20 July 2009

Do not disturb

In-housers have had it pretty much all their way of late, with strict pitch criteria meaning they can dictate terms and even get their law firms to do some menial work for their companies. It looks like that balance of power is not going unchallenged, however. As we reveal today, one City firm – which […]

Eversheds plans its first secondment to Indian ally

Eversheds is planning to send its first-ever secondee to an Indian law firm, with an assistant preparing to go to Khaitan & Co later this year. Four year-qualified ­associate Sandip Khroud will relocate to Khaitan in ­September for an expected three-month secondment. He will split his time between Mumbai and New Delhi. The move is designed […]

London time

As the deadline for responses to Lord Justice Jackson’s interim report on civil litigation costs draws closer, it is worth noting that across the City senior litigators are questioning the motives behind the review. In the first in a series of profiles by The Lawyer of leading litigation practices, Norton Rose global head of dispute […]

The Rose

It’s hard to escape Blackstone Chambers QC Dinah Rose at the moment. The Lawyer Awards Barrister of the Year is currently involved in three cases either for or against the government (see feature). She has been instructed by the Treasury Solicitors office to act as an intervener in Seldon vs Clarkson Wright & Jakes on […]

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DLA job cuts give rise to enmity between Aussie, UK lawyers

DLA Piper managing director for Europe Andrew Darwin was in Dubai last week. The firm is remaining tight-lipped on the reason for his visit, but with the fortunes of the Dubai office being linked closely to the fluctuations of the property and construction market sources claim that the stopover by chief executive Nigel Knowles’s right-hand […]

20

Tulkinghorn: Fives alive

Late last month the annual footballing ritual of The Lawyer’s Legal Fives football and netball tournament rolled around again. As ever, it was a hard-fought battle ­featuring the sporting cream of the UK legal market. Storms might have been raging across the UK, but it was a blazing Saturday in North London – at least […]

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Focus: Lawyers in parliament: The Commons touch

The next intake of MPs will be very different following the general election, with plenty more Conservative lawyers at Westminster. Who is most likely to be elected? Next summer – and possibly even sooner – voters will head to polling ­stations for a general election. Chances are this will be the biggest shake-up of the UK Parliament […]

Weil, Links in middle east media merger

Weil Gotshal & Manges and Linklaters have landed lead roles on a $2bn (£1.2bn) Middle East media merger. Weil partner Mark Soundy advised longstanding client Kipco on the merger of its subsidiary ­Showtime Arabia with rival Orbit. Linklaters partner Ewan Cameron led the team advising Riyadh-based Mawarid Group, the owner of Orbit, assisted by Ben […]

Centrica brings in Orrick on Venture bid

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Slaughter and May are advising as talks continue between Centrica and North Sea gas producer Venture ­Production. British Gas owner Centrica increased its stake in Venture to 29.9 per cent after Venture rejected an 845p per share hostile takeover bid. Centrica is reported to be considering making a £1.1bn bid […]

White & Case seals prison PFI role for Serco Group

Longstanding White & Case client Serco has been awarded preferred bidder status on the £600m Belmarsh West and Maghull new-build prisons PFI, The Lawyer understands. Relationship partner Anthony Fine is thought to be advising a consortium made up of Serco Group and Skanska on the venture. Skanska will start building the facilities at Belmarsh West […]

M&G calls on Lovells to launch fund for recession-hit companies

Lovells has advised M&G, the investment management arm of Prudential, on the launch of a £1bn company financing fund. Partner Nicholas Holman led a team from Lovells advising M&G. The deal comes after Lovells advised the fund manager on the establishment of private equity infrastructure fund Infracapital in 2005. “We started advising on the deal […]

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Al Tamimi scoops HSBC Riyadh project

The Saudi office of Middle East law firm Al Tamimi & Company has picked up a role as sole legal adviser to HSBC on a £180m industrial real estate deal. The project, which will see a 65sq km mixed-use site developed on the edge of Riyadh, is part of the Saudi Arabian government’s plans to […]