25 April 2011
The Lawyer
SJ Berwin scraps associate lockstep
SJ Berwin has become the latest firm to abandon the associate lockstep model as it moves to a merit-based remuneration system.
Big firms will bear brunt after SRA ditches ARP
The closure of the assigned risks pool (ARP), the insurer of last resort for all firms, will come at a cost of tens of millions of pounds to the profession, with commercial firms picking up the claims tab for the smaller end of the profession.
Burges Salmon sets up low-tax vehicle for staff
Burges Salmon is set to transfer its entire non-partner staff base to a newly created service company in an effort to cut its tax bill.
Focus: Serious Fraud Office: Split decision
SFO director Richard Alderman is adamant that removing the watchdog’s teeth would be doing UK plc a major disservice
Freshfields advises Land Securities on City let
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Land Securities on its securing of SMBC Nikko Capital Markets as the latest tenant for its high-profile City development One New Change.
Herbies, Grayston record ECJ victory for Sky+ box
Pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB and the world’s biggest producer of set-top boxes Pace have won a dispute regarding customs duties in the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Hogan Lovells pair sign up for Noerr’s European IP crusade with Alicante launch
German firm Noerr is set to launch an IP office in Alicante after poaching two lawyers from Hogan Lovells.
Hogan Lovells pair sign up for Noerr’s European IP crusade with Alicante launch
German firm Noerr is set to launch an IP office in Alicante after poaching two lawyers from Hogan Lovells.
Irwin Mitchell: we’ll float and take on the mid-tier
Irwin Mitchell first to declare ABS intentions; aims for £50m war chest for recruitment
Kalliopé
French boutique Kalliopé does not have a managing partner.
Latham, Shearman, Weil take lead roles on Priory’s Craegmoor buy
Latham & Watkins, Shearman & Sterling and Weil Gotshal & Manges secured the lead mandates on The Priory Group’s acquisition of healthcare support provider Craegmoor Group.
Legal education’s oversupply is unethical
Too many people are looking to become solicitors in England and Wales. This is not an opinion, it is a fact based on the most recent annual report from the Law Society.
Litigation chief wins top job at Simmons
Colin Passmore has won the senior partner election at Simmons & Simmons, beating former managing partner Mark Dawkins in the final round of voting.
Mature candidates evince true grit
Every autumn law firm graduate recruitment teams pack their suitcases, hit the road and travel to university campuses across the UK in a bid to promote their wares to the cream of the undergraduate population.
McDermott builds Paris base around Herbies hire
McDermott Will & Emery is expanding its European operations by opening an office in Paris following a hire from Herbert Smith.
On the move
Maitland Chambers chief executive Robert Graham-Campbell has quit the set for private practice and has been appointed as chief executive of Knightsbridge firm Pemberton Greenish.
Power player: Sheena Singla, Essar Energy
Essar Energy general counsel Sheena Singla has her work cut out building the company’s London in-house capability from the ground up, says Caroline Butcher
Promotions rebound post-crunch
Partnership promotions across the country’s leading firms have topped 2009’s and 2010’s levels, marking a return to upward mobility within the profession.
Simmons oversees MoJ’s £2.4bn prison service contracts process
Simmons & Simmons has advised the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on two prison service procurement provisions that resulted in contracts worth a combined total of £2.4bn being awarded to bidders.
Structurally sound
As Islamic finance booms tawwaruq structures are increasingly popular. Mike Rainey argues the surge in their use should be curbed.
Swiss watch
Pestalozzi’s split uncovered the fault lines between Zurich and Geneva. Joanne Harris asks whether Swiss firms can truly work across cultures
Ticking boxes
Efforts to shake off its image as a haven for financial secrecy and a drive to federalise the laws of its 26 distinct cantons make Switzerland an attractive place for lawyers, says Joanne Harris
Tulkinghorn: Starting Gates
Here’s a US-themed addition to Tulkinghorn’s ever-growing ’Offspring of the Rich and Famous (Lawyers)’ series.
Work Life Quiz: Liz Dux, Russell Jones & Walker
If you weren’t a lawyer what would you have been? A newsreader.
Yorkshire terriers
Twenty years ago a brash Yorkshire firm called Dibb Lupton decided it could go mid-tier and that SME corporate clients needed a more responsive service than City firms were providing.
