Latest news with #legalindustry
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Will Private Equity Change Big Law?
Big law is going through a transformation as private equity sees the investment potential in law firms. For an industry built on tradition and ethics, how will non-lawyers change the business? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's Campaign Against Elite Law Firms Suffers Another Defeat in Court
In a matter of weeks, President Trump's campaign against the legal industry racked up commitments from law firms to provide some $1 billion in pro bono work for causes favored by the White House. In court, the effort has met a much different fate: One gut punch after another. The latest blow landed Friday, when a federal judge in Washington struck down Trump's executive order against the law firm Jenner & Block. The ruling from U.S. District Judge John Bates extended a string of defeats the administration has suffered against law firms that have challenged executive orders targeting their businesses.
Reuters
09-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US law firms McDermott and Schulte plan to merge
May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. law firms McDermott, Will & Emery and Schulte, Roth & Zabel are in talks to combine in what would be the latest major legal industry merger, the firms said on Thursday. McDermott and Schulte are "actively finalizing" a merger deal that is expected to become official in the coming months, they said in a joint statement. Chicago-founded McDermott, the larger firm with about 1,400 lawyers, generated more than $2.2 billion in gross revenue in 2024, according to figures reported by The American Lawyer. The firm is known for advising healthcare and other clients in a range of practice areas. New York-founded Schulte, which is focused on advising hedge funds and other private capital clients, brought in more than $618 million in gross revenue last year, according to the American Lawyer. Consolidation has been a theme in the legal industry for decades, as firms seek scale in a quest for increased market share and profitability. Law firm merger activity stayed relatively steady for the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter last year, with 22 completed mergers during the period this year and 21 last year, according to consultancy Fairfax Associates. In a major transatlantic deal last year, London-founded Allen & Overy and New York's Shearman & Sterling combined to create a A&O Shearman, with nearly 4,000 lawyers. There are also several combinations on the horizon. U.S. firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and global legal giant Herbert Smith Freehills are slated to merge on June 1, creating a 2,700-lawyer firm with more than $2 billion in revenue.
Wall Street Journal
08-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Venerable New York Firm that Struck a Deal with Trump Is Losing Lawyers
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft struck a deal with President Trump last month intended to secure the future of New York's oldest law firm. Instead the pact is backfiring, adding to an exodus of lawyers that has placed the firm on uncertain footing. Cadwalader already was facing troubles, including imminent attorney departures, before its April 11 deal with the White House in which it avoided a punitive executive order by pledging at least $100 million of pro bono work to support the president's priorities. The agreement now is pushing more lawyers to leave, people familiar with the matter said, spurred by anger that the firm capitulated to Trump instead of fighting back against an administration campaign that many in the industry believe to be unconstitutional.
