20 October 2008
The Lawyer
8 New Square victorious in software patent appeal
IP chambers 8 New Square has scored a Court of Appeal win for technology company Symbian, in a decision that could see software patents allowed in the UK for the first time.
A step-by-step guide if the worst happens
If you have been given the news that you are ‘at risk’ of redundancy, what should you do? Here is a quick guide to the redundancy process, your entitlements and what to do if you believe your rights have been breached:
A&O changes tack in Asia after seven HK corporate partners quit
Allen & Overy’s (A&O) newly appointed Asia managing partner Thomas Brown has been forced to pursue a new strategy in the region following a tumultuous week that saw seven Hong Kong corporate partners quit while its Indian best friend Trilegal ...
A&O, Addleshaws advise on building society rescue
Allen & Overy and Addleshaw Goddard were the main legal advisers in the merger of Barnsley Building Society with regional rival Yorkshire Building Society.
ACK Media Law
With a shelf full of champagne from people wishing them luck, ACK Media Law’s founders are still celebrating their split from Howard Kennedy this summer. The firm set up shop in July this year after Susan Aslan (pictured top left), Sue Charles (top right) and Hakan Kousetta (above) left the media and entertainment practice at Howard Kennedy, taking two associates with them.
Arsenal of information
Tulkinghorn would like to congratulate Irwin Mitchell for putting a human face to corporate law.
BAE Systems ‘flattens’ the legal team
BAE Systems has scrapped the role of assistant general counsel after incumbent Andrew Gallagher was promoted to director of corporate development.
Banks force troubled law firms to rethink structures
Firms in financial ‘intensive care’ told to merge, divest or restructure as cash dwindles from accounts.
Bard company: Caroline Barnett, Royal Shakespeare Company
Former actor Caroline Barnett has found the perfect role as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s general counsel. Tom Phillips reports.
Beachcroft takes Eversheds negligence team
Eversheds negligence team" /Beachcroft has taken over Eversheds' clinical negligence teams in Leeds and Newcastle.
Big Brother producer hires ITV man as legal head
Big Brother producer Endemol has hired ITV's group director of legal and regulatory compliance as global head of legal.
Bird & Bird ramps up IP in Sweden and Finland
Bird & Bird has boosted its Nordic IP team with the hire of four lawyers across Sweden and Finland.
BLG creates chief operating officer role
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) has appointed a non-fee-earner as its first chief operating officer.
Bristows names new senior partner, Rowles retires
Bristows has elected corporate partner John Lace to the post of senior partner.
Cadwalader loses restructuring partner
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has suffered its third defection since it laid off 96 lawyers in July this year.
Cathy Pitt: Norton Rose
If a movie was made about your life, which actor would play you and why?I’d like to think Nicole Kidman or Keira Knightley, but Victoria Wood is more realistic.
CC provides benefits to ousted US associates
Clifford Chance is to offer three months pay plus half of individual annual bonuses to the 20 associates it laid off in theUS last week.
Choice roles
BSkyB’s recent court battle with Virgin Media has provided fresh support for the principle that a client’s right to choose their lawyer is paramount, says Rachel Couter
Citi hires litigators for Wachovia battle
A dispute between Citigroup and Wells Fargo over the purchase of US bank Wachovia began last week when Citi instructed Greg Joseph, name partner at Gregory P Joseph Law Offices and former litigation chair at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson to block Wells Fargo’s $15bn (£8.64bn) bid for Wachovia made on 3 October, just days after Wachovia accepted Citi’s $2.2bn (£1.27bn) bid.
Class action lobby dealt body blow as Irwin Mitchell loses vitamins appeal
Irwin Mitchell loses vitamins appeal" /Irwin Mitchell suffered a blow in the Court of Appeal last week in a case that could spell the end for US-style class actions in the UK.
Clifford Chance appoints new global head of corporate
Clifford Chance appoints new global head of corporate" /Clifford Chance private equity partner Matthew Layton has officially taken up the post of global corporate head after standing unopposed.
Come-back kids
Australia seems, so far, to have escaped the worst of the current economic woes. This has prompted many Aussie lawyers based in the UK to consider a move back home.
Dewey & LeBoeuf closes Charlotte, grows Mid East
Dewey & LeBoeuf has announced the closure of its Charlotte office just as it plans to open two new bases in the Middle East.
DLA chief Knowles enjoys "brief chat" with Obama
Presidential contender Barack Obama received an endorsement from an unexpected quarter last week when he met DLA Piper chief executive Nigel Knowles.
Downturn keeps insolvency lawyers in top gear
High-profile insolvencies are keeping law firms’ financials afloat.
