The Lawyer
16 May 2005
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Addleshaws breaks £400K PEP ceiling
16-May-2005
Addleshaw Goddard's profit per equity partner (PEP) has smashed the psychological £400,000 barrier for the first time.
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Andrew Hall: Universal Pictures International
16-May-2005
Having survived four takeovers, Universal Pictures' business is now booming. Deborah Rothfield reports
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Back in business
16-May-2005
ING Barings' UK head of legal Adrian Marsh is a sucker for punishment. Between 24 May and 4 June he's going to embark on a cycle ride from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for the Breast Cancer Campaign.
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Bakers in four-partner capital markets raid on Norton Rose
20-May-2005
Norton Rose's entire securitisation group has resigned for Baker & McKenzie, leaving the top ten firm with no capital markets capability at partner level in London.
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Beachcrofts makes up five to partnership
18-May-2005
National firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs has made five associates up to partner, as well as promoting 19 assistants to associate status.
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Birnberg Peirce secures retrial for imprisoned Kurdish leader
18-May-2005
Human rights specialists Birnberg Peirce and Brick Court Chambers’ Sir Sydney Kentridge QC have won a significant European court victory for a Kurdish leader sentenced to death in Turkey.
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BLP wins back client Isis from Olswang on Fat Face disposal
16-May-2005
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has won former client Isis Equity Partners back from Olswang after advising the private equity house on its exit from clothing company Fat Face to Advent International for approximately £100m.
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Cancer Research UK recruits Halliwells for pro bono panel
16-May-2005
National law firm Halliwells has been added to Cancer Research UK's pro bono panel. The firm joins key players Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which works on major projects, Field Fisher Waterhouse, which advises on general commercial work and provides more day-to-day involvement, and Landwell, which acts on employment law matters.
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Careers: In brief
16-May-2005
The International Format Lawyers Association (IFLA) was launched on 7 May 2005.
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Careers: People
16-May-2005
Olswang has promoted Iain Stansfield and Stephen Hignett to the partnership in the firm's IP and tax departments respectively. For the past 12 months, Stansfield has headed the IP team in the firm's Thames Valley office, while Hignett has been part of Olswang's tax department and e-commerce group for five years.
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Carey in court first over administration of PCC
16-May-2005
Channel Islands firm Carey Olsen has scored a first by successfully persuading a Guernsey court to put a protected cell company (PCC) into administration.
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CC and Shearman join Glazer's team to bring Manchester United to heel
16-May-2005
Clifford Chance and Shearman & Sterling have scooped adviser roles on Malcolm Glazer's successful bid for Manchester United, The Lawyer can reveal.
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CC scoops record acquisition for Barclays
16-May-2005
Clifford Chance is celebrating after landing the lead role advising Barclays Bank on its biggest-ever foreign acquisition. The magic circle firm, which is on Barclays' legal panel, is advising the bank on its £2.9bn recommended acquisition of South African bank Absa. Absa is being advised by Linklaters, while South African firms Deneys Reitz and Webber Wenzel are providing local law advice to Barclays and Absa respectively. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com 11 May
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CC, TCI force Deutsche Börse to drop LSE bid
16-May-2005
Clifford Chance and its client The Children's Investment Fund (TCI) have claimed the scalps of two senior executives at Deutsche Börse, in a landmark victory for German investors.
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Cedr to tackle lack of ethnic minority mediators
16-May-2005
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (Cedr) is introducing a new initiative designed to encourage lawyers from ethnic minorities to become mediators. Cedr, in association with the Law Society and the Bar Council, will run a five-day course in November this year to train new mediators. The organisation says it has seen a shortage of ethnic minority mediators despite more requests for mediators from ethnic backgrounds.
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Commission slams Law Society complaints handling
17-May-2005
The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner has criticised a lack of progress in the Law Society’s handling of consumer complaints.
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Courting the dark side
16-May-2005
Browsing the High Court cause list the other day, Tulkinghorn was amused to see that the Force has reached the Royal Courts of Justice.
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DLA Piper and Pinsents top AIM charts
16-May-2005
Clifford Chance's corporate department will hope to make headway following panel appointments to FTSE100 clients such as Cable & Wireless, Reuters and Shell. Slaughters will expect the cream of the corporate work coming out of the first two companies, but Shell is an interesting case in point.
