A national charity has launched a crowdfunding campaign to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision not to seek assurances from the US that two British ISIS fighters accused of murder won’t face the death penalty.
Sajid Javid has been accused of breaking with the UK’s decades-long policy of opposition to capital punishment in the case of Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, two Brits who are suspected members of the ISIS Beatles cell. In a letter leaked to the media, it was revealed that Javid reached an agreement to supply intelligence to help prosecute the men — without getting the customary pledges from the US government that it won’t execute them if they are found guilty.
Yesterday afternoon the Howard League for Penal Reform went live with an online financial appeal to fund its campaign to force Javid to reverse his decision in the courts. In less than 24 hours almost £2,000 of the £20,000 target has been raised.
The page slams Javid’s actions, stating:
“The Home Secretary has taken a unilateral decision not to seek assurances that capital punishment will not be carried out. This decision was unprincipled, unlawful and outside of his powers.”
The launch of the crowdfunding campaign follows Tuesday’s announcement by the Howard League that it had taken advice and found that legal action against the UK government on this matter was “feasible”.
The day before Howard League boss Frances Crook penned an open letter (embedded below) to Javid which labelled his behaviour “extraordinary” and requested the “immediate retraction” of Javid’s own letter to the US attorney general.
Kotey and Elsheikh are reported to have been members of a brutal four-man cell of ISIS executioners in Syria and Iraq, allegedly responsible for capturing and executing a series of high-profile Western detainees — and earning millions of dollars in ransom payments.
Nicknamed after the 1960s band because of their British accents, the duo were captured in January and are understood to have been stripped of their British citizenship, sparking a row over whether they should be returned to the UK for trial or face justice in another jurisdiction.
UPDATE: Friday 27 at 09:54 am
The Home Office has now confirmed it has temporarily suspended cooperation with US authorities over the extradition of Kotey and Elsheikh.
The decision comes after lawyers for Elsheikh’s mother launched an emergency legal challenge seeking to quash Javid’s decision to provide evidence at trial without requesting the customary pledge that the pair would not face execution.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said:
“Yesterday we received a request from the legal representative of the family of one of the suspects to pause the MLA [mutual legal assistance] response. We have agreed to a short-term pause. The government remains committed to bringing these people to justice and we are confident we have acted in full accordance of the law and within the government’s longstanding MLA policy.”
‘Legally Brunette’ Rosie shares insights into her very glam life
Image credit: Instagram (@rosieawilliams)
Since leaving the Love Island villa, Rosie Williams has been rubbing shoulders with reality TV’s finest, making club appearances and has even done an interview with Piers Morgan. It’s a long way from her old life before she shot to stardom in the hit reality TV show.
Williams trained with Manchester law firm Just Costs Solicitors and was only three months qualified before she entered the Spanish villa in June — a decision fuelled by her search for romance.
Indeed, studying law gave her little time to find love. She didn’t have much luck either; having been dumped by the man she was seeing only a few months prior to joining the show. So when the chance to go on Love Island came about she grabbed it — strutting into the villa in the first week of the fourth series.
Growing up, law was “embedded” in Williams’ family. Both her parents studied law at university and her aunt is a barrister and uncle a solicitor-advocate. They were naturally supportive of her decision to study law and Williams went on to complete the first two years of her undergraduate degree at Swansea University and spent her final year at the University of South Wales. She then started the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) before switching to the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at The University of Law in Chester.
Having completed a training contract, why then did she decide to put her fledgling career on hold? Speaking exclusively to Legal Cheek, she explains:
“I was putting everything into my job to the point where my salary was not worth the hours I was working. My focus on cases meant that my social life dwindled and I was just not reaping the rewards. It’s a bit of a shame that what I worked towards my entire life and dreamt about didn’t match up with the reality.”
But Williams isn’t ruling out a possible return to the law. “My heart’s still in it — it was a lifelong ambition I harboured since I was 12-years-old. I’m still very much a legal eagle,” she adds. Williams is hoping to meld her legal knowledge with her newfound fame. Her appearance on Love Island might not be the last we see on our screens. The Welsh-born lawyer tells us she’s currently in talks to appear on a new legal TV show later this year. Could Rosie be the new Rinder? “I hope so. I love Rinder, I think he’s great,” says Williams, who has also been approached by a media law firm about a possible job since her departure.
When she was lounging around in her bikini soaking up sun rays in the villa, Williams says she did miss the day job and “getting dolled up” each morning to go to work — more than she thought she would. Yet she conspicuously avoided talking about her life as a lawyer — unlike the medic contestant Alex, who frequently references his work as a doctor. Why did we not hear more from ‘Rosie the lawyer’ in the villa? “I was very careful about what I discussed in the villa. Solicitors’ regulations meant that I had a code of conduct and ethics to adhere to and client confidentiality meant I couldn’t discuss my caseload,” she explains.
Viewers did, however, get to see some of Rosie’s advocacy skills when she confronted “sneaky” Adam Collard, who she was coupled up with, for flirting with fellow Islander Megan Barton-Hanson.
The fiery showdown was entirely “off-the-cuff”, contrary to members of the public thinking it was “staged” or that she had written down and rehearsed what she planned to say. “You can’t plan an argument,” says Williams, likening the experience to the courtroom where “the judge or your opponent will throw something up” and it’s down to you to bounce back.
Had the offer to appear on Love Island not come through, the 26-year-old thinks she’d still be in her job. “I loved my job, but I’ve never been the girl to sit around and I’m always looking for something more,” she says. Williams has plans to complete her higher rights of audience and train as a solicitor-advocate, following in her uncle’s footsteps. She’ll also be taking on activities to maintain her practising certificate.
