24 November 2003
The Lawyer
A sop to Cerberus
Tulkinghorn is ashamed to admit that his young scribes had to fall on back on the undeniably wily nature of a DLA partner in Barcelona to further the night's entertainment. Two of the more inebriated male scribes tried not once, but twice, to gain admission to a local dancing venue, only to be turned away by sneering bouncers.
A tale of two business models
In Munich and Berlin, two magic circle firms are triumphing; in Hamburg and Stuttgart the honours go to the independents. Aled Griffiths reports
Addleshaws, Masons on Lancashire panels
Lancashire County Council has appointed Masons and Addleshaw Goddard for the first time as it begins a full revamp of its legal panels.
Aknin’s shock departure opens can of worms at Linklaters Paris
Paris private equity star’s move to Weil should serve as a wake-up call, says Dearbail Jordan
Ashworth snubbed as Ashursts re-elects Green
Ashurst Morris Crisp has re-elected senior partner Geoffrey Green for a second term after the incumbent saw off competition from the firm’s head of corporate and telecoms.
BAE's in-housers comfortable with Hatfield furniture project
When BAE Systems closed its Hatfield aircraft manufacturing plant in 1993, hundreds of workers lost their jobs. Aware of the impact of the move on the local community, a small team of in-house lawyers embarked on a pro bono scheme designed to rebuild their relationship with the local community.
Barcelona or bust
The Lawyer Barcelona European Legal Summit 2003
Beachcrofts retains Heslett as managing partner
Beachcroft Wansbroughs has re-elected Bob Heslett as managing partner, extending his leadership of the firm until 2006. Heslett, who stood unopposed, has been managing partner since the partnership was formed in 1998.
Bevan Ashford launches biotech consultancy
Bevan Ashford is reinforcing its biotech expertise with the launch of a niche consultancy arm, called Epalan, to be run out of its London office.
Box never
Lastminute.com's head of legal David Hickson was rather baffled when one delegate came up to him one evening and asked him out for a fight? As far as he was aware, as he later claimed to Tulkinghorn, who was idling in the bar, he had done nothing to deserve such a request. Nevertheless, the undaunted would-be assailant repeated: "Do you want a fight?"
Brit finalises first formal legal panel
Brit Insurance, the UK insurance subsidiary of Brit Insurance Holdings, has created its first formal legal panel.
CC releases delayed partner profits as finance chief quits
Clifford Chance has at last paid out a chunk of its delayed profit distributions, but partners may have to wait until the end of next year to receive the rest of their income.
Channel no 1
Why on earth do you need a Channel Islands Stock Exchange? Peter Harwood provides the answers
Chester Properties follows DJ Freeman partners to Olswang
Olswang has won former DJ Freeman client Chester Properties thanks to a lonstanding relationship with the DJ Freeman partners who made the switch to Olswang.
Clifford Chance Munich head to launch boutique practice
Clifford Chance is to lose the head of its Munich office next April. IP specialist Joachim Feldges is leaving to set up an independent boutique.
CMS Cameron McKenna forms Prague German-speaking alliance
CMS Cameron McKenna and fellow network firms CMS Strommer Reich-Rohrwig Karasek Hainz and CMS Hasche Sigle have joined forces to establish a German-speaking practice based in Prague.
Cobbetts opens in London after Fox Brooks merger
Cobbetts is launching an office in London to service international clients gained through its recent merger with niche Manchester mining firm Fox Brooks Marshall.
Corporate deals round-up
Baker & McKenzie with Pollath & Partner advised Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners on its proposed e418m (£292m) acquisition of dental systems manufacturer Sirona Dental. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Burkhard Richter, Andreas von Werder) advised Sirona Dental.
Criminal defence lawyers' 'annus horribilis' continues
That this year will go down as an 'annus horribilis' for the criminal defence profession is pretty much guaranteed - but it is not over yet.
Did the earth moooove?
The award for the most gruesome story of the week goes to a general counsel who, perhaps not surprisingly, preferred to remain anonymous.
Director of strategy at Linklaters resigns post
Linklaters director of strategy Giles Pugh has left, marking an end to the firm’s alliance past.
