3 May 2004
The Lawyer
A&O joins ProHelp London to aid Vauxhall City Farm
ProHelp London, a national network of professional firms offering free support to the voluntary sector, has enlisted the support of Allen & Overy (A&O) to urgently improve the office space of a project-led farm in Vauxhall.
Addleshaws hit with five departures
Addleshaw Goddard has been hit by a string of partner departures from legacy firm Theodore Goddard.
Andrew Milne: an apology
On 5 May, The Lawyer.com apologised in court to solicitor Andrew Milne in respect of an article which appeared on its website entitled “Law Firm denies Vaz Payout”. The statement was made in proceedings for libel issued by Mr Milne.We apologised for reporting allegations against him concerning the evidence he gave to the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards and the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges during their investigation of Keith Vaz MP. We accepted ...
Ashurst opens lockstep trapdoor for poor performers as profits nosedive
Ashurst partners are braced for a dramatic profits plunge of around 15 per cent, with the firm’s new managing partner Simon Bromwich having already taken steps to tighten financial management by moving underperforming partners down the lockstep.
Aventis’s ‘poison pill’ raises market concerns
Sanofi’s e50bn (£33.64bn) takeover of Aventis has provoked debate among the companies’ legal advisers about the importance of France’s first ‘poison pill’.
BakerPlatt hires ex-US Senate counsel
The US Senate’s former special counsel on foreign relations Jack Blum has joined Jersey-based outfit BakerPlatt, the international alliance partner of UK set Seven Bedford Row. At the Senate, Blum played a key role in the US government’s investigations into BCCI and drug trafficking by General Manuel Noriega, Panama’s former military leader. BakerPlatt specialises in fraud prevention for offshore companies and financial services authorities in the Far East, the Caribbean, the Isle of ...
Bank of England appeals to Lords
The House of Lords last week agreed to hear the Bank of England’s appeal in the BCCI Inquiry, which could have vital ramifications for legal privilege.
Bar rates dispute halts Iraqi hearing
A trial of 26 Iraqis has been severely disrupted after several senior barristers refused to accept instructions, marking a further escalation of the bar’s pay dispute.
Barclays hires for African law team
Barclays has taken on three new lawyers in South Africa and Botswana as a result of a reorganisation of the bank’s legal system in the region, which takes effect on 1 May.
Blake Cassels opens its doors in Chicago
Blake Cassels & Graydon has become the first Canadian firm to set up shop in Chicago. The office will initially be staffed by partner Geoff Belsher and one associate, although there are hopes that it will house five lawyers within five years. According to reports, the firm applied for a foreign legal consultant’s licence to the Illinois Supreme Court and intends to advise only Canadian clients on Canadian law. The office marks a period of US expansion for the firm after it established ...
BLP scoops Ascent’s bid for MoD contract
By Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has been announced as the surprise winner of a pitch to advise the Ascent consortium, which is bidding for the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS) public-private partnership contract....
Bond Pearce to move to prime Bristol location
Bond Pearce has signed a deal to take 50,000sq ft of space in a new Bristol development as it continues its attack on the South West market. The deal will see the firm move its entire Bristol office into a 100,000sq ft building at Temple Quay in Bristol’s commercial district. With its property advisers King Sturge, Bond Pearce has negotiated a 17 and a half-year lease at an initial rent of £23.50 per ...
Bradford’s Gordons takes over Leeds firm Nelsons
Gordons, the tiny Bradford firm that recently fought for Wm Morrison Supermarkets on its £2.9bn takeover of Safeway, has completed its own major acquisition by taking on Leeds practice Nelson & Co.
Brodies looks to LLP status to manage risk
Scottish firm Brodies is set to become the largest independent Scottish legal firm to convert to a limited-liability partnership. The move, which has been touted as a risk management strategy by managing partner Bill Drummond, will take effect on 1 May. The firm will also undergo a reshuffle, with the addition of two new partners and a new chairman. Technology specialist Alistair Orr, formerly of
Cap in hand
Freshfields and Fox Williams are fighting to limit directors’ liability. Jon Robins dissects the biggest issue in corporate governance today
CC to shake up West Coast office
Clifford Chance’s management is set to implement a fundamental review of its West Coast practice as the firm embarks on a full-scale push to drive up US revenue.
Celador wins Warner Music legal director
Celador International, the company behind TV quiz show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, has recruited Warner Music International’s director of business and legal affairs.
Clifford Chance loses yet another US lawyer
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart is latest recipient of Clifford Chance’s US lawyer exodus, after hiring a securities enforcement and financial services partner.
Danone gains Axa's general counsel
French financial services giant AXA has lost its general counsel of 13 years to food company Groupe Danone.
David Thurston: J Sainsbury
Sainsbury’s legal team has been instrumental in its fight to turn the supermarket around. Husnara Begum reports
Davis Polk wins mandate for billion dollar RBS deal
Linklaters’ UK client Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has turned to Davis Polk & Wardwell for its surprise £5.8bn acquisition of US retail bank Charter One.
