of
TheLawyer.com praised
Norton Rose for doing
the same thing, those
posting comments on the
site were less flattering
towards Salans.
#Salans’ lot
One who identified
himself as Mark said the
move by Salans was a
“smokescreen”, adding:
“The reality is that these
lawyers will be doing
exactly the same work
over five days or more for
80% of the money.
Nobody will be taking a
full day off and anyone
who does will face redundancy.
The firms all know
this. It’s just publicity.”
ticket work. Like the guy
said, we should build
bridges – especially in these
difficult times. There is a
world outside the City.
Date: 19 March @ 08:39.
From: Anonymous
Having noted that Field
Grieb is apparently a recent
start-up in Kent, why is it
Another, posting
anonymously, claimed:
“They aren’t suggesting
four day weeks out of the
goodness of their heart.”
Not all the posters were
against the move,
however, with another
anonymous reader
writing: “At least they are
taking an overall look at
things and looking into
the future by asking people
to go part-time. They
are not the biggest name,
so it is a good move to try
and keep who they have
managed to attract so far.”
Elsewhere the debate
over whether law
graduates make better
lawyers than non-law
graduates raged on.
One reader, posting
under the name
sweetandsour, said:
THE LAWYER
30 MARCH 2009
TOP TEN STORIES THIS WEEK
1 CC restructure given green light by partners
2 Herbies and Sumption seal victory in Buncefield
3 Shearman slashes NQ salaries by 8 per cent
4 Freshfields leads promotions with 14 new
partners
5 Slaughters hands Treasury £22m bill
6 Clifford Chance asks trainees to defer
7 City law firm guru predicts end of associate
lockstep
8 Is Norton Rose’s four-day week just staving
off the inevitable?
9 Eversheds reduces sets from 90 to 15
10 Mayer Brown to cut 55 more jobs in London
Ranked by number of hits on TheLawyer.com, week ending 27 March 2009
that it is apparently missing
from the Law Society law
firm database to find a
solicitor? Or can we take it
that the Law Society is a
little behind with the
backlog of new start-ups
due to credit crunch
redundancies and so on.
Date: 25 March @ 13:19.
From: Anonymous
“I will admit that the GDL
does not compare to a law
degree. It lacks the depth,
variety and complexity.”
Hellokitty agreed, saying:
“To say that English,
history degrees prepare
somebody is ridiculous.”
However, a reader
posting as openattheclose
disagreed, writing:
“Goodbyekitty clearly has
no knowledge of what an
LLM entails. An LLM is
not a course where you
can spend another year
drinking. It is an incredibly
difficult and challenging
course. Anybody with
half a brain would know
that. Perhaps some
people do extra degrees
to further themselves and
put themselves ahead of
the mass of people who
get a 2.1 every year.”
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