Channel Islands professional services group Mourant has scored a first in the legal market by incorporating as a limited company. The new structure combines Mourant’s three financial and professional service lines, but the law firm Mourant du Feu & Jeune will continue to operate as a partnership. Law firms are not yet able to incorporate […]
According to a Hammonds source, the new top man at Hammonds appears to have something of a decent pedigree. Perhaps Peter Crossley’s double life as Sir Roy Gardner, chief executive of Centrica, was the reason he won the managing partner election unanimously in August. Litigator Crossley stood unopposed for the role while doubling not only […]
The government bypassed the issue of legal privilege in tax avoidance schemes with the announcement today (Friday, 8 October) of a legislative amendment forcing disclosure. The Law Society and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) have been involved in a stand-off over the question of whether lawyers should be accorded privilege […]
Simmons & Simmons has closed its first deal for new client Anite Group after being appointed as principal legal adviser in a competitive tender earlier this year. Simmons, led by partner Damon Le Maitre George, won the role in May and the firm will now act as main legal adviser to the FTSE SmallCap international […]
Magistrates will be able to sentence offenders for up to 12 months’ imprisonment under changes being introduced by the Criminal Justice Act in December. Magistrates courts will also now have access to an electronic database to help track down wilful defaulters on court penalties. The increase in sentencing is designed to reduce delays forced by […]
Another week and another partner quits Simmons & Simmons. Christopher Lewis, Helen Newman, Christopher Woods, Clare Potter, Steve Bryan and Jerry Walter have all left in the last three months. And now head of banking Nicholas Fisher is going. So what is going on over at CityPoint? Fisher, primarily a borrower acquisition finance lawyer, is […]
DIY giant Focus Wickes is set to overhaul its law firm panel following the appointment of a new head of legal. As revealed by The Lawyer (4 October) Ian Thomson, a former in-house lawyer with Boots has taken over from Focus Wickes legal head Peter Rothwell who left for Drax Power. Thomson said that a […]
Manches has lost its long-standing position as the principal legal advisers to the Property Managers Association (PMA) to regional law firm Blake Lapthorn Linnell. Blake Lapthorn has been appointed to the role following a presentation to the PMA, which represents the interests of the retail sector. Blake Lapthorn’s head of retail Stanley Beckett made the […]
Lambeth Council has turned to Peterborough City Council for its new director of legal and democratic services. Mark Hynes is currently City solicitor and monitoring officer at Peterborough City Council and is expected to move to London to take up his new post early in 2005. Prior to joining Peterborough, Hynes worked at Warwickshire County […]
An internal reorganisation at McGrigors has resulted in Katharine Hardie becoming the firm’s first head of real estate for Scotland. Previously McGrigors had only a national head, Philip Burroughs, now managing partner for London. The news coincides with two partner and six director level promotions within the firm, all of which take effect immediately. The […]
Hogan & Hartson Munich office has added a former Allen & Overy (A&O) corporate partner to its ranks. Henning Mennenöh, who was at Clifford Chance prior to joining Allen & Overy, specialises in corporate and M&A work for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Mennenöh’s hire is part of a concerted effort by Hogan to target the […]
Germany’s Norr Stiefenhofer Lutz has appointed the former chief executive of Dresdner Bank as a partner. Bernd Fahrholz joined the firm on 1 October. He was chief executive at Dresdner since 2000 but spent a number of years at the bank, including serving seven years as in-house counsel. Fahrholz resigned as Dresdner’s chief executive in […]