12 January 2004
The Lawyer
Hello! wins leave to appeal Douglas decision
Hello! magazine has been granted leave to appeal the case it lost in the summer against Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and OK! Magazine.
3i review leaves Birmingham out in the cold and panel under pressure
Private equity giant 3i is planning to disband its Birmingham legal department.
A lot to swallow
Even star lawyers can get their facts wrong from time to time, it appears.
Appeal Court calls for retrial after judge’s ‘wounding’ comments
Co-op case against ICL vindicated by Court of Appeal as it slates Mr Justice Seymour’s judgment
Asda loses legal director to Eversheds
Asda legal director Denise Jagger (left) has left to take up partnership at Eversheds. The firm has appointed Jagger to further develop the firm’s client relationship management programme and other services offered to in-house counsel. Jagger will also work with managing partner David Gray in developing the firm’s corporate values and staff development. Asda will replace Jagger with Tesco’s trading law ...
Ashurst: Spendlove ousted
Ashurst’s incumbent managing partner Justin Spendlove will shortly be replaced by young litigation partner Simon Bromwich.
Beachcroft raises merger hopes with niche Swindon firm
Beachcroft Wansbroughs has been secretly scouting out potential merger partners as it emerged that it approached niche Swindon firm Clark Holt.
Bird & Bird wins Dutch music fight
Bird & Bird has won a precedent-setting victory in the Dutch Supreme Court for internet file sharing company Kazaa against Dutch royalties collection agency Buma Stemra.
Blackstone barrister to advise Soham Inquiry
Blackstone Chambers barrister James Eadie has been appointed as counsel to the four-week Soham Inquiry due to start next month.
BLP beats rivals for giant GUS financing
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has won out against Linklaters to scoop its first major financing deal for retail group GUS plc.
Bryan Cave review sees HK office downsized
Bryan Cave has become the latest casualty of the continued economic slump in the Far East.
Catholic church pays for failure to protect abuse victim
One Crown Office Row and Wokingham-based Clifton Ingram have scored a major victory against the Roman Catholic church after securing record damages for a former alter boy who suffered years of abuse.
CC New York exodus continues as firm offers more money to stay
Clifford Chance is fighting a rearguard action to stem the swelling tide of partner losses from its US practice. It is understood that the firm’s management committee has offered a group of four US partners between 50 and 75 points each on top of their 100 units at plateau, despite the firm’s protracted compensation review last year, which reaffirmed lockstep.
Chadbourne snaps up Altheimer offices
Chadbourne & Parke has acquired the Warsaw and Kiev offices of bankrupt Chicago giant Altheimer & Gray.
Citigroup lawyer joins up with NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has appointed Citigroup’s general counsel for global corporate and investment banking Richard Ketchum to the newly-created role of chief regulatory officer.
Cleary’s Euro growth continues as it takes more space in Milan
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has taken space for a new Milan office – a sign that its rapid expansion in Europe is set to continue in 2004.
'Clementi' breaks deadlock on referral fees
It seemed that the unstoppable forces of deregulation at work at Chancery Lane had come unstuck over lifting the ban on referral fees. Try as the reformers might - and the topic had been on the Law Society agenda for the best part of ten years – but the stick-in the mud traditionalists refused to budge. That was until last month.
Date set on release of Hutton findings
Lord Hutton's long-awaited report into the death of Ministry of Defence weapons expert Dr David Kelly will be published on January 28.
Denton’s Gay fights for Rusedski
Denton Wilde Sapte sports guru Mark Gay has been drafted in to defend Greg Rusedski over the UK number two seed’s positive drugs test.
DLA proves that North West pulls its weight on pro bono
Pro bono work is sometimes seen as the preserve of major London firms, but now DLA’s Manchester office has thrown down the gauntlet to its Southern rivals.
DLA scoops place on Lancs County Council line-up
DLA has picked up Lancashire County Council as a new client after winning places on the local authority’s legal panels.
Eversheds partner joins Mills & Reeve
Eversheds PFI/projects partner Jason Poole is set to join the Cambridge office of Mills & Reeve as a partner later this year. Poole specialises in advising public and private sector clients on a wide range of PFI/public private partnership schemes, project financings and outsourcings. Pooles recent transactions ...
