The Lawyer
17 February 2003
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A&O and Nauta Dutilh on target to win KLM
17-Feb-2003
National Dutch airline KLM is considering appointing Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May's best friend Nauta Dutilh after falling out with its longstanding adviser at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
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A&O appoints new restructuring chief in Asia
17-Feb-2003
Allen & Overy has appointed partner David Kidd to head its Asian business restructuring and insolvency group. Kidd, who will replace group head Mark Sterling, joined from CMS Cameron McKenna 18 months ago. First revealed onwww.thelawyer.com/ lawyernews 13 February
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A&O goes full service in NY
17-Feb-2003
Allen & Overy (A&O) is taking on local New York firms at their own game by muscling in on the litigation arena
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A&O loses plum role as Vivendi backtracks on Southern Water
17-Feb-2003
Allen & Overy (A&O) is likely to be the biggest loser following Vivendi Environment's recent decision to dilute its stake in Southern Water and to delay the refinancing of the group's debt. The firm looks set to lose the lucrative refinancing of Southern Water's debt to Linklaters.After continued regulatory uncertainty, Vivendi has now agreed to take just a 20 per cent stake in Southern Water. The rest will go to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
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Bad planning
17-Feb-2003
The Government's overhaul of planning legislation has turned out to be more of a tinkering, says Gill Castorina
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Baker & McKenzie joins Brobeck rescue party
18-Feb-2003
Baker & McKenzie has signed up a three-partner team from collapsed firm Brobeck Phleger & Harrison. Partners Shane Byrne, Phillip Bush and Jason Kuhns and four associates will join the corporate and securities practice at the firm’s San Francisco office. With Byrne’s team, Baker & McKenzie now has 92 lawyers, including 28 partners, in its Bay Area offices. San Francisco and Palo Alto managing partner Peter Engstrom said: "We're thrilled to have attracted ...
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Beachcrofts hires Freeserve in-houser
17-Feb-2003
Beachcroft Wansbroughs has recruited Jessica Hendrie-Liaño from the in-house team at internet service provider Freeserve. Hendrie-Liaño, who is also the chair of the Internet Service Providers' Association, joins the firm as a partner. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews 12 February
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BHD plays down loss of managing partner
17-Feb-2003
Pillman takes the reins as Kellerman revises his 'long-term vision' to a few months
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Brobeck partners kept in dark on closure vote
17-Feb-2003
A nine-strong cabal of Brobeck Phleger & Harrison partners did not allow its lawyers to vote on the firm's dissolution, The Lawyer can reveal
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Camerons, Eversheds scoop Taylor Woodrow
17-Feb-2003
CMS Cameron McKenna and Eversheds have emerged victorious from a hard-fought Taylor Woodrow tender that has seen 10 other firms axed
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Code of Practice for Leases is non-starter
17-Feb-2003
Tenants are still hesitant to sign up agreements under the new Code of Practice for Commercial Leases, according to figures released by Land Securities
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Collyer Bristow loses employment head
19-Feb-2003
Collyer Bristow’s head of employment has moved to Rosenblatt Solicitors
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Competition Commission increases legal by a third
17-Feb-2003
The Competition Com-mission has boosted its legal team by 33 per cent and plans to increase its economics department by up to 100 per cent
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Congress slams Enron advisers over tax
17-Feb-2003
Enron's legal advisers have once again been slammed, this time in a report by the US Congress tabled in Washington last week
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Co-op pushes DLA aside over 'nonsensical' claim
17-Feb-2003
The Co-operative Group has sidelined DLA and Richard Mawrey QC in favour of Ashurst Morris Crisp and Christopher Carr QC of One Essex Court following the judge's stinging rebuke of its case against Fujitsu Services
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Correction
17-Feb-2003
In last week's issue of The Lawyer in the litigation column it was incorrectly stated that Indian company Spectrum Power Generation (SPG) had been accused of receiving millions of pounds of bribes in an action brought by shareholders in that company. In fact, the company was not and, as far as we are aware, has never been, accused of taking bribes. The allegation actually related to a director of SPG, which is not a party to this action. In addition, and contrary to what was stated, ...
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Correction
17-Feb-2003
In last week's edition of The Lawyer, in an article referring to Phillip Green, chairman of British Home Stores, we erroneously stated that Mrs Green had purchased shares privately in the retailer M&S and that she had been investigated for insider dealing. We would like to make it clear that Mrs Green's purchase had been made with the full knowledge and prior consent of the Stock Exchange. She was never investigated for insider dealing since the purchases were cleared ...
