23 July 2007

DLA Piper strengthens Italian presence with addition of employment lawyer

DLA Piper has beefed up its Italian operation via the hire of Aldo Calza as partner and head of its Milan employment, pensions and benefits practice. Caldo, who joins the firm from Italian independent Ripa di Meana LC & Associati, brings with him two assistants, Licia Ioele and Daniella Pelizza. The move brings DLA’s employment, […]

Take a leaf out of your own book

Forget your beach reads. All lawyers need for literary inspiration this summer is a quick look at their own firms. And there are so, so many undiscovered authors out there, are there not? Forget your beach reads. All lawyers need for literary inspiration this summer is a quick look at their own firms. And there […]

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Judiciary shake up sees seven in new roles

The judiciary is set for an overhaul, with the control of seven posts changing hands. Mr Justice David Steel is to stand down as the head of the commercial list on 1 January 2008, handing over the reins to Mr Justice Andrew Smith, who has been appointed for one year. At the Technology and Construction […]

Legal profession most stressful in City: The Priory

The law is one of the most stressful professions in the City and clients are largely to blame, according to Marco Martinez, business development director of corporate services at The Priory. Reflecting on his experience as a banker, Martinez said the legal profession was arguably more stressful. “It wouldn’t be uncommon for us to be […]

OFT kick-starts bank charge proceedings

The Office of Fair Trading’s High Court bid got underway today (27 July) with all the City’s leading litigators participating. The test case revolves around the claims from tens of thousand of consumers that bank overdraft charges are unfair. The OFT filed High Court proceedings after the Financial Ombudsman Service and the county courts were […]

Law Society ponders appeal over updated legal aid fees

Updated fixed fees for civil legal aid cases will be introduced as planned from October 2007 following a High Court judgment today (27 July). Mr Justice Beatson rejected the Law Society’s attempt to stop the new fees being introduced through its judicial review of the unified contract. The judge, however, did grant the right to […]

Freshfields wins early role advising Bahraini power plant

Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer has won the lead mandate advising the government of Bahrain on the development of a national power plant. The firm’s team, led by Dubai-based partner Joe Huse, won the instruction to advise on the development of the Al Dur water and power plant following a pitch. Harnek Shoker, Freshfields of counsel, said: […]

MBRM faces action over Refco debt ‘cover-up’

Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw (MBRM) has been landed with a $245m (£119.2m) lawsuit from buyout house Thomas H Lee Partners, a creditor of bankrupt derivatives trader Refco. Lee is alleging a cover-up by MBRM. MBRM had girded itself against a potential suit ever since a bankruptcy examiner’s report earlier this month found that the […]

Dutton to replace Vos as Bar Council chair

Timothy Dutton QC of Fountain Court chambers has been elected to take over as chair of the Bar Council when Geoffrey Vos QC stands down. Dutton, who is the current vice chair at the Council, will take up his post on 1 January 2008. Dutton, who was called to the bar in 1979, took silk […]

Partners make frosty departure from Camerons

Moscow saw a high-level defection today. A bitter wind blew through the Moscow offices of CMS Cameron McKenna today with news that two of its top-drawer partners were bidding ‘do svidanya’ to the firm, and were bound straight for Clifford Chance See story. Moscow saw a high-level defection today. A bitter wind blew through the […]

K&L Gates closes in on Texan merger

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis (K&L Gates) has announced it is in merger talks with Texas-based Hughes & Luce. The deal is slated for an end-of-year completion. If successful, the talks would result in a firm with more than 1,500 lawyers in 24 offices across the US, Europe and Asia. Peter Kalis, K&L Gates’ […]

Linklaters fields multijurisdictional team for landmark Indian IPO

Linklaters has scored the advisory role in a key Indian real estate IPO. The Rs.91.88m (£1.1bn) IPO of India’s largest real estate developer DLF saw the firm assemble a team that consisted of lawyers in India, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and the US. Arun Balasubramanium, a partner in the firm’s India group, and US associates […]