4 October 2010
The Lawyer
A&O watchdog to probe client business processes
Allen & Overy (A&O) has put organic business improvement at the centre of its strategy as it looks to improve profitability and efficiency in what it sees as a low-growth era for legal services.
Attorney general eases up on bar diversity stats
The attorney general’s office has dropped demands on bar members of the Treasury Solicitor Panel of Counsel to disclose equality and diversity credentials.
Camerons, Travers drive 3i’s parking company sale to ACC
CMS Cameron McKenna and Travers Smith have won roles on 3i’s secondary sale of NSL Services Group to ACC Capital Partners.
Crossing the LPO Rubicon
Our report on Slaughter and May setting up a panel of LPO providers seems to be proof that outsourcing is here to stay.
Dragon’s ken: Rhodri Lewis, Welsh Rugby Union
Welsh Rugby Union legal head Rhodri Lewis is hard at work getting the union’s legal function up to scratch - and loving every minute of it.
Ex-Halliwells salaried partners poised to sue
Former Halliwells fixed-share partners are seeking legal advice with a view to suing the firm’s ex-equity partners.
Freshfields and Travers brought in on CSG’s bid for BSS provider Intec
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Travers Smith have advised on CSG Systems’ offer for UK business support services (BSS) provider Intec Telecom Systems.
Freshfields’ election: the more things change, the more they stay the same
In restructuring its management team, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has brought its management system in line with those adopted by its magic circle peers, while at the same time ensuring there will be practically no change to the way the firm is run.
Greener pastures
Bank restructuring, slowly rising M&A activity and official overtures towards investment funds are keeping Irish lawyers smiling.
Hammonds advises on Christchurch purchase
Hammonds has advised private equity buy-and-build specialist Sovereign Capital on its acquisition of brain injury care specialist Christchurch Court.
Higgs & Sons
West Midlands firm Higgs & Sons prides itself on being able to retain its staff, something senior partner Ian Shovlin has personal experience of.
Hogan Lovells secures ENRC mandate for Brazil acquisition
Hogan Lovells has landed a role advising Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), a client close to Herbert Smith, on the acquisition of a Brazilian minerals company.
Huge rise in partnership actions ‘tip of the iceberg’
Government statistics that show that the number of partnership disputes reaching the High Court almost doubled in 2009 could reveal just a small proportion of the true figure.
Italian legal alliance challenges old-school ruling over title, advertising and freebies
An Italian law firm network has appealed to its country’s supreme court after the national bar association ordered it to change its name.
LSA anxiety prompts West Country merger
West Country firm Porter Dodson has merged with Yeovil-based Batt Sanders & Bennett.
MAB woos former Sprecher Grier litigation chief
Matthew Arnold & Baldwin (MAB) has raided City firm Sprecher Grier Halberstam for its former head of litigation Jonathan Sachs.
Maclay partner takes up GC role at Wood Group
Maclay Murray & Spens corporate partner Robbie Brown has left the firm to take up an in-house role at global energy business Wood Group.
Mark Jones: Addleshaw Goddard
If you weren’t a lawyer what would you have been? An archaeologist or a landscape photographer.
Merged Cambs/Northants law function names legal director
The newly merged legal departments of Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire’s county councils have appointed a director of legal services.
New Labour leader Miliband is giving nothing away
So, what can lawyers expect from the new Labour (not New Labour) leader Edward (not David) Miliband?
Norton Rose comes out with LGBT forum
Norton Rose is to launch an LGBT network in a bid to improve the recruitment, retention and promotion of its gay and lesbian staff.
On the move
Sidley Austin has announced that Stephen Roith will join the firm as a partner in its securities practice.
Paul Weiss chases litigation wave with world’s foremost FCPA expert
Very few pieces of legislation have gained as much traction in recent years as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Ropes & Gray’s London office in the middle at the end of Almatis thriller
The long-running dispute over the restructuring of Almatis Group could finally be settled this week after more than a year of negotiations, proposals and counter-proposals.
Senedd counsel’s war on class ceiling
If it’s a poster boy for social mobility you are after, then John Griffiths is your man.
Slaughters sets up panel for outsourced business
CPA Global and Exigent in the frame as magic circle firm bows to client pressure on fees
The Lawyer European Awards Berlin
The second annual European Awards saw a diverse and stellar cast take their bows in the German capital. By James Swift
Tulkinghorn: Hung, drawn up and then quartered
News has reached Tulkinghorn Towers that those crazy ABS-phobes north of the border are at it again.
WRU will look to London as it sets up first formal panel
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) is poised to launch its first formal legal panel early next year.