Since exiting the villa, Williams has managed to find the time to visit her former colleagues at Just Costs. They didn’t know that she was entering the villa, so seeing her on TV was a bit of a “shock” to them. However, they were “very supportive” when she saw them and admitted they knew “she was never made to sit behind a desk”.
Now having amassed over 650,000 followers on Instagram, Williams is hoping to use this platform to “make a difference” and already has a list of charities she wants to work with.
Her influence doesn’t stop there. Williams, who refers to herself as “Legally Brunette” in several of her Instagram posts, says she’s received messages from young women in law school seeking her advice. They’re keen to hear from someone who does not fit the average solicitor-mould.
That’s something this self-confessed party girl prides herself on. Williams counts Legally Blonde and TV series Ally McBeal as two of her favourite legal dramas. “I was drawn to the glamour. I loved their outfits,” she says. For likeminded law students Williams offers some practical advice:
“Never change yourself to fit a stereotype. We all sit the same vocational exams and it’s practically the same route for everyone looking to become a solicitor. So why should I be judged if I like to wear a pretty dress and post bikini photos on Instagram. I’ve had to work a lot harder to be taken seriously in my job but if I can make it as I am, there’s no reason why others can’t either.”
With newfound fame comes dangers. It has been widely reported that Williams received a series of threatening messages from an online troll. Never one to back down, Williams says she will be using her legal knowledge to make a stand and show this behaviour is not acceptable.
Commenting on her interview with ITV Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan where Williams was forced to justify her decision to appear on the show, she says:
“I think Piers was under the impression that the job is very well paid and glamorous across the board. He mustn’t read a lot about what’s going on and there is a lot that people outside the profession don’t see. I think his opinion was ill-informed and don’t think he can really have one unless he’s been in my shoes.”
In that Piers Morgan interview, the junior lawyer described working 18-hour days getting sleepless nights. So what advice can she give others experiencing the same? “Make sure you’re happy otherwise there’s no point staying in your job. But if you want more out of your job — go and get it. A law degree opens up many paths and it’s not only about making it as a lawyer.”
Williams was evicted after two weeks in the villa, but with the final airing on Monday, she’ll be watching to support fellow housemates, Jack and Dany, the “down to earth” duo she’s hoping will win.
A family law solicitor who hit her ex-boyfriend in the face with a glass has been suspended from practice for 15 months.
Rebecca Harling, admitted to the roll in 2011, was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court last October of actual bodily harm and was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) heard that on 21 April last year she went to the flat of her former boyfriend, by whom she believed she was pregnant. He reacted badly to her presence and reportedly pushed her to the ground. The judgment on an agreed outcome continues:
“After being helped up to her feet Miss Harling went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her former boyfriend told her that she should have asked his permission to do so and Miss Harling reacted by striking him in the face with the glass she was holding.”
The ex-boyfriend suffered cuts to his earlobe that required some stitching and gluing in hospital. Harling — who will be 39 this year — resigned from her job at a law firm the day she was sentenced and reported the conviction to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Her former firm isn’t named in the judgment.
In mitigation, “not endorsed” by the regulator, Harling said that her personality and attitude have been shaped by a number of traumatic personal incidents in adult life, which have arisen in part due to her own poor decision making. It continues:
“This series of events culminated in Ms Harling being in an abusive and controlling relationship with the individual she subsequently assaulted.”
Harling was suspended from practice for 15 months and ordered to pay costs of £1,500.
City outfit Travers Smith has unveiled a perfect 100% autumn retention score.
The firm — which has just two offices, London and Paris — today confirmed that all 21 trainees due to qualify this September had put pen to paper on permanent deals.
Six soon-to-be associates will join Travers’ private equity team, while corporate finance will receive four and dispute resolution two. Environment and operational risk; financial services and markets; finance; derivatives and structured products; tax; incentives and remuneration; investment funds; real estate; and commercial, IP and technology will gain one newly qualified lawyer (NQ) each.
As can be seen in Legal Cheek’s Most List, Travers NQs will start on a salary of £75,000, putting them on a pay par with their opposite numbers at a host of City players including Baker McKenzie, DLA Piper and Hogan Lovells. Travers’ trainees currently earn £43,500 in year one, rising to £49,000 in year two.
Travers — which offers up to 25 training contracts annually — is traditionally a strong retention performer, regularly posting results of 90% or above. In the last three rounds, the firm has marked up scores of 90% (18 out of 20), 94% (17 out of 18) and 94% (17 out of 18).
Today’s retention result comes on the back of an impressive set of financials. Earlier this month, Travers reported a 17.5% increase in turnover to reach £146 million, while profit per equity partner (PEP) swelled to £1.2 million — an uplift of 24.3%.
In our Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, the firm secured A*s in four categories including training and partner approachability, and bagged the gong for ‘Best Law Firm for Peer Support’ at the Legal Cheek Awards earlier this year.
5RB’s Christina Michalos, Howard Kennedy’s Mark Stephens, RPC’s Joshua Charalambous, Wiggin’s Ross Sylvester and ULaw’s Peter Goodchild share their experiences
Left to right: 5RB’s Christina Michalos, Howard Kennedy’s Mark Stephens, RPC’s Joshua Charalambous, Wiggin’s Ross Sylvester and ULaw’s Peter Goodchild
Media and sports law is considered to be one of the more glamorous areas of legal practice. However, for aspiring lawyers hoping to get a look in, this exciting branch of the profession can seem inaccessible.
