14 July 2008
The Lawyer
2Birds raids Mayer Frankfurt for IP veteran
Bird & Bird has boosted its IP team in Germany with a partner hire from Mayer Brown’s Frankfurt office.
Aptitude test to get on BVC, report recommends
The Bar Vocational Course (BVC) should be renamed the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC), with potential students having to take an aptitude test to get on the programme, a new report recommends.
Arabian rites
Saudi Arabia is on the radar of most of the biggest Western law firms, but the country’s lack of suitably qualified sponsors means inventive entry strategies are critical
Ashurst, Herbies ride out tough year; BLP, Macfarlanes, SJ Berwin succumb
Ashurst, Herbies ride out tough year; BLP, Macfarlanes, SJ Berwin succumb" /The silver circle has enjoyed mixed fortunes over the past financial year, with Ashurst and Herbert Smith powering ahead, while
Assistant SFO director joins Khan Partnership
The exodus of Serious Fraud Office (SFO) senior management has seen assistant director John Benstead enlist with litigation boutique The Khan Partnership.
Bellies de jour
LG took an unusual line with its keenly anticipated press party this year, inviting participants to vote on it having either an Arab, an Indian or a Mardi Gras theme.
Bentley does it
Tulkinghorn prefers to give a wide berth to the kind of celebrity hangouts that attract hordes of paparazzi in the small hours.
Berrymans quits Dubai following defection
Taylor Wessing has bolstered its Dubai office with the hire of Berrymans Lace Mawer’s local managing partner Jeremy Cama, forcing the latter firm to close its operation in the emirate.
Bupa panel strategy wins fees reduction
BUPA general counsel Paul Newton’s tough stance on law firm billing has resulted in firms pitching for panel places accepting substantial reductions on fees.
Camerons strikes black gold with North Sea oilfields brief
CMS Cameron McKenna has cemented its ties with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) after advising on its acquisition of eight North Sea oil and gas fields from Shell UK and Esso Exploration and Production.
CC, Dewey lead on Abu Dhabi sewage work
The Dubai office of Clifford Chance has advised Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank as lender on the $400m (£203.14m) Abu Dhabi sewage project.
Clydes aims for stateside expansion
Clyde & Co is looking to mirror the rapid expansion it is currently enjoying in the Middle East with growth in the US.
Cohen Milstein mulls Equitable Life action
Class action firm Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll is considering launching legal proceedings on behalf of a million Equitable Life policyholders after the parliamentary ombudsman said they should be compensated.
Conservation group turns to Lovells on carbon PPP
Lovells is advising international conservation group Flora & Fauna International (FFI) on a series of carbon-reduction PPP projects in developing countries.
Desmond Browne QC takes Bar Council reins
The joint head of media set 5 Raymond Buildings, Desmond Browne QC, has been elected as the next chairman of the Bar Council, it was announced today (16 July)
Dickie Dees volume staff in mass redundancy talks
Dickinson Dees has begun redundancy talks with three of the four departments in its volume business.
DLA installs new North West heads of corporate
DLA Piper has revamped its corporate practice in the North West by appointing new heads of corporate in Manchester and Liverpool.
Dubai hotel chain lines up first legal panel
Dubai-based Jumeirah Group, owner of the Burj Al Arab hotel, has appointed its first-ever legal panel with 12 firms winning advisory roles.
Firms drafted in as Danish furniture giant quits UK
CMS Cameron McKenna, DLA Piper and Eversheds have been called into action as Danish furniture chain Ilva puts its UK business into administration.
Freshfields intern jailed for five months
A teenager on work experience at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been jailed for five months after stealing thousands of pounds from the magic circle law firm.
GE Real Estate appoints new GC for Europe
Global property business GE Real Estate has appointed a new general counsel for Europe.
Gibson Dunn London signs up Lord Falconer
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has taken a leaf out of the book of rival Debevoise & Plimpton by hiring a lawyer who served under former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Government phone tapping called into question by 39 Essex Street win
Richard Clayton QC of 39 Essex Street chambers has won a victory in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that could force the UK Government to review its policy of intercepting overseas calls.
Government’s bar panels given diversity targets
The Attorney General Baroness Scotland has drawn up a list of equality and diversity targets for chambers looking to keep their barristers on the Government’s panels of counsel.