Eversheds snaps up Lupicinio
Eversheds has become the first UK firm to pick up the pieces from the collapse of Denton Wilde Sapte’s international network by signing an association with Spanish firm Lupicinio. Eversheds has been talking to a number of the former Denton International firms, but Lupicinio is, as yet, the only one with which it has reached an agreement. Lupicinio, comprising six partners and 37 lawyers, has offices ...
Fee levels see Lovells IP ace defect to Graf
Lovells’ Hamburg office has lost competition and intellectual property (IP)/technology, media and telecoms (TMT) partner Walter Scheuerl to Wragges’ German best friend Graf von Westphalen Bappert & Modest. Scheuerl pointed to the fee structure at Lovells and other international law firms as a key reason behind his move.
Firm Profile: Zermansky & Partners
Leeds firm Zermansky & Partners welcomed in the new year with its eponymous founder Victor Zermansky celebrating 50 years on the roll of solicitors.
Freshfields raids Linklaters for banking lateral
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired a Linklaters banking and restructuring associate as a partner. Chris Howard will join the firm’s London office with full partner status at the beginning of next month.
Frisco revenues on the rise after 2002 slump
San Francisco’s legal market is showing signs of recovery, with nine out of the region’s top 10 firms posting increases in gross revenues in 2003.
Gaming Board and PCC hire Salomon
Eve Salomon, the former director of legal and company secretary at the Radio Authority, has snared two key appointments, becoming a board member at the Gaming Board and a commissioner at the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
Granada-Carlton shun panel firms as KLegal wins BT deal
KLegal has won the first joint instruction from Granada-Carlton to advise on a multimillion pound technology deal with BT.
Grapevine
It has begun. The historic £1bn lawsuit against the Bank of England brought by the liquidators of BCCI kicked off yesterday, with a thundering opening speech from the liquidators' QC Gordon Pollock, which made sure no one in the packed press gallery went away disappointed.
Hammonds ramps up with double partner hire
Hammonds is continuing to rebuild its insolvency team with the hire of partners Alistair Bacon and Jeremy Reilly from Matthew Arnold & Baldwin and Cobbetts respectively.
Hearst raids Clifford Chance for in-house counsel
The Hearst Corporation has plucked its third legacy Rogers & Wells partner to become in-house lawyer at subsidiary Hearst-Argyle Television.
Holiday reps
Tulkinghorn has often wondered what goes on within law firms during the quiet Christmas period.
Holmes Hardingham suffers five partner break-away
Holmes Hardingham’s ship litigation practice has been left depleted after five of its key partners left to set up their own practice.
Jones Day seeks new jobs for post-merger Pennie staff
Jones Day seeks new jobs for post-merger Pennie staff" /Jones Day is attempting to find new positions for staff from New York intellectual property (IP) practice Pennie & Edmonds, who are facing redundancy following its recent merger.
Law Society and Bar Council play down Clementi spat
The Law Society and Bar Council were playing down fundamental differences of opinion over David Clementi's review of regulation last week, as the first signs of friction emerged between the two sides of the profession.
Law Society keeps Lord Falconer at bay with new complaints director
The Law Society is attempting to stay the threat of losing it’s self-regulatory powers with the creation of a complaints handling directorate.
Leader
Who says class distinctions are dead? This year’s Who’s Who welcomed 135 law-yers to its pages, 115 of whom were silks and just three of whom were solicitors in private practice.
Legal Widow
Foiled in his attempts to cement a partnership with a nice US firm in sunny Florida, the managing partner (MP) has turned his attention to our soon-to-be-acquired EU neighbours. Until he read the Sunday supplements over the holidays, he hadn’t realised quite how many were joining us. I imagine him crying out: “Ten of them! Good Lord, Margery, it’s like pick ’n’ mix for asylum seekers!”
Lovells German head relinquishes role after 18 months
Lovells managing partner for Germany Oliver Felsenstein is stepping down from the role after just a year and a half in the job.Felsenstein said his decision was prompted by a desire to undertake more client work, adding: “I am a victim of the success of our private equity practice.”The German partner is also the firm’s co-head of corporate alongside London partner Hugh Nineham and will continue in that role.Lovells is expected to appoint a successor on 1 April.
