1 May 2000
The Lawyer
... as Jordan switches back to litigation to confront rising workload
Clifford Chance partner Nicholas Jordan is rejoining the firm's litigation department after working in its commercial practice for 10 years.
...as Holt breaks ranks and takes KLegal post
The former managing partner of Weil Gotshal & Manges' London office has broken ranks with former colleagues to join KLegal.
A View from Spain
Peter Cornell is European managing partner at Clifford Chance and is based in Madrid.
Allen & Overy boosts NY outfit with two partners
Allen & Overy's New York office has hired two partners from Morgan Lewis & Bockius in a bid to compete with Clifford Chance.
Allen joins White & Case
The breakaway banking team which walked out of the London office of Weil Gotshal & Manges in January is joining White & Case.
Alliance & Leicester set to review outside panel
The Alliance & Leicester is the latest bank to review its panel of outside legal advisers.
An Appeal Court ruling clarifies exposure to risk when dealing with letters of credit transactions, writes Roger Masefield. Roger Masefield is a tenant of Brick Court Chambers.
The decision of the Court of Appeal in Banco Santander v Banque Paribas is important for those involved in letter of credit transactions.
Bank pair pick Mayer Brown team
The London office of US firm Mayer Brown & Platt has won work advising investment banks Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse First Boston on one of the largest Turkish capital markets deals.
BBC loses head of IP after shake-up announcement
A BBC management shake-up has led to the departure of the broadcaster's head of the intellectual property and litigation department.
Beachcroft Wansbroughs wins in Railtrack review
Railtrack has completed a review of its litigation panel, dropping Cardiff-based Hugh James Ford Simey in favour of Beachcroft Wansbroughs.
Beloff will join Matrix in a year
Leading silk Michael Beloff QC has finally decided to join Matrix Chambers, but only after he has seen through the merger at his current set.
Bernstein bags rival's managing partner
Alan Schulman, the head of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach's three West Coast offices for the past five years, has defected to Bernstein Litowitz and set up shop in San Diego.A member of Milberg Weiss's executive committee for the last ten years, Schulman says Bernstein's success in gaining institutional investors as clients was the main attraction of his new firm.He adds that Milberg Weiss "has not been particularly successful" in winning ...
Cadwalader lures team to boost litigation dept
US firm Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has poached one of the top re insurance teams in the US to boost its international practice.
Case of the week
Changing Rooms presenter Elizabeth Wagstaff could soon be swapping her swags and swatches for an empty cell after admitting to conning friends and colleagues from the popular television show out of £54,000 by telling them that she had terminal cancer and needed urgent treatment. In reality, 38-year-old Wagstaff of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was suffering from water retention and a minor thyroid problem. Wagstaff duped the wife of fellow presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen despite being ...
Cheap and easy global practices do not exist
Few would deny the extent to which business has globalised over the past decade.
Cheyne reaction
David Cheyne
Cleary Gottlieb appoints new managing partner
Corporate lawyer, Karasz - who joined the firm in 1967 - replaces Ned Stiles who held the post for 12 years.Karasz ran the firm's Paris office for five years and more recently has been concentrating on transnational joint venture schemes in the US, Latin America and Europe.He has worked extensively on cross-border transactions which fits in wellwith Cleary Gottlieb's ...
Clifford Chance now world's biggest law firm after adding 72 partners...
Clifford Chance's international offices are being bolstered by a record number of partnership promotions.
Criminal Silk joins Hardwicke Building
Upward, who specialises particularly in fraud cases, will lead the niche group of nearly 30 barristers, replacing former crime head, Zoe Smith who has been made a Circuit Judge on the South Eastern Circuit.Two other senior members of the crime group - Rory Field and Charles Briefel - have both gone on sabbatical: the former as Director of Public Prosecutions of Belize and the latter as a human rights lawyer in Bosnia. Although leaving the 41-tenant common law set, Gough ...
DAC faces legal battle from ex-division head
Davies Arnold Cooper's former head of common law is poised to take legal action against the firm for breach of contract as the lawyer exodus continues.
Davenport Lyons gains new head of licensing
Davenport Lyons has taken on Allen & Fraser's highly-rated licensing partner as a department head.
