10 December 2007
The Lawyer
A perfect combination
Tittering over other people's names is juvenile.
AllianceBernstein gets Axiom help
Axiom Legal, the US-based firm that pioneered a new model of seconding lawyers to clients, has placed a new recruit as interim UK legal director in asset management company AllianceBernstein.
Anderson Strathern ties the knot with Kerr
Anderson Strathern is to merge with commercial boutique Kerr & Co at the beginning of 2008, creating a 44-partner firm.
Attorney General rejigs regional legal panel
The Attorney General's Office has instigated the first major overhaul of its regional panel of advocates in several years.
Aussie-German alliance to attack Chinese market
Sydney-based firm Gray & Perkins has entered into an alliance with German firm Brandi Dršge Piltz Heuer & Gronemeyer (BDPHG) with the pair seeking to tap into the increasingly lucrative Chinese market.
BCCI prompts new case limits
The BCCI working party last week (6 December) announced that long trials should have statements of case limited, but on the whole it believes the current civil procedure rules (CPR) are already sufficient.
BLP strengthens energy company ties with AIM fundraising
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has advised Clean Energy Brazil , a company that invests in the Brazilian sugar and ethanol energy production sector, on a £20.8m fundraising on AIM.
Bridging the gap
Forming a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network will ensure that all of a firm's lawyers get the support they need to do a good job. By Stephen Shea
Bryan Cave seals Chinese alliance
Bryan Cave has strengthened its global network, launching an alliance with Chinese firm, Alpha & Leader.
Cadwalader raids boutique for NYC IP team
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has boosted its New York IP team with the hire of two partners from IP firm Morgan & Finnegan.
Calunius Capital
Life for Calunius Capital founding partner Mick Smith (pictured) has come full circle.
Canon to invite pitches for five European panels
Canon Europe is launching a series of new panels in major European jurisdictions at the same time as beefing up its emerging markets team with two new hires.
Chadbourne & Parke raids BLP for projects team
Chadbourne & Parke has snared a three-partner project finance team from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP).
Challinors reshuffles after chief exec exit
West Midlands-based firm Challinors Solicitors has made a number of changes to its senior management structure following the retirement of its chief executive.
Cleary and A&O bag major North African takeover
Paris-based corporate partners Pierre-Yves Chabert and Gamal Abouali led the team at Cleary.
Clyde victory sees subcontractors liable for asbestos exposure
Clyde & Co has won an asbestos case in the Technology and Construction Court that means subcontractors can be found liable for asbestos exposure.
Cobbetts benefits as Abramovich invests in gold
Cobbetts has landed a key role on the latest acquisition by Russia’s richest man and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
Culture vultures
Diversity programmes aren't just socially beneficial - in a global economy they can help win new clients and improve profit. Tim Foster reports
David Beswick: Hammonds
If you were stranded on a desert island, what two luxury items would you take?A badminton racket and a friend with a badminton racket.
Dechert fights off magic circle for Kuwaiti bond
Dechert has seen off competition from the magic circle, winning a beauty parade to advise on a $2bn (£970m) Middle Eastern bond issuance.
Dewey & LeBoeuf London associates reap promotion rewards
Dewey & LeBoeuf has made up a total of four partners in London in the first round of promotions since Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae merged in October.
Diversity
Despite a flurry of new protective rules on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and social backgrounds having come into play in recent years, diversity is still one of the most contentious issues facing law firms and remains steadfastly at the top of many firms' 'to do' lists.
DLA Piper shuffles management in Brussels
DLA Piper has named Bob Martens as Belgium managing partner with Yves Tavernier stepping down after two years in the role.
Dominic Clayden: Norwich Union
He may not be universally loved in the insurance claims industry, but there’s no doubting the influence of Norwich Union’s Dominic Clayden. By Katy Dowell
DWF further strengthens family with northern hires
DWF has made further moves to strengthen its family practice credentials, with lateral hires to its Liverpool and Preston offices.
DWS wins african infrastructure work
Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) and White & Case have won lead roles advising on a groundbreaking African infrastructure deal.
Eversheds' leadership tenure cut to two terms
Eversheds chief executive David Gray and chairman Alan Jenkins will be the last two office-holders who can run for a third term.
Fared income
Tulkinghorn was amused to hear an associate tell the tale of a job interview he once had at Freshfields.
FFW offers discount fixed fee for trademark opposition work
Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) is offering a discount fixed-fee arrangement for its trademark opposition service, giving clients the chance to nip IP disputes in the bud for £200.
Fight for the right party
This was a tale of two bashes. The date? Tuesday 11 December. The venue? The 36th floor of the glitz-strewn Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the edge of Central Park. The host? Good question.