Gathering at The University of Law’s Bloomsbury campus this month to discuss this area of law and offer advice to students were: Christina Michalos, barrister at 5RB, Mark Stephens, partner at Howard Kennedy, Joshua Charalambous, associate at RPC, Ross Sylvester, partner and head of sports law at Wiggin and Peter Goodchild, associate professor at ULaw.
Never a dull moment
Working in this celeb-filled area of law, you’re never short of a story or two. “I was hacked by the News of the World on this very phone”, said Stephens, holding up his iPhone to a stunned audience of over 70 students. Between them, the panel have acted on a number of very high-profile cases including the Leveson Inquiry and, more recently, the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Howard Kennedy’s Stephens worked on the defence case for Mike Tyson after the American boxer made a derogatory comment about his opponent, Lennox Lewis. The defence was successful, Stephens explained, and Tyson became the first to benefit from Article 10 of the Human Rights Act — the right to freedom of expression.
In another example of just how bizarre the life of media and sports lawyers can be, Stephens said he had advised on the largest art work transaction of this year — 90 Picasso paintings sold to a single private client.
Talk shifted onto more topical areas such as regulation of the internet. “The internet has grown in a way that is impossible to regulate like the print media”, said 5RB barrister Michalos. Stephens — who has given evidence on the issue to the House of Lords — stressed that the government needs to identify gaps in the existing internet laws and close these off. Bringing in fresh legislation to regulate the internet risks creating patchwork effect, he added.
“The buzz word in entertainment right now is OTT”, said Wiggin partner Sylvester. OTT, or ‘over-the-top’, allows users to stream film and TV content over the internet, without requiring a traditional pay-TV cable or satellite subscription. Common examples include Netflix, Now TV and Amazon Prime Video. The impact on the hegemony of big broadcasting companies such as BT and Sky, remains to be seen, Sylvester said.
Getting your foot in the door
To get to the training contract or pupillage stage is often a challenge in itself. But Michalos had some practical advice for students: “Shape your own practice”, she said. Michalos suggested making journal submissions, joining societies and networking “like a fiend”. She even wrote a book, The Law of Photograph & Digital Images, which helped her to get to where she is today. Students should seek out work experience, not just in media or sports law-focused firms but also in places that are tangentially linked, such as news publications and TV production companies. “It’s the best way to get a feel for what’s going on in the industry”, said Michalos, who has worked for the likes of ITN and Express Newspapers. If there’s media litigation going on in the courts, “go and observe it”, she added.
Another option is to complete a training contract in a variety of seats and make the leap post-qualification. ULaw lecturer Goodchild — who previously worked as an IP specialist in the Denton Hall IP and technology department — advised students:
“You’ve got to avoid being the bad guest at the party. The bad guest eats through the main course quickly just to get to the dessert. The same applies to the training contract. Give each seat the respect and effort it deserves. It’s okay to have an end goal, but you certainly shouldn’t be openly strategising.”
Charalambous pointed out that to be a good sports or media lawyer, you have to be a good lawyer first and foremost. Then comes focusing on the sectors and immersing yourself in the two worlds.
Demonstrating your commitment to and interest in a career in media or sports law is important, said Sylvester. He gave the rather unusual example of one prospective Wiggin trainee that had written a limerick about section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. She got the job!
The suite of skills to success
Attention turned to the skills lawyers of the future need in this specialist area of practice. Michalos has found analytical skills to be beneficial in her time at the bar, particularly in defamation where cases can often turn on the meaning of words and phrases. The ability to work under pressure is another key requirement, noted Charalambous, because in this line of work “things often come up that are very urgent”.
Handling tricky personalities in the media was a skill Sylvester alluded to and Stephens agreed: “Understanding that some of your clients will be in extremis and displaying good interpersonal skills will put you in good stead.” If you have a sporting interest, Goodchild advises leveraging this in applications to showcase a level of understanding and commitment.
All work and no play?
Though highly qualified in their respective fields, the panel were asked to reflect on their biggest challenges to date. For Stephens, it was the (much talked about) work-life balance. “It can be very difficult to balance family life and commit to clients in the way that is now expected”, said Stephens, who once had to sacrifice his Christmas Day celebrations to deal with a Russian client.
Michalos noted similar challenges at the bar and the pressure on the self-employed to never say no to work. Charalambous highlighted the importance of prioritising your mental health and wellbeing and knowing when to take a step back. “You’ll burn out if you grind yourself down too much. Take a moment to breathe every once in a while”, he said.
Three quarters of rookie lawyers admit to having no back up plan
Trainee lawyers who are not kept on after qualifying should receive more support from their firm, new research has suggested.
Seventy-two percent of rookie respondents said that they thought their firm should provide some sort of support to newly qualified (NQ) lawyers not staying on post-qualification. Despite this desire for help, more than half of NQs (53%) reported receiving no help at all.
The research, undertaken by online recruitment platform NQSolicitors, questioned over 350 final seat trainees and NQ lawyers.
One respondent, who wished to remain anonymous, said she received no support after being told by her large commercial law firm that she would not be receiving an associate offer. She told researchers:
“This made me feel pretty unappreciated after working very hard for two years, and worried about finding a suitable position elsewhere. It made me feel quite dispensable although I was still working six days each week as I was so busy. They wanted me to continue to work hard but for no purpose from my perspective other than to learn as much as possible before I left, which is why I did it. I found the firm surprisingly ruthless given their size and history.”
That’s not to say that every firm is failing to offer support to departing NQs.