DIY retailer hires first in-house lawyer
Focus Do It All, the UK's largest independent DIY retailer, has announced the appointment of its first company solicitor Liz Delgado.
Eversheds
Eversheds advised the College of Law on the development of its new centre in Birmingham. The new college will house 500 law graduates. Property partner Adrian Bland acted on the deal with assistance from property solicitor Anne Clark.
Ex-Watsons partner in shipping bid
A former Watson Farley & Williams partner is taking on some of the largest shipping firms by setting up his own niche practice.
Field Fisher boosts corporate practice
Field Fisher Waterhouse's corporate department has gained a new partner from Richards Butler.
Gosschalks pays tribute to leading licensing partner
Leading licensing lawyer Richard Leslie Green has died aged 56.
Grand Circle hires Levi's Euro counsel
US travel giant Grand Circle Corporation has recruited Levi Strauss' former chief European counsel - a year after he told The Lawyer he wanted to return to the US.
Haarmann hires CC specialists
Munich-based Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner has recruited a tax and a corporate specialist from Clifford Chance's Frankfurt office.
It's been a bad week for...
Dog lover Laura Bunday, who was tailed by police this week after "stealing" a stick from woodland for her pet pouch Bramble to play with. A park ranger reported Bunday to Devon and Cornwall police after seeing her toss the piece of wood into the boot of her car after walking her dog. The police tracked her down using her car number plate and warned her that she had committed a criminal offence. Bunday was ordered to take the two-foot long branch back to the woods.
It's been a good week for...
Claims negotiator Robert Jones, now a "nappy" man after victory in a sex discrimination case over his employer's refusal to allow him to work part-time so that he could look after his baby daughter at home. Jones, of Longbridge, West Midlands, took his case to the Equal Opportunities Commission after insurance group Groupama UK Services turned down his request to work four days a week so that his wife Iona, a policewoman, could return to work while he looked after their 10-month-old child.
Kangaroo Courting
Australian firms are turning their backs on organic growth and taking to the catwalk to find global suitors. Abigail Townsend talks to players undergoing the makeover magic required to woo the perfect match.
Legal Widow
The most extraordinary thing happened at the shops the other day. Liability had gone AWOL as usual and I was hobbling after her along the parade, weighed down with a bag from the butchers, a bag from the greengrocers, a nice bag of ginger parkin from the bakers, and a bunch of flowers tucked under one arm - it'll never catch on, this boycotting the supermarkets, you know - when a man suddenly stood in my way.
Letter from Melbourne
The fantasy of chucking it all in and heading off for sunnier climes is a common one. And for many lawyers, practising in Australia for a few years, or sometimes even permanently, is a way of making that fantasy a reality.
Letters
Solicitors will have recently received a letter from the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) giving a summary of their professional indemnity (PI) claims record.
Libel laws winners in historical battle
The critics should consider the Irving case closely before passing judgement on the libel laws, writes James Libson. James Libson is a partner in the contentious media group at Mishcon de Reya and headed the team that acted for Professor Lipstadt.
Making the mould
At last Maurice Allen, Weil Gotshal & Manges' erstwhile former joint head in London, has made up his mind on where he and his team are going. But joining White & Case is hardly surprising.
Manhattan firms merge
The 65-lawyer firm Windels Marx Davies & Ives has teamed up with the 35-lawyer firm Lane & Mittendorf to form Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf.The merger, which was finalised on 1 January, brings together firms with similar practices. Both focus on corporate, litigation and real estate law and handle a lot of international law.The new firm will be governed by a four-person executive committee comprising three Windels Marx lawyers - Daniel Duff, Anthony Coscia and ...
McGrigors expands employment group
McGrigor Donald has poached Wright Johnston & MacKenzie's Stuart Neilson to become a partner in the firm's expanding employment unit.
News in Brief
Weil Gotshal & Manges' London office has recruited a senior assistant from Clifford Chance to set up its European consumer finance practice. Andrew McLean, who will become a partner specialising in corporate, commercial and consumer finance trans-actions, has been at Clifford Chance for 12 years, working ...
