10 August 2009
The Lawyer
Arbitrary decision
Firms and sets may look at Saudi as a golden ticket, but the country is still wrestling with the creation of a credible legal system that will satisfy international business.
Ashurst votes on White & Case partner hire
Ashurst is in advanced talks with White & Case restructuring partner Dan Hamilton, with the expectation that he will join the firm’s London office.
Band on the run
Christa Band is moving from one of the City’s top dispute resolution teams to Linklaters’ much less visible litigation practice. The magic circle firm must be changing its strategy, says Kit Chellel
Beachcroft hire paves way for health practice
Beachcroft is to install a healthcare consultancy unit after appointing the former chair of the Healthcare Commission Sir Ian Kennedy as a consultant.
BLG, Blackstone, Bindmans break out the bubbly as curtain falls on Lords
The House of Lords marked its last day of existence two weeks ago by handing out judgments on seven final cases.
Brabners wins employment role for BCC
North West firm Brabners Chaffe Street has won a role advising the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) on employment matters.
Brodies’ growth in single figures as PEP returns to 2006-07 level
Scottish firm Brodies has ended its eight-year run of double-digit turnover growth after posting a turnover rise of 5 per cent for 2008-09.
Chambers overtake law firms in pay battle for junior talent
Barristers’ chambers hike pupil pay by a third, but newly qualified solicitor salary cuts spread across the UK
Cobbetts coy over profit as figures fall
Cobbetts has declined to comment on its profit and mounting speculation that its margin has plummeted to unprecedented levels.
Cobbetts’ hidden agenda
Nobody takes pleasure in firms’ bad results, but it’s hard not to smile at what’s going on at Cobbetts. Not because of the firm’s poor financials, but because it thinks it can deflect attention by, er, not declaring its profits this year. This is the law firm equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and saying “La, la, la, la, la”.
Customs made
HM Revenue & Customs general counsel Anthony Inglese is a government lawyer through and through.
DLA Piper relaxes grip on equity with 8 per cent partner increase
DLA Piper has expanded its traditionally tight equity during the past year, with the number of equity partners at the firm rising by almost 8 per cent.
Ex-Clifford Chance lawyer to head Polish law firm
A former senior associate from Clifford Chance’s Warsaw office has left the firm to take over as managing partner at local firm Lukowicz Swierzewski & Partners (LSP).
Freshfields’ banking ambition takes further knock as duo quits
Just one day after TheLawyer.com reported (3 August) that Maurice Allen and Mike Goetz were leaving Freshfields Bruckhaus Derigner, a headhunter was already emailing senior City banking lawyers about a position that was available in a firm with a £1.44m average profit per equity partner (PEP) - the exact number that Freshfields posted this year.
Hammonds invites office heads to join the board
Hammonds has overhauled its management structure to give more power to office heads.
K&L Gates boosts arbitration in Asia
K&L Gates is looking to build up its Asian arbitration practice after hiring a Watson Farley & Williams partner to lead the group.
Kuwait head joins DLA Piper's LLP board
Abdul Aziz Al-Yaqout, the recently appointed head of DLA Piper’s Kuwait office, has been elected as a member of the firm’s international LLP board.
Lovells prepares for Saudi launch
Lovells is poised to move into Saudi Arabia after spending several months attempting to ink a deal.
Macfarlanes gains mandate as ITV sells Friends Reunited
Macfarlanes and Lovells won key advisory roles on ITV’s sale of loss-making social networking site Friends Reunited.
Munby J to chair Law Commission
The Law Commission has announced Mr Justice Munby as its next chair.
Olswang snares ex CC finance director
Olswang is looking to improve its financial management after hiring Clifford Chance’s former US finance director Frans Post as chief financial officer.
On the move
Gregor McGill (left) has been appointed head of the fraud prosecution service within the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Opinion: The mental health stigma in the workplace
Cheltenham Borough Council recently lost a controversial High Court action against its former managing director Christine Laird.
Power shift
The Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme will spark a host of contract disputes as landlords and tenants fight to move the onus onto each other. By Joe Payne
Richard Chan, ARC Property
Given the doom and gloom surrounding the property market and notable failures such as Fox Hayes and Hammonds Direct, it makes a change to highlight a firm that appears to be doing well.
Schillings adapts to defamation cost-capping
Media boutique Schillings is shifting its target client focus in anticipation of the introduction of cost-capping on defamation cases.
Shepherd & Wedderburn results reflect tough times
Edinburgh-headquartered Shepherd & Wedderburn’s turnover fell by 7 per cent in the 2008-09 financial year, with average profit per equity partner (PEP) dropping 26 per cent.
Teacher Stern to boost litigation after BLP raid
Teacher Stern plans to ramp up its corporate litigation and real estate teams in the wake of star partner Graham Shear’s departure.
Tulkinghorn: One enchanted evening
News reaches Tulkinghorn that Hammonds’ most recent partner conference was a wild affair.
Walker Morris’s PEP tumbles by 27 per cent
North East firm Walker Morris saw average profit per equity partner (PEP) drop 27 per cent in 2008-09 on the back of a turnover drop of 8 per cent.
Which way now?
The Middle East may be the spiritual home of Islamic finance, but the region needs to decide in which direction the practice is headed.
Why Clydes is bonny in the US
Clydes is succeeding where many a magic circle firm has failed, but will its strategy outlive the downturn? asks Julia Berris
Work Life Quiz: Anthony Markham, Maitland
Who’s your hero and why?Nelson Mandela, for his selfless leadership at a crucial time in South Africa’s history.