The findings show that 29% of respondents were provided with help with their choice of direction on qualification, although 44% of newbies said they would have liked this help. Meanwhile, 18% were offered assistance with their CV, yet 37% said they would have welcomed this type of support.
Despite 50% of NQs stating they would have welcomed informal introductions to other firms looking to hire, just 12% of rookies were provided with this. Twelve percent were assisted with preparing for interviews (41% wanted this), while 5% were offered help with their LinkedIn profile (37% wanted this support). Just 23% of NQs said they did not require any assistance.
Elsewhere in the research, nearly three-quarters of respondents (71%) revealed they had no firm back up plan in case they were not retained, despite just 15% stating they were unequivocally confident they were going to be offered an NQ role.
The guidance, issued earlier this year, states that “as part of good practice” firms should inform rookies at least 12 weeks before qualification as to when they can expect a decision about retention. Then, the recommendations state, outfits should inform trainees of this decision no later than eight weeks prior to their expected admission date.
Commercial property law specialist charged with two counts of perverting the course of justice
Image credit: UK Parliament
A junior lawyer turned Labour MP has been charged with two counts of seeking to pervert the course of justice. Fiona Onasanya has said she “will be robustly defending” herself against allegations she lied about who was driving a speeding vehicle.
The 34-year-old MP for Peterborough is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 13 August for a plea hearing. Her brother Festus Onasanya faces three counts of the same offence.
According to BBC News, the commercial property law specialist is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by driving a vehicle in excess of the speed limit, falsely informing the investigating authorities that a third party had been the driver and enabling them, as a consequence, to avoid such prosecution and punishment.
The incidents are said to have occurred on 24 July and 23 August 2017. During the July incident, Onasanya is alleged to have been driving — and during the August incident, her brother is alleged to have been driving.
Onasanya studied law at the University of Hertfordshire before going on to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the College of Law (now the University of Law), according to her LinkedIn profile. She qualified in 2015 and has worked for a number of firms including Midlands outfit Howes Percival for six months and international outfit Eversheds (now Eversheds Sutherland) for three years.
Taking to Twitter on Friday morning, Onasanya said she will be “robustly defending all these allegations”.
I will be robustly defending all these allegations, and strongly refute any suggestions that I have broken the law. As these proceedings are now ongoing, I will be making no further comment on the matter.
An experienced criminal solicitor who submitted false invoices for police station work to help fund his cocaine habit has been struck off.
Dominic Ingle, who was admitted to the roll in 2011, had been working as a self-employed police station representative on behalf of firms in the Manchester/Lancashire area.
In January 2017, Ingle was convicted of two counts of dishonestly making false representations. He was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for 24 months, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
In a letter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Ingle said he had committed the frauds when business was slow and had used the cash to fund his cocaine habit. He told the tribunal he was “ashamed” of his “disgraceful behaviour” and that he had let down his family, friends and colleagues. Since the misconduct came to light, Ingle said he had been open and honest and was trying to put his life together without the class A drug.
Ruling out a suspension, the tribunal said that Ingle “continued to present a potential risk to members of the public and the reputation of the legal profession, as it was not known what his current position was with regard to the cocaine issues.”
Striking Ingle off the roll, the tribunal said it hoped he could go on to use the skills and experience he had acquired over the years for the benefit of society. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
International law firm Taylor Wessing has revealed its autumn retention score.
Of the 23 trainees due to qualify later this year, 21 will be taking up newly qualified (NQ) positions at the firm. With one associate-to-be on a fixed term contract, this hands the 32-office-outfit a score of 87% or 91%, depending on how you read its figures. Taylor Wessing confirmed 21 rookies received offers.
The firm’s new lawyers will be spread across a number of its key practice areas including, banking & finance, corporate technology, private client and real estate.
Legal Cheek’s Firms Most List shows that Taylor Wessing’s newest recruits will see their pay jump from a second-year trainee salary of £44,000 to an NQ one of £63,000 — an uplift of 43% or £19,000. First-year trainees currently earn a salary of £40,000.
Today’s result is a vast improvement on Taylor Wessing’s 2017 result. On that occasion, the top-rated technology practice posted a disappointing score of just 62% (16 out of 26). The firm, which offers up to 24 training contracts annually, reported scores of 77% (17 out of 22) in 2016 and 87% (20 out of 23) in 2015.
Taylor Wessing performed well in our Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, scoring A*s for its quality of work, tech, canteen, social life and office. The firm also received A ratings for its training, peer support, partner approachability, work/life balance and perks. It went on to scoop the gong for ‘Best Social Life’ at our awards ceremony earlier this year.
A host of firms have now revealed their autumn 2018 retention scores.
Mayer Brown confirmed a result of 80% (eight out of 10), while magic circle duo Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May posted results of 77% (36 out of 47) and 86% (32 out of 37) respectively. Travers Smith confirmed a perfect score of 100% (21 out of 21), Shearman & Sterling recorded a rate of 85% (11 out of 13) and Burges Salmon chalked up an impressive 96% (26 out of 27).
She’s understood to have deals with a betting company and a number of top beauty brands
Image credit (Instagram @rosiewilliams)
Love Island solicitor Rosie Williams claims to have earned her year’s salary in a single month since exiting the villa.
Speaking to BBC Radio’s 5 Live show, Williams said: “I’ve made my year earnings in a month, let’s just say that, doing this.” So what exactly is this? The 26-year-old solicitor is understood to have cashed in through a combination of event appearances and sponsored Instagram posts with businesses including betting giant William Hill and beauty brand Iconic London.
When the shows host suggested that being a solicitor would have earned Williams a good salary, she replied: “I feel like the legal profession is struggling at the moment”.