Football refocus
Oligarchs are not people you want to annoy. Tulkinghorn watched with interest the signing of Andrey Shevchenko by Ukrainian firm Magister & Partners (see News, page 10). It seems Shevchenko worked, perhaps in his spare time, at energy company Rosneft, in which, it just so happens, Roman Abramovich has a substantial stake.
Freshfields and Travers scoop roles on Eni-Burren takeover
Travers Smith and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have agreed the £1.74bn takeover of London-headquartered oil independent Burren Energy by Italian energy giant Eni.
Freshfields Frankfurt partner defects to Bakers
A further corporate partner from Freshfields German operation has left the magic circle firm, surfacing at Baker & McKenzie.
Hall of Fame: The great and the good (A to K)
As part of The Lawyer's 20th anniversary celebrations, we're launching the legal profession's Hall of Fame. This is the first instalment: it continues next week
Hammonds' Crossley: the only choice for top job
Hammonds managing partner Peter Crossley is standing unopposed in the firm's current elections for the top job.
Healthcare head quits Mills & Reeve to join No5
No5 Chambers has hired Mills & Reeve head of healthcare David Lock to set up a new public law group.
Heller shakes up New York management
Heller Ehrman has appointed Ken Kirschner, the chair of its labour and employment group, as the firm’s new head of New York.
Herbies blazes a trail with litigation funding move
Herbert Smith has ploughed ahead with third-party litigation funding, putting on hold its working group on the matter, as it assesses the flood of new entrants to the market.
Herbies reshuffles competition team
Herbert Smith's long-standing EU/competition head Jonathan Scott has stepped down from the role with partner Elizabeth McKnight set to take over at the beginning of January.
Holman snares CC's sole shipping partner
Clifford Chance's last remaining shipping partner has left for Holman Fenwick & Willan.
Insurers threaten to sue over flood losses
UK insurers Norwich Union and Allianz are looking at whether they can sue water authorities for failing to prevent the floods this summer.
Keelys bolts on Burrells to London office
Keelys Solicitors has acquired insurance defendant specialist Burrells. The Lichfield-headquartered firm said Burrells would be merged with Keelys London. Burrells partners Derek Burrell and Eamonn Clifford will work directly with Keelys head of costs litigation Simon Murray. Burrells specialises in complex and high-value claims and recoveries for insurers. Keelys managing partner Daniel Keane said the acquisition would boost the firm's national presence.
Legal profession reserves judgement on Planning Bill
The proposed Planning Bill, which has its second reading in the House of Commons today (10 December), has met with a mixed response from the legal community.
Legance raids Gianni for Italy start-up
Legance has launched in Italy with 17 partners formerly from Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners, including managing partner Giovanni Nardulli.
Linklaters targets banks with Basel II compliance IT package
Linklaters is meeting with global clearing banks to pitch its latest IT initiative, which ensures compliance with complex Basel II requirements.
Linklaters, Herbies battle over biffa
Linklaters and Herbert Smith are squaring up in the battle for UK-listed waste disposal company Biffa.
Lost in translation
Talk about evading the question. When The Lawyer noticed an article in India's Telegraph newspaper that quoted a London-based Baker & McKenzie spokesperson saying: "Our current desire is to invite an Indian law firm to join our firm and we look forward to changes in the regulatory environment which will permit this", obviously we had to investigate.
MAB leaves RJW family team bereft
Russell Jones & Walker (RJW) head of family and private client Jeremy Abraham has joined Matthew Arnold and Baldwin (MAB).
Magister gives Moscow office a boost
Ukrainian independent firm Magister & Partners has boosted its Moscow office with two new partners.
Malaysia opens Islamic finance legal market
Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, will open the country's legal market to foreign law firms as early as next year.
Mason Hayes managing partner steps up to chairman
Irish firm Mason Hayes & Curran's managing partner Declan Moylan is to step down after three terms in the role, taking up the position of chairman instead.
Mayer Brown nets FFW construction head
Mayer Brown is ploughing ahead with it expansion programme with the appointment of Field Fisher Waterhouse's construction head Chris Fellowes.
Merging is a step too far for Herbies, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe
The definitive decision from management at Herbert Smith, Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe to dismiss merger talks out of hand has brought an end to months of speculation about how the allied firms would manage their futures.
Mundays
Mundays" / "Small firms are an endangered species," Mundays chief executive Bob Bruce claims.
Net thrall
Firewalls are creating a bit of a problem over at Eversheds' IP practice. The solution? A porn PC.
Norton Rose forms alliance with Saudi Arabian law firm
Norton Rose has agreed an association with a Saudi Arabian law firm to launch a new office in the kingdom.
OFT readies first criminal action for oil trio
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) could bring its first criminal cartel prosecution after three British oil industry executives were found guilty of price-fixing by a US court.
O'Melveny makes up one in London
The London office of O'Melveny & Myers had made up one partner in the shape of corporate counsel Justin Stock.