Lovells partner defects to Dickinson Dees
Lovells has lost commercial disputes partner Craig Monty to Newcastle giant Dickinson Dees.
M&A Q4 2003: Clifford Chance takes the biggest slice of the European corporate pie
Clifford Chance has come top of the MergerMarket announced European M&A league tables for the first time, knocking Linklaters off the top spot. The firm also came top of Thomson Financial’s tables for announced M&A with a European target.
M&A Q4 2003: French announced deals
Linklaters has leapfrogged Clifford Chance and Bredin Prat to top the MergerMarket league table in France for 2003, but the big news is the arrival of Weil Gotshal & Manges and Gide Loyrette Nouel in the top five.
M&A Q4 2003: UK announced deals
In another difficult year for UK M&A, Linklaters has retained its position as the market leader by securing the top spot in the MergerMarket 2003 table for announced deals by value.
MacRoberts partner losses grow with corporate leader
MacRoberts’ head of corporate has quit the firm, becoming the sixth partner to leave in the past six months.
McCarthy Tetrault knocked by double partner defection
Canadian firm McCarthy Tetrault’s London office has been hit by the departure of two partners who have left for White & Case.
Merger duo stay just as they are
Two Guernsey law firms have taken the bizarre step of merging while retaining their original names and staff.
Morgan Cole loses duo to Eversheds
The slew of defections at Morgan Cole continues, with two further Cardiff partners currently negotiating their exits, this time to Eversheds.
Nabarros property team pins revival hopes on James George
Can the ex-Freshfields’ real estate star provide a new direction? asks Emma Vere-Jones
Nomura appoints new legal chief
Japanese investment bank Nomura has completed a 12-month search to replace its third head of legal in just over three years. Former Linklaters managing partner for the Americas Terence Kyle, who retired from the firm in July last year, started work as general counsel in charge of Europe on 5 January. He replaces David Mee who left in January last year, who took over the role from Stephen Ball, who departed ...
Off-shore giants steam ahead with merger plans
Caribbean firms Hunter & Hunter and Appleby Spurling & Kempe are set to merge in a deal that will re-shape the off-shore legal market.
Opinion
Johnny Cash once observed that “there are more questions than answers”. Cash’s insight leapt to mind following the recent ruling on the scope of legal advice privilege. The decision of Judge Tomlinson in Three Rivers District Council v The Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 10) (2003) restricts the commonly regarded ambit of legal advice privilege significantly. It ...
Passive smoking can seriously damage your legal health
Clubs, bar and restaurants were put on notice about legal action over passive smoking this week, as an anti-smoking group joined forces with trade union firm Thompsons.
Peter Carter-Ruck memorial
A service for the life and work of Peter Carter-Ruck will be held at 3pm on 24 March at Temple Church, Fleet Street, EC4Y and afterwards at Inner Temple Hall. Those wishing to attend should telephone Peter Carter-Ruck and Partners partnership secretary Michael Croxford on 020 7353 5005 or email Michael.Croxford@carter-ruck.com. The UK’s father of libel law was 89 when he died on 19 December at his home in Essex.
Planning lawyers concerned over uncertainties in New Planning bill
Planning lawyers this week urged the government to think again over proposals to give ministers powers to introduce secondary legislation on planning obligations.
Real estate deals round-up
Clifford Chance (Robert MacGregor) advised Canary Wharf Group on the £1.1bn sale of two buildings to Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The deal, believed to be the largest ever UK office investment sale, involves the landmark Citigroup Tower and 5 Canada Square. SJ Berwin (Stephen Willson) and Allen & Overy (Imogen Moss) jointly advised RBS.
Salans raids Weil Gotshal for European push
Salans has continued its attack on central and eastern Europe with the hire of high profile Weil Gotshal & Manges property and finance partners Evan Lazar and Eric Rosedale, plus a pair of associates.Lazar is the co-chair of Weil Gotshal’s European property finance group. He will join Salans' Prague office with the two associates. Rosedale, who headed up the property and finance group ...
