6 October 2008
The Lawyer
Accosting costs
Every now and then a judge hands down a ruling that should make the profession sit up and take note.
Akin Gump launches in Abu Dhabi
Akin Gump Strauss & Hauer has opened its first office in Abu Dhabi, sending in lawyers from its US and UK offices for the launch.
Akin Gump, K&L Gates, Mayer Brown offer crisis management
K&L Gates, Mayer Brown offer crisis management" /There is nothing like a crisis to rally the troops, particularly if those troops have been forced to watch the action from afar. Just ask Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & ...
Bar Council alerts sets to company offering £145 ICO registration
The Bar Council is warning that it has not endorsed a data protection company offering to register sets with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Bates Wells holds Poetry Day breakfast
London charity specialist Bates Wells & Braithwaite has hosted a poetry breakfast with Cornish poet Sally Crabtree in advance celebration of National Poetry Day today.
Bates Wells partner in Busta Rhymes v police gun showdown
Bates Wells & Braithwaite partner Philip Trott is launching a complaint against the police after he was separated from rapper client Busta Rhymes at gunpoint.
Blake Lapthorn in consultation to lay off 43 staff
Blake Lapthorn has announced a redundancy consultation with 43 members of staff across both fee-earning and non-fee-earning roles.
Brabners replaces Travers on West Ham appeal
Brabners Chaffe Street has bagged a lead role acting for West Ham United on the club’s appeal against a £30m payout to Sheffield United.
BT Group video conference tackles gender, ethnicity, sexuality… and the bottom line
BT Group has held its second video conference on diversity for in-house legal teams and law firms, with general ;counsel ;Anne Fletcher leading the session.
Business Court project allocated extra space
Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS) is to take more space in the Rolls Building to create London’s new Business Court after initially underestimating the amount of space needed.
Camerons names final board members
CMS Cameron McKenna has filled the final places on its new-look management board.
Capsticks
Capsticks" /Founded 26 years ago from the ashes of a former NHS in-house department, Capsticks is probably enjoying 2008 more than many other firms.
CEE spinoff’s ‘Kinstellar’ branding highlights close ties with Linklaters
Linklaters" /Linklaters’ Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) spin-off firm is gearing up for its launch next month, calling itself Kinstellar.
Citi and Wells Fargo battle for Wachovia
The litigators have been called in for a dispute over the purchase of US bank Wachovia between potential buyers Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
City firms move to safeguard client accounts
Several major City law firms are considering changing their terms of business in client engagement letters to take account of the current banking crisis.
City firms win roles on Government's bank bailout
A raft of top City lawyers have been called on to advise on the Government's £50bn bank rescue scheme.
Cleary Gottlieb wins role in Fortis bank sale
Cleary Gottlieb wins role in Fortis bank sale" /Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has joined in the acquisition of struggling Benelux bank Fortis, bagging the instruction for BNP Paribas on its €14.5bn (£11.3bn) offer.
Cobbetts to make forty fee-earners redundant
Cobbetts is the latest property-heavy firm to announce further redundancies following double-digit layoffs expected at Wragge & Co and Eversheds.
Covington, Kirkland up City partner promotions
US firms Covington & Burling and Kirkland & Ellis have both announced their partnership promotion rounds, with Covington making record promotions in London.
Crouching tiger
Ireland’s race to bring its infrastructure into line with its post-boom economy means there is still plenty for projects lawyers to be getting on with.
Crunch opportunities knock
For a firm lacking a wide network of overseas offices, a surprising number of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s clients are international.
Davis polk advises Citi on Wachovia buy
Davis Polk & Wardwell, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom and Sullivan & Cromwell have scored roles on Citigroup’s acquisition of Wachovia’s banking operations.
Dead Zeppelin?
Mirroring the residential property market boom, conveyancing practices inflated in size like helium-filled balloons.
DLA Piper launches in Romania with ex-Links man
DLA Piper is set to launch an office in Romania, hiring senior associate Marian Dinu from the former Bucharest office of Linklaters to lead the venture.
DLA Piper signs Kuwait tie-up
DLA Piper has expanded its presence in the Gulf through a joint venture with the international division of Kuwaiti firm Al Wagayan, Al Awadhi & Al Saif.
Duff advice
If Tulkinghorn casts his mind back he can still recall the global financial meltdown of the late 1920s and 1930s. Back then, of course, one could always find solace in a good book.
EMW makes further lay offs
EMW Law has made a further 17 members of staff redundant, bringing the total number of redundancies at the firm to 21.
Eversheds curbs travel in bid to cut costs
Eversheds curbs travel in bid to cut costs" /Eversheds has called on its staff to restrict the amount they travel in a bid to cut down costs.
Focus Dewey & Leboeuf: Joined-up thinking
A year on from the merger of Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae, their integration is not quite complete – but M&A head Mort Pierce has the global top 10 firmly in his sights.
Focus Germany: Going Deutsch
Germany’s industrial economic strength means its lawyers are optimistic despite the downturn – and the German offices of UK firms are coming good too
Fox Hayes in second redundancy round
Up to 43 members of staff are set to lose their jobs at Leeds firm Fox Hayes, taking the total number of UK 200 redundancies to 722.
