3 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – DECEMBER 2023 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM THE BRIEFING: YOUR MONTHLY NEED-TO-KNOW 7 ARRESTED OVER COLLAPSED Proportion of Singapore-based lawyers who would advise their children to study law, according to a poll conducted by Statista and The Straits Times. The corresponding number for 2022 was 52 percent. (Reuters) Britain’s Serious Fraud Office arrested seven people on Tuesday in connection with the collapse of UK law firm Axiom Ince, the fraud watchdog said, as part of a probe into about 65 million pounds ($80.7 million) of missing client money. The SFO said it had carried out searches at nine sites in south-east England on Tuesday morning. Officers seized a “significant amount of material”, SFO director Nick Ephgrave said in a video posted on X. The SFO did not provide the names of the seven individuals who were arrested. The identities of people who have been arrested are usually not made public before they are charged. Axiom Ince’s former director Pragnesh Modhwadia was not one of the seven arrested, his lawyer Timur Rustem said. Modhwadia has been accused by Axiom Ince of misappropriating millions, including to fund the acquisitions of other law firms. “I can confirm that the SFO conducted a search this morning of our client’s address,” Rustem said in an emailed statement. “Mr Modhwadia was cooperative as he has been from the outset of this investigation.” 51.5PERCENT LAW FIRM AXIOM INCE IN THE NEWS Herbert Smith Freehills has confirmed that Justin D’Agostino will have a second four-year term as CEO beginning May 2024. The role includes managing the firm’s 5,000-strong staff, as well as its client, people, practices and growth strategies. “When ChatGPT saved me hours of work, it was a tiny ray of sunlight in an otherwise abysmal situation.” QUOTE UNQUOTE Allen & Overy will spin off its online legal information business in a sale to London-based private equity firm Inflexion and U.S. investment firm Endicott Capital. The unit, called aosphere, will become a standalone entity, Inflexion and Allen & Overy said. Colorado attorney Zachariah Crabill, 29, tells Business Insider he was fired from Baker Law Group after using ChatGPT at work during a particularly stressful time. IN THE NEWS (Reuters) A larger percentage of U.S. law firms signed leases that expanded their office square footage in 2023 compared to last year, according to a new report from brokerage firm Savills, as the legal industry continues to favor in-person work after the pandemic. Expansions represented 42.6 percent of law firm transactions signed through the third quarter of 2023, Savills found. Expansions made up 28.5 percent of new leases signed in all of 2022. While other types of tenants are cutting space, the expansions this year show that law firms are saying that “office space continues to be very important,” said Tom Fulcher, chair of Savills’ legal tenant practice group. Law firm leaders have pressed for greater office attendance after previously offering more flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many firms began to require lawyers to work in the office three days or more per week as the pandemic receded. U.S. LAW FIRMS EXPAND OFFICE SPACE IN 2023 LEASES Percentage of U.S.in-house legal teams in the bringing more work in-house, according to a report from ACC and Everlaw. The next leading cost-control strategy is shifting work to smaller firms (39 percent). 66%
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