Williams trained with Manchester law firm Just Costs Solicitors and was only three months qualified when she entered the Spanish villa last month. Despite appearing on our screens for just 16 days, Williams — who has over 700,000 Instagram followers — has shaped herself into a valuable marketing tool for businesses looking to promote their products and services.
News of William’s improved earning power comes just days after we spoke to her exclusively about law, love and her plans for the future. When quizzed on why she decided to put her fledgling legal career on hold, the Welsh-born lawyer explained:
“I was putting everything into my job to the point where my salary was not worth the hours I was working. My focus on cases meant that my social life dwindled and I was just not reaping the rewards. It’s a bit of a shame that what I worked towards my entire life and dreamt about didn’t match up with the reality.”
During the same interview, Williams revealed she hadn’t ruled out a return to law and is currently in talks to appear on a new legal TV show later this year. The final of the popular reality series aired last night and viewers saw Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer take home this year’s Love Island crowns.
New scheme will run alongside firm’s conventional training contract
Magic circle giant Clifford Chance (CC) has unveiled a new training contract specifically geared to students with an aptitude for technology.
The programme, for which applications have opened this morning, will lead to qualification as a solicitor. Five places are available. It will run alongside CC’s much larger conventional training contract, onto which the firm recruited 80 students last year. Legal Cheek understands that pay across both programmes will be the same.
According to CC, the lawtech training contract will mirror the structure of a regular training contract but will see trainees given time away from fee-earning to gain specific lawtech exposure. More broadly, there will be a focus on how lawtech and digitisation are revolutionising the legal working environment.
Upon qualification, lawtech trainees will have the opportunity to join one of Clifford Chance’s main practice areas of finance, corporate, capital markets, litigation & dispute resolution, real estate, tax, pensions and employment.
Commenting on the new initiative, dubbed ‘IGNITE’, CC regional managing partner Michael Bates said:
“Law tech is changing the face of our industry and we want to be at the forefront of that change. We’re committed to driving a culture that embraces digital thinking across each of our practice areas and we hope that these trainees will go to make significant change in their practice areas upon qualifying. IGNITE will attract talented candidates who are passionate about both law and technology. Bringing new thinking into the firm in this way is central to our vision of being the global law firm of choice.”
The new scheme is open to law and non-law students of all disciplines, with the firm stating that it is “designed for individuals that have an appetite for technology areas such as fintech, coding and AI [and] an ambition to become a qualified lawyer”. We are told that “candidates will need to be able to convey a genuine passion and interest for tech and innovation, and provide examples of how they have redefined a process by thinking differently, or demonstrate a relevant background based on the projects they have completed, or courses studied.”
So that could mean someone who studied humanities at university while developing an app outside of their studies, or a science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) student looking to convert to law. With this in mind, we reached out to Bláithín Dockery, president of Imperial College London’s Student Law Society. She said:
“Clifford Chance’s IGNITE program will be particularly exciting for STEM students with an interest in a legal career, as it will focus on developing an expertise in areas that many of these students will have pursued during and outside of their studies. The introduction of a tech focus to a traditional training contract will also attract students who had been put off of a legal career due to a perceived antiquated image.”
CC’s lawtech training contract comes on the back of last month’s announcement that it is developing a tech-focused internship for some of its future trainees in conjunction with London start-up Lexoo. It also follows fellow magic circle outfit Allen & Overy’s March announcement that it was launching a lawtech graduate recruitment scheme. However, the A&O programme, which also targets STEM students, results in a project management rather than solicitor qualification.
Allen & Overy‘s top brass have met with senior partners from US outfit O’Melveny & Myers as transatlantic merger talks between the duo heat up.
The potential link-up, news of which first emerged in April, would create a new global outfit with over 3,000 lawyers and combined revenues of £2bn ($2.8bn), making it one of the world’s largest law firms.
It has now been reported that discussions between the two legal powerhouses have reached the “due diligence stage”. According to Legal Week (£), several members of O’Melveny’s management team jetted into London last week to meet senior figures at A&O.
It is said that representatives from both sides, including O’Melveny’s chairman Bradley Butwin and A&O’s senior partner Wim Dejonghe, met at the magic circle outfit’s Spitalfields headquarters. A&O’s managing partner Andrew Ballheimer and New York senior partner Tim House are also understood to have been present.
Responding to the report, a spokesperson for Allen & Overy told Legal Cheek:
“We have been clear that developing our presence in the U.S. is a priority for us and that we have spoken to a number of law firms there. However, we do not have any developments to announce and would reiterate that we won’t comment on any particular firm until the right time.”
O’Melveny & Myers has been approached for comment.
The face-to-face meeting comes on the back of a strong set of financials for A&O. Profit per equity partner (PEP) at the magic circle player jumped by 4% to £1.64 million, while revenues rose steadily to £1.57 billion. Net income hit £690 million, an uplift of 3%.
The regulator’s plans to overhaul legal education moved a step closer to reality today, after it selected education giant Kaplan to develop and deliver the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said it will now work closely with Kaplan and other stakeholders from across the legal education sector to develop and test the SQE — otherwise known as the super-exam. Kaplan has been appointed for a period of eight years from the introduction of assessment, which could be as early as September 2020.
Commenting on the appointment, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said:
“We are delighted to appoint Kaplan after a robust, competitive and open process. Its bid succeeded against some very strong competition. We are now another step closer to delivering a rigorous assessment that helps build trust that all qualifying solicitors are meeting the same high standards, regardless of their route into the profession.”
