6 July 1998

In-house lawyers look to the future

A survey of in-house lawyers provides a stern request for firms to keep up with developments in IT, writes Ben Kent IN-HOUSE legal departments are embracing new technology quickly – and they want law firms to be more innovative in their use of IT. That is the message from a survey of 300 legal decision […]

Divorcing business partners' rights

Roger Pearson examines the rights of divorcing wives in both the business and marriage partnerships with their husbands. A recent Court of Appeal decision has widened possibilities for the claims of divorcing wives who have acted in a business partnership with their husbands. The decision of Lady Justice Butler-Sloss and Lords Justices Thorpe and Mantell […]

In brief: Linklaters completes Romanian benchmark

Linklaters has pulled-off the first international equity offering from Romania. It has advised Global Securities, the global co-ordinator and sole bookrunner, on both the English and US law aspects of the Global Deposit Receipt offering by Banca Turco Romania SA.

In brief: Franks Charlesly set to be dissolved

Fourteen-partner firm Franks Charlesly is set to dissolve at the end of September. Last week key equity partner Philip Enoch arrived at Salans Hertzfeld Heilbronn, after announcing his intention to leave at the end of May. His decision prompted the firm’s 82-year-old senior partner Jack Franks to announce the firm’s dissolution within two months, but […]

Kirklands gears up for expansion

Chicago litigation and M&A practice Kirkland & Ellis is negotiating to expand from a third (9,000sq ft) to a whole floor of the former NatWest Tower, now the International Financial Centre, as part of a drive to double the 11-strong London office by 1999. Sam Haubold, managing partner of the firm’s London office, one of […]

SIF condemned by large firms

NOT a single large commercial firm wants to keep the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF), according to a survey of the top 1,200 firms conducted by The Lawyer in conjunction with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The damning verdict on SIF – which is contained in this year’s The Lawyer/Pricewaterhouse Coopers Financial Management in Law Firms survey – comes […]

In brief: Linklaters launches new healthcare group

Linklaters has launched a new healthcare group to service clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical and hospital sectors. The firm recently advised SmithKline Beecham on its aborted merger negotiations.

Taking the self out of regulation

Former Law Society president Tony Holland believes that it is time for real debate on the issue of self-regulation. Tony Holland is principal ombudsman at the Personal Investment Authority. Self-regulation has taken a decided battering of late. First in line was financial services, when the Government swiftly put an end to the prevailing arrangements and […]

Improve complaints system or lose self-regulation, threatens Abraham

THE LEGAL Services Ombudsman Ann Abraham has given the legal profession until the end of the year to get its complaints handling right. Launching her 1997 annual report, Abraham warned the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) and the Bar Council’s new complaints system still had a “long way to go” before they could […]

Addleshaws loses head of corporate

ADDLESHAW Booth & Co’s highly rated corporate finance team has lost department head Andrew Needham, who is setting up his own firm. Needham – widely seen as a leading corporate finance lawyer in the North West – is co-founding DataGroup, an IT services group. DataGroup plans, with backing from Schroder Ventures, to become a £150m […]

Sinclairs sells up Singapore outfit to rival Watson Farley

Sinclair Roche & Temperley has sold its entire 10-lawyer Singapore business for a “substantial” sum to shipping rival Watson Farley Williams – giving Watson Farley its first foothold in Asia. Neale Gregson, Steven Burkill and Stuart McAlpine will join Watson Farley as partners and former office managing partner Stephen Fordham joins as a consultant on […]

Millennium mover

Channel 5’s head of business affairs and company secretary Jane Gill has become head of legal and company secretary at Peter Mandelson’s millennium dome project The New Millennium Experience. She succeeds Michael Brainsby, who has moved to English Heritage.