21 March 2011

To train in Spain

A Europe-wide quality drive is elevating Spain’s legal education system to a whole new level. Joanne Harris reports on the benefits and hurdles of implementation Until now, becoming a lawyer in Spain has been a straightforward process. Students go to university, take a law degree and, upon qualification, become members of the local bar association. The system stands […]

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Northumbria Uni offers quick qualification path

The Solicitors ­Regulation Authority has approved plans for a new course that will reduce ­drastically the cost of legal ­education. The five-year pilot course, which will be run by Northumbria University, will allow ­students to qualify as ­solicitors in five years rather than the usual six by ­combining all levels of legal education with professional training. Northumbria University associate dean for […]

William Glaister
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Magic circle firms divided over vision for asset finance practices

Freshfields and Links shrink teams, but no U-turns at Clifford Chance or A&O. By James Swift ”There’s been a shift away from asset finance in the magic circle over the past couple of years,” says one finance partner at a City firm. “I’m told that partners there are under pressure to deliver a profit that’s […]

McGrigors, Pinsents bag regeneration work in North

McGrigors and Pinsent Masons have advised on a £265m deal that has seen Newcastle City Council partner with a consortium of developers to regenerate the Scotswood area of ­Newcastle upon Tyne. McGrigors Manchester-based infrastructure partner Nick Ogden led the team advising the BKY consortium, which is made up of Barratt Developments subsidiary David Wilson Homes […]

Cleary, CC, Dewey wrap up Finmeccanica divestment

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Clifford Chance and Dewey & LeBoeuf all landed roles on Finmeccanica’s sale of Ansaldo Energia. Italian industrial group Finmeccanica, which also has interests in defence and aviation, sold power engineering business Ansaldo Energia to new holding company Ansaldo Electric Drives. US fund First Reserve Corporation then bought a 45 per […]

Freshfields drives Daimler’s joint bid with Rolls-Royce for Tognum

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hengeler Mueller, Latham & Watkins and Sullivan & Cromwell have secured roles on a e3.2bn (£2.76bn) joint takeover offer for engine-maker Tognum by Daimler and Rolls-Royce. The magic circle firm is advising Daimler, which ­follows on from it landing the prize mandate acting for the car manufacturer on its three-way tie-up with Renault and […]

Paul Harris

CAT demolishes OFT’s fines against construction companies

The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ordered the OFT to reduce fines imposed against six construction companies found to have breached price-fixing rules. In September 2009 103 construction companies were found to have participated in the price-fixing scam, with the OFT issuing penalties totalling £129.5m against them. The OFT found that between 2000 and 2006 the […]

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Low going

Litigation funding is changing. David Engel highlights the elements that will go to make an altogether more sophisticated regime Funding options can offer greater certainty on, and control of, costs, even in big-ticket commercial litigation. A litigation funding package typically comprises one or more of a conditional fee arrangement (CFA) with the solicitors and/or barristers, […]

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DLA Piper-Phillips Fox combo’s corporate drive dented as nine partners jump ship

The defection of nine DLA Phillips Fox partners ahead of the firm’s merger with DLA Piper has left the Australian practice with no corporate partners in ­Brisbane. As reported on The Lawyer.com (14 March), nine partners have left DLA Phillips Fox for mid-tier ­Australian firm Thomsons Lawyers. Among those ­leaving are corporate partners Philip Byrnes, James Daniel, Philip Dowling and […]

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Focus: Energy M&A – Texas tea party

The energy sector is booming and in scouting out opportunities in Houston and challenging the Lone Star State’s incumbent players, some of the planet’s biggest firms are hot on the trail  It is known as the ’shale gale’, a gust of energy-related change blowing across the North American oil and gas industry. Shale, a […]

Chris Howard and Terry Stone

Links partner’s Gateway to stardom

Last Friday (18 March) saw the release of the latest film from independent production company Gateway Films. But while it is fair to say that urban comedy Anuvahood might not have your classic magic circle partner rushing to their local multiplex, it could be a different story when it comes to a few subsequent Gateway […]

Fukushima

Political fallout from Fukushima puts energy projects in jeopardy

Energy lawyers fear the worst for future and current nuclear deals in wake of disaster. Last week, as Japan continued to count the human and economic cost of the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the ­leading law firms in Tokyo were making the safety of their lawyers and staff their top priority. All of the […]