The Lawyer
2 March 2009
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A&O special counsel named honorary QC
5-Mar-2009
Allen & Overy special global counsel Philip Wood has been named an honorary QC for his wide range of activities in the finance field since retiring from the firm's partnership.
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A&O, Freshfields join US firms in push on P3
4-Mar-2009
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have joined forces with leading US firms and banks to lobby for the expansion of public private partnerships (PPP) in the US.
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Addleshaws chief to become firm's first chair
4-Mar-2009
Addleshaw Goddard managing partner Mark Jones is to become the firm's first chairman after standing uncontested for the position.
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Apax on the hunt for first general counsel
2-Mar-2009
Private equity group Apax Partners is set to hire its first global general counsel, joining a growing list of funds employing dedicated in-house lawyers.
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Bakers snaps at the heels of Skadden in US top 30 rankings
2-Mar-2009
Only $10m separates top two firms as The Lawyer reveals full impact of global recession on US firms’ turnovers.
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Bank Hur
4-Mar-2009
10.22amIt cost $15m, had a cast of thousands and ran for more than three hours. The similarities between the OFT's case against a series of high street banks over account charges and 1950s blockbuster Ben Hur are legion.
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Birmingham chief: Law Soc consultation "waste of money"
2-Mar-2009
The legal chief of the UK’s biggest local council has slammed a “poor-quality” Law Society consultation on the role of monitoring officers, describing it as a “waste of money”.
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Blackstone seals Government victory in age discrimination case
5-Mar-2009
Blackstone Chambers has won a key age discrimination ruling for the Government in the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
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Blake Dawson's Wikipedia page hijacked
5-Mar-2009
Australian firm Blake Dawson has had its Wikipedia page invaded with an unknown contributor adding details of the firm’s job cuts to the online encyclopedia.
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Burges Salmon to slash jobs in major cost-cutting drive
6-Mar-2009
Bristol based Burges Salmon has begun redundancy talks that will see 18 lawyers lose their jobs while trainees are being asked to put off starting their contracts by a year.
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Business forecast: Nick Benson, Met Office
2-Mar-2009
Legal head Nick Benson needs to tread a fine line between the Met Office’s status as a public body and a commercial enterprise. Tom Phillips reports
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CC Abu Dhabi launch prompts major oil acquisition mandate
2-Mar-2009
Clifford Chance has bagged a role as the only UK firm on the Abu Dhabi state-owned International Petroleum ;Investment Company’s (Ipic) $2.3bn (£1.58bn) purchase of Canada’s Nova Chemicals Corporation.
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Clifford Chance to cut 115 London support staff jobs
4-Mar-2009
Clifford Chance is looking to lay off up to 115 business services staff in London after a review of its support staff needs.
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Countrywide sale proves big draw for big firms
2-Mar-2009
The negotiations over the fate of debt-ridden estate agent Countrywide have pulled in a dizzying array of legal advisers.
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Davis Polk, Shearman act on Ford debt restructure
5-Mar-2009
Davis Polk & Wardwell and Shearman & Sterling have been handed the lead mandates on the restructuring of Ford Motor Company's debt.
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Debevoise reports modest revenue rise
2-Mar-2009
US firm Debevoise & Plimpton saw revenues rise by 7 per cent revenue during the 2008 calendar year, up from $709.5m at the end of 2007 to $760.8m.
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Dewey to cut London headcount
4-Mar-2009
Dewey & LeBoeuf has launched a redundancy consultation in London with the aim of reducing its associate headcount by approximately 15.
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DLA advises Deloitte as Mosaic goes into administration
2-Mar-2009
Mosaic Fashions, which owns retail chains including Karen Millen and Oasis, went into administration today, with DLA Piper winning the instruction.
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DLA Piper to lose 54 Asian jobs in regional shake-up
3-Mar-2009
DLA Piper has announced it is to cut 54 staff in Asia as part of a restructuring of its business in the region.
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Emerging markets head Eastwell quits Linklaters
5-Mar-2009
Linklaters stalwart Nick Eastwell has retired from the firm after 20 years as partner, leaving project finance partner Stuart Salt to take over as managing partner of Emerging Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EEMENA).
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Former Eagles manager goes to war with Camerons
2-Mar-2009
Former Crystal Palace FC manager Iain Dowie is taking CMS Cameron McKenna to court over fees racked up by the firm when it represented Dowie in defence of a claim brought by the club.
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Freshfields defeats Competition Commission
4-Mar-2009
Freshfields has scored an appeal victory for Tesco after the Competition Commission tried to alter the process for approving new stores.
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Freshfields, Herbies on Wolseley's £1bn rights issue
3-Mar-2009
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Herbert Smith have been called in to advise on building supplies company Wolseley's upcoming £1bn rights issue.
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From a cross to bear to a leap of faith – private equity’s second coming
2-Mar-2009
Putting houses in order is becoming the mainstay of law firms’ private equity work, says Kian Ganz.