Deloitte France ends accounting-law link
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in France has finalised the split between its audit practice and its tax and legal division Deloitte & Touche Juridique et Fiscal.
Employment alliance recruits Czech member
World-wide employment alliance ius laboris has signed up Czech firm Prochazka Randl Kubr just in time for last week’s enlargement of the European Union (EU).
Eversheds and Wragges wrap up takeover of Mentmore
Eversheds and Wragge & Co have concluded the long-running takeover saga involving self-storage group Mentmore, which was finally sold last week to the Bridgepoint Capital-owned Safestore.
Finance deals round-up
Eversheds (Anthony McGurk, Martin Halford) advised Astron on its acquisition of Edotech from its management and Barclays Private Equity for £130m. Clifford Chance advised Astron’s lending bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland. Edotech advised by Ashurst.
Firm profile: Thomas Cooper & Stibbard
Thomas Cooper & Stibbard, which specialises in shipping, insurance, aviation and banking, defies the generally-held belief that overseas offices are an expensive luxury that small firms can ill afford.
Firms predict EU accession boom
UK and US firms are battling for supremacy in Europe’s most promising markets after Saturday’s (1 May) expansion of the EU.
France Telecom rues general counsel loss
France Telecom’s respected general counsel Jean-Pierre Mattout has quit the company and has yet to be replaced.
Grapevine
Just when you thought it was safe, along comes yet another Clifford Chance US story.
Hearsay
Which US partner shares the same cocaine dealer as a famous guitar-playing old rocker?
Heller Ehrman boosts Asia with management shake-up
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe has implemented a top-level reorganisation of its Asian practice, naming a new leader for the region.
ING Barings’ investment banking counsel is let go
The UK head of legal of ING Barings’ investment banking business Piers Roberts has been made redundant.
Inside out
Simon Gleeson reports on the effect that Basel II will have on bank credit management and insider dealing
Italy to slash three regulatory bodies
A new Italian authorities law looks set to abolish three regulatory bodies as the country attempts to bring in legislation to prevent a future Parmalat scandal.
Kemp Little bags Norton Rose employment ace
Kemp Little has taken on former Norton Rose partner Tim Russell as part of the niche firm’s bid to expand its employment practice. Russell was previously head of Norton Rose’s employment group, but resigned last summer to move into consultancy work, as well as continuing as a part-time Employment Tribunals chair. ...
Kirkland reboots finance with Weil Gotshal hire
Kirkland & Ellis’ London office has replenished its banking capability by taking an of counsel from Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Latham raids White & Case for capital markets push
Latham & Watkins’ London office is strengthening its private placement capability by taking on a partner from White & Case.
Latham real estate partner jumps ship to Sidley
Latham & Watkins has been hit by a rare partner departure. Sidley Austin Brown & Wood has hired New York-based real estate finance lawyer Brian Krisberg. It is understood that management and executive committee member George Petrow, a securities and corporate finance partner with a specialism in the securitisation ...
Law firms look to Wood Wharf as tenders abound
With the end of the battle for Canary Wharf now in sight, law firms are switching their attention to its next door neighbour, Wood Wharf.
Lovells chooses alliance strategy to crack SE Asia
Lovells is planning a series of strategic alliances in South East Asia, which it believes will open up the local market without the financial risk of opening offices in jurisdictions such as Thailand.
Maurice Watkins in £2.5m MUFC bonanza
James Chapman & Co senior partner and lawyer to Manchester United has netted himself a tidy £2.5m after offloading a million of his shares in the club. Maurice Watkins (right), long-time lawyer to the Premier League football club, where he is also non-executive director, was the largest individual shareholder in the company. Watkins sold a chunk of his shares last week, leaving him with five million shares, or a 1.91 per cent stake, in the company. First revealed on www.thelawyer.com ...
More like disorientated
The Quote of the week goes to Canadian firm Blake Cassels & Graydon, which has just opened its second US office in Chicago. According to partner Christopher Picone, what makes Blakes Cassels so special is that “we’re extremely solution-orientated rather than problem-orientated”. This is either scarily profound or utterly stupid. After some consideration, Tulkinghorn is leaning towards the latter conclusion.
Olswang scoops first instruction from Viatel
Olswang has done its first deal for Viatel. The firm has just completed a $52m (£29.2m) financing for Viatel in a deal which has been heralded as evidence of the final return of investor confidence to the telecoms sector.
Opinion
On 1 May 2004, 10 new member states joined the EU. As such, the date will be remembered as a further red letter day in the EU’s evolution, following the creation of the EU itself in 1995 and the full launch of the euro in 2002.
Orrick targets Washington with Swidler Berlin talks
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is aiming to bump up its Washington practice by courting a potential combination with DC’s Swidler Berlin Shereff & Friedman.