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DLA Piper smashes £500k PEP
18-May-2005
Six months on from its US merger DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has posted a profit rise for Europe and Asia of 13 per cent off the back of a turnover increase of 18 per cent.
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Don't distance yourself
16-May-2005
So you think you need an overseas office to land overseas clients? Think again. By John Grimley
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Doubling down
16-May-2005
There was good news for Margaret Cole at White & Case the other week. That's both of them.
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English firms are easy
16-May-2005
Thanks must be passed on to the beautifully-named 'uwan*ers' on Greedyassociates.com for the following advice to a US lawyer looking to come over here: "As for requalifying, don't worry about that... it only takes around three months to sit the QLTT (qualified lawyers transfer test). You're eligible to sit the exam since you're coming from a 'common law' jurisdiction.
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EU demands legal reform in Turkey
16-May-2005
THE EUROPEAN Commissioner in charge of enlarging the EU has called on Turkey to redouble its judicial reforms as it approaches negotiations on becoming a member state.
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EU to tighten reporting obligations
16-May-2005
THE EUROPEAN Parliament looks unlikely to heed the concerns about EU money laundering legislation's erosion of client confidentiality, with its key civil liberties committee strengthening lawyers' duties to inform the authorities about suspicious dealings.
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Even better than a room at the Inns
16-May-2005
Hearty thanks go to Lovells for another stellar press party, which included Flamenco dancing and some truly wonderful sausages. Possibly a little too stellar for one of Tulkinghorn's scribes, who, in a rather tired and emotional state, found herself locked out of the house and embarked on a futile trek across London in a bid to find her keys.
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Field Fisher Waterhouse bags first Cypriot AIM listing
16-May-2005
Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) has leveraged its relationship with nominated adviser Nabarro Wells to advise the first Cypriot company to list on AIM.
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Firm offers
16-May-2005
The Clementi Review has opened the way for law firms to float, but what are the dangers? Matt Byrne reports
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Firm profile: Michelmores
16-May-2005
"From our offices you look out on to Haldon Hills, and you can see all the way down the Exe Estuary down to Exmouth and the sea," says Andrew Lovell, practice director at South West law firm Michelmores. He claims that the delights of living in Devon are a powerful lure for lawyers from City firms who want to swap metropolitan living for a quieter life. "You get the ...
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Five lawyers reach Asian women awards final
16-May-2005
Five lawyers have reached the finals of awards designed to reward the achievements of Asian women. The women feature in three of the nine categories in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.
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Fox Williams appoints new senior partner
16-May-2005
Fox Williams has elected a new senior partner. Tina Williams (left) succeeded Ronnie Fox last Tuesday (10 May). Williams and Fox founded the firm 16 years ago and it now has 15 partners specialising in commercial, corporate, employment and partnership law. Fox has been senior partner since the firm's foundation.
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Grapevine
16-May-2005
Taylor Wessing's 'local' feel ideal for media guru
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Halliwells leads the way in the regions with record PEP
16-May-2005
Early profit predictions show mixed fortunes for regional firms, with some recording a dip in fortunes while others are beginning to close the gap with their national mid-market rivals.
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Hamanaka prevents Ashurst pitching for Calyon panel place
16-May-2005
Ashurst will be shut out of French corporate and investment bank Calyon's forthcoming panel review thanks to its work acting against one of its subsidiaries in a mammoth litigation that settled last year.
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Heller rebuilds with Wilson Sonsini hires
16-May-2005
Following a wave of departures, Heller Ehrman is rebuilding its venture capital practice with the hire of two partners from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
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Herbert Smith loses client as Rosenblatts takes up Tlais' defence against Gallaher
16-May-2005
Rosenblatt Solicitors has landed a major instruction to defend Tlais Enterprises, the Cypriot incorporated company that is being sued by international cigarette manufacturer Gallaher Group.
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Herbies gets court order for extra disclosure on Equitable
16-May-2005
Herbert Smith last week found itself directed to carry out a further search of potentially disclosable documents relating to the Equitable Life case, as defence counsel called for a significant part of the claim to be thrown out.
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Holman makes up five new partners in London
16-May-2005
Holman Fenwick & Willan has promoted five associates to the partnership, all in London. Jim Cashman is qualified as a master mariner as well as a solicitor and specialises in wet shipping work, including salvage cases. Shipping insurance specialist and former barristrer Julian Clark is also made up. The other promotions are transport specialist Craig Neame, corporate and commercial expert Samanatha Roberts and insurance and reinsurance lawyer Nigel Wick.