DWF takes on RBS employment litigation head
DWF has strengthened its insurance, employment and property teams with the hire of barrister Andrew Marshall, who joins the firm’s HR service DWF HRhorizons from the Royal Bank of Scotland in Manchester, where he was head of employment litigation.
ECJ judgment spells cross-border frenzy
A preliminary decision in a case before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) could create a mini boom for European cross-border litigation if it is upheld by the court.
ECJ raps Italians for lack of legal openness
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ordered Italy to liberalise its regulations on access to its legal profession. The ECJ has demanded that Italy’s National Bar Council does not reject out of hand qualifications gained in other EU member states. The court ruled that the Bar Council broke European law by blocking part-qualified French national Christine Morgenbesser from studying as an apprentice lawyer in Genoa. First reported on www.thelawyer.com 19 November
Eversheds Newcastle litigation chief quits to go it alone
Eversheds litigation partner Lex Dowie is leaving the firm’s Newcastle office to set up his own practice in Edinburgh.
Ex-Rogers & Wells partner pursues lifetime benefits in court
A former Rogers & Wells partner who was asked to resign over a series of client overcharges may be entitled to lifetime retirement benefits, a Manhattan appellate court has ruled.
Field Seymour Parkes hires Dentons partner
Pilgrim-Morris is an insurance litigator, with particular expertise in Lloyd's work, reinsurance and product liability disputes. Although Field Seymour already has a commercial litigation capability, this is the firsttime it has been able to offer ins...
Firm profile: JMW Solicitors
JMW Solicitors" /Not many law firms would choose to close their offices for an afternoon, but so seriously does Manchester outfit JMW Solicitors take its plans for the future that it did precisely that. As managing partner Bill Jones says: "We shut down for the afternoon of 22 October and hired a hotel to ...
Freshfields ends 3 row for Hutchison
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Hutchison Whampoa on the settlement of its dispute with KPN Mobile, which has resulted in Hutchison buying back its share in the two companies’ joint venture 3 at a 90 per cent discount.
Fund lands
Jersey and Guernsey are expecting a boost in their funds businesses. Nick Kershaw reports on how they are innovative in fund sector development
German compliance forces E&Y SErnst & Young’s
Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) German law firm is hiving off half of its Stuttgart office to comply with German rules on auditor independence. Twenty lawyers and notaries will form a new firm, which will be independent of both E&Y and EY Law Luther Menold. According to EY Law, the group will take with it a “significant proportion” of E&Y’s German audit clients. The remainder of the lawyers will stay with Luther Menold and advise E&Y’s non-audit clients. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com ...
Grapevine
It must be groans all round at Clifford Chance today.
Hogan & Hartson hires third Dorsey partner in a month
Hogan & Hartson has decimated Dorsey & Whitney’s London finance and capital markets capability after poaching their third partner from the firm in the space of a month.
Holman Fenwick targets aviation work with new specialist
Holman Fenwick & Willan has established an informal alliance with newly launched specialist aerospace and commercial practice Gates and Partners.
Information and Consultation Directive: 'significant'... or not?
The High Court judge responsible for policing the new Information and Consultation Directive played down concerns about its impact at last week's Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) annual lecture, as lawyers debated "potentially the most significant piece of employment legislation" to be passed in the UK.
Information Commissioner on how to can 'spam'
New legal restrictions on email marketing ahead of next month's clampdown on 'spam' were clarified last week, when the Information Commissioner published guidelines to help businesses comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (SI 2426/2003).
Jersey closes suspicious payments probe
The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) has completed an investigation into senior individuals at a trust company who have been linked to suspicious payments made to the foreign minister of Qatar.
Joelson Wilson launches trans-Atlantic alliance
London boutique Joelson Wilson has launched a trans-Atlantic alliance with New Jersey firm Cooper Levenson April Niedelman & Wagenheim to capitalise on growing gambling opportunities in the UK.
Kirkland loses UK partner to Macfarlanes
Kirkland & Ellis has lost its sole UK finance partner to Macfarlanes. In a rare lateral hire, the corporate boutique has picked up debt finance partner Bronwen Jones.