Hammonds ex-partners: we will not surrender
Former partners locked in drawings battle accuse firm of holding back vital documents
Heller litigation teams joins Arnold & Porter
Five more partners have left US firm Heller Ehrman, which recently announced its dissolution (TheLawyer.com, 26 September).
Herbert Smith stuck with litigation tag despite corporate prowess
Herbert Smith’s corporate practice is unlikely to threaten the magic circle this year, but the firm has won enough mandates on big-ticket deals to make its rivals sit up and take notice.
House of Lords crossbench role for Pannick
Blackstone Chambers silk David Pannick QC has been made a non-party political peer by the House of Lords’ appointments commission.
Ireland
It enjoyed an economic boom in the 1990s that was the envy of its neighbours. Now much of the growth in Ireland may have dried up in the midst of a looming recession, but lawyers lucky (or bright) enough to work in two increasingly important markets are still smiling.
It's alive!
It's alive! 10 October 2008A classic Mary Shelley moment today as the Law Society has discovered that the monster it created is alive and kicking.
Judge slams Wembley dispute’s £22m costs total
A judge has hit out at the participants in a four-year dispute over the construction of Wembley Stadium after they racked up £22m in costs.
Lane partner quits before TwoBirds linkup
Fox Williams has recruited corporate partner Nick Sayers from Lane & Partners, which has just merged with Bird & Bird.
Latham & Watkins poaches seven A&O Hong Kong partners
Latham & Watkins poaches seven A&O Hong Kong partners" /Allen & Overy (A&O) has lost a quarter of its Hong Kong office partners as seven corporate partners including its regional corporate head have defected ...
Law Soc advises on client money held in insolvent banks
The Law Society has issued a practice note to clarify the position of firms that deposit client money in a bank that goes bust.
Law Society to review regulation for top firms
The Law Society has commissioned a review which could see solicitors at large corporate firms fall under a separate regulatory regime from those on the high-street.
Legal Services Board gathers pace
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has appointed Chris Kenny as its first CEO. Kenny is currently project director of the transition team that is establishing the Legal Services Board.
Linklaters reveals transatlantic PwC team
And then there were more.
Loan market turmoil sets parties scrambling to re-read the boilerplate
The last month’s upheavals in the credit markets are “seismic”. And with each new tectonic shift in the world’s financial map, lenders, borrowers, and agent banks have been closely re-reading the “boilerplate” provisions of the typical US credit agreement.
LTA serves Couchman Harrington plum deal
London sports firm Couchman Harrington Associates has won a choice mandate from pensions company Aegon to advise on its sponsorship of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
Making trainees central to the business
National firm Irwin Mitchell is planning a radical overhaul its training programme, centralising its first-year training budget as part of the scheme (The Lawyer, 29 September).
Mixed ruling sees White & Case win a halt to parallel trade in medicines
White & Case has secured a mixed ruling on one of the most anticipated judgments on competition law from the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Moves roundup: 6 October 2008
•Capital markets partner Reiko Sakimura has joined Clifford Chance in Tokyo from Linklaters.
New Penningtons chief exec announces ambitions
Penningtons has appointed a new chief executive who has pledged to double the firm’s profit within four years.
New team boosts Shoosmiths’ turnover
Shoosmiths has boosted its Birmingham income by 20 per cent just six months after hiring a social housing team from Cobbetts.
Nomura panel rejig adds three, drops one
Dewey & LeBoeuf, Norton Rose and Travers Smith have all won roles on investment bank Nomura’s extended roster of preferred firms.
Opinion: Right now, the market’s greatest need is for politicians
When politicians discuss the financial markets they generally appear to be talking about a parallel world. Pro or anti-regulation? Pro or anti-screwdriver? What matters is what the tool is used to achieve. Pro or anti-speculation? Speculation, or trading, is what markets are for – it is trading that makes a market work. ...
Orrick snaps up 27-partner Heller team
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has become the latest firm to snap up a group of lawyers from collapsed firm Heller Ehrman.
Paramount counsel goes it alone
The former UK legal director of Paramount Home Entertainment has launched a boutique media firm.
Place in the sun
As the days here get colder and shorter, are you worried that the bonus won’t quite stretch to a sojourn next to the azure waters of the Caribbean? Or that there won’t be a job left for you when you return?
Public spirits
Tulkinghorn likes the entrepreneurial spirit in people. And, as a result, he is full of admiration for this year’s intake of trainees at Scottish firm Burness.
Reed Smith bags Nabarro trio for City funds launch
Reed Smith has launched a London investment funds practice with the hire of former Nabarro partner and barrister Dale Gabbert.
Reed Smith's Birmingham office goes it alone
Reed Smith's Birmingham office goes it alone" /The Birmingham office of Reed Smith is to split with the firm and branch out on its own in a bid to focus on the regional market.
Reid Minty sues former partners
Litigation firm Reid Minty, now RMPI, is suing three former employees for breach of fiduciary obligations, alleging that the trio took three substantial clients with them when leaving the firm.