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Gide defies gloomy forecast with double launch in Dubai, Abu Dhabi
2-Mar-2009
Leading French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel will launch two new offices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week, opening simultaneously in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
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Glasgow City Council names panel choices
2-Mar-2009
Glasgow City Council has finalised its new legal panel, awarding places to DLA Piper and Pinsent Masons alongside a host of Scottish firms.
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Hammonds settles dispute with seven ex-partners
4-Mar-2009
Hammonds has settled with seven out of eight former partners involved in a £1.7m profits dispute with the firm, days before a cost hearing was due following a High Court clash.
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Herbies picks up Bank of Scotland loan facility work
2-Mar-2009
Herbert Smith advised Bank of Scotland on a $300m (£206.13m) loan facility to oil and gas exploration and production company Dana Petroleum.
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Hilary Meredith Solicitors
2-Mar-2009
Since winning the first-ever writ against the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in 1987, Hilary Meredith has made a name for herself among the armed forces.
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HR & Training Special Report: Learning verve
2-Mar-2009
Learning and development teams arguably become even more important for law firms during a downturn as lawyers’ skill sets have to become more transferable. Patrick McCann and Dorothea Bannerman-Bruce reveal 10 steps to achieve effectiveness.
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HR & Training Special Report: Tapping talent
2-Mar-2009
As the nature of lawyers’ client-facing work has evolved, so too should the role of the legal secretary, who can and should be utilised in a more supportive function for a greater number of lawyers. By Clodagh Beaty
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Italy Special Report: Latin down the hatches
2-Mar-2009
Despite a history of high-value deals, Italian law firms have unsurprisingly failed to avoid the crunch and are now reacting defensively in a volatile market. By Kelly Parsons
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K&L Gates’ Singapore launch will not prevent layoffs
2-Mar-2009
K&L Gates has come a long way in the international legal market and its global assault is far from over.
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Law Soc boss calls for pro bono to fill CV gaps
6-Mar-2009
Law Society boss Des Hudson has cautioned lawyers deferring training contracts against leaving ‘gaps in their CVs’, urging them to do pro bono work instead.
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Lawyer 2B hosts second careers fair
2-Mar-2009
The Lawyer’s sister title Lawyer 2B is this week hosting a careers event for promising A-level students attending state sixth form colleges who are interested in training as solicitors and barristers.
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Linklaters CEE spin-off launches Serbia practice
6-Mar-2009
Kinstellar, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) firm that spun out of Linklaters last year, has launched a Serbia practice with the hire of three former DLA Piper lawyers.
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Links litigation partner to lead global pro bono drive
2-Mar-2009
Linklaters has appointed litigation partner Kathryn Ludlow as its first global pro bono partner.
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McKee Nelson team in UK switch
2-Mar-2009
Ashurst swoops for half of US firm’s esteemed structured finance practice.
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Middle East layoffs suggest there’s no place like home
2-Mar-2009
Last week The Lawyer broke the news of the first legal job cuts in the Middle East. Seven Trowers & Hamlins employees lost their jobs in Dubai, Muscat and Riyadh, six of them associates and most from project finance (23 February).
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Moves roundup: 2 March 2009
2-Mar-2009
DLA Piper has hired Costanza Russo as a London partner from Paul Hastings, where she was a senior associate.
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Norton Rose takes lead on HSBC rights issue
2-Mar-2009
Norton Rose has won a trophy mandate from key client HSBC, advising on its £12.5bn rights issue.
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NYC elite secure mandates on AIG restructuring
3-Mar-2009
Davis Polk & Wardwell, Sullivan & Cromwell and Weil Gotshal & Manges have secured lead roles on the restructuring of US insurance giant AIG.
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O'Melveny reduces headcount by 200
5-Mar-2009
O'Melveny & Myers is the latest firm to announce layoffs with 90 associates and 110 support staff set to lose their jobs.
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Orrick to cut another 300 jobs
3-Mar-2009
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has announced a second round of layoffs, with plans to axe a total of 300 staff.
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Personal injury forum elects new chair
2-Mar-2009
Boyes Turner partner Adrian Desmond has been elected as chairman of the Forum of Complex Injury Solicitors (Focis). He replaces Richard Vallance of Charles Russell, who has held the role since 2007.
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Polish govt hands Linklaters Euro 2012 stadium construction gig
2-Mar-2009
Linklaters has scored the lead role advising the Polish government on the construction of a new national football stadium as the venue for the opening match of the Uefa European 2012 Football Championship, which is beingco-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
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Postcard from... Abu Dhabi
6-Mar-2009
In the latest in our Postcards from... series, Ashurst partner David Wadham discusses schooling, AC and mini-rugby in Abu Dhabi.
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QCs named as FA selects new first 11
2-Mar-2009
The Football Association has revamped its legal panel, handing positions to 11 silks, who will decide on football disputes involving clubs and players.
