27 September 2010
The Lawyer
African legal body defies the vultures
In investment circles they are known as distressed debt funds or specialist situation funds - to everyone else they are vulture funds.
Ashurst scoops mandate for reinsurance start-up in Asia
Ashurst has won a major deal acting on the establishment of a new pan-Asian reinsurance business.
Ashurst targets BarCap as Handling becomes GC
Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen said his firm will be seeking Barclays Capital (BarCap) mandates following the departure of high-profile partner Erica Handling to the investment bank.
Beachcroft dynamic duo retain top roles
Beachcroft managing partner Paul Murray has been elected to his post for a second five-year term following an uncontested election earlier this month.
Big Finnish
An office launch and a merger sent ripples across the Nordic legal market this month.
Brand war as Birketts intrudes on Birkett Long
An East Anglian bust-up is looming following the merger of Chelmsford-based Wollastons and Ipswich-based Birketts.
Cambs, Northants combine legal teams
Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire’s county councils are to merge their legal departments from 1 October in what will create a single function with a £3m external legal spend.
Cleary, Freshfields act on Deutsche Bank’s bid for Deutsche Postbank
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have been handed lead roles in Deutsche Bank’s proposed takeover of Deutsche Postbank.
Close call: Kirsty Cooper, Aviva
Kirsty Cooper, group general counsel at Aviva, is on a mission to build closer ties between the insurer’s disparate legal advisers.
Clydes link-up gives ALMT impetus for Delhi launch
Clyde & Co’s India-based alliance firm ALMT Legal is to open an office in Delhi in a effort to expand its international practice.
CoL slammed for refusal to repay non-starter fees
Complaints about ’unfair’ treatment of transfer students as college holds onto payments
DMH develops London with corpfin figure
DMH Stallard has hired the former corporate finance chief of Hogan Lovells legacy firm Lovells in the latest step in its plan to expand in London.
Expansion prompts McGrigors to appoint sole senior partner
McGrigors has done away with the dual senior partner role, naming erstwhile Scotland senior partner Kirk Murdoch as the sole holder of the post.
FFW lands starring role on creation of YouView
Field Fisher Waterhouse’s (FFW) longstanding relationship with the BBC has seen it land the role of chief adviser to a consortium of broadcasting and communications companies on the launch of TV service YouView.
Focus: Career changers: The late show
Entering law off the back of a previous career takes courage and can be tough, but law firms realise that the experience a mature starter can bring to the job is nothing to sniff at
Food manufacturer Bakkavör names GC
Bakkavör Group, the international prepared foods manufacturer, has appointed John Stansbury as general counsel and company secretary.
Henmans
Single-site Oxford firm Henmans is busily working on shedding its old-fashioned image.
Herbies poised to reappoint managing partner
Herbert Smith managing partner David Willis looks set to stand unopposed for a second term.
Household names up in arms over class action transparency legislation
In-housers baffled and furious in equal measure by lawsuit show-and-tell rules. By Andrew Pugh
If you want to head a goliath, be called David
The secret that has eluded lawyers for so long - that vital attribute that will help them make partner - has been revealed.
L2B event caters to mature applicants
The Lawyer’s sister title Lawyer 2B is launching a new event for mature applicants.
Lawin triumvirate take steps towards becoming single pan-Baltic powerhouse
The three members of Baltic alliance Lawin are a step closer to a full merger after consolidating their management and creating firmwide practice heads.
LawWorks adds four trustees to board
Pro bono charity LawWorks has appointed four trustees to its board.
On the move
Bristows has taken on Marek Petecki as a partner in its corporate group. He joins after five years at Slaughter and May, where he was a senior associate.
Opinion divided over ‘two-tier’ City LPCs
Clifford Chance’s plans to launch a fast-track LPC have left many students asking why such an offering is not available for all aspiring solicitors.
Opinion: ICC can still bring about ‘a new age of accountability’
In a world preoccupied by the economic recession, you might be forgiven for thinking this is not the time to be upbeat.
Revealed: top UK firms make poor showing in female partner stakes
The extent of the gender disparity in the partnerships of the UK’s largest law firms has been much reported in the pages of The Lawyer.
SJ Berwin oversees Coca-Cola’s HQ switch
SJ Berwin has acted for Coca-Cola Enterprises on its move into new European headquarters at the edge of London.
Sukuk model grows in strength in spite of Islamic compliance doubts
Infighting will always be there, but so will sharia-based business, says James Swift
Tulkinghorn: Tearing a strip
The legal market’s finest rugby players turned out in force in Richmond on Sunday 19 September to battle it out at this year’s Taylor Root Law Society Rugby Sevens.
Work Life Quiz: Anthony Sakrouge, Russell-Cooke
What do you do at weekends? Relax with my wife and children.
You pays your money…
College of Law (CoL) chief executive Nigel Savage is intractable in his refusal to refund prepaid fees to LPC students who, by dint of securing a training contract, are obliged to complete the course at a rival institution.