Today’s announcement means that Kaplan — which closed down its UK law school operations in 2016 — will not be one a handful of providers to offer the new SQE prep-course. This will be left to established legal education players including The University of Law (ULaw) and BPP University Law School, alongside a number of newcomers to the UK solicitor-training market. One of the new entrants to the UK solicitor-training market is US state bar exam preparation provider BARBRI. Managing director, Sarah Hutchinson, told Legal Cheek:
“For the first time in over 25 years, the legal profession can be assured that there is a common standard for entry into the profession. However, it is urgent that Kaplan and the SRA publish the detailed exam specification. BARBRI has trained over 1.3 million law graduates to prepare for the US state bar exams and we’ll utilise our exam preparation expertise and innovative learning technology to launch an SQE preparation course in 2020. The BARBRI SQE prep course will give confidence to aspiring solicitors and their employers that they can succeed in the new national exams.”
Welcoming the decision, ULaw’s Pro Vice Chancellor (External) Peter Crisp told Legal Cheek:
“It is our hope that this appointment will now lead to the publication of a clear timetable for the assessment implementation, which will provide students, the profession, and ultimately the public with certainty and confidence in the SQE.”
Andrew Chadwick, dean of BPP University Law School, told us that “after several years of uncertainty, the profession finally has some clarity, at least as to the identity of the assessment organisation. It is a start.” He continued:
“However, let us be realistic — the SQE establishes a common qualifications floor for the profession but it does not begin to construct an adequate ceiling. Our clients have made it abundantly clear that they require trainees to be equipped with specialist legal knowledge, competencies and skills far in advance of the minimum specified by the SQE. The appointment of Kaplan as assessor, welcome though it is, doesn’t change that reality.”
Kaplan’s tender success is a significant step forward for the regulator as it moves towards realising its super-exam dream.
Last year, the SRA unveiled plans to replace the traditional routes to qualification — i.e. the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and Legal Practice Course (LPC) — with the SQE. The new route will be divided into two parts (SQE1 and SQE2) and will still require wannabe solicitors to complete a training contract, albeit on a more flexible basis than previously.
In March, the Legal Service Board, an independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers across England and Wales, provisionally approved the SRA’s super-exam framework. It did, however, keep the regulator sweating: extending the time it had to reach a decision not once, but twice.
Clifford Chance has become the first magic circle law firm to increase its training contract numbers since the 2008 financial crisis — upping trainee places by 19% from 80 to 95.
Five of those additional 15 spots come in the form of CC’s new lawtech trainee solicitor scheme, which it announced yesterday, while the other ten are conventional training contract places, Legal Cheek can reveal. Unusually, applications are open already, giving CC a headstart on other firms which typically don’t allow students to start applying until autumn.
The rise means that CC leapfrogs magic circle rivals Allen & Overy, Freshfields and Slaughter and May to become the second highest offerer of training contracts in the land. Only Linklaters hands out more: currently it awards 110 training contracts each year.
But this is about more than inter-law firm bragging rights. In the wake of the economic turmoil wrought by the collapse of Lehman Brothers ten years ago, law firms across the UK slashed their training contract numbers as growth stagnated. The falls were greatest at A&O, CC, Fresfields and S&M, which dropped their trainee intakes down from an average of 120 to 80 — a reduction of a third. And there they languished for several years.
Commenting on the news, CC’s regional managing partner, Michael Bates, said:
“We’re delighted to be expanding our training contract programme, following several years of strong financial performance. Investing in a strong pipeline of talented trainees is essential for us to continue to serve our clients well, and launching a new training contract focused on law tech will help to bring new thinking into the firm.”
The Law Society Annual Statistical Report shows that overall training contract numbers have exceeded 5,700 for two years running now — the highest level since 2008, but are still down significantly from a high of 6,300 a decade ago.
And what it’s like being an unlikely international sex symbol
US criminal defence lawyer Dean Strang shot to fame following his appearance on Netflix docuseries Making a Murderer. The true-crime show centres on the life of Steven Avery, who served 18 years in prison for attempted murder, before being fully exonerated in 2003 — only to be found guilty of murder in a separate case two years later. Strang was one of the lawyers tasked with helping Avery clear his name.
Strang held aspirations of becoming an editorial cartoonist before punting for law. Abandoning his artistic dream due to its lack of career longevity, Strang’s father suggested he train as a lawyer — a path he admits he “dismissed” for years.
Fortunately, Strang “loved” law school and went on to specialise in criminal defence work after being offered a job working alongside two leading lawyers in the field.
Reflecting on perhaps his most famous case, Strang describes how he grappled with the intense media circus surrounding Avery’s life — daily press conferences and interviews quickly became the norm, he tells Poulter. Although he understands viewers’ fascination with a good old “whodunnit”, Strang explains how being directly involved in one is slightly less enthralling. He says:
“Almost all parts of a trial are really bad parts of theatre. They’re poorly paced, unscripted and often clumsy. They’re drudgery. They do, however, have moments of genuine human passion, satisfying oratory, use of language and poignancy.”
So what’s life like for Strang now the cameras have stopped rolling?
He tells Poulter that alongside “side hustles” such as teaching law and penning books on legal history, he continues to practise criminal law. He did consider becoming a judge but “gave those aspirations up” now that he’s too old to do so in the States. Would he consider a move to the UK to realise this ambition? “That looks more attractive with every tweet Donald Trump sends,” he jokes.
Garnering a huge amount of attention from his appearance on the Netlix show, Strang has become an unlikely international sex symbol. But what do his students make of this? The ones that knew him before the programme are “amused” by it all, he explains. But there does appear to be one upside: Strang has noticed an “increased attendance in class!”