Robert Anderson QC: Blackstone Chambers
If a movie was made about your life, which actor would play you and why?Tom Cruise (for the height) and Boris Karloff (for the looks). Charlie Chaplin should do the stunts.
Scottish Law Soc replaces chief executive
The Law Society of Scotland has appointed a new chief executive. Lorna Jack, who takes up the post after six years working in Boston as Scottish Development International’s Americas president, will replace outgoing chief Douglas Mill. Jack said she was looking forward to leading the organisation through a period of “unprecedented change”.
Separated at birth
After 18 years of pitting his wits against Paul Merton on BBC panel show Have I Got News For You, Ian Hislop has jumped ship to work as a litigation partner at Roythornes’ Spalding office, in the guise of former Malletts Solicitors practitioner Chris Parslew.
SFO to appeal High Court decision over Holbein super-case
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is to appeal the High Court’s ruling that one of the Government’s longest and most expensive prosecutions should be dropped.
SJ Berwin mulls of counsel position
SJ Berwin has set up a firmwide associate focus group to decide whether an of counsel role should be introduced.
SJ Berwin, Speechly advise on last-ditch rescue bid for MFI
Ashurst, Salans, SJ Berwin and Speechly Bircham have been handed leading roles in the rescue of troubled home furnishing MFI with an eleventh hour management buyout.
Small firms suffer as legal insurers refuse to underwrite in current climate
Following five consecutive years of falling rates, lawyers have been shocked to find that professional indemnity (PI) insurance rates have doubled for the 2009 renewal season. Hardest hit are those already facing a myriad of economic challenges: small firms, sole practitioners and conveyancing practices.
Snack and grab…
Tulkinghorn has sent a few excitable scribes along to parties at Lovells in his time, and has always been impressed by their reports of great food and cocktails.
Sonnenschein launches European office number two
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has opened its second office in Europe with the acquisition of Zurich-based hotels and hospitality boutique, Bloch & Partner.
SRA hits out at Law Soc review
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has attacked the Law Society for over-stepping its remit in launching a potentially dramatic review into the regulation of the legal profession.
Sullivan, Davis Polk win roles on $37.8bn AIG deal
Sullivan & Cromwell and Davis Polk & Wardwell have secured roles on US insurance giant AIG’s additional $37.8bn funding.
Tennant’s super
Eversheds, which is rarely off Tulkinghorn’s radar, accompanied a handful of Tulkinghorn’s acolytes to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s latest production of Hamlet, with the meet-and-greet helping to ease new managing partner Bryan Hughes into the media stewpot.
The rights stuff
Victoria Prais travelled to Armenia to train newly qualified judges on the ins and outs of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights – and found encouraging signs that the legislation is making an impact.
The Rule of Law
Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) often makes headlines in the UK.
Trio of firms thrash out B&B rescue
Ashurst, Herbert Smith and Slaughter and May have all won leading roles on Bradford & Bingley’s (B&B) rescue.
UK firms line up for Icelandic bank roles
Denton Wilde Sapte, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have snared key roles as the UK arms of two Icelandic banks at the heart of the ...
Wall St woes: Mail prowess
Over lunch yesterday at Bingham McCutchen’s midtown Manhattan office, the firm’s co-head of its financial restructuring group seemed proud - to say the least - of his firm’s efforts during the current meltdown.
Wall St woes: Watching Wachovia
It was literally a last-minute intervention. At 11.59am yesterday (8 October), the Federal Reserve extended its standstill on Citigroup's lawsuit over Wells Fargo's bid for US bank Wachovia.
Watt gives?
Almost a year on from the launch of the single electricity market, Ireland’s potential in the wind power sector means firms that have built up their energy practices are positioned to reap the rewards.
Web Week
The Lawyer’s Web Week is a weekly commentary on legal activity on the web. This includes an overview of the best of the week’s blogs. If you want to direct us to useful links, email webweek@thelawyer.com.
Wedlake Bell lays off 17
Wedlake Bell lays off 17" /Wedlake Bell has launched a redundancy consultation with six lawyers and 11 support staff.
What now?
You have just been given the news that you are in the dreaded “redundancy consultation pool” – what should you do next?
Wild frontiers: Sarah Clinch, Aureos Advisors
As legal counsel at private equity house Aureos Advisors, Sarah Clinch often has to work in countries with little, if any, legislation for financial deals.
Winners and losers
Where there's a loser, there's usually a winner. So far in credit crunch terms, most of the winners are hard to pinpoint. But in the aftermath of the collapse of Heller Ehrman, the most successful vultures are already making themselves known.
Winning lines
Awards ceremonies are difficult to deal with for the losers, but sometimes even harder for the winners – especially if you’re a barrister. All that pressure to come up with a speech that does your oratorical skills justice can sometimes prove too much.
Wragges: Top marks
Full marks to Wragge & Co. Not only is it proposing paying three times the statutory minimum to the 30 fee-earners currently in a redundancy consultation - a sum that rollonfriday reported as comparing favourably with some of its meaner rivals - but its doing its best to find them all jobs afterwards.