Separated at birth
There’s so much to put up with as the wife of a well-known hellraiser: welcoming back reprobate family members, strumming the guitar at all hours of the night, dealing with screaming fans (less of those these days, however) and all his crazy international friends – it must all be hell for the wife of a superstar. Still, darling Cherie seems to be coping fairly well with the stress. She’s clearly got a brass neck.
Setback for employee in 'collar and tie' dress code case
The government won an appeal against a civil servant who claimed that he had suffered sex discrimination because he was forced to wear a collar and tie at work, however the Employment Appeals Tribunal sent the case back to be heard by another tribunal.
Simmons Hong Kong boosts project practice
Simmons & Simmons has taken on a former Shearman & Sterling projects lawyer Jack Su as a consultant in the firm’s corporate practice in Hong Kong.
SJ Berwin in triple partner exodus blow
SJ Berwin has been hit by the triple defection of three partners including highly-rated private equity partner John Daghlian who is leaving for O’Melveney & Myers.
Slaughters’ Boardman quits role after ‘eight years of counting paperclips’
Nigel Boardman is to stand down as Slaughter and May’s head of corporate this April. A new head should be in place by May, but as yet there is no obvious successor.
Sorin lures partner from Oppenheimer
Sorin, the medical technology company recently spun-off by Italian conglomerate Snia, has appointed Oppen-heimer Wolff & Donnelly partner Bryan Sheridan as its new head of legal.
Sullivan partner aids newspaper magnate
Sullivan & Cromwell litigation partner John Warden is advising newspaper baron Conrad Black in his increasingly acrimonious negotiations with Hollinger International. Lord Black is currently engaged in talks with his newspaper empire about the repayment of compensation that was paid out to Black and a number of executives connected to Hollinger International. Herbert Smith is acting for Hollinger ...
Survey shows global concerns are growing
Around 96 per cent of firms with 50 or more partners now offer international services, according to a survey by professional and financial services group Smith & Williamson.
Sympathy for... the audience
As if the sword ’n’ sorcery epic laid on by Dorsey & Whitney The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wasn’t enough entertainment for a crowd of pre-Christmas revellers, the hosts of the sneak preview also provided an ear-splitting soundtrack to announce the arrival on stage of London managing partner John Byrne. Byrne bounded on stage in full rock star mode, dressed from head to toe in black. “Please allow me to introduce myself…” warbled Mick Jagger through ...
Take that to the bank
Not too posh to push: why Macfarlanes’ bluebloods are after DLA’s patch.
The first £3m silk: Pollock scores record fee in BCCI
Key man in court showdown could earn further £2m for trial; forced to apologise for ‘sex-crazed’ outburst
The top cases of 2004
This year promises to give judges and litigators plenty to do. Brendan Malkin and Naomi Rovnick single out the biggest
Trio quits Weightmans to go it alone
Three Weightman Vizards lawyers have left the 78-partner firm to form a new commercial boutique. The new firm, PFK Legal opens for business today (12 January). It is the brainchild of Mark Forman, Neil Kelly and James Powell. It will focus on commercial, media and intellectual property work out of offices in Oriel Chambers, Liverpool.
Trowers property drive prompts swoop on Radcliffes
One of RadcliffesLeBrasseur’s senior property partners Michael Higginson has quit for Trowers & Hamlins.
UK music industry challenges online cut-price CD retailers
The UK music industry is take on the online retailers that import cut-price CDs from outside Europe, in what could be a landmark parallel imports case. Last week the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) launched a test case against two web sites, CD Wow and Play.com.
Vinson tells 40 associates to look for new jobs.
Vinson & Elkins is cutting up to 10 per cent of its associates following a year-end review. According to the New York Lawyer, the firm has asked 40 of its associates to seek new jobs due to in part to recent reviews and available work opportunities. All offices, bar Moscow, will be hit by the cuts. For the full story, click here
Watson Burton plans growth for new offices
Newcastle firm Watson Burton has invested £20m in new premises that will generate 60 new jobs this year.
Weil Gotshal targets Germany with Munich expansion
Weil Gotshal & Manges is widening its German presence by adding a Munich office.
Wilkinson’s lord
Never let the truth get in the way of a celebrity lunch companion. That, at least, seems to be the philosophy of One Essex Court’s top dog, Lord Grabiner QC.
