15 February 2010
The Lawyer
The Lawyer HR Awards 2010
?The Lawyer’s third annual HR Awards brought together the cream of UK talent at the premier event for HR professionals in the legal industry
A “legitimate question” for Cherie Booth?
Cherie Booth QC, sitting as a judge, has been criticised severely by the media and the blogosphere for her reported remarks about a defendant’s religious beliefs when sentencing him for actual bodily harm.
A&O’s raid on Clayton highlights birth of Perth as Asia gateway and mining centre
The Australian legal fraternity has been spending much of the past week mulling over the consequences of Allen & Overy’s (A&O) sudden encroachment into its backyard.
Addleshaws on both sides of offshore tie-up
Addleshaw Goddard’s nascent law firm consultancy has worked on its largest merger to date after steering the tie-up between offshore firms Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes.
Appeal decision erodes banks’ anti-crime tactics
The Court of Appeal has ruled that bank customers whose transactions are delayed because of money laundering suspicions will have the right to challenge banks’ decisions.
Ashurst, CC surf private equity revival with sale of LGC Holdings
Ashurst and Clifford Chance have benefited from the mini-revival of the private equity M&A market by landing lead roles on the sale of LGC Holdings to Bridgepoint.
Bingham shocks market with NQ salary of £100K
Bingham has emerged as one of the most generous US firms in London, paying its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers a salary of £100,000.
Canton ease
With the laws governing Switzerland’s various cantons set to be made less distinct, James Swift looks at the possibilities for local, national and global firms
Carphone Warehouse, TalkTalk demerger calls on bevy of firms
Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, DLA Piper, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Osborne Clarke have bagged roles on the demerger and subsequent £1bn refinancing of Carphone Warehouse and TalkTalk.
Clear for take-off?
The Government is sticking to its guns with the Financial Services Bill. Dan Preddy and Martin Langley highlight the concerns of those it affects
Common touch: Akbar Khan, Commonwealth Secretariat
Legal director at the Commonwealth Secretariat Akbar Khan is committed to furthering what he believes are the organisation’s altruistic aims.
Cubism Law launches insurance group
Litigation specialist Cubism Law has started a dedicated insurance group with the hire of two new consultants.
Debevoise bolsters European litigation
Former Russell Jones & Walker partner Tom Epps has joined Debevoise & Plimpton as international counsel in its European litigation practice.
Dentons wins DB Regio’s Tyne & Wear Metro work
Denton Wilde Sapte client and Deutsche Bahn subsidiary DB Regio Tyne & Wear has signed a contract to operate the Tyne & Wear Metro for a period of nine years, with the Government announcing £580m in funding for the PPP project.
DLA Piper strengthens corporate crime team
DLA Piper has beefed up its corporate crime team with the appointment of Peters & Peters partner Jo Rickards.
Eversheds trio lines up to challenge incumbent chair
Eversheds chairman Alan Jenkins is facing competition from three other candidates as he attempts to hold on to his position.
FFW hikes Brussels IP team with A&O hire
Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) has built up its Brussels IP practice with the hire of former Allen & Overy (A&O) of counsel Thierry van Innis.
Focus: Australia - Moving on down
Allen & Overy’s move into Australia is as much about gaining access to the country’s Asian neighbours as it is about the domestic market
Former BLP partner Veneik is struck off
Former Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) property partner Vinay Veneik has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) following accusations that he misused client money.
Freshfields on Australia: the A&O way is not for us
Signs emerge of strategic divide in the magic circle over how to target the key markets in the Asia-Pacific region
Ghanaian firm Oxford & Beaumont opens in UK
Oxford & Beaumont has become the first Ghanaian law firm with a footprint in the UK after launching a representative office in London this month.
LG’s own Karate Kid wins flood of praise
There is a scene in Bruce Lee’s first US film Marlowe in which the kung fu icon accidentally jumps off the top of a skyscraper during a fight scene.
Links loses US-qualified securities partner
Steve Thierbach, Linklaters’ first solely US-qualified partner, has left the firm.
Lupton Fawcett
Leeds firm Lupton Fawcett has pushed the boat out strategically over the past 12 months.
Marrache London angry over Gibraltar scandal
A partner in the London office of Marrache & Co has reacted angrily to news that the firm’s Gibraltar-based founding partners have had their Financial Services Commission licences cancelled, claiming the City base’s reputation is suffering by association.
Norton Rose increases partner count in HK
Norton Rose has continued to target the wider Asia market following its tie-up with Australian firm Deacons, with two corporate partners relocating to Hong Kong.
Ogier takes Channel Islands services to HK market
Ogier will become the first law firm to offer Jersey and Guernsey services in Asia when it relocates a group of Channel Islands practitioners to Hong Kong.
Opinion: Law firms’ flexible working policies – could do better
Surprisingly, as we push out our babies, we don’t also eject ambition, work ethic and the killer instinct. Changing nappies, applying teething gel and grappling with nanny PAYE doesn’t nullify our multi-degree education and decades of work experience.
People moves
David Evans has joined Edwin Coe as a partner from White & Case, where he was a senior associate in the London employment and benefits group.
Secret agenda
Switzerland’s banking secrecy is coming under increased pressure as US and European countries target tax evaders to plug deficits in their economies. James Swift asks: is the country’s resistance futile?
Stewarts Law swoops for PwC Legal litigator
Litigation firm Stewarts Law has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Legal commercial litigation head Paul Brehony as a partner.
Taylor Wessing announces new KM chief
Taylor Wessing has appointed Andrew Telling as its UK head of knowledge management.
The changing face of football finance means lawyers are in the thick of it
A ’premier league’ of advisers has arisen to tackle clubs’ money issues. By Gavriel Hollander
The next world power?
Too often the magic circle firms are lumped together as if they were strategically homogenous. Allen & Overy’s (A&O) decision to open in Australia, taking 17 partners, mostly from Clayton Utz, is a tacit endorsement of Clifford Chance’s world view.
Tulkinghorn: Cry Emirates
Football fans often ask themselves what price they’d pay to help their team climb the league table. For Clifford Chance’s resident Gooner David Bickerton the answer, apparently, is his transport home.
What Australia offers for US firms
After A&O took the plunge, what are its US rivals doing about Australia?
Work Life Quiz: Rachel Hutton, Optima Legal
If you were stranded on a desert island, what two luxury items would you take? My iPod and suntan lotion.
