21 September 2009
The Lawyer
A life in books: Maya Abu Deeb, Bloomsbury Publishing
As general counsel for Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury, Maya Abu Deeb enjoys a literary life that makes up for the late nights. By Kit Chellel
A&O’s communication training sparks gender row on soft skills
News that Allen & Overy (A&O) is mooting training its associates in soft skills has generated a critical response from some readers of TheLawyer.com. What seems to have antagonised many people is the fact that the initiative, which involves client networking and communication skills, specifically targets women.
Austria
? Cementing its position as the gateway to Central Europe, Austria’s sophisticated legal market has broken new ground in the past year.
BPE solicitors
?BPE Solicitors hit the headlines in The Lawyer earlier this year (15 June) when it closed the Birmingham office it had opened in more prosperous times seven years previously.
Brook of rules
Are the English courts vying to rule the waves of cross-border insolvency arriving on their shores?
Clifford Chance launches awards to highlight corporate responsibility
Clifford Chance is putting corporate responsibility (CR) at the top of every employee’s agenda by launching an awards initiative to recognise excellence within the firm.
Collas Day moots Jersey launch as part of expansion strategy
Guernsey-headquartered Collas Day has set out ambitious expansion plans that could involve a move into Jersey next year.
Czech Republic
With new entrants to the market in the past 12 months and an economy holding up better than its neighbours, the Czech Republic is fertile ground for lawyers.
Eversheds gives associates stronger voice
Eversheds is launching an associate forum in its London office to tackle issues affecting junior lawyers at the firm.
Family practitioners push for 21st century legislation
Legislation governing family life should be overhauled to better reflect 21st century living, leading family lawyers have said.
FFW aids Sovereign allay shareholder revolt
Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) has helped AIM-listed property investment fund Sovereign Reversions see off a shareholder revolt and secure a capital injection through a share placing and open offer.
Firms vie for Midlands development panel places
Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands has asked law firms to tender for its revamped panel.
Focus: Lateral thinking, Berwin Leighton Paisner
Big money, big hires. While other firms batten down the recruitment hatches, BLP has hired five laterals this year. Can the firm justify this expenditure?
Grand Central transformation
After the turn of the millennium, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) formed an emerging market of such promise that all international firms wanted an office in the region. If not an office of their own then at least relationships with established firms based in the various countries.
HCA invites firms to bid for panel
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the newly-created public body charged with regenerating England’s housing stock, land and infrastructure, is asking firms to pitch for its legal panel.
Lehman: the lessons learnt
A year after the collapse, Manhattan’s finest reveal their take on the saga. By Matt Byrne
LG brought in by Gazprom for advice on Shtokman
LG has won a major instruction advising Gazprom on the development of the multibillion- pound Shtokman project – the vast offshore gas field belonging to Russia.
Linklaters closes doors on final salary pensions
Linklaters is set to close its final salary pension scheme and transfer members to the contribution-based plan used by the vast majority of the firm’s employees.
Links, Norton Rose, Slaughters act on Thomas Cook share sale
Linklaters, Norton Rose and Slaughter and May have secured roles on the £900m share placing of a 44 per cent stake in tour operator Thomas Cook.
Magic circle hourly rates drop by third as clients flex muscles
Annual fee rates survey shows work-hungry top guns drop fees to £450 as they raid mid-market for business
Magic circle muscles in on silver circle with fee drops and 'freebies'
The fees bubble has finally burst, with top-end hourly rates falling by 30 per cent or more as the financial crisis finally catches up with legal bills.
Manches lusts after Halliwells’ best bits
Manches is hoping to acquire the most profitable parts of Halliwells’ business despite abandoning merger talks with the firm.
Monckton, 3-4 South Square get into gear for F1 crash test
Leading sports barristers are warming up to take their places in the latest scandal to rock Formula 1 (F1).
People moves
Reed Smith has appointed partners Lucy and Newcomb Phillip Slater (above) from Addleshaw Goddard to its acquisition and leveraged finance practice in London.
Plexus Law takes over insurance boutique
Professional indemnity firm Plexus Law has acquired insurance boutique Squire & Co.
Poland
?The recession could not have come at a worse time. While excitement over a major football tournament in Poland approaches, the prospect of legions of fans travelling on the country’s creaking transport fills many with dread.
Pressure in pounds
Law firms dropping their hourly rates is an entirely appropriate response to current market conditions. But partner rates in the magic circle firms dropping by a third will take a lot of people by surprise. In private practice, pragmatism has prevailed.
SEC beefs up cross-border cooperation in blitz on fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is gearing up for closer cooperation with overseas prosecutors as the fight against financial crime gains momentum during the recession.
Senior clerks leave in Hardwicke restructure
Hardwicke Building has parted company with its two senior clerks after the set radically overhauled its structure into client divisions.
Set in our ways?
?With clients becoming increasingly international, chambers are following suit. But as Nic Fletcher finds, barristers from the same set appearing on opposite sides of the same case is often not the done thing
SRA defends work-based training pilot
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has reassured City firms that its controversial work-based learning pilot is on track, and will address their concerns about being forced to hire trainees as permanent employees.
The collapse of Lehman: the day the banking world stood still
The lawyers involved reflect on when the ‘unthinkable became thinkable’. By Margaret Taylor
The Lawyer Fraud Prosecution Conference: SFO chief: educate, don’t just prosecute
?Opening speech sparks debate on civil recovery orders as Alderman defends new pragmatic direction
The magic circle’s spell remains unbroken
?In June 2008, I wrote a piece for this column entitled ‘Eversheds: green-eyed or just naive?’.
Tulkinghorn: Briefs Encounter
Who doesn’t like the occasional dip in the sea? A little bird has told Tulkinghorn that Michael Beloff QC is so fond of the big blue that he goes for a swim off the coast every morning.
Weightmans merger ‘can’t be ruled out’
Weightmans will moot the possibility of a merger at its next partner meeting, which takes place in November.
Wolf Theiss bid to bring in more US clients sparks overhaul of CEE strategy
Austrian firm Wolf Theiss is reinventing itself as a Central and Eastern European (CEE) one-stop shop in a bid to attract more US clients.
Work Life Quiz: Andrei Baev, Allen & Overy
What’s your favourite film?Sergio Leone’s Once Upon A Time in America.
