Fieldfisher reports 26% revenue growth for first half of year

Fieldfisher’s rapid international expansion has seen the firm’s revenue grow from £76.7 million for the first half of last year to £97m for the first half of this year. This represents an above-trend growth of 26%. The figures reported cover the firm’s UK, Silicon Valley, Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg offices but do not include the turnover from its Swiss Verein offices in China, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

The German offices were the star performers, reporting a 60% uptick in revenue year-on-year with the firm’s newly opened Frankfurt office growing from one partner at launch in April to four now. The Paris office also performed strongly with a 36% increase in revenue. The fastest growing practice areas were finance, corporate, dispute resolution, outsourcing and privacy, and tech.

Shakespeare’s hires new CEO while Shoosmiths elects one

Birmingham-headquartered firm Shakespeare Martineau has hired Sarah Walker-Smith from Browne Jacobson as its new CEO, a few months after its current chief executive, Andy Taylor, announced his intention to step down. Walker-Smith built up her leadership experience by serving as COO at Browne Jacobson.

Shoosmiths has gone down a more conventional route in its leadership change, holding an election which saw real estate partner Simon Boss win. Boss will succeed current chief executive Claire Rowe on 1 January 2019. Rowe had held the role, the first female to do so, for a decade.

All change in DLA Piper’s executive team

International heavyweight DLA Piper has reshuffled its international executive team and appointed a new UK Managing Partner following the election of Simon Levine as international managing partner last month.

Liam Cowell, a Manchester-based finance and projects partner, has been appointed UK Managing Partner in place of Sandra Wallace who, after three years in the role, will now bow out to focus on her position as Joint Managing Director for the UK and Europe. Jan Meents, previously Country Managing Partner for Germany, will serve as the other Joint Managing Director.

The changes don’t end there though, with Global Co-Chair of IP and Technology Stéphane Lemarchand, who is based in Paris, taking over Meent’s former role as Managing Director of Clients and Sectors. New appointments to the international team also include Milan-based Olaf Schmidt taking on the role of Managing Director for Practice Groups from London-based Charles Severs, who becomes Managing Director for AsiaPac, the Middle East and Africa. The appointment of Group Operations Leader Jacqueline King, also in London, as COO complete the changes.