You can hear more about Strang’s involvement on the Avery case and his concerns about the American criminal justice system in The Hearing podcast.
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has taken on new office space in London’s landmark ‘Walkie-Talkie’ building — just over 18 months after its Europe, UK and Middle East (EUME) operations went into administration.
The firm’s new City office will occupy roughly 17,000 sq ft of the skyscraper’s 11th floor and will accommodate 13 partners. KWM said its Fenchurch Street digs — already home to firms including national outfit DWF and US player Vinson & Elkins — will help “further growth, predominately across its corporate, banking and finance and dispute resolution practices.”
The office move comes on the back of a turbulent two or so years for the firm.
Lawyer hopefuls who had training contract offers on the table (but were awaiting start dates) were not so lucky. Having had their offers revoked, Legal Cheek understands that the vast majority had to undertake the dreaded application process all over again.
However, just a day after formally appointing administrators, KWM confirmed it had “established a new business to maintain a strategic presence” in the City. This was possible because China-led KWM Global has always been a separate legal entity to KWM EUME.
Putting the past firmly behind it, KWM also confirmed the arrival of three new partners. Ex-Withers regulatory specialist Alix Prentice, Mark Schaub, a foreign investment lawyer who will be relocating from KWM’s Shanghai office, and dispute resolution partner Meg Utterback.
Overseeing things at the top will be KWM’s new London managing partner Darren Roiser. He spent six years at magic circle player Slaughter and May before joining KWM as a senior associate in 2011. He was elevated to partner in May 2016, just months before the firm’s EUME arm went under. Rosier, who will serve a three-year term, helped coordinate a fundraising campaign to assist staff following the collapse.
Commenting on his appointment, Roiser said:
“I am delighted to take on the role of managing partner but also humbled by the support I have received from my partners in London and across the wider KWM network. The move to the new office together with the addition of three outstanding and experienced partners, with their strong international and Chinese connections, underlines KWM’s commitment to and on-going investment in our London practice.”
Taylor Wessing confirmed that the rises came into effect last month and that trainee pay remains unchanged, with first years earning £40,000, rising to £44,000 in year two.
In a joint statement, graduate recruitment partners, Kirstie McGuigan and Matthew Royle, told Legal Cheek:
“We’ve received such positive feedback this year on our trainee development programme and recognition through a number of awards for the experience and support we provide. Our trainee ‘class of 2016’ is one of our latest success stories. They’ve all made a significant contribution to the growth we have celebrated in recent years and this increase reflects that. We’re also really pleased that so many of them are staying with us.”
News of Taylor Wessing’s salary uplift comes just 48 hours after it confirmed an autumn retention score of 87% or 91% — depending on how you read its figures. Twenty-one of its 23 rookies are staying put, however, one is on a fixed term contract.
It’s been a summer of big money moves. US law firm Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy triggered a fresh round of rises after it upped London NQ pay to an eye-watering £143,000. Not to be outdone, a host of US firms quickly matched including Akin Gump, Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins. We produced a handy video (embedded below) giving you the lowdown on this year’s MoneyLaw madness.
‘Can I sue my neighbour because I don’t like the look of her garden?’
A high-flying corporate lawyer has discovered first-hand why you should never take part in an anonymous Q&A session on an internet chat forum.
Taking to the parental website Mumsnet, the intrepid in-house lawyer revealed she is a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) specialist who earns £80,000 a year. In a move she probably now regrets, the lawyer — using the online pseudonym ‘mumofthe21stcentury’ — encouraged users from around the world to ask her anything.
And things got off to a solid start. The lawyer, who says she qualified three years ago, politely responded to questions relating to work-life balance in the legal profession, her academic qualifications and the use of legalese.
Then things went up a gear, as she started receiving questions that weren’t really within her field of expertise.
Other queries were quite difficult to follow.
Some didn’t bother with questions.
While others cracked jokes.
Among the many legal problems, one Mumsnet user asked the M&A specialist if she could sue her neighbour because she didn’t “like the look of her garden?”
With the thread descending into chaos and the unnamed lawyer struggling to keep on top of all the bizarre enquiries, some users questioned her decision to undertake a public Q&A in the first place.
One Mumsnetter, who claims to be an employment lawyer, wrote:
“I genuinely think this thread might be a mistake… You really don’t want your own conduct being called into question. Plus you’re 3 years PQE and so shouldn’t be giving out unsupervised advice and this thread will inevitably go that way.”
Heeding the advice, she informed users that she was “going to close the thread”, adding:
“I opened it initially with the intention to try to let people ask some harmless questions and I never said that I’m giving out legal advice. I am being criticised by other lawyers on this thread that I am making a mistake.”
This isn’t, however, the first time a corporate law-themed thread has popped up on Mumsnet. In 2014, one soon-to- City solicitor asked the site’s users for their top tips. Forum responses included, “avoid the letchy partners”, and “don’t get drunk at the office parties and don’t sleep with your colleagues”.
US titan’s London newbies will start on dollar-pegged salaries of £146,000
The London office of US mega-firm Kirkland & Ellis has posted a perfect retention score of 100%.
From a rookie cohort of just 10, the Gherkin-based outfit confirmed that all had put pen to paper on permanent associate deals. Today’s result is a stark improvement on Kirkland’s autumn 2017 score. On that occasion, the Chicago-headquartered firm chalked up a score of 56% (five out of nine). Legal Cheek understands the uncharacteristically low outcome was due to newly qualified (NQ) lawyers being unable to move into their department of choice.