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Corrs goes on litigation hiring spree
17-Feb-2003
Australian firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth has appointed a litigation team from Holding Redlich, led by former senior partner Jonathan Kramersh
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DC's Alston & Bird takes on Bob Dole
17-Feb-2003
Bob Dole, senator, former presidential candidate and sometime Viagra salesman, is swapping politics for law as he joins Washington DC firm Alston & Bird
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DEAL OF THE WEEK - CIBC WORLD MARKETS
17-Feb-2003
White & Case steps in as CIBC instruction eludes Freshfields
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Ditch the dirt
17-Feb-2003
An array of legislation makes waste management an arduous task. Andrew Wait discusses working party recommendations to encourage the redevelopment of brownfield sites
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Do US-UK mergers make sense for property teams?
17-Feb-2003
Emma Vere-Jones says that US links may be good for real estate, but there's no place like home
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EC gives green light for stamp duty exemptions
17-Feb-2003
After a year of deliberation, the European Commission has given its conditional approval to a scheme that will see UK stamp duty waived in disadvantaged areas
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EU reveals plan to cut verbiage
17-Feb-2003
In a bid to cut EU law of its verbiage, the European Commission (EC) is planning to pulp up to 35,000 pages of legislation by 2005
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Euro Council gives legal aid a boost
17-Feb-2003
Formal agreement has been secured by the EU Council of Ministers over a new legal aid directive, which would ease access to justice for litigants in cross-border civil and commercial disputes
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Eversheds taps into Gulf wealth with Qatar alliance
17-Feb-2003
Eversheds links with Al-Jufairi as the Middle East liberalises its economy to attract foreign business
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Fox Brooks Marshall
17-Feb-2003
With Australia conquered, Fox Brooks has got New Zealand in its sight
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Future of hundreds of law firms hangs on CFA hearing
17-Feb-2003
Six test cases of great importance to the legal costs industry have been co-joined to be heard before a single court next month
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Hammonds partner ups sticks for Eversheds
17-Feb-2003
Hammonds has lost another partner to a national rival. Leeds banking partner Kathryn Walters is negotiating her exit to join Eversheds
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ILAC sends team to aid Sri Lanka's legal system
17-Feb-2003
The International Legal Assistance Consortium (Ilac), an umbrella group for the world's largest law organisations, is preparing to launch a mission to Sri Lanka to find ways of rebuilding the country's judicial system
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Ince named in film finance dispute
17-Feb-2003
Ince & Co has been added to a list of respondents, which already includes Weil Gotshal & Manges, because of insurance advice given in relation to two key tranches of film finance litigation
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Landwell set to become Change Capital favourite after fund work
17-Feb-2003
Accountancy-tied firm Landwell has scored a major private equity coup with an instruction from E1bn (£666m) fund Change Capital
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Last stop Chancery Lane
17-Feb-2003
Discussing London’s terrible transport situation one night, a lawyer chum of Tulkinghorn’s pointed out that the former vice-president of the Law Society Kamlesh Bahl also happened to sit on the board of Transport for London. But when asked which body he thought operated more effectively, the lawyer was lost for words. Now that’s a rare sight.
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Latham snaps up Asia Global Crossing lawyer
19-Feb-2003
Latham & Watkins has hired the former general counsel of Asia Global Crossing’s Japanese operations for its corporate team in Tokyo
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Law firms pile in to advise on Safeway battle
17-Feb-2003
The fight for Safeway looks set to become a feeding frenzy as law firm conflicts bring new advisers into the fray. It seems Lovells, and possibly Denton Wilde Sapte, have been brought in to advise Waitrose and Marks & Spencer (M&S).M&S is considering store acquisitions and Waitrose has intervened with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to object to further sector consolidation. However, it is highly likely that M&S is also talking to the OFT and that Waitrose ...
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Legal Widow
17-Feb-2003
Pay and performance reviews are looming, and the Lawyer is bewailing the fact that he is no nearer equity than before, in spite of changing his tactics and going to every single tedious social event and corporate PR do on last year’s calendar, in the hope of charming the board, or at least making sure they know who he is.
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Like a rolling stone…
17-Feb-2003
The legal market is a lot more fluid than it used to be. Once upon a time Tulkinghorn would be shocked to hear of an esteemed colleague moving firms, but now it seems that any yankee doodle firm with a fist full of dollars and a cheeky smile can entice a partner from a magic circle firm. While there are those that have benefited from this new paradigm, former Swedish MP Rolf Åbjörnsson could teach them all a lesson. After retiring from politics, Åbjörnsson ...
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Lord Lester QC fills human rights gap with new lawyers group
19-Feb-2003
Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC is at the forefront of the launch of a new group aimed at helping lawyers to use and understand human rights law
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Lost property?
