21 July 2008
The Lawyer
8100 Pearls before swine
While most lawyers symbiotically fused with their BlackBerrys generations ago, Clifford Chance partners and associates are less keen on them. After all, they haven’t received an upgrade for years and are still stuck on the chunky, blue and plasticky BlackBerry 8700 series.
A question of sports
Tulkinghorn believes you can tell a lot about a law firm by looking at its sports teams, and the Legal Fives tournament held a few weeks ago turned out to be a mine of information.
A&O, slaughters win bank takeover roles
Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy (A&O) have bagged lead roles on Banco Santander’s £1.25bn recommended offer for Alliance & Leicester. Slaughters corporate head Frances Murphy is leading the advice for Santander as part of an integrated team that includes Uría Menéndez in Spain and
Alston & Bird lands IndyMac role
Atlanta-based Alston & Bird is advising on issues surrounding collapsed US bank IndyMac.
Anglo-Saxon firms dominate France's top 30
Anglo-Saxon firms have fared better in France than in other European jurisdictions, according to a table of financial results from French legal publication Juristes Associés.
Bakers wins Narnia domain name battle
Baker & McKenzie has prevailed over a Scottish family in a fight over the narnia.mobi domain name, after a decision from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Barristers spread the legal word to Kabul
Training legal practitioners may not sound like a dangerous task, but for the Bar Council’s human rights committee it has been far from safe.
Bevan Brittan makes Brum chief redundant
Bevan Brittan makes Brum chief redundant" /Bevan Brittan is to shake up management of its Birmingham office following the redundancy of it current office head Sharon McCann, The Lawyer can reveal.
Bevan Brittan to vote on shake-up as PEP drops
Restructure plan to move chief exec Whitfield to client-facing role; non-lawyer slated to take over
Blake Lapthorn
Blake Lapthorn" /Five years ago the management of South East firm Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons came up with a plan for expansion.
BLG scoops lead role in Menezes inquiry
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) has been appointed the solicitors to the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead by London police.
BLP adds regulatory might with A&O hire
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has signalled its commitment to its financial services regulatory team with the hire of Allen & Overy (A&O) partner Sidney Myers.
Bright spark
Chambers’ summer parties are an important part of the Bar calendar for two reasons: barristers can get their clients drunk and clerks can show off the scale of their entertainment budget to other clerks.
Brodies forms standalone banking and finance group
Brodies forms standalone banking and finance group" /Scottish firm Brodies has created a standalone banking and financial services department as part of a revamp of its leadership group.
Cains targets East’s emerging markets with Singapore office launch
Offshore firm Cains has opened an office in Singapore with a three-strong team, creating a base from which to serve its Asian clients.
CC sends funds team to Dubai
Clifford Chance has highlighted the Middle East’s importance to the firm’s bottom line by relocating a funds team to the region.
CC, Links bolster São Paulo offices
Magic circle firms Clifford Chance and Linklaters have underscored their commitment to Latin America by ramping up their capabilities in São Paulo.
Clifford Chance and Lovells close blueprint SIV restructuring
Clifford Chance and Lovells bagged lead roles on the restructuring of the distressed $6bn (£3bn) Cheyne Finance structured investment vehicle (SIV), as it was formerly known.
Correction
In last week’s issue of The Lawyer (14 July), a feature entitled ‘Closing time’ stated incorrectly that Candu Entertainment is, or was, the operator of the Po Na Na family of bars. As a spokesman for Eclectic Bars pointed out: “Po Na Na and its associated bar brands Bondi, Embargo, Sakura and Fez are all in rude health and are operated successfully by Eclectic Bars, as they have been for some years.” The spokesman added: “The error was brought to our attention by one of our many customers, ...
Covington launches first Asia office
US law firm Covington & Burling has launched its first office in Asia today (23 July), with its former management chair Stuart Stock heading the team in Beijing.
Cut off in their prime
Tulkinghorn has observed that the great city of London has not been too kind to poor old US firm Howrey. The firm has had to change its tactics in the big smoke to get noticed, and the office has seen partners coming in and out of its doors as if it were a City strip club.
Daniel Winterfeldt: Simmons & Simmons
If you weren’t a lawyer, what would you have been?A psychiatrist (insert joke here).
Davis Polk and Latham lead on Roche megadeal
A duo of US firms have snared lead roles on Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche's $43.7bn (£21.88bn) bid for US drug giant Genentech.
Dechert takes Tyco GC for governance push
Dechert has hired former Tyco general counsel to bulk up its corporate governance and regulatory capabilities in the US.
Dewey’s ex Paris head sets up litigation boutique
The former head of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Paris office, Olivier Laude, has set up a litigation and white collar crime boutique.
Dickinson Dees becomes latest downturn victim with 70 redundancies planned
Dickinson Dees is the latest firm to launch redundancy talks, entering consultation with three of the four departments in its volume business.
Downturn proves a boom time for career coaches
One of the curiosities of any downturn is that there is always someone, somewhere making a buck. And no, it is not just the short sellers. Laying off associates? Looking to ‘redeploy’? Enter the career counsellor.