Heroes and Villains
Heroes and Villains18-July-2008American litigation lawyers are unlikely candidates for hero-status, but when your own government has allowed your pension to go down the pan, all bets are off.
Holroyd steps down as Law Soc president
The Law Society president Andrew Holroyd has handed over his post to Surrey-based property lawyer Paul Marsh.
Insolvency: Closing time
As the economic downturn continues to bite, landlords need to be vigilant to ensure tenants do not attempt to reorganise their way out of making good on their rental obligations. By Wayne Parker and Amy Wright
Insolvency: Credit where it’s due
When debts go bad, it’s a costly business all round. But there are some simple steps credit-granters can take to reduce the risks they run
Insolvency: Hedge strippers
When hedge funds fail there is a number of potential pitfalls to be wary of – especially if the fund is incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Insolvency: The butterfly effect
After being repeatedly stung by the credit crisis, can the UK economy ‘float like a butterfly’?
Insolvency: To be or not to be
Insolvency isn’t the only ground on which a company can be wound up – public interest also plays a major role. But regulators need to be more consistent in their approach, argue Jonathon Crook and Sarah Naylor
It’s time to put Africa on an equal footing
After the genocide, Rwanda was left with around 30 lawyers, less than the number of litigators in a large City practice.
Latham's 'can do' attitude extends empire east
Earlier this year Latham & Watkins stunned the legal market when it revealed it was looking to launch three Middle East offices simultaneously. And as TheLawyer.com revealed last week (8 July), the firm is already dramatically scaling up its presence ...
Law’s arch-regulator appoints first ever board
Irwin Mitchell's Michael Napier QC and ex Reuters general counsel Rosemary Martin are among the first-ever members of the Legal Services Board.
Lewis Silkin shakes up recruitment to boost diversity
Lewis Silkin is shaking up its recruitment strategy in a bid to broaden the diversity of its trainees.
LG and Trowers latest to increase salaries
LG and Trowers & Hamlins have increased their trainee solicitor salaries by inflation-busting rates, although its first year trainees are still paid marginally less than the median for City law firms.
Linklaters parachutes in new Dubai chief
Linklaters has overhauled its Middle East leadership team, bringing in Milan co-managing partner Sarosh Mewawalla as Dubai managing partner and finance practice head.
Magic circle muscles in on $52bn InBev deal
A trio of magic circle firms has scored plum roles on the financing of InBev’s acquisition of Budweiser producer Anheuser-Busch.
Max Mosley privacy case costs to hit £1m
The legal costs in Formula 1 chief Max Mosley’s five-day privacy suit against the News of the World are set to hit £1m.
Moves roundup: 14 July 2008
Elias Chedid has left the Paris office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to join King & Spalding in Dubai. He joins as counsel in the finance practice group.
Nabarro signs up Travers partner for corporate push
Nabarro signs up Travers partner for corporate push" /Nabarro has called on the silver circle for its latest lateral hire, signing up Travers Smith corporate partner Alasdair Steele.
Nadine Strahl: Osborne Clarke
If you were stranded on a desert island, what two luxury items would you take? A bottle of perfume and a La Perla swimsuit
No5, Monckton best growers for 2007-08
No5 Chambers has posted a 26 per cent increase in turnover, matching Monckton Chambers as the set with the largest growth in the last financial year.
Nokia ends GC search with internal candidate
Nokia has found a new global general counsel following a 10-month search, having decided to promote internally for the role.
NYC's Curtis in Argentine tie-up
New York-headquartered Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle has strengthened its presence in the Latin America region by forming a strategic alliance with Argentine firm Fernandez Quiroga Ayarragaray & Ocampo.
Offshore has more than just the sun to offer
What a choice – rainswept UK or sun-soaked Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.
Our little Secret...
A large corporate law firm is not the first place that Tulkinghorn looks for glamour. Just click on the partner profiles at any big operation – there is nary a single triquini to be seen.
Own goal
There are more signs that the credit crunch is taking hold in the strangest of areas. Tulkinghorn has learnt that Bird & Bird telecoms supremo Dominic Cook is the reigning champion of the firm’s hotly-contested table football competition.
