16 November 2009
The Lawyer
Beachcroft posts 14 per cent hike in fee income
Beachcroft has seen fee income rise to £62m at the half-year point - a 14 per cent rise compared with the same period last year.
Burness scoops sole Gala employment role
Scottish firm Burness has been appointed as sole employment law adviser to gaming company Gala Coral Group.
Carter-Ruck defends 1849 libel rule against reform campaigners
It was an unusual invitation. When Carter-Ruck partners Nigel Tait and Guy Martin arrived at the Free Word Centre in Farringdon on 10 November, they were hardly surrounded by fans.
CC London chief to judge partner teamwork
New Clifford Chance London managing partner David Bickerton is exploring how to create an appraisal process that will measure how well partners collaborate with each other, in what he has dubbed a “balanced scorecard”.
City firms incite cynicism with shift towards meritocratic remuneration
City law firms are being accused of taking advantage of the economic downturn by slashing associate pay as they move away from the lockstep model.
Dentons plays on mid-market nous
Denton Wilde Sapte will tout its mid-market credentials as part of a new three-year plan to be launched in 2010.
Dewey snares role on 2009’s biggest European flotation
Dewey & LeBoeuf has bagged a role on the largest European IPO this year, acting for Polish energy group Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) on its heavily oversubscribed Zl6bn (£1.26bn) flotation.
DLA Piper snares Paris Proskauer partner
DLA Piper has appointed Proskauer Rose partner Jean L’Homme as a partner in its finance and projects practice in Paris.
Easing the way
?Changes to the Pensions Act aim to remove some of the penalties employers face when exiting pension schemes. Jay Doraisamy and Ewan Nelson report
Eversheds to double turnover in Sweden with Södermark tie-up
Eversheds’ Stockholm office is merging with local commercial litigation specialist Södermark in a bid to double its Swedish turnover within a year.
Eversheds wins VW Financial Services role
Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS) has appointed Eversheds as its sole adviser on employment issues.
Ex-chief quits Taylor Wessing partnership
Former Taylor Wessing managing partner Michael Frawley is quitting the firm’s partnership to return to New Zealand.
Firms warned against ditching associate lockstep
City managing partners are warning that ditching associate locksteps as the job market shows signs of recovery could be harmful.
Focus: Ashurst: Six sense
After launching in New York earlier this year, Ashurst is now focusing on strengthening relationships with six key US firms. But can the two strategies exist side by side?
High Court dismisses Schillings’ libel case against The Telegraph
Schillings has lost a High Court bid to bring libel proceedings against The Daily Telegraph on behalf of Petra Ecclestone, daughter of Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone.
In from the cold?
With the resolution of two high-profile cases, relations between Russia and the West could finally be thawing. James Swift investigates
Kent Council courts Mongolian authority
Kent County Council is sending a delegation to Inner Mongolia’s largest city Baotou in a bid to capture legal work related to future UK inward investment.
London Mining calls on Travers for AIM IPO
Travers Smith advised London Mining on its IPO on AIM as well as a £72m placing of existing shares.
Lovells acts on renewable energy plant development
Lovells has secured a lead role advising on the establishment of a £400m 30-acre renewable energy plant in Peterborough.
Lovells partners in line for post-merger windfall
Partners to scrutinise fine print of deal ahead of key merger vote
Maples Dublin raids A&L’s litigation team
Offshore firm Maples and Calder has hired a team of six litigators, all from rival A&L Goodbody, including equity partner Dudley Solan.
Money can buy you Lovells
A question: what is the one key factor - the obscure-all-others, make-or-break consideration - that will ensure a transatlantic merger on the scale of that about to take place between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson is a success?
New Jeantet Med head to launch in Casablanca
JeantetAssociés is set to launch an office in Casablanca after hiring a corporate partner from fellow French firm Brandford-Griffith & Associés.
New Zealand lawyers launch outsourcing team
A new legal process outsourcing (LPO) company has entered the marketplace, offering law firms and in-house counsel the services of UK-qualified lawyers based in New Zealand.
Nine-strong CIS legal network gets off ground
A nine-member CIS network that launched at the beginning of November is planning to bring the alliance model into the 21st century, according to its chair.
North West authorities create joint legal panel
Twenty two councils, police and transport authorities have clubbed together to draw up a four-year panel of firms and chambers.
On the move
The Manchester office of Trowers & Hamlins has appointed Lynn James as a partner in its property dispute resolution practice.
Opinion: FSA’s prosecutor roles are too far-reaching
The surge in the number of criminal prosecutions brought by the FSA has been well-publicised. The recent Court of Appeal judgments in R v Rollins and R v McInerney will embolden further the financial regulator as a prosecutor of financial crime.
Past imperfect
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet empire, the Russian Federation is still dealing with its legacy in terms of rule of law. By Rupert D’Cruz and Pavel Klimov
Radcliffe welcomes fourth new tenant
Edward Hicks has become the fourth new tenant to join Radcliffe Chambers this year.
Russian retributions
London is now the city of choice for Russian oligarchs to pursue their business interests through the courts. Katy Dowell examines one such high-profile case being brought against Chelsea FC boss Roman Abramovich
SJ Berwin’s Blake: private equity will come back, but we have to diversify
In today’s economic climate, survival may not solely be about playing to one’s strengths, says Gavriel Hollander
Sound advice: Chris Johnstone, Music Choice
Who better than a musician turned lawyer to handle the legal side of one of the music industry’s most significant players, Music Choice? Matt Byrne meets ex-Quireboys keyboardist Chris Johnstone
Travers’ employment team loses partner
Travers Smith employment partner Dorothy Henderson has resigned from the firm, leaving just six female partners in its ranks.
Tulkinghorn: Barca buddies
Amid all the networking and business development at The Lawyer Summit in Barcelona this month, Tulkinghorn hears word of love blossoming.
US duo push City employment work
Proskauer Rose and Morgan Lewis & Bockius target labour law in bids for London growth
Vernalis unveils new counsel
Biotech research company Vernalis has promoted in-house lawyer Alison Hood to general counsel and company secretary.
Watkins & Gunn
The senior partners at one of South Wales’s oldest firms Watkins & Gunn have been on a six-year mission of reinvention.
Work Life Quiz: Guy Heath, Nabarro
What book are you reading? Epitaph For A Spy by Eric Ambler.