Everyone’s talking about Heller
Last week the merger rumour mill surrounding US firms went into overdrive.
France's Gide seeks trainees in the City
French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel is to hire trainee solicitors in London for the first time in a bid to bolster its burgeoning City arm.
Freshfields insists it’s business as usual after student’s theft
As white-collar crime goes, 19-year-old Titilayo Olaifa’s theft while on work experience at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is small potatoes. Nevertheless, by managing to steal £13,500 and attempting to steal £46,500 ...
Glaxo turns to Sidley for new GC
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has hit the US for its new general counsel, hiring Sidley Austin life sciences partner Dan Troy after a seven month search.
Growth slows at Four Pump, 2-3 Gray’s Inn
Four Pump Court and 2-3 Gray’s Inn Square have both posted 7 per cent increases in turnover over the past financial year, although both sets saw their growth rates reduce from the previous year’s.
Hammonds client scores £17bn Sellafield contract
Hammonds has pulled off a coup in the nuclear sector by advising the winning bidder on the £17bn decommissioning of Sellafield.
Home Group announces new panel tender
Housing charity Home Group has invited firms to tender for its residential property work. The charity is creating a new panel for the work. Its current general panel members include Dickinson Dees, Eversheds, Sharratts and Trowers ...
Howrey’s Lords patent win for Angiotech sets new IP precedent
Howrey’s burgeoning UK intellectual property (IP) practice has scored a valuable patent win for biotechnology ;client Angiotech against Conor Medsystems in the House of Lords.
Jumeirah panel invited to Dubai get-together
Dubai-based Jumeirah Group is following in the footsteps of major UK corporates such as BT and Sainsbury’s by bringing together its panel firms for a conference.
Junior lawyers division elects commitee
The Law Society’s junior lawyers division has elected a new executive committee. Nortel in-house counsel Kat Gibson has been re-elected as chair, with Gordons associate Heidi Sandy voted in as vice-chair. The rest of the committee will be made up of Addleshaw Goddard trainee Simon Baker, Thaliwal Bridge Solicitors trainee Akeela Bharuchi,
Kaplan buys Altior to boost law firm links
Kaplan Professional, the company behind Nottingham Law School's London arm has taken over Altior in a bid to boost its post-qualification legal training offering.
Kaye Scholer bulks up US operations
Kaye Scholer has beefed up its US presence with a number of hires in New York and Los Angeles.
Keir Starmer QC appointed DPP
Doughty Street Chambers’ joint head Keir Starmer QC has been appointed the next director of public prosecutions (DPP), the attorney general Baroness Scotland announced today (25 July).
LG and Trowers break inflation barrier with trainee pay rises
LG and Trowers & Hamlins have increased their trainee solicitor salaries by inflation-busting rates, although first-year trainees are still paid marginally less than the industry average.
Linklaters says: take a BlackBerry break
Linklaters says: take a BlackBerry break" /Linklaters has given its partners and associates yet another three-line whip, this time demanding that they leave their BlackBerrys at work when on holiday.
Links creates first head of Asia competition group
Linklaters has shaken-up its competition and antitrust practice, moving partner Erik Söderlind from Sweden to Hong Kong to become the firm’s first head of competition and anti-trust for Asia.
Lovells in China: Sino the times
When Lovells forged an alliance with Chinese firms based outside the major centres of Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai it created something rather different. Almost a year on its members are bullish about their prospects
Magic circle trio in on £26bn drinks deal
Three magic circle firms have scored plum roles on the financing of InBev's $52bn (£26.12bn) acquisition of US drinks company Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Budweiser beer. Allen & Overy (A&O) secured bank mandates advising BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan on Anheuser-Busch's financing.
Maitland hire adds to property offering
Maitland Chambers has poached 9 Stone Buildings senior junior James Hanham to ramp up its property capability. Hanham, who was called to the bar in 1996, becomes the latest in a line of barrister moves at the junior bar end. Maitland chief executive Robert Graham-Campbell said: “With the outlook for litigation generally so much more positive than in ...
Met Police panel rejig sees 13 firms collared
The Metropolitan Police has overhauled its legal panel, with Bircham Dyson Bell, Burges Salmon and Eversheds among 13 law firms to win places.
Moves roundup: 21 July 2008
McDermott Will & Emery has hired Gregory Mocek, the former director of enforcement at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as partner in the firm’s energy derivatives market practice in Washington DC. Mocek will also work out of the firm’s London office.
Nabarro strengthens corporate and banking
Nabarro has called on the silver circle for its latest lateral hire, signing up Travers Smith corporate partner Alasdair Steele.
New legal regulator’s membership revealed
Irwin Mitchell senior partner Michael Napier QC and former Reuters general counsel Rosemary Martin are among the first members of the newly appointed Legal Services Board (LSB).
