The Gazette 1992

GAZETTE

JUNE 1992

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by Eamonn G. Hall, Solicitor The Lions of the Law

The title above takes its name from a book written by Paul Hoffman (New York) in 1973 called Lions of The Street. Ho f fman opened the doors onto the powerful and protected world of US corporate law and introduced the power brokers who politicians. In Lions of the Eighties Hoffman took an updated look at the members of the legal profession and observed how nearly a decade of social and economic turmoil had affected what he described as this most secretive and starchy of white- collar professions. Hoffman noted that the "old guard' was gradually being replaced by a new breed of lawyers who scrambled for business in areas the old guard "law factories" once shunned. The author noted that the women who once reigned only in the reception areas and secretarial pools were then becoming associates and partners at even the most exclusive firms. Lions of the Eighties took readers behind the scenes at more than 40 of the top law firms in New York and around the United States, providing in-depth profiles of the nation's top lawyers as well as the inside stories of the pivotal (and most often unheralded) role the "Lions of the Eighties" played in the major news events of the day. The story of Ireland's lions of the law remains to be told. The Irish Magazine, Finance, in its February 1992 edition (vol. 6 no. 2) contained a guide entitled "Corporate and Financial Law". The magazine listed 28 firms of solicitors which, it stated, constituted a snapshot of the solicitors' profession in Ireland in early 1992. All the firms involved were stated influence the decisions of the nation's top businessmen and

The story of Ireland's lions of the law remains to be told.

million per year. However, in general earnings per partner in the top firms range from about £200,000 for junior partners to £500,000 for senior partners. The magazine ranked the top ten UK firms of solicitors by profit per partner in 1991. (See table 2). Categorical denials of co-operation were given by several of the London firms involved in the survey. The survey emphasised that the average profit per partner was not the same as take-home pay as partners were often expected to reinvest in the firm. One reaction to the UK survey was summed up by GeoffreyHowe, senior partner of Clifford Chance in the UK Law Society Gazette of 18 March, 1992: "We were asked for assistance but we did not give it. Any figure for us represents guesswork. Something like this which calls for guesswork is bound to have inaccuracies, but we regard it as a bit of fun - light reading which is not to be taken too seriously".

to derive a major part of their fees from corporate and financial law. Finance noted that information and negotiation were the core services provided by a law firm. Some of the best legal and corporate information libraries in Ireland were maintained by law firms. The top firms were stated to have made big financial investments in the further development of their information databases which go far beyond the maintenance of volumes of case law to a wide range of financial information including on-line databases. Readers may be interested in the ranking of the top Irish corporate law firms ranked in order of staff as computed by the magazine Finance. (See table 1) (Lawbrief cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data). Meanwhile in England the magazine Legal Business, (March 1992) revealed that there were a few senior partners in London firms of solicitors who earned more than £1

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