Returning to today’s result, Kirkland didn’t provide details of the departments or offices its new recruits will qualify into.
We can, however, tell you that they’re on the verge of becoming some of the best-paid lawyers in the City. Following a fresh round of US summer rises, Kirkland boosted its London NQ dollar-pegged salaries to £146,000, up from an already impressive £138,000 (figures based on current exchange rates). Other big US players to make similar City pay moves in recent weeks include Akin Gump, Latham & Watkins and Milbank. Kirkland’s trainees currently earn a salary of £50,000 in year one, rising to £55,000 in year two.
So, cold hard cash aside, what’s it like working as a lawyer at Kirkland? The firm, which offers around ten City training contacts annually, received A*s in our Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey for training, quality of work, perks, office, canteen and social life. It could, however, only muster a D for work/life balance — a result shared by many of the top paying US players in the City.
A number of firms have now revealed their autumn scores.
Earlier this week, Taylor Wessing posted a result of 91% (21 out of 23), meanwhile, Burges Salmon and Shearman & Sterling unveiled outcomes of 96% (26 out of 27) and 85% (11 out of 13) respectively. Mayer Brown retained 80% of its rookies (eight out of 10), while magic circle duo Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May secured results of 77% (36 out of 47) and 86% (32 out of 37). Meanwhile, Travers Smith confirmed a perfect retention result of 100% (21 out of 21).
It’s a tough way in, but for those who want it enough this new way into the profession is a great opportunity, writes newly qualified solicitor Eman Hassan
From a law firm facilities temp in October 2012 to a fully-qualified solicitor (at the same firm) in May 2018 — the route to becoming a solicitor hasn’t been straightforward for me.
I have always wanted to work in the legal industry, inspired by securing justice for innocent victims and making a real difference to people’s lives. But with an industry-wide recruitment process that is very rigid and focused on good academics, at times realising my dream seemed impossible. I know I’m not alone in this feeling. As a result of our traditional recruitment system, intelligent people with different types of skill sets often get excluded.
When I left university in 2012, I knew my dream of becoming a solicitor was going to be a challenge, but like so many young people who study the Legal Practice Course (LPC) I was resolved to succeed.
The next few years was a blur of long hours — I worked full-time to be able to afford my part-time studies — and training contract application rejections.
Thinking back now on how competitive the training contract market really is, I think I always knew I was going to be unsuccessful in the traditional route to qualification. With huge demand for a limited number of places, the task of choosing applicants to invite to interview becomes a sorting process. It often feels like they automatically eliminate you if you don’t have a first or a 2:1 — maybe they do? I don’t know and each law firm will operate differently, but what I do know is hard work and determination will ultimately pay off.
I progressed to a legal secretary and then a paralegal in the Major Trauma Department at Moore Blatch, a multi-specialist law firm with four offices across the South of England. As a paralegal, I learnt about the paralegal Equivalent Means route (EM), and for one and a half years worked tirelessly to build up a portfolio which I had to provide the Solicitors Regulations Authority (SRA) with. This showcased my experience with practical examples of everyday work, as well as the relevant ‘extracurricular’ work I had undertaken. The portfolio was very in depth and a true reflection of the hard work I had carried out over a number of years. I also had to complete the SRA EM route form which sets out outcomes that need to be established, similar to that of a training contract, to show you have satisfied the period of recognised training.
In order to qualify through the EM route, I had to gain extensive experience in three different practice areas. I practiced in education law, the industrial disease department and the major trauma department. My work focused around supporting victims, whether this was clients who contracted mesothelioma through working with asbestos or victims of major road traffic accidents.
Last week, I qualified as a solicitor. It was often difficult working full time with a caseload and assisting the head of the major trauma team. Nonetheless, I persisted by dedicating my weekends to drafting the portfolio, completing relevant sections by certain time frames to ensure that it was completed and ready.
I genuinely wouldn’t say that there were any downsides to qualifying as a solicitor through this route, apart from the fear that I was the first in Moore Blatch to qualify this way! The fear was around being the first and having little idea of what content and quality I needed to disclose in my portfolio. However, I was well supported by my mentor Trevor Sterling and the firm as a whole and now feel that this route is very beneficial as I am now trained and experienced to continue head on with major trauma cases.
I actually found the experience quite enjoyable as I was able to demonstrate just how much experience and work I had accumulated over the years, including the charity work I participate in. It wasn’t easy, and it can be time consuming, often making it difficult to have spare time at the weekend. There was a six-month period where I was in the office working full eight hours days during the weekend. It doesn’t last forever though and if you’re reading this starting from the same point as I did, I encourage you to keep working and follow your own unconventional path.
Our industry is in real need of greater diversification and we do need to change old and outdated perceptions of what makes a ‘good lawyer’. Whilst academics will always be important, so are the practical working skills such as communication, flexibility and teamwork, which do not come from a textbook.
My firm has recently set up an Aspiring Lawyers Group, through which I hope to inspire others who want to find the route to qualification that is best for them — whether that be a traditional training contact, EM or the Chartered Legal Executives route. I was so lucky to find an amazing mentor in Trevor who gave me opportunities beyond my ranking and encouraged me throughout my EM journey. The Moore Blatch Aspiring Lawyers Group will look to do the same for young people across the UK.
Sometimes, it can be tricky to keep faith that success can be achieved, but your passion and determination will lead to something better. It’s important to remember that there are plenty of different routes to qualify as a solicitor and there should always be a helping hand to guide you through the process. The legal industry needs your unique skillset.