17-Feb-2003
The Hong Kong property market has suffered at the hands of the Asian economic downturn. Simon Reid-Kay reports on the region's recovery strategies
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Lovells extends its reach to Prudential
17-Feb-2003
City firm in first for Prudential Plc after PruPIM triumph; Cripps also in the frame
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Masons ex-senior partner to head Hong Kong office
17-Feb-2003
Former Masons senior partner John Bishop, who stepped down in November 2002, is jetting out to head up the firm's Hong Kong office
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Masons launches US joint venture
17-Feb-2003
Masons has announced a joint venture with US West Coast firm Thelen Reid & Priest. The joint venture, named Masons Thelen Reid, will focus on international infrastructure projects particularly in emerging markets such as China, India, the Middle East and South America. The venture will operate as an English limited liability partnership with access to all lawyers from each firm. Steve O'Neal of Thelen Reid and Vincent Rowan of Masons will be joint managing partners.
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Mayer Brown ramps up IT practice with Brobeck hires
19-Feb-2003
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw is the latest to benefit from the collapse of Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, snapping up the tech giant’s IT outsourcing group. Mayer Brown has taken on Brobeck’s former IT head Nigel Howard and lead outsourcing partner David Hudanish along with four other lawyers.The team’s outsourcing clients include DuPont, JP Morgan Chase, American Airlines and Reuters. Dan Masur, head of outsourcing at Mayer Brown’s Washington office, said: ...
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Merrick v Milsom
17-Feb-2003
Many of the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 were enacted specifically to protect the owners of residential leases from the worst excesses of bad landlords
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Morgan Cole partners pin hopes on new chairman
17-Feb-2003
Morgan Cole has elected litigation partner Robin Havard as its new chairman. Havard beat corporate lawyer Graeme Guthrie and litigator Allan Wilson to the job at the top of the troubled firm. Havard will replace incumbent John Cole on 1 April 2003. He commented: "I would like to pay tribute to the manner in which my partners Graeme Guthrie and Allan Wilson conducted our election. I am honoured and proud to be the new chairman. This firm is full of talented, energetic people at ...
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Mother's ruin
17-Feb-2003
How did the miscarriage of justice visited upon wrongly convicted child murderer Sally Clark happen? Matheu Swallow gets the lowdown from her lead defender John Batt and asks: are the courts out of their depth in such cases?
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MP fights Simmons on ICC
17-Feb-2003
Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt tabled an early-day motion last week calling for Simmons & Simmons consultant Karyl Nairn to hand over the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Articles of Association
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New Alliance
17-Feb-2003
Michael Burne has hit the ground running in his new role at Inter-Alliance and the company's new business model will keep him busy for some time. Husnara Begum reports
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Norr posts thirty per cent hike in turnover
17-Feb-2003
Macfarlanes' German best friend Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz posted a huge 30 per cent increase in turnover in 2002
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NZ makes QC title redundant
17-Feb-2003
The New Zealand government is set to abolish the title of Queen's Counsel (QC), and will instead honour top members of the legal community with the title of Special Counsel (SC) instead
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Opinion
17-Feb-2003
Advising companies engaged in transaction disputes gives me a bird's eye view of the common reasons for disagreement between buyer and seller once a deal has completed
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Pescod quits Gleacher for own firm
17-Feb-2003
Michael Pescod, the former Slaughter and May rainmaker, has left Gleacher & Co, the acquisitions and merger boutique he joined just under two years ago, to strike out on his own
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Punch And Jury
17-Feb-2003
Is white collar boxing the new golf? Alex Wade finds that swapping the boardroom for the boxing ring is proving a big hit with lawyers
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PwC-IBM tie-up sees Shaw Pittman ousted
17-Feb-2003
The merger of IBM and PwC Consulting has led to Shaw Pittman losing its only IT supplier client as well as threatening PwC Consulting's other external IT legal advisers with the axe
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Real estate deals round-up
17-Feb-2003
Nicholson Graham & Jones (Piers Coleman, Nicky Myerson) advised Aberdeen Property Investors UK on behalf of Windsor Life Assurance Company in its acquisition of office and retail investments for £36.8m. Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Nabarro Nathanson advised the sellers.Linklaters (Alvaro Sainz, Xavier Hunter) acted for Lloyds TSB Bank on the sale and leaseback of its Spanish HQ in Madrid. Oppenheim Immobilien bought the property for e29m (£19.2m). ...