Partner trio makes way to Maxwell Winward
City firm Maxwell Winward has made its first round of lateral hires after it was formed via a merger between Maxwell Batley and Winward Fearon in April.
Paul Hastings secures German merger
US firm Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker has bagged desirable German independent firm Smeets Haas Wolff in Frankfurt, concluding the US firm’s long search for a suitable merger partner in Germany.
People Moves
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has promoted Richard Parsons and Andrew Heathcote to counsel in its structured and asset finance practice.
Plus ça change
SJ Berwin celebrated its 25th birthday last week. Now that it is experiencing life in its mid-20s, the firm's management can look forward and embark upon the second phase of its development, according to senior partner Jonathan Blake.
Reed Smith can't hear London calling
As partnership promotions go, three in London is pretty paltry, even for a US firm.
Reed Smith steps up to the platform for Bebo web initiative
Reed Smith Richards Butler senior associate Gregor Pryor has bagged a role advising social networking site Bebo on an open media content-sharing platform.
Regulation: finding the right balance
The typical governmental response to any public crisis was best summed up by Sir Humphrey Appleby when he said: "Something must be done; this is something; therefore this must be done."
Roschier launches Swedish real estate team
Finnish firm Roschier has launched a real estate practice in Sweden, raiding Linklaters for a three-lawyer team.
Salans raids Beiten for Moscow push
Salans has boosted its Moscow office by 10 lawyers, taking a two-partner team from German independent firm Beiten Burkhardt.
Separated at birth
Corporate partner Andrew Blain looks scarily like horror novelist Stephen King. Blain recently walked down TheShining path from the in-house team at Dunedin Property to Scottish firm Shepherd and Wedderburn.
Shearman bolsters London with raid on Latham
Shearman & Sterling has snared a high yield finance partner from US rivals Latham & Watkins’ London office.
Shearman promotes lucky 13 to partner
Shearman & Sterling has promoted 13 to the partnership across its global network.
Shepherd & Wedderburn benefits from Scottish power deal
Shepherd & Wedderburn has signed off on a major power purchase agreement (PPA) for ScottishPower, winning the instruction on the back of senior associate Graeme Moffett’s secondment to the company.
Simmons rebuilds Hong Kong team with new corporate star
Simmons & Simmons is putting its Hong Kong woes behind it and has made a key partner hire from Stephenson Harwood & Lo (SHL).
Singapore primed for market liberalisation
The Singapore government is to allow foreign firms to practise Singaporean law following recommendations made by a review committee of its local legal market.
Small mercies
Life without a safety net - that's how moving to a much smaller firm might feel.
Standard Life seeks first Dublin lawyer
Insurance giant Standard Life is planning to beef up its legal capability in Dublin by hiring a lawyer dedicated to the region.
Survival of the fittest
Is the white, male lawyer a dying breed? Law firms can be proactive in supporting minority groups and still employ according to merit, says Monica Burch
Taxi scabs
Tulkinghorn and his scribes have had much discussion this week about the etiquette governing corporate taxis. Yes, that's 'taxis' - a far more interesting subject than corporate taxes, Tulkinghorn believes.
Taylor Wessing nets Brentford stadium development
Taylor Wessing has scored the lead role advising Brentford Football Club on the development of a new stadium.
Terra Firma instigates EMI legal review
The EMI Group is to undertake a review of its entire legal function following private equity group Terra Firma's acquisition of the struggling music label in May.
The Lawyer HR Awards 2008: the finalists
The Lawyer launched its first-ever HR Awards in 2006 to celebrate excellence in the effective deployment of HR strategy in the legal world - an issue underpinning some of the biggest stories of the last two years.
Thomas Miller to slash advisers via e-tracking
Transport insurance service provider Thomas Miller claims to be the first UK-based company to implement a fully electronic legal spend management system in a bid to cull its roster of external firms by 80 per cent.
To the manners, scorn
Tulkinghorn feels standards of social etiquette have plummeted to a nadir.
Web week
Lore law
Which? action to settle
The first representative action brought by consumer group Which? has been stayed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), with the two parties locked in settlement negotiations.
Wilberforce hit by email fraudsters
Wilberforce Chambers has been hit by email fraudsters, who have sent out fake bills to solicitors in the set's name.
Wragges makes London pledge with trainee recruitment plan
Wragge & Co will recruit its first trainees in London, signalling the Birmingham firm's commitment to the City.
Wragges won't sell its soul
Wragges managing partner Quentin Poole tries to play down the importance of the firm putting down roots in London.
You know when you've been Trumped
13-Dec-07You know when you've been TrumpedAs Donald Trump brews up yet another storm across the Atlantic the ongoing saga surrounding his Scottish ambitions has taken an interesting turn.
