8 August 2011

Pinsents, 39 Essex St join EON litigation list

EON UK has appointed Pinsent Masons and 39 Essex Street to a new ­environmental litigation panel after challenging its firms to pitch ideas for ­better working methods. The Germany-headquartered energy giant’s UK ­general counsel and company secretary Fiona Stark oversaw the appointments after asking regular advisers for suggestions on better ways of working with EON. […]

Solid foundations

Crystal ball-gazer Eric Rosedale says the real estate sector is looking strong. The first half of 2011 has seen a robust recovery in real estate investment activity with much of the transaction volume concentrated in primary global financial centres, in both developed markets and the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. Globally, property markets […]

Michael Immordino
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On the move

White & Case is to reopen its Milan office with the hire of two Latham & Watkins London partners. Move of the week The ­international firm has ­appointed Michael Immordino (left) and Jonathan Clark as partners in its ­global capital markets practice with immediate effect. Clark, ­previously a ­partner at White & Case from 1996 […]

Work Life Quiz: Hannah Rutterford, Kester Cunningham John

What was your first-ever job? Babysitting. When I ­accidentally dislocated a two-year-old’s elbow while swinging him around I realised this wasn’t a long-term option. What was your worst ­experience as a trainee? Being shouted at by a judge during my first bit of advocacy and losing. My boss forced me to make the application again […]

Alex Paterson

Fragomen

US firm Fragomen, founded more than 50 years ago, launched an office in London in August 2003, when London managing partner Alex Paterson joined the firm from Andersen, where she was a ­senior solicitor in the immigration team. She was tasked with building up the ­London base. Managing partner: Alex PatersonTurnover: £13.5m (London)Number of partners: […]

Nick Rowles-Davies
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Litigation funders poised to prove finances in place

Third-party litigation funders may be asked to ­formalise capital adequacy standards to demonstrate their financial strength, under a code of conduct being drawn up by the Civil Justice Council (CJC). The CJC committee, chaired by Irwin Mitchell chairman Michael Napier, is expected to finalise the draft code before the end of the year. Funders will […]

Lesley Gregory

Tables show firms AIM to make good friends

Firms hope AIM clients will stay true as they move on, but not all do. Joshua Freedman looks at the latest rankings Comparisons between the legal market and the football league pyramid are never far off, with glamorous names holding on to the biggest prizes and underdogs vying, but usually failing, to break the big […]

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Herbies’ remedy

Is Herbert Smith finally waking up to itself? Long known for its schizophrenic approach to international expansion, the firm appears to be taking decisive action. As we reported last week, a high-level delegation has been sent to scope out opportunities in the South Korean market, while a Doha launch is also imminent. And now, licking […]

David Jabbari
3

Clydes-BLG: merger of equals or wholesale takeover?

Last week’s news that the Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) brand will disappear as part of the firm’s November merger with Clyde & Co (TheLawyer.com, 4 August) supports the argument that the deal is more a takeover than a merger of equals.

Dewey oils wheels for Kuwait debut

US firm Dewey & LeBoeuf is preparing to launch a Kuwait office in October, becoming one of only a handful of international firms on the ground in the oil-rich nation. The office will be Dewey’s fifth in the Middle East, adding to its existing network in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai and Riyadh.Oil and gas transactional […]

US pair scout City for London launches

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell and Troutman Sanders are gearing up for London launches, joining the ranks of US firms intent on conquering the City market. Texas-based Locke Lord is understood to be talking to a team at Salans, with a view to a City raid of corporate, commercial and consumer finance lawyers. The energy […]

Stephen Lloyd
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Ashurst demotes seventeen in lockstep overhaul

Seventeen Ashurst partners were moved down the firm’s lockstep in the last financial year, while the number of partners at the top of equity almost trebled. An internal document ­listing partners’ equity points for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 financial years seen by The Lawyer shows that 19 partners were moved to the 65-point plateau for […]