DWF poaches seven more staff from Weightmans
A seven-strong team is to leave Weightmans for DWF, joining six insurance partners who last month decided to make an identical move.
Edwin Coe hires new CEO
Edwin Coe has appointed Tim Nash as CEO following the retirement of Mike Elliott, who had been at the firm for 30 years.
Estate of play
The House of Lords may have been right to keep proprietary estoppel within its traditional bounds in the case of Yeoman’s Row Management v Cobbe, but the outcome could have been fairer to the plaintiff, argues Andrew Butler
Eversheds elbows out BLP to secure Thames Gateway property work
Eversheds has scored the lead role to advise the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) on real estate matters.
Former S&N lawyer joins Aggreko
Scottish & Newcastle’s former general counsel and company secretary Peter Kennerley has joined power generation company Aggreko.
Good news for... real estate lawyers?
With the increasing number of real estate lawyers losing their jobs, you’d think that recruiters would be banging on every law firm door saying “I’ve got just the person you’re looking for”.
Halliwells reorganises its finances
Halliwells is "reorganising its borrowings" following its move into new headquarters in Manchester.
Heller fallout gifts Goodwin Procter London office
The continuing fallout from the collapse of US firm Heller Ehrman has gifted Boston-headquartered Goodwin Procter its first UK office.
Heller gives Orrick momentum
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Herbert Smith Moscow hires A&O senior associate
Herbert Smith has hired a Moscow Allen & Overy senior associate as a partner for its Moscow office.
Ignorance isn’t bliss
Springwell Navigation’s claims of financial naïveté failed to pay off in its dispute with JPMorgan Chase Bank. Financial services providers facing the threat of litigation should take heart.
In the badlands
With the number of cross-border disputes set to escalate, in-house counsel have identified China, Russia and the US as the jurisdictions of greatest concern. By Christopher Grierson, with Mark Lin, Yevgeny Perkunov and Edward Schorr
Innovation can help London keep its lead in arbitration, say conference speakers
Lawyers need to come up with pioneering ways to ensure that London stays the forum of choice when it comes to arbitration and disputes, a London conference organised by The Lawyer will hear this week.
Kousetta’s sweat test
Tulkinghorn knows how media firms work. They are strictly hierarchical. Young lawyers join as luvvies, later to be promoted to senior luvvies, and all the while hoping to make it to darling within five years.
Law Soc forced into vote on changes after member protests
Law Society members are voting on a fundamental overhaul of the Society's charter which could see non-lawyers become fee-paying, non-voting "associate members".
Let’s get together
I’ve lost count of the number of times lawyers and law firm consultants have predicted consolidation in the UK legal market. The concept appears to be so devoutly wished for that it has virtually been elevated to a moral imperative. So why hasn’t it happened?
Linklaters curtails client base to focus attention on major players
Linklaters curtails client base to focus attention on major players" /Linklaters is in the process of slashing its client base in an attempt to reduce conflicts and focus its business solely on large global entities.
Litigation
The litigation increase expected to come out of the global economic climate may take some time to take hold, but litigators are already in their busiest period for almost a decade.
Lord Hunt of Wirral: Mr Right
The Law Society is having a spat with the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its decision to carry out its own regulatory review. But in appointing Lord Hunt of Wirral to do it, at least it’s made a diplomatic choice.
Lovells hikes Paris financial litigation team
Lovells has hired a four-lawyer team from Simmons & Simmons for its financial litigation offering in Paris.
Macfarlanes gets tough with corporate, property lawyers
Macfarlanes is reviewing the performance of its lawyers amid difficult conditions for its core corporate and real estate practices.
Michelmores in second Foot Anstey raid
South West firm Foot Anstey has lost a second team to local rival Michelmores, including board member Vanessa Priddis.
Moves roundup: 20 October 2008
Jonathan Metliss has joined West End firm Davenport Lyons as a partner in the corporate department. He was a founder partner at SJ Berwin and went on to become senior corporate finance partner. Metliss was most recently at Rosenblatt Solicitors where he was a consultant.
New William Grant counsel to push CSR
Whisky company William Grant & Sons has hired Coca-Cola Enterprises legal chief Eva Bishop as its first-ever general counsel, handing her the remit for a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) drive.
Norton Rose advises HSBC on Indonesian bank buyout
Norton Rose advises HSBC on Indonesian bank buyout" /Norton Rose has won an instruction from HSBC over the purchase of Indonesian lender Bank Ekonomi for $608m (£351m).
Norton Rose creates anti-corruption group
Norton Rose creates anti-corruption group" /Norton Rose is launching an anti-corruption and business ethics group to tackle clients’ increasing focus on reducing their exposure to anti-fraud legislation.