KLegal hopes dashed as Italians reject network
KPMG’s Italian law firm Studio Associato is understood to have decided not to join KLegal’s new international network. Instead, it is believed the firm will retain ties to accounting parent KPMG Italy.
Landwell to merge with Van Doorne
Landwell’s former Dutch firm has sealed a merger with Van Doorne, which will double its size and increase its profile in the Netherlands.
Law firms join London’s battle for Olympic Games
This month’s publication of London’s Olympic venues for the 2012 games finally gave substance to a bid that promises to generate once in a life time legal work for a select group of firms.
Leader
No one was actually seen singing the Freddie Mercury/Montserrat Caballe epic Barcelona at last week’s The Lawyer European Legal Summit, but it wouldn’t have been a surprise if there had been a few belting it out.The two-day event was a huge ...
Limited offers
The Jersey tax treatment of limited partnerships bears close scrutiny. Emily Haithwaite gives the lowdown
Lovells partner called up for BAT litigation evidence
Lovells litigation partner Andrew Foyle may be forced to give evidence in relation to his client British American Tobacco (BAT), this time in a $280bn (£164.4bn) case, United States of America v Philip Morris & ors.
Maclay Murray & Spens’ firmwide shake-up leaves twelve redundant
Scots giant Maclay Murray & Spens is making 12 redundancies across its Glasgow, Edinburgh and London offices. The move follows a firmwide review of departmental resources.
Minters opens Darwin base
Minter Ellison has forged its way into the Northern Territory, opening an office in Darwin.
Morgan Lewis lands ex-Diageo legal chief
Morgan Lewis is ramping up its London corporate group with a former partner of Australia’s Jackson McDonald Barristers & Solicitors.
New mediation scheme launched for divorce
Ministers and family lawyers joined forces last week to back a scheme to keep divorce breakups out of the courts. The Law Society launched a new quality mark and accreditation scheme aimed at promoting high standards of family mediation.
Niche firm Heatons elbows out A&O on Baugur buyout
Heatons, a niche commercial and corporate firm based in Stoke-on-Trent, has scooped a £152m instruction from Allen & Overy (A&O) client Baugur.
Norton Rose Paris office nabs Sokolow’s corporate practice
Norton Rose Paris office nabs Sokolow’s corporate practice" /Norton Rose is beefing up its corporate capability in Paris with the hire of a five-partner, 11-lawyer team from Sokolow Dunaud Mercadier & Carreras. The lawyers, including M&A specialist Jean-Francois Mercadier, will join the firm in January.
Ofcom cleanout sees 50 per cent redundancy of regulator lawyers
Ofcom, the new super-regulator for the media and communications industry, has made half of the senior lawyers from the existing five regulators redundant.
Opinion
In a recent article in The Lawyer (29 September), Philip and Mark Engelman commented on the operation of the Nominet UK Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service (DRS). Nominet UK is a not-for-profit company charged with the administration of the .uk domain and sub-domains (notably .co.uk). Along with many other organisations responsible for the operation of a country code, top-level ...
Oracle insolvency sees QC, Collyer-Bristow jettisoned
Richards Butler picks up entire defence as Erskine silk and Collyer-Bristow fall foul of legal tactics
Ozannes puts Shirley Porter in its sights
Guernsey lawyers acting on behalf of Westminster Council are preparing a key stage in the recovery of millions of pounds from accounts belonging to disgraced former politician Dame Shirley Porter.
Palace dumps Farrers in favour of Herbert Smith
Herbert Smith has won its first mandate for the Queen ahead of her official solicitors Farrer & Co.
Picking the Rock
The benefits of EU membership, a flexible tax system and grass roots support is seeing the insurance industry flourish in Gibraltar. Brendan Murphy and Nick Keeling report
Pike steps down as Stephenson Harwood overhauls management
John Pike will step down next year as chief executive of Stephenson Harwood to be replaced by litigation partner Sunil Gadhia.
Pillsbury sticks with Cranston and Park
Pillsbury Winthrop’s management has received a vote of confidence from the firm’s partnership, which has re-elected its chair and managing partner.
