31 May 2010
The Lawyer
23 Essex Street pair defect to Outer Temple
Outer Temple Chambers has snared husband and wife pair Brendan Finucane QC and Fiona Horlick from 23 Essex Street.
A slice of American pie
A decade and a half after US firms started taking the London market seriously and opening in the City, a wave of transatlantic mergers no longer seems outlandish.
A&O, SJ Berwin and Links lead on Iceland’s debt-reduction bid
Allen & Overy (A&O), Linklaters and SJ Berwin have bagged the key mandates on the Central Bank of Iceland’s (CBI) purchase of e938m (£808.44m) in bonds issued by Dutch company Avens in a bid to reduce the country’s external debt.
Abroadly speaking
A changing regulatory landscape and the influence of international firms is set to make 2010 a significant year for the Russian legal market.
Baker & McKenzie prepares to elect Conroy replacement
Baker & McKenzie is set to have a non-US-based chair when incumbent John Conroy stands down later this year.
Citigroup opts for two-tier Emea panel
Citigroup has overhauled its external legal panels.
Davis Polk, Slaughters and Norton Rose take on £1bn Jupiter IPO
Davis Polk & Wardwell, Norton Rose, and Slaughter and May have landed leading roles on Jupiter Asset Management’s proposed £1bn IPO.
Day of the low costs
Santander UK’s head of commercial law, Joanna Day, has seen the company undergo radical change and has been instrumental in guiding it through the recession.
Dentons chief executive: the transatlantic tide is coming
Dentons-Sonnenschein merger will be one of many, says Howard Morris
Equality time
Despite the fact that equality of pay for men and women was enshrined in law 35 years ago, it’s still a long way from being a reality. Richard Leiper asks whether we have any reason to be optimistic for the future
Financiers and politicians go to war over European financial regulation
Two early draft versions of AIFMD both ruffle feathers in the City.
Fladgate pays £7.8m to settle fraud claim
Fladgate has settled a fraud claim brought against it by collapsed dot com Izodia, agreeing to pay it £7.8m.
Fox Williams sues client over unpaid fees
Fox Williams has launched a £194,000 claim against dialysis product manufacturers Renal Services Holdings for unpaid fees.
Hands across the CIS
The CIS would seem to provide the perfect opportunity for Russian and Ukrainian firms to open offices across the region. Here James Swift examines the reasons why, with the exception of Magisters, this has not happened
Hastily enforced financial regulation set to spell boom time for US lawyers
Unintended consequences of bill will keep lawyers busy with regulatory work. By Andrew Pugh
It’s time for human resources to get creative, says HR Strategy conference
Human resources strategy is no longer just about managing redundancies; it now requires a creative engagement with a new legal world. That was the message from The Lawyer’s annual HR Strategy conference last week.
Kennedys’ year-end turnover up by a third
Insurance and litigation firm Kennedys has reported a 31 per cent rise in turnover to £88.25m at the 2009-10 year-end.
Matrix mavericks
When Matrix arrived at Gray’s Inn it was determined to move away from tradition towards a more innovative, cutting-edge model. So has the set achieved its aims? Katy Dowell reports
Matrix sees record year-end increase in revenue
Gray’s Inn set Matrix has reported its most successful year-end ever, with turnover increasing 26.5 per cent to £17.2m from £13.6m at the end of 2008-09.
Olswang battles Orion over Conan IP dispute
Olswang has been retained by Paradox Entertainment to help it defend its intellectual property ahead of the release of the film Conan.
Olympic hopefuls adopt ‘no train, no gain’ approach to games success
Can you imagine getting up every morning four hours before you are due at the office to take part in a gruelling training regime, only to spend another three hours in the gym as soon as you finish work?
Opinion: Does the Defamation Bill go far enough?
Last Thursday (27 May) saw the launch of Lord Lester’s private members Defamation Bill, which contains 23 sections.
People Moves
Halliwells has taken on Nicola Loadsman as a partner in its Sheffield dispute resolution team.
Proposed rule change set to allow foreign firms greater access to Japanese market
The Japanese Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is set to relax its rules on foreign law firms, allowing them to become corporations and open multiple offices in the country.
QEB Hollis moves to the City in spirit of competitive advantage
Criminal set QEB Hollis Whiteman is to swap the Inns of Court for the City in an effort to expand its regulatory and white-collar crime practices. The set is departing from bar tradition by opening an office on London’s Cannon Street.
Simmons to open Beijing head office
Simmons & Simmons is to reorganise its China practice, with plans to open a Beijing office that will operate as a national hub.
Stewarts Law snags fourth Manches partner
Stewarts Law has made its fourth lateral partner hire from Manches in the last 15 months, after the capture of commercial litigation partner Keith Thomas.
Taylor Vinters
The location of Taylor Vinters’ new London office says a lot about the Cambridge firm’s ambitions, according to chief executive Matt Meyer.
Trio of firms close £370m West Midlands schools PFI
Addleshaw Goddard, Trowers & Hamlins and White & Case have helped close a schools PFI project in the West Midlands.
Tulkinghorn: Smile and the world laughs at you
Those ungrateful support staff at CMS Cameron McKenna have reacted with what can only be described as disdain at the prospect of being hived off to outsourcing specialist Integreon.
TW fills gap with new head of telecoms
Taylor Wessing has named Alcatel-Lucent corporate counsel Patrick Clark as its new head of telecoms, replacing Ted Mercer who joined Edwin Coe earlier this year.
Why Joy Kingsley quit Pannone after 30 years
Manchester firm Pannone was marking the end of an era last week as senior partner Joy Kingsley announced she is leaving the firm for a much smaller local rival JMW Solicitors.
Withers’ BVI expansion boosted by investment
Withers is to expand its offering in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) a year after it made its first foray into the offshore jurisdiction.
Work Life Quiz: Colm Nugent, Hardwicke
What’s your favourite film? I have two favourite films: Back to the Future and The Commitments.