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Radcliffe adds employment, tax barristers
2-Mar-2009
Chancery set Radcliffe Chambers has boosted its ranks with two new barristers, launching an employment ;litigation practice in the process.
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RBS pension row: a lesson learnt – but at what cost?
4-Mar-2009
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Reduced silk applications leave those who made it through ruffled and buckled
2-Mar-2009
It Is a bit of a strange shopping list: one pair of silk breeches, one set of ruffles, a jabot, one pair of steel buckled court shoes, one pair of white gloves and one full-bottomed wig.
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Return to 2004: Financial flashback
2-Mar-2009
Magic circle firms appear to be experiencing a sense of déjà vu. The figures look like going back to 2004 levels.
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Rouse and IP consultancy Iceberg join forces
2-Mar-2009
Leading international IP firm Rouse has formed a strategic alliance with consultancy Iceberg Transactions to ramp up its non-contentious IP transaction capability.
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Shearman confirms job cuts in US and Canada
4-Mar-2009
Shearman & Sterling is to cut 60 support staff jobs in its US and Canadian offices after yesterday announcing redundancies in the UK (3 March).
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Shearman London to retain just 64 per cent of September qualifiers
2-Jun-2009
US firm Shearman & Sterling is to retain just 64 per cent of its London trainees who are due to qualify in September.
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Shearman to cut 18 secretarial jobs in London
3-Mar-2009
Shearman & Sterling has begun a redundancy consultation in its London office which is likely to see the loss 18 secretarial and support staff.
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Slaughters gets nod from Land Securities
2-Mar-2009
Land Securities has turned to stalwart adviser Slaughter and May on its £755.7m rights issue. The Slaughters team was led by corporate partner Gavin Brown, assisted by corporate associates Richard Smith and Grace Impey, tax associate Richard Jeens and pensions associate Ellen Swan. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Simon Witty is acting for the banks.
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Sonnenschein shuts Charlotte as work dries up
3-Mar-2009
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has closed its 11-lawyer Charlotte office due to the declining demand for legal services
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Special reports: Italy/HR and training
2-Mar-2009
Italian law firms spent the end of last year scrapping to get deals closed and 2009 has brought more uncomfortable news for M&A lawyers.
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Stanford receiver calls on Camerons
2-Mar-2009
CMS Cameron McKenna is advising the receivers of two Antiguan companies owned by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford.
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The yoke's off Hammonds
5-Mar-2009
11.37amHammonds managing partner Peter Crossley may well have a little skip in his step this week. Seven of the eight former partners in dispute with the firm over drawings on anticipated profits paid out between 2003 and 2005 have settled.
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Top US firms must learn to roll with the punches in the fight to last the distance
2-Mar-2009
When The Lawyer published its ranking of the top 50 US firms in 2007 by revenue, we hinted that the following year’s figures were unlikely to be as remarkable as the record-breaking results that had just been posted.
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Tower Snow makes return to private practice
6-Mar-2009
The former Brobeck Phleger & Harrison chairman who masterminded Clifford Chance's ill-fated US West Coast venture has resurfaced in private practice.
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Trowers axes four real estate positions
2-Mar-2009
Trowers & Hamlins has launched a redundancy consultation with fee-earners in its UK-based real estate team.
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Tulkinghorn: Party scooper
2-Mar-2009
Tulkinghorn knows that keeping up to date with events in the legal market is important in difficult economic conditions.
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UK watchdogs: united they stand, divided they fail
2-Mar-2009
The Allen Stanford case highlights the powerful impact that government can have when agencies join forces to catch criminals.
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US firms givin’ it large
2-Mar-2009
Over the last 18 months I’ve been listening a lot to managing partners predicting a spate of mergers in the legal sector. But despite all the exploratory phone calls and discreet lunches, there hasn’t been anything that’s come near to an agreement.
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Web Week
2-Mar-2009
Continuing with extracts from TheLawyer.com’s new ‘Postcard from…’ series, this week’s blogger is Anthony Raven, an energy and projects partner in Lovells’ Tokyo office.
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Which? liaises with legal service website
2-Mar-2009
Online legal alliance QualitySolicitors.com has joined forces with consumer watchdog Which? to enable users of the former to access the latter’s legal telephone advice service.
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White & Case drops friend to go it alone in Singapore
2-Mar-2009
White & Case has split with Singapore ally Venture Law as it prepares to launch its own office on the island.
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William Hill bets on Ashurst for rights issue
2-Mar-2009
Ashurst has secured a key instruction frm William Hill over its plan to raise £1.2bn in a rights issue and debt facility, alongside Allen & Overy (A&O) and Skadden ;Arps ;Slate Meagher & Flom.
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Work/Life Quiz: Daniel Norris, Lovells
2-Mar-2009
What was your first-ever job? Flipping burgers at a burger joint. The start of my vegetarian diet.