Pinsents, NGJ set for January merger
National firm to take over Nicholson Graham & Jones as midmarket consolidates
Punch power
As the UK's largest pub group, Punch Taverns continues to grow. Company secretary Neil Preston says he's never been happier with his external firms.
Rasta's drink driving challenge set to change police policy
A Rastafarian who refused to give blood after being stopped for drink-driving was allowed to appeal against his ban yesterday in a challenge that looks set to change fundamentally how the police handle such cases Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, sitting with Mr Justice Mackay, ruled that drink-drive suspects were allowed to choose, if they had a good reason, whether to provide blood or urine samples for double-checks on how much they had drunk. Woolf said that had been "a misunderstanding ...
Richards Butler lands Collyer Oracle work
Collyer-Bristow has been replaced by Richards Butler as the UK law firm for the directors of a company accused of mismanaging Oracle, a $250m (£146.8m) investment fund. As revealed in The Lawyer Offshore supplement, Richards Butler is acting in England for both the directors and the defendant company, Fortis Fund Services. Robin Potts QC of Erskine Chambers has also been replaced with Mark Hapgood QC of Brick Court for Fortis. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled to take place today ...
Russell Jones & Walker calls in the union for massive overhaul
Russell Jones & Walker has enlisted the services of one of the UK’s largest unions the GMB to help the firm undergo a radical restructuring programme which will affect staff across the board, including fee-earners and partners.
Sarbanes prompts PwC tax team to join Sonnenberg
In yet another sign that the big four accounting firms’ empire is crumbling, an eight-strong tax advisory team has ditched Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) in South Africa because of the difficulties presented by the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.
Simmons loses corporate head to Stevens & Bolton
Simmons & Simmons head of corporate and commercial is leaving, ushering in a new era for the group.
Solicitors embrace redefinition of partnerships law
Solicitors last week welcomed radical proposals to update the existing law on partnership, which was described by the Government's law reform body as "a throwback to the 19th century".
Speechlys hikes insolvency with Hammonds hire
Speechly Bircham has lured Hammonds’ Birmingham head of finance to London to grow a corporate recovery and insolvency practice. Chris Harlowe rejoins former Hammonds banking partner Andrew Knight at Speechlys. At Hammonds’ Birmingham office, partners Stephen George and Devinder Singh will now jointly head the finance practice. Both joined from
Structural steel
Jersey’s response to the EU and OECD initiatives covering structured finance has ensured it continued success. Alan Stevens and Siobhan Riley report
Taylor Wessing appoints new real estate head
Taylor Wessing’s head of Real Estate John Whitfield is to step down at the end of this year.
The Bermuda angle
Benjamin Dyer reports on financing alternatives for Bermuda captives
The lonesome piner
Prior to the conference, the general counsel of one of the most media-friendly organisations was adamant that she did not, under any circumstances, want any private meetings to be arranged for her. This was because she never ever uses outside counsel. Fair enough.
TLT hires Humphreys partner for property group
Bristol firm TLT has hired Peter Kimpton from Humphreys & Co. Kimpton joins TLT as a partner in the property group. The appointment is TLT’s third partner hire in six months.
Too hot to handle
The Lawyer award for the top delegate at the Barcelona summit goes to Legal & General's group head of legal Geoffrey Timms.
Trial and error
Has the UK been initiating a ‘cold war’ against the Cayman Islands over the Eurobank debacle? Neil Timms investigates
Tribunal finds Sinclair Roche guilty of sex discrimination
Sinclair Roche & Temperley, which merged with Stephenson Harwood last year, sexually discriminated against two of its female lawyers, a Reading employment tribunal has found.
Van Bueren wins children’s rights award
Professor Geraldine Van Bueren has won The Lawyer/Unicef Child Rights Lawyer Award. The award recognises outstanding legal performance to protect and promote children’s rights. Van Bueren helped to draft the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Guidelines on Refugee Children. Runners up were Professor Carolyn Hamilton of Essex University and Peter Harris, former Official ...
Victoria firms rapped for lack of female input
Victoria attorney-general Rob Hulls is writing to his government’s panel law firms demanding that they increase their use of female barristers.
Young gun
Lovells' new senior partner John Young may have been the outside bet, but after his surprise election win he means business.