OFT appoints new GC
The Office of Fair Trading has promoted former Slaughter and May lawyer Frances Barr to the roles of general counsel and head of legal profession at the watchdog.
Opinion: High oil prices are fuelling the flames of energy disputes
Disputes lawyers sit with sharpened pencils waiting impatiently for the full force of the fallout from the credit crunch. As thumbs are twiddled, a torrent of disputes has already started in the energy sector. Across the world disputes are being fuelled by the unsettling effects of the high price of oil.
PI lawyers slam MoJ’s claims reforms
Personal injury (PI) lawyers have slammed the Ministry of Justice for its failure to implement far-reaching reform of the claims process.
Popularity rising
Popularity rising 25-July-2008The papers are having a field day on the Mosley, spanking and privacy case, but even we were surprised at the Daily Mail's decision to devote an entire double page spread trying to find something bad to say about Mr Justice Eady.
Professional negligence
October will see the end of the solicitors’ professional indemnity (PI) insurance season, when lawyers will again benefit from low insurance rates. Lawyers are being warned, though, of an imminent rating correction.
Professional negligence: An uncivil action
A forthcoming Lords decision in the case of Moore Stephens v Stone & Rolls could well see auditors better protected from spurious claims.
Professional negligence: Getting well soon?
Changes to the way the medical profession is regulated are being brought in for good reasons – but concerns about how they will be implemented still remain.
Professional negligence: mortgage fraud
In the field of professional liability, mortgage fraud and claims against professionals arising from it remain the topics of the moment.
Professional negligence: Troubled indemnity
Competition among insurers for legal firms’ business has rarely been fiercer, but the pressure this is putting on underwriters’ rates means some will soon have to walk away from the professional indemnity insurance market altogether, warns Steve Holland
Putsch up or shut up
When is a partnership putsch not a putsch?
Retirement age appeal gets tribunal hearing
Thames Valley firm BP Collins has brought a case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that could have ;implications ;for lawyers wanting to work beyond ;the ;statutory retirement age.
RPC offloads Tiverton base to Kennedys
Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) is to hand its Tiverton office to insurance rivals Kennedys as a going concern.
Scotland
Scottish firms have faced a real dilemma in recent years: enter the London market to tap a larger pool of clients or stay firmly committed to the domestic Scottish market.
SFO aims for ‘prevention better than cure’ approach
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is set for radical change that will see the government department move further away from prosecuting fraudsters.
SFO must swallow its medicine after falling short in NHS price-fixing case
To join the debate on the Law Lords upholding the SFO's decision to drop the BAE bribery probe, click here. ------------------------------------------------------------
Simmons coordinates global bonus packages
Simmons & Simmons is rolling out a new bonus structure for all non-equity partners ;in ;a ;bid ;to harmonise remuneration across its global network.Salaried partners will now be given a reward of between 20 and 50 per cent of annual pay, depending on personal appraisals.
Somerfield uses Kirkland for £1.57bn takeover by Co-op
Kirkland & Ellis has muscled in on the Co-op’s £1.57bn takeover of Somerfield, winning a mandate from former Linklaters client Somerfield.
SRA hikes minimum salaries
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has raised minimum trainee solicitor salaries by 4.3 per cent across the board, in line with inflation.
Stateside shorting rules cause havoc for lawyers
Emergency guidelines aimed at tightening the rules surrounding the short selling of US stocks and clamping down on financial market rumour mongerers left lawyers and their clients scrambling to comply yesterday (Monday 21 July).
Steeles beats Farrers in Mosley orgy case
Norfolk-based firm Steeles Law has won Formula 1 chief Max Mosley £60,000 in damages after suing the News of the World for breach of privacy.
Steve Moorhouse, Home Group legal
If home is where the heart is, affordable housing is where Home Group legal chief Steve Moorhouse wants to be.
Taylor Wessing realises Beijing dream
Taylor Wessing has opened its long-planned Beijing office after receiving its operating licence from the Chinese authorities last month. The base will be headed by the firm’s international China group head Florian Ranft and partner Christoph Hezel, assisted by two associates.
Thistle stop
Claims that Scotland’s economy is less robust than England’s may have prompted some legal talent to head south of the border – but today’s figures tell a different story
Thomas Eggar moves 17 lawyers to Southampton
Southeast firm Thomas Eggar is to move six partners and 11 fee-earners to its new Southampton office from early September.
Travers resigned to harder times
Travers Smith managing partner Chris Carroll has predicted more woe for M&A lawyers after the corporate-heavy firm saw its average profit per equity partner (PEP) fall by more than 7 per cent last year.
Trick question
Sure, they might be some of the City’s best-paid lawyers, but how many magic circle lawyers can actually do magic? Very few, Tulkinghorn wagers.
US firms braced for slump in half-year revenues
US firms are preparing their partners for sinking revenues as they take stock of their financial progress at the half-year stage.
Walker Morris retrains lawyers in insolvency
Leeds firm Walker Morris is attempting to ride out the effects of the downturn by retraining 30 corporate, banking and property lawyers in insolvency law.
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