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HSBC snubs Norton Rose for Freshfields
16-May-2005
Freshfields and CC scoop trophy clients as magic circle sews up banking M&A
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IBA opens in Brazil to start global push
16-May-2005
The International Bar Association (IBA) has opened its first international office in São Paolo, Brazil.
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ING summons advisers to hammer out more discounts
16-May-2005
Dutch financial services giant ING is reviewing its relationship with external lawyers and will be meeting up with all the firms on its global banking panel.
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Linklaters poaches CC Asian capital markets boss
17-May-2005
Linklaters’ Tokyo office has raided Clifford Chance for a new securitisation partner.
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Linklaters staff in line for bonus bonanza as record profits revealed
18-May-2005
Linklaters is reporting a massive 22 per cent hike in profits for the last financial year as the firm celebrates its best set of results for years.
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Lovells closes first Terra Firma deal
18-May-2005
Lovells private equity team is celebrating after closing its first ever deal for Guy Hands’ investment vehicle Terra Firma.
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Lovells makes US intentions clear as it doubles its office space in NY
16-May-2005
Lovells has signalled its commitment to the US after signing up for new premises in New York a move that will give it 67 per cent more space.
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Marriage guidance
16-May-2005
He's the most powerful man in M&A. The Takeover Panel's director-general Richard Murley speaks out on virtual bids and the pensions regulator - and warns lawyers not to be too legalistic. By Helen Power
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Massive expenditure accounts for £6.4m loss at Law Society
16-May-2005
The Law Society reported a £6.4m loss for 2004 last week, as the solicitors' body published its annual accounts.
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MLaw scores court victory for Hello! over Zeta-Jones/Douglas wedding pictures
18-May-2005
Media boutique MLaw is celebrating a successful appeal for Hello! magazine against rival publication OK! in highly-publicised litigation over ownership of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas’s wedding photographs.
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Monckton takes on two new barristers
16-May-2005
Competition and EU specialist Monckton Chambers has been joined by commercial law specialist Heriot Currie QC, previously a member of Flynn Stable in Edinburgh, and public law junior Ian Rogers from 3 Hare Court. The set reported a slight increase in turnover between 2003 and 2004, from £8.7m to £8.9m, although revenue per barrister dropped from £273,000 in 2003 to £247,000 last year. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com (12 May)
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Nauta, CC win lead roles on Möller-Maersk deal
16-May-2005
Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May best friend Nauta Dutilh have landed the lead roles on the potential multibillion-pound offer by Danish shipping group Möller-Maersk for Royal P&O Nedlloyd.
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Norton Rose & Lovells lose ground in banking to Magic Circle
16-May-2005
It's been a frustrating time for Lovells and Norton Rose, with both displaced on signature deals for major financial institution clients. Instead, the magic circle cleaned up. Longtime Norton Rose client HSBC gave Freshfields the key mandate for the $1.1bn (£590m) Ping An job, while Barclays opted for Clifford Chance over Lovells for the £2.9bn acquisition of South African bank Absa, which closed last week.
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Opinion
16-May-2005
The growth in the computer game market is leading to real legal issues in virtual worlds
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Orrick takes Coudert London office
19-May-2005
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has dealt a devastating blow to Coudert Brothers after acquiring all eight London-based partners.
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Osborne Clarke's profits rocket after war on costs
16-May-2005
Osborne Clarke has posted an impressive 27 per cent profit increase for the last financial year.
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Pillsbury raids environmental boutique
18-May-2005
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has scooped seven attorneys from Houston-based environmental boutique Campbell George & Strong.
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Pinsent Masons promotes 18 to partnership
16-May-2005
Pinsent Masons has made up 18 new partners in its first round of partner promotions since the recent merger of legacy firms Pinsents and Masons. Of the promotions, nine new partners are based in London, taking the number of partners in the firm's Clerkenwell and City offices to more than 100. Meanwhile, the firm has made up one, three and four partners in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham respectively. Additionally, one partner has been made up in Masons' legacy Hong Kong office.