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Salans' turnover remains steady despite downturn
17-Feb-2003
Salans has announced a static financial year, with turnover remaining at £84m and average profits per partner dipping under the £401,000 mark of 2001 to £397,000
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SG Archibald team defects to Mayer Brown
17-Feb-2003
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw's Paris office has raided SG Archibald for a team of corporate lawyers. Partner Xavier Jaspar brings his team of four lawyers from the former Andersen Legal firm. Jaspar and his team specialise in mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews 13 February
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SJ Berwin, Steven Gee QC in free English law offering
17-Feb-2003
SJ Berwin, in conjunction with Steven Gee QC, the head of ship and trade specialist set Stone Buildings, has established a centre dedicated to providing free advice to foreign lawyers on key areas of English law
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Survey of expert witnesses highlights widespread dissatisfaction with firms
17-Feb-2003
The majority of expert witnesses are so dissatisfied with their instructing law firms that they would never work with them again, a survey of expert witnesses has revealed
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Tenants'extra
17-Feb-2003
Property lawyers need to show support for the Code of Practice for Commercial Leases, as legislation is the only alternative. Jon Vivian reports
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TG partners braced for Addleshaws takeover
17-Feb-2003
TG insiders fear cull as firms announce engagement; final vote set for March
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The golden boy
17-Feb-2003
Derivatives may not be the most exciting topic of conversation, but A&O's Jeff Golden manages to keep Catrin Griffiths interested - if only for one afternoon
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The Leader Column
17-Feb-2003
It looks like calling the private detectives in worked. Senior partner Paddy Grafton-Green has finally managed to cow his partnership into submission
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The munch bunch
17-Feb-2003
Bless those lovely folk at Nabarro Nathanson. Last week you will recall that Tulkinghorn reported on the healthkick that had (inadvertently) been imposed on the entire firm by managing partner Nicole Paradise. Paradise had requested that the kitchen staff include a few more healthy options in the canteen. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds and supplies of biscuits and chocolate bars to meeting rooms were outlawed in favour of bowls of fruit. Tulkinghorn, following several requests ...
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The story so far
17-Feb-2003
The Lawyer reported last week that senior High Court judge Mr Justice Jacob had made a series of factual inaccuracies and incorrect conclusions during his condemnation last year of expert witness Michael Wilkey. Judge Jacob had found that Wilkey had been "biased and irrational" and had made several blunders during well-known copyright case Gareth Pearce v Ove Arup Partnership & ors, in which world-renowned architect Rem Koolhaas was accused of plagiarising the claimant's work. ...
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Tite & Lewis London finance chief joins Lovells
17-Feb-2003
Tite & Lewis partner Tamara Box (left) has joined Lovells' international capital markets practice. Box, who was head of Tite & Lewis' London finance practice, will be based in London. She is the third partner to join the firm's international capital practice in the last 12 months.
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Uría joins Gouldens on Pillar Property purchase
17-Feb-2003
Gouldens has acted for long-term client Pillar Property on its first European property acquisition, but on this occasion failed to cross-sell merger partner Jones Day's European network. Pillar instead used Slaughter and May's Spanish best friend Uría & Menéndez.Jones Day Gouldens head of banking Tom Budd worked with Uría on Pillar's e117m (£77.6m) acquisition of the Nassica Retail and Leisure Park, just south of Madrid, from Spanish ...
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Watson Farley ramps up in Rome
17-Feb-2003
Watson Farley & Williams has bolted on a partner and two assistants to its fledgling Rome office
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Weil Gotshal and Ogletree Deakins target Texas
18-Feb-2003
The demise of Brobeck Phleger & Harrison has failed to dampen US law firms’ appetite for expansion as two practices have announced the opening of new offices in Texas.Weil Gotshal & Manges is continuing its growth in the state, by adding a new Austin branch to its presence in Texas, which also includes Houston and Dallas.Gregory Coleman, national head of Weil Gotshal’s Supreme Court and appellate litigation group will relocate to Austin from Houston with ...
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Weil Gotshal snaps up Brobeck duo
17-Feb-2003
Weil Gotshal & Manges has hired partners Rod Howard and Curtis Mo from collapsed firm Brobeck Phleger & Harrison. Howard, head of Brobeck's national mergers and acquisitions practice, and Mo, head of the firm's Silicon Valley corporate group and co-chair of the national capital markets area, are expected to take six associates with them. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews 13 February
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What a load of plonkers
17-Feb-2003
Some firms are right classy. Hammonds may have its own-brand beer, but Coudert goes for something an awful lot grander. Tulkinghorn can exclusively reveal that the firm (don’t call it Franco-American, or they’ll get upset) actually has its own wine. Château Coudert Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, to be precise. However, it seems that some Coudert partners consider it a bit ordinaire. “It’s undrinkable,” claims a mole. Rumours that the firm plans to offer ...
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White & Case targets Ernst & Young for Slovak tax push
17-Feb-2003
White & Case has recruited two Ernst & Young tax advisors for its Slovakian tax and customs group. Miriam Galandová and Miroslav Tain bring the number of lawyers and tax advisors in White & Case’s Bratislava tax and customs practice to five. The practice is run from Prague by partner AlesCechel. White & Case now has a total of 12 lawyers and tax advisors in Slovakia and 60 in Prague.
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Wragges merges its two property groups
17-Feb-2003
Wragge & Co has merged its two property groups into a single unit
