This Month
Richard White keeps million-dollar pay with new WiseTech role
Many of the founder’s new responsibilities outlined to the ASX mirror that of a traditional CEO, even though he was made to leave that role.
HSF partners approve Kramer Levin merger, adding $700m in revenues
They voted “overwhelmingly” to endorse the deal, making the firm the first major Australian partnership with an expansive, integrated operation in the US.
15 years of drift: Why global law firms can’t make it in Australia
UK and US law firms are battling for market share on either side of the Atlantic. But expansion has proven much more difficult in Australia.
March
Don’t worry about Trump’s tariffs, IPOs are coming: Freehills
The law firm’s annual temperature check of equity capital markets says this year could top the $1.1 billion raised across big-ticket IPOs last year.
‘David and Goliath’ firm nabs six partners from global outfit
Piper Alderman has hired six partners from Squire Patton Boggs, as the international legal market in Australia undergoes another shift.
US law firm King & Spalding readies Australian assault
Street Talk understands the Atlanta-headquartered multinational is exploring opening an Australian beachhead.
February
Tech bros share the riches (with their lawyers)
Lawyers are cashing in on the legal scandals rocking the start-up world, but it’s tougher for those footing the bill on the other side to the founders.
December 2024
PE deal makers tipped to “get creative” in 2025 as exits mount
The payday isn’t as big for the equity capital markets bankers, a backdoor listing lacking the hoopla of an IPO. But whatever works to get things moving.
Bigwig lenders line up to bankroll Carlyle’s big waste services buy
Confidential documents seen by Street Talk show the Nasdaq-listed asset manager has secured a covenant-lite unitranche loan.
HSF in damage control after M&A partner’s ‘deeply offensive’ tweet
Herbert Smith Freehills has started an internal investigation after a tweet directed at Jeremy Leibler.
Explore: Law Partnership Survey results for second-half of 2024
The latest results show law firms continue to perform strongly, boosted by big-ticket deals, litigation assignments, and the steady flow of fees from insolvencies and disputes.
It was a boom year for law firms. But signs of a slowdown have emerged
Law firms held their gains in the second half of 2024, but some leaders are wary of rising pressures on price and profit margins.
MinRes senior lawyers reach for the lifeboat
A second lawyer has left MinRes to help the company’s board within a board investigate Chris Ellison’s misdeeds.
GDP misses forecasts; Chaos in South Korea; Forrest’s female fund
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
29 years is enough! Herbert Smith Freehills’ Tony Damian jumps ship
Damian’s expected to join Ashurst on a $7.5 million salary package, in what rivals say is the price law firms are increasingly having to cough up to secure marquee partners.
November 2024
Chris Ellison and MinRes choose the path of most avoidance
For the Mineral Resources founder, as well as its chairman, James McClements, temporary embarrassment is a price worth paying.
What does the Freehills merger mean for lawyers?
Herbert Smith Freehills’ UK lawyers will be celebrating the announcement of its US merger plans, but the benefits for Australian partners are less obvious.
Herbert Smith Freehills proposes merger with US firm
The top-tier firm’s last big change was when it merged with London’s Herbert Smith in 2012. Its rivals are also looking for American partners amid intense competition.
The MinRes CFO is the $10m man
CFO and company secretary Mark Wilson’s 2024 pay package at MinRes made him the second-highest paid executive at the troubled company.
The law firms trawling through corporate scandals
Demand for law firm-led investigations has grown but concerns remain about their independence and probative value.