Two existing Haarmaan partners – Claus Kohler and Norbert Jakobs – will transfer from the firm’s German offices to join four British partners to form the start-up team. Haarmaan is currently refusing to name the four UK lawyers due to “existing contractual obligations” but says all are drawn from “leading UK firms or Chambers”. The […]
McGrigor Donald Public Policy (MDPP) will be headed up by McGrigor lawyer, Adam Bruce. He will be aided by the 56-partner firm’s head of commercial litigation, Niall Scott and its public sector unit director, Alan Boyd. The new unit will give advice on new Scottish legislation, provide a Parliamentary monitoring service and even push forward […]
From February 2000, Lord Neill of Bladen QC – currently joint head of Temple-based chambers One Hare Court – will lead the new 44-strong set. The new chambers – which will be called Serle Court – will be based at 6 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn. Lord Neill says: “This is a unique move. Never before […]
The record pay-out – understood to be the second highest for personal injury ever awarded in England – was made to an American who was brain damaged in a collision with a minibus driven by a man without a license. The damages win comes just a year after Slough-based Harris & Cartwright won the highest […]
Irish law firm, Arthur Cox has appointed commercial lawyer, Eugene McCague as its managing partner. McCague replaces Ian Scott who will resume practice within the firm as a partner in the industrial and commercial property department. McCague has been with Arthur Cox for ten years. The 38-partner firm has offices in Dublin, Belfast and New […]
International law firm, Sidley & Austin has poached Robert Asher from the London office of US firm, Hogan & Hartson and installed him as partner in the corporate group. The US qualified lawyer joined Sidley & Austin’s London office yesterday and will boost the team of US lawyers working on finance, securities and acquisition deals. […]
An Australian lawyer who called a supreme court judge a “w*nker” was not guilty of contempt of court, another senior judge has ruled. Solicitor, Simon Harry Parsons, was charged with contempt after another solicitor reported him for accusing Justice Barry Beach of “having his hand on his dick”. The comments were made when Parsons was […]
PricewaterhouseCoopers and the UK-based Standard Chartered Bank have settled a long running damages case in which the Big Five accountancy firm was accused of faulty auditing. The bank claimed PwC gave it flawed advice when it was considering buying the United Bank of America in 1987. Standard sued and was awarded record damages of $341 […]
The Scottish legal aid system breaches European law and the human rights convention on , a court has ruled. In a test case, Fort William Sheriff, Colin McKay ruled that two Mallaig fishermen could not receive a fair trial because the £500 cap on legal aid fees in Scotland limited their access to justice. The […]
US firm, Jones Day Reavis & Pogue has roped in former Clifford Chance partner, Winston Zhao to help set up the firm’s new Shanghai office. Zhoa joins Jones Day from Clifford Chance’s Shanghai practice – the first international law firm to open up in that city in 1993 when the Chinese Ministry of Justice relaxed […]
Accountants KPMG Peat Marwick and an associated Dublin firm face a negligence claim in respect of advice given on the u10m purchase of an Irish leasing company in 1992. The action arose out of the purchase by Electra in 1992 of u10m in an Irish leasing company called the Cambridge Group. Eighteen months after the […]
In an era when rain forests round the world are being decimated daily, this country’s strict tree preservation laws are to be applauded. However, one London council has just received a costly reminder that, while trees are to be preserved, there is a limit to the extent to which they should be allowed unfettered growth. […]