Pinsents property partner defects to BLP
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has hired Pinsent Masons property partner Andrew Yates as joint head of regeneration and public sector.
Pinsents, Wragges on super-ships project
Pinsent Masons and Wragge & Co have been handed mandates in a £3bn project to build two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. The Ministry of Defence called on Wragges project partners Michael Whitehouse and Jane Pittaway, supported by IP partner Michael Luckman.
QBD president gets Lord Chief Justice nod
The president of the Queen’s Bench Division Sir Igor Judge is to take over from Lord Phillips as Lord Chief Justice from October. The move sees Mr Justices Jackson and Goldring appointed as Lord Justices of Appeal to replace Sir Igor and Lord Justice Buxton, who is set to retire in October. Mr Justice Aikens will replace Lord Justice Gage, who retires on 19 November.
Romanian market hots up as Garrigues and Salans expand Bucharest offerings
The Romanian legal market is fast becoming one of the hottest in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after Spanish leader Garrigues opened an office in Bucharest and Salans made a top-name lateral hire in the same week.
Salans raids Fladgate for real estate star
Salans has hired UK real estate partner Nick Ellis from Fladgate. Ellis’s practice focuses on real estate finance for the hotel, apartment and commercial sectors. He has advised on some of the largest PFI/PPP projects in the UK, including the major regeneration projects of the Bullring at Birmingham and the Millennium Dome in London.
Shearman counts cost to Europe of King’s abdication
Several months before Shearman & Sterling corporate star Peter King quit for Weil Gotshal & Manges (The Lawyer, 7 July), a former ...
Simmons links pay to new practice groups
Simmons & Simmons has revamped its partner remuneration system to take into account the firm’s new international practice groups.
Slaughters and A&O on Santander's A&L bid
Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy (A&O) have bagged lead roles on Banco Santander's £1.25bn recommended offer for Alliance & Leicester.
Splitting heirs: Frank Dassler, Adidas
As the grandson of the founder of sportswear giant Puma, Frank Dassler is now GC of über-rival Adidas. He talks to Kit Chellel about life on both sides of the logo divide
Sullivan and Thacher Proffitt benefit from US mortgage woes
New York's Thacher Proffitt & Wood is advising US bank IndyMac while Sullivan & Cromwell is advising Fannie Mae on its possible government bail out.
The world is Skadden’s playground as European arm flexes US muscle
Ultimate deal machine can ride out M&A dip with European investment into the US, says Kit Chellel
Top 30 firms record 93 per cent PEP rise since 2000
The average profit per equity partner (PEP) of the UK’s top 30 law firms has grown by 92.7 per cent to £764,900 since the turn of the century.
Trainee solicitors overtake bankers
Trainee solicitors are the highest paid graduates in the UK, according to an Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) survey published last Tuesday (8 July).
Travers PEP suffers as downturn hits year end
Travers Smith has seen a drop in average profit per equity partner (PEP) as the corporate-heavy firm becomes the latest to suffer the effects of the credit crunch.
Trials and tribulations
Well, there have been more than a few clouds of late over at New York structured finance stalwart, Thacher Proffitt & Wood. The firm's over dependency on this area cost it dearly when the market crashed.
Vital statistics tell their own story
The Lawyer’s editorial team has been hunkering down with a mountain of statistics as it embarks on the gargantuan research project that is The Lawyer UK 200 Annual Report.
Web Week
In recent years sexuality and the law have been getting into bed together. Gay marriages, diversity data at law firms and banks etc have all led to a new website called – what else? – Gay Lawyers (www.gaylawyers.co.uk).
Wedlake Bell opts for non-legal CEO
London firm Wedlake Bell has revamped its senior management team by appointing a non-legal CEO. Richard Thorby was previously managing partner at actuarial consultancy Lane Clark & Peacock and spent much of his career at luxury goods group Richemont.
Withers picks new head of family law
Withers has promoted family law partner Julian Lipson to head its family practice.
Withy King
Withy King" /At the end of the 2006-07 financial year, Withy King reported a disappointing 3.5 per cent fall in turnover to £10.8m. The Bath-headquartered firm has since been working hard to reverse its fortunes and this year has come stomping back, reporting a 24 per cent increase to £13.4m.