Pillsbury suffers second round of lawyer defections
Pillsbury Winthrop has been hit by its second bout of lawyer loses in over a week, this time in Washington as a life sciences team joins Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw.
Pinsents Manchester partner quits
Pinsents Manchester has lost its joint head of banking Andrew Gosnay to Newcastle-based Watson Burton.
Property sax
Not a day goes by when some corporate partner doesn’t make a snide comment about how dull their property partners are. But when it comes to music and partying, property lawyers are leading the way.
Register online
The Law Commission has proposed a new online registration system that will mean dramatic change for those engaged in secured finance. Indraj Mangat reports
Rival bidders for Wembley opt for A&O and Linklaters
The hotly-contested battle to take over greyhound racing and gaming group Wembley has gifted Allen & Overy (A&O) and Linklaters new clients.
Scabs’ cab tab
The corporate downturn certainly restricted the largesse of City lawyers when entertaining clients. But, with optimism returning, many have been spotted dusting down the corporate cards ready for action. Time, then, for a cautionary tale before you all get too carried away.
Schillings win Lords victory for Naomi Campbell
Schillings is set to reap in excess of £1m in fees after the House of Lords’ delivered its landmark judgement in favour of Naomi Campbell against the Daily Mirror.
Separated at birth
Unconfirmed reports have come to Tulkinghorn that an errant judge has been found living in a cave on the plains of New Zealand. The judge, not to be confused with the Kiwis’ big new celebrity, Shrek the woolly Merino sheep, escaped from the UK court six years ago to eke out a hermit’s life on New Zealand’s South Island. The judge has foiled repeated attempts by local farmers to capture him, but was finally spotted and caught by some hikers. Originally, the owner of the hill station ...
Setting standards
There is much to consider before the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards in 2005. Kathryn Cearns and Ewen Fergusson report
Sidley Austin clients round on tax shelter ruling
More than 40 former Sidley Austin Brown & Wood clients are to appeal a ruling by a US federal judge last week, ordering the US firm to turn over clients’ names to the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) in relation to a tax shelter investigation.
SJ Berwin lures A&O tax specialist
SJ Berwin has poached Allen & Overy’s (A&O) current head of tax know-how and training Pat Dugdale, who will join the City firm as a partner in its tax group.
SJ Berwin sustains more losses to Olswang
Olswang has taken another SJ Berwin lawyer, this time recruiting a film finance expert.
Spanish accountancy firms hit by underwhelming year
Spain’s past and present accountancy-tied law firms have struggled to shrug off the tough economy during 2003, with all recording scant increases in overall gross for the year.
Talking shop
Denise Jagger is taking what she learnt as Asda’s general counsel to Eversheds – and some big changes are afoot. Emma Vere-Jones reports
The College of Law
The College of Law is on a bit of a roll. Having already bagged three-quarters of the magic circle for its new bespoke City LPC course, it now has its sights trained on the US firms.
The OFT is reeling, but it’s not out for the count
A slew of appeals lost, but with the football shirts case there’s everything to play for. By Helen Power
The roses are blooming in Moscow
Linklaters is looking very much like the cat that got the cream after winning its first ever instruction for Gazprom, the world’s largest gas producer, on its northeastern gas pipeline project. Led by Moscow partner Dominic Sanders, the firm triumphed in a competitive tender against the top UK firms in Moscow: Allen & Overy,
The scales of justice
UK lawyers might bang on about how hard it is to work with Italians and how much trouble it is to manage them, but Tulkinghorn thinks they’re great.
Travers scores first deal for Cazenove
Travers Smith Braithwaite has scooped its first instruction from blue-blood investment bank Cazenove, a longstanding client of Slaughter and May.
Underpaid and understaffed: the state of UK legal aid
A report into the state of legal aid reveals a system in crisis, bogged down by delays and inadequate advice, according to documents leaked to The Lawyer.
US firms turn to College of Law for bespoke training
A group of US law firms in London are in talks with the College of Law about setting up bespoke training programmes for their future trainees.
Weil Gotshal uses Paris move to tempt GE
Weil Gotshal & Manges is set to make a play for US conglomerate GE’s European business as it relocates one of its most senior trade and regulatory partners to Paris.
Wilberforce lures CC partner to the bar
Wilberforce Chambers has scooped its second magic circle intellectual property (IP) partner in just over a year, this time from Clifford Chance.
Wilson Sonsini to rake in $20m from Google shares
Wilson Sonsini took an equity investment in the world’s leading search engine when it advised Google prior to its launch in 1999. This will now net Wilson Sonsini the biggest windfall a law firm has had from such an investment, often made in lieu of fees.
Witches’ notion
Along comes Reed Smith and its ‘Women’s Network’.
World Trade Center leaseholder fails in bid to increase insurance pay-out
The titanic battle between two of the New York bar’s trial heavyweights is nearing its end after a US federal jury rejected World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein’s bid to effectively double his insurance payments from Swiss Re.
