7 March 2011

Canada – a rocky ride?

Canadian lawyers have always itched to be on the world stage. The first sign of stardom was last summer, when BHP Billiton, advised by Slaughter and May and Blake Cassels & Graydon, launched a $39bn (£23.97bn) hostile bid for Saskatchewan-based PotashCorp, represented by Jones Day and Stikeman Elliot. More recently the mooted tie-up between ­Canada’s […]

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Clydes takes plunge into merger hotspot Canada

UK firm follows client RSA; DLA Piper to make second attempt Insurance specialist Clyde & Co is expanding its international footprint through a merger with Canadian insurance firm Nicholl Paskell-Mede, as DLA Piper also eyes a deal in the North American country. Clydes has been on the hunt for a Canadian merger partner for more […]

Per ardua ad astra?

Italian firms are emerging from their cloistered market and are now ready to launch a credible challenge in the international arena. Joanne Harris talks to the main contenders  Italy in history has never been an internationally orientated country, not in any field – unless you go back to the Roman Empire,” says Luca Arnaboldi, […]

Anne Baldock

Project finance makes triumphant return after two years in doldrums

A&O sweeps the board in UK and worldwide rankings with $70bn worth of deals. By James Swift  The 2010 calendar year was a big one for project finance, with global activity rebounding after two years of decline. Infrastructure Journal’s global infrastructure league tables show the combined value of project financings across the world in […]

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Focus: Osborne Clarke, The joy of sectors

Osborne Clarke is at a crossroads. After five years of retrenchment, it is suddenly re-embracing internationalism When the marketing gurus got hold of Osborne Clarke ahead of last year’s rebranding ­project, sporting their ubiquitous Soho haircuts and open-necked shirts, one of the first things to be consigned to history’s dustbin was the old logo. Slack panther Apparently, […]

Robert Edwards

Bridge McFarland

In 1976, just as the nation was donning its platform heels and shimmying on down beneath a glitter ball, a quiet revolution was taking place in Grimsby. But when John Bridge established Keeble Hawson Bridge & Co, little did he know that just 15 miles down the A16 in Louth, Paddy McFarland would also have […]

Jonathan Cornwell
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Non-lawyer partners remain a minority trend

When white-collar boutique BCL Burton Copeland made practice director Jonathan Cornwell a partner last week, it became the latest firm to welcome a non-lawyer into the fold. The past year has seen many similar moves, whether it is non-lawyers becoming partners or being appointed chief executives. If a trend can be drawn from the appointments, it is […]

Joanne Edwards

Opinion: Compulsory mediation won’t bridge the legal aid gap

Family lawyers could be forgiven for ­saying they have no time for their day jobs at the moment. The past few months have seen many developments. First there was a green paper on legal aid that threatens to deny access to justice to vulnerable people, deprive many of their livelihood, create more litigants-in-person and push […]

Camerons loses corporate partner to client

CMS Cameron McKenna corporate partner Mike Jones has left the firm to join one of his clients, becoming general counsel at White Rose ­Energy Ventures, an oil exploration and ­production start-up focused on upstream exploration in West Africa. Jones has been a partner at the City firm since 1997, ­specialising in advising oil and gas […]

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Thomas Eggar hire leads merger hunt

Thomas Eggar has hired CMS Cameron McKenna business development chief Adam Seymour as the firm continues to explore the option of a merger in ­London. Seymour, who has been at Camerons for five years, joins Thomas Eggar as ­business development head and will oversee the firm’s drive for new business in its growth sectors of retail, manufacturing, sport and […]

Howard Kennedy to lose projects team as trio establish boutique

West End firm Howard Kennedy’s projects team is set to split from the firm just two years after joining it. DMA Legal merged with Howard Kennedy in November 2008, with partners Deborah Mills, David Hill and Andrew Pike joining the firm. The trio have now decided to launch Mayfair boutique Burlingtons. Mills said she wanted […]