Norton Rose hunts for Indian trainees
Norton Rose hunts for Indian trainees" /Norton Rose has opened its trainee programme to newly qualified Indian lawyers and is recruiting directly from India.
Ofgem snubs law firms over energy supplier probe
Energy watchdog Ofgem has cut out the middle man and gone straight to the bar for advice on its investigation into energy suppliers.
Opinion: Culture’s the key to projecting a non-bland brand
Law firms are a brand consultant’s worst nightmare. Unique selling points (USPs) are the alpha and the omega of branding (this car goes faster, this mobile phone has more functions) and new business ideas are rarely launched without one or more USPs.
Plan for Portugal outpost sees Gómez-Acebo forge ahead with global ambition
Spanish independent firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo is planning to launch its first office in Portugal as it pushes an expansion plan across the firm.
Property: Spaced out
The credit crunch has had a serious effect on the City law firm property market. When will the strain begin to show?
Regulating short selling: dos and don'ts
In recent weeks, the SEC has created new rules in seeking to combat naked short selling.
Separated at birth
Of all the big showbiz names, there can’t be many who boast such a diverse fan base as Welsh songbird Charlotte Church.
Simmons & Simmons: ruthlessly efficient
When Simmons & Simmons revealed in June that it had boosted its average profit per equity partner (PEP) by 20 per cent, smashing its £600,000 target by £47,000, we all wondered just how the firm had done it (TheLawyer.com, 30 June).
Simmons axes 27 staff in three-year wages review
Simmons & Simmons has made eight lawyers and 19 service staff redundant following ;a ;three-year review of its wage bill.
Simpson Thacher earns $300k for Treasury bailout
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett will bill the US Treasury $300,000 (£174,000) for its role on the government's $700bn (£405.5bn) financial markets bailout.
Skadden breaks exclusive tie-up with Chiomenti
Skadden90.jpg" alt="Skadden breaks exclusive tie-up with Chiomenti" /Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Italian firm Chiomenti Studio Legale have terminated their exclusive relationship.
Spot the difference
During his many years as a legal market commentator, Tulkinghorn has noticed that law firms tend to copy each other every now and again. If one gets a US merger partner then all the rest want one too, and so on.
Squire Sanders takes lead role on Landsbanki after A&O quits
Squire Sanders & Dempsey secured a major role in the negotiations between the UK and Iceland following the fall of Icelandic bank Landsbanki.
Statutory minimum? Pah!
Your statutory minimum entitlement is easy to establish. But can you improve on it? Do you have any leverage? The answer to both questions is “yes” - provided you do some clever negotiating.
Sullivan, Davis Polk in second AIG bailout
Sullivan & Cromwell and Davis Polk & Wardwell have secured roles on US insurance giant AIG’s additional $37.8bn (£21.77bn) funding.
Surveyor joins LG real estate team
LG has hired a former chartered surveyor as operations director in its real estate team, a new role created to help develop the property practice. John Heawood joins from property company Segro, where he was executive director.
Team torques
An interim High Court judgment has placed fresh restrictions on the so-called springboard advantage a team of defecting employees may hope to gain over their former employer.
Thank crunch it's Friday
Thank crunch it's Friday 24 October 2008With the pound as weak as water, firms like Halliwells 'reorganising' their finances (see story) and banks being nationalised at a rate not seen since revolutionary Cuba, it might be a surprise to hear that a few firms had really quite a nice 2007-08, thank you very much.
Toilets ducked
Tulkinghorn has noted that diversity has become a much bigger concern for law firms in recent years, and he is all for it as well. But some firms might have taken the idea and run with it too far.
TwoBirds signs up for Kaplan Law School LPC
Fledgling LPC provider Kaplan Law School has signed up a second law firm for its bespoke course.
Verizon and Sprint Nextel appoint new GC
Two of the largest US telecoms companies Verizon and Sprint Nextel have replaced their general counsel within two weeks of each other.
Walker Morris retrains lawyers for insolvency
Walker Morris retrains lawyers for insolvency" /Firms across the UK are responding to the economic downturn by retraining their lawyers in insolvency work.
Wall St Woes: Charlotte web
Fifteen months ago Charlotte, North Carolina was the hot spot for US firms hoping to thrive in structured finance.Times have changed.
Web week
The Lawyer’s Web Week is a weekly commentary on legal activity on the web. This includes an overview of the best of the week’s blogs. If you want to direct us to useful links, email webweek@thelawyer.com.
Westminster Council shakes up legal team
Westminster City Council, one of the richest local authorities in the country, is set to begin a major overhaul of its legal team.
White & Case closes in Milan, pulls out of Italy
White & Case closes in Milan, pulls out of Italy" /White & Case will close its Milan office at the end of November, pulling out of Italy altogether.
