This issue reflects the times – the recession and its impact on the legal profession. Our cover story, “Tougher than ever,” reveals the sudden shift in the relationship between clients and their lawyers. Under pressure to reduce expenditure, and conscious of the escalation in lawyer fees, clients have adopted various strategies to cut costs. These include lower fees, a move away from hourly rates and the enlargement of their in-house legal departments.
Our annual FTSE survey – packed with a phenomenal amount of information about the larger clients and how they use their law firms – gets bigger every year. It has become essential reading for all lawyers seeking to act for the FTSE 100 and 250.
With endless news of fresh redundancies, we look at the criteria used by law firms in selecting which partners are to go. The roots of the recession in the USA are examined in our investigation of the ratings agencies and their deference to the Wall Street banks.
We also describe the scandal of Marc Dreier, the widely respected litigator who – as it turns out – has been charged with using his firm to perpetrate a $400 million fraud.
FAKING THE GRADE: Financial alchemists of the Triple-A
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David Robinson :
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The financial system hinged on the accuracy of the credit rating agencies. But Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch bungled the grading of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of debt with catastrophic results. DAVID ROBINSON asks why they failed.
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OFFSHORE FIRMS: Afloat in choppy waters
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David Robinson :
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Law firms based in offshore destinations have become used to a stream of work from top financial institutions during the boom years. But as the downturn worsens their focus is on adapting. By DAVID ROBINSON
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REDUNDANCIES: Choosing who should go
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As the recession deepens, the wave of redundancies at large law firms has grown to threaten hundreds of partners. KATE GILLAM finds out how firms decide who will get the chop.
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SWITZERLAND: Preparing for the downturn
Against the odds, Switzerland’s law firms prospered and grew in 2008. But as the downturn deepens, flexibility will prove the key to surviving the year ahead. RAVINDER CASLEY GERA reports.
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The FTSE Survey 2008
This year’s FTSE Survey is the biggest ever. It has become essential reading for all lawyers acting for the FTSE 100 and 250.Responses from clients have reached an impressive proportion,with all the FTSE 100 participating and 229 of the FTSE 250.By RAVINDER CASLEY GERA. Research by DUNJA KLINGER-MOORE.
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The rise and fall of Marc Dreier
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David Robinson :
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New York litigator Marc Dreier ran a 250-lawyer firm. Last year he was accused of perpetrating a massive fraud via an intricate web of forgery and deception that cheated hedge funds out of $400 million. DAVID ROBINSON reports.
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TOUGHER THAN EVER : Clients take the offensive
The recession has put clients in the driving seat in their relationships with law firms – and they are demanding changes. RAVINDER CASLEY GERA reports.
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