28 March 2011
The Lawyer
3 celebrates Ofcom mobile ruling but big three likely to appeal
Why mobile operators keep their Ofcom legal work in-house.
Ashurst pushes more partners to top of lockstep
Ashurst has more than doubled the number of partners at the top of its lockstep to redress the imbalance that resulted from its decision to move to a modified system four years ago.
Chadbourne sets sights on Istanbul practice
US firm Chadbourne & Parke is planning to launch an office in Istanbul later this year.
Chadbourne’s poor showing in City puts top 30 London placing at risk
Mixed results for US practices as Sidley and Reed Smith post positive results.
Charles Russell rejig sees top job ditched
Top 50 firm Charles Russell has scrapped the role of managing partner in a radical overhaul of its management structure.
Clerking well
The silk appointment process is challenging for clerks as well as barristers, as Alex Taylor reveals
Crim outlook
From being derided as a practice area, white-collar crime has become big business for Austrian firms. By James Swift
Das capital: Orijit Das, Genpact
Outsourcer Genpact has strong links with the world’s fastest-growing economies - and legal boss Orijit Das makes the most of them.
Dickie Dees’ growth drive kicks off structural shift
Dickinson Dees has launched a partnership consultation on remuneration as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of its business.
Employment Tribunal unequivocal on discrimination stance as gay lawyer wins action
A gay lawyer who discovered a note from one of his firm’s partners that accused him of giving work to his “batty boy mate” has won a discrimination fight against the firm.
Eversheds sets the scene for Casablanca outpost
Eversheds is adding Morocco to its expanding international network through a cooperation agreement that is expected to develop into a Casablanca office in the future.
Ex-Solicitor General joins No5 Chambers
Former Labour government minister Mike O’Brien QC has joined Birmingham set No5 Chambers as a tenant.
FFW scores AIM flotation mandate for Trap Oil Group
Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) has advised on its third AIM flotation in the oil and gas sector in the space of six months.
Focus: Defamation, Clauses célèbres
The draft Defamation Bill has been broadly welcomed by media reformers, but many believe the politicians have been perfunctory when they could have been revolutionary
Fried Frank ‘lifer’ swells Milbank City partnership
Fried Frank has lost the head of its European capital markets and finance practice to Milbank.
Gown and clout
Once you’ve been appointed how do you get your head around being a QC and living up to the tradition? Daniel Beard is looking forward to finding out
Harneys joins crowded road to Rio with appointment of client relationship head
Offshore firm Harneys has become the latest in a wave of law firms to establish a foothold in Brazil as the booming Latin American economy attracts increasing investment.
Horwich Farrelly
Manchester-based firm Horwich Farrelly is responsible for what is thought to be a first in insurance litigation. After successfully defending a false road traffic accident damages claim against a client, the firm took the unusual step of bringing a private prosecution against the fraudster, proving the defendant had perverted the course of justice.
Links turns to Slaughters on negligent advice action
Links snubs insurers’ firm Clydes for separate defence on high-stakes claim
Mayer Brown, Heenan Blaikie land Afghan mining mandates
US firm Mayer Brown and Canadian outfit Heenan Blaikie have been appointed to a panel advising the Afghanistan government on the development of its hugely lucrative mining industry, which is estimated to have a potential value of $3tr (£1.85tr).
Milbank grows up in the Smoke
And then, from nowhere, Milbank appeared. Well, not quite nowhere.
On the move
Watson Farley & Williams has hired Clifford Chance counsel Nikolaus Krienke as a partner and head of its German employment practice, based in Munich and Hamburg.
Opinion: Pension disputes would benefit from early transparency
It seems that hardly a day passes without a press report on the financial challenges faced by occupational pension schemes.
Pinsents, Wragges pick up waste management jobs
Pinsent Masons and Wragge & Co both bagged roles on Lincolnshire County Council’s £145m Energy from Waste (EFW) facility.
Ropes & Gray leads Liberty Global on German cable TV acquisition
Ropes & Gray lined up alongside a raft of leading UK and US firms on cable company Liberty Global’s proposed e3.16bn (£2.76bn) acquisition of Germany’s third-largest cable TV operator Kabel Baden-Württemberg (Kabel BW).
Russell’s brand
You’d expect a man who learnt his trade at the temple to old-fashioned style, Macfarlanes, to be well-dressed. But Russell van Praagh, now a private equity partner at Taylor Wessing, has gone a step further.
Simmons gets to the art of the matter
On the wall of meeting room 31, on the third floor of Simmons & Simmons’ City office, a muzzled pit bull terrier stares out, taut with aggression.
Simmons’ senior partner vote sees six in the frame
Six Simmons & Simmons partners have confirmed their intention to stand for the senior partner job, to be vacated by current incumbent David Dickinson by the end of June.
Smoothing the way
The route to becoming a QC is littered with pitfalls. Kate Blackburn provides a map highlighting those areas that can prove an aspiring silk’s undoing
The silk road toll
Taking silk is a daunting experience and one not helped by the complexity, time and significant costs associated with the application process, argues Michael Edenborough QC
Top Continental firms see financials inch up
Continental Europe’s largest 10 law firms produced a collective turnover of e2.3bn (£2bn) in 2010 after a year of steady but unremarkable growth.
Weightmans merger threatens Mace & Jones’ recruitment policy
Mace & Jones’ innovative trainee recruitment programme is under threat following the firm’s decision to merge with Weightmans.