Panama Canal lawyer joins Akin Gump
US firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld's Washington DC office is taking on the outgoing deputy administrator of the Panama Canal Commission.
Perrin's View
The heart of the relationship between a law firm and its lawyers is a healthy balance between the effort and achievement of the lawyers on the one hand and the remuneration and career progression offered by the law firm on the other. If the law firm substantially alters one element of this deal, it is interesting to speculate what happens to the other elements.
Pinsents wins place on Sema legal panel
Pinsent Curtis has secured a place on the panel of IT giant Sema as sole adviser on global trademark issues.
Private firms in state of grace
Abigail Townsend reports on how the Australian legal market is being shaken by panel reviews and globalisation.
Property
CMS Cameron McKenna represented Sainsbury's Supermarkets on its £6.7m purchase of the Bretton Centre from Peterborough City Council. Property partner Mark Heighton was assisted by property solicitor Sally Purtell on the deal. Wragge & Co advised Peterborough City Council.
Quote of the week
"Whether or not my golf will improve I don't know, but I might remember who my children are."- Richard Gerstein, who has stepped down as managing partner at Finers Stephens Innocent and is returning to full-time fee earning.
Retail and Foreign Banks
The high level of activity in retail and foreign banking has provided a great deal of work for legal advisers. But only firms that can adapt to the sector's change in direction can hope to win a slice of the banking pie. Ryan Dunleavy reports.
Richard Gerstein
Finers Stephens Innocent managing partner Richard Gerstein has given up the helm to go back to fee earning. Clair Smith talks to the litigation lawyer who will not miss the burden of management
Richards Butler snaps up Trillium work
Richards Butler has come out on top this week following a competitive tender to become legal adviser on commercial matters to property services group Trillium.
Scuffle of the week
Police sealed off the old court building in Santiago on Wednesday and traffic ground to a halt as clashes broke out in the Chilean capital between supporters and opposers of Augusto Pinochet when the hearing began to determine whether the former dictator would be stripped of his immunity to stand trial on human rights charges. Anti-Pinochet demonstrators carried photographs of victims of the former ruler's regime, while his followers, who were confined to the opposing corner, displayed ...
Simmons & Simmons called up to advise Nokia Ventures
City firm Simmons & Simmons has won the position as sole European legal adviser for Nokia Ventures - a new media investor set up by the global telecommunications giant.
SJ Berwin
SJ Berwin acted for Eurocity Properties on its listing on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. The company will place over one million shares to raise £580,000. Corporate partners Jonathan Metliss and Delphine Currie acted on the deal.
Slaughter and May
Slaughter and May advised ABN Amro Rothschild on the intended flotation of Filmgroup on the London Stock Exchange. ABN Amro acted as financial adviser, global co-ordinator and lead manager on the float. Slaughters corporate partner Tim Clark and corporate assistant Peter Baldwin advised on the deal. Titmuss Sainer Dechert ...
Splitting services
The notion that top flight firms will change their full-service ethic on the whim of a Dutch lawyer is absurd. But the logic of Ralph Kroner's argument and the support his speech gained from the world's largest practice (see pages 16-17) serves as a wake-up call to complacent firms which think they have got their strategies sewn up.
SSL International
Just two years ago, healthcare giant SSL International did not exist. In 1999, the company was formed as a result of a £1.4bn merger between London International Group (LIG) and Seton Scholl Healthcare.
Technology, Media and Telecommunications
Shoosmiths advised UK software company PWA Group on its $38m (£24m) acquisition by US-based Great Plains. Shoosmiths corporate partner Dean Drew advised on the cash and share transaction. Dorsey & Whitney represented Great Plains.
The new Australian rules
Abigail Townsend reports on how the Australian legal market is being shaken by panel reviews and globalisation.
Thwaites to launch own set
Defamation silk Ronald Thwaites QC is quitting 10 King's Bench Walk to launch a new chambers.
Watsons loses head of Moscow
Watson Farley & Williams' long-standing head of the Russian office is stepping down.
Welcome to the two-stop shop
There are now more than one million lawyers in the US, a ratio of one lawyer to every 260 people, according to Ramon Mullerat, senior partner at leading Spanish practice Bufete Mullerat.