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Richards Butler wins TAG work from Winterthur after BLG hire
16-May-2005
Richards Butler has picked up an instruction from Winterthur Group, the insurer claiming millions of pounds from law firms involved in collapsed claims management firm The Accident Group (TAG).
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RPC takes Pinsents insurance partner
16-May-2005
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has poached a Pinsent Masons partner to boost its regulatory and brokers team.
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Serle Court finds two new tenants
16-May-2005
Commercial and chancery set Serle Court has taken on two new tenants. Commercial junior and the set's tenth qualified mediator Geraldine Clark joins from 4/5 Gray's Inn Square. Also joining is David Casement, who is also a member of North West set Exchange Chambers. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com 10 May
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Shandro appointed new Freshfields insolvency head
18-May-2005
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Sandy Shandro has taken over from Peter Bloxham as head of the restructuring and insolvency group.
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Simmons adds third track for non-equity partnership
16-May-2005
Simmons & Simmons has voted in a third partnership track for lawyers, which will form the summit of the firm's revolutionary plans for an alternative career track.
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SJ Berwin advises Horlick on Trocadero bid
17-May-2005
SJ Berwin’s real estate funds team has secured a major instruction to advise star fund manager Nicola Horlick on her bid for London’s Trocadero centre.
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Slaughter and May retains FTSE100 crown
16-May-2005
Slaughter and May has more than 50 per cent more FTSE100 clients than its nearest competitor Linklaters, while Clifford Chance languishes in tenth place, with just four FTSE100 clients.
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Stephenson Harwood bags new aviation partner
16-May-2005
Stephenson Harwood has signed up former Lovells partner Guy Liddle to its aviation finance practice. Liddle, who joined the Lovells partnership in 1998, has acted for clients such as HSH Nordbank, HypoVereinsbank and large aircraft leasing companies, and on manufacturing and privatisation projects in Central and Eastern Europe.
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Sumption gets a win on Christie's appeal
16-May-2005
Brick Court Chambers' Jonathan Sumption QC has won his second battle of 2005 against old rival Lord Grabiner QC, head of chambers at One Essex Court.
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Takeover Panel: sort out pensions before going hostile
16-May-2005
Takeover Panel director-general Richard Murley has dealt a further blow to the hostile bid, telling The Lawyer that companies will not be able to make formal takeover bids conditional on clearance from the new pensions regulator.
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Taylor Wessing reduces the equity partnership by twelve
16-May-2005
Taylor Wessing has completed a radical overhaul of its partnership, which will see 12 partners leave the equity over the next two years.
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The Law Society's regulatory function's spin-off plans get go-ahead
16-May-2005
The Law Society council last week voted to completely separate its regulatory and representative functions ahead of the implementation of Sir David Clementi's recommendations for legal reform.
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The Legal Eagles have landed
16-May-2005
Never let it be said that Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw (MBR&M) senior partner Paul Maher doesn't take every venture he embarks upon seriously. Very seriously. Last Wednesday, he assembled a squad of MBR&M lawyers, clients and one of Tulkinghorn's scribes for a training session in Regent's Park.
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The rates of Heaven
16-May-2005
Desperately looking for a legal angle to the recent election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, Tulkinghorn was delighted to stumble upon one last week.
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The short answer is: 'No'
16-May-2005
Readers who travel by London Underground may have noticed a rash of advertisements appearing on trains recently. "Are you thinking what we're thinking?" they ask.
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The work-life quiz
16-May-2005
Bill Perry, head of litigation ans dispute resolution, Charles Russell
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UTV selects Travers for Wireless Group buyout
16-May-2005
Travers Smith Braithwaite has won its first instruction from Ulster Television (UTV) on the television and radio company's acquisition of Wireless Group.
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Watson Burton makes quadruple partner haul
16-May-2005
Burgeoning Newcastle firm Watson Burton has raided local and national rivals for four new partners.
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Weil advises Chatterjee on Basell acquisition
16-May-2005
Weil Gotshal & Manges has secured its first instruction from Indian private equity house Chatterjee Group to advise on its role in the acquisition of chemical group Basell.
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When 'excellent' is less than brilliant in the war for ratings
16-May-2005
BPP Law School's London branch is on the verge of losing its 'excellent' Law Society rating. If a recent audit, first revealed by The Lawyer last week (9 May), is confirmed, then the legal education provider will be classified as merely 'very good'.
