8 December 2008
The Lawyer
2Birds’ Singapore tie-up points to future merger
Bird & Bird’s newly formed association with Singapore firm Alban Tay Mahtani & de Silva (ATMD) has been established as a precursor to a full-blown merger.
Addleshaws spends £5.5m on new building
Addleshaw Goddard's cash reserves dropped by £5.5m in the 2007-08 financial year as a result of taking on new London headquarters.
BAE knowledge head quits for tech company
BAE Systems is set to lose its head of knowledge management, with Jo Humphrey expected to join technology company Johnson Controls as chief- counsel for Europe.
Beresfords partners struck off
Beresfords Solicitors partners Jim Beresford and Douglas Smith have been struck off after all but three of the 11 allegations of professional misconduct against them have been upheld by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Beresfords to launch ‘legal supermarket’
Staff at Doncaster-based Beresfords Solicitors, which saw name partner Jim Beresford struck off yesterday, is considering launching Britain’s first ‘legal services supermarket’.
Bonelli partners jump ship to Paul Hastings
Slaughter and May’s best friend firm in Italy, Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, has suffered a rare partner walkout, with leading structured finance partner Alberto Del Din joining Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker in Milan.
Browne: costs pose threat to legal representation
The increasing cost of legal action and the curbing of public funding could threaten the quality of legal representation, in-coming Bar Council chair Desmond Browne QC has warned.
Camerons featured in TV law careers documentary
CMS Cameron McKenna senior partner Richard Price has featured alongside one of the firm’s trainees in a Sky TV documentary on legal careers.
Camerons makes £4m from slumping pound
CMS Cameron McKenna has made nearly £4m from the tumbling value of the pound over the last year and a half, The Lawyer can reveal.
CC’s non-merger: Once bitten…
Ah, what might have been. Clifford Chance’s abortive negotiations with Mallesons to create a £1.6bn-turnover firm, which we reveal today, could have been the most exciting law firm tie-up of the year.
Chopping off heads
Addleshaw Goddard is aiming to bring down headcount by around 90 over the coming year. At the end of last financial year the firm had 1,425 members of staff.
City firms worst on carbon, first LSA report reveals
A&O, Lovells, Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have the largest carbon footprints per member of staff, it has emerged.
Clifford Chance pulls plug on Mallesons merger talks
Revealed: credit crunch blamed as magic circle firm spurns chance to double Asia offering.
Clifford Chance slashes US bonus
Clifford Chance slashes US bonus" /Clifford Chance has followed the New York trend and halved year end bonus pay-outs for its US associates.
Councils share panels in bid to cut costs
Three councils in Birmingham and London have opened their panels to other local authorities in a bid to slash costs.
Critics snipe at third-party litigation funding code
The proposed regulation of third-party litigation funders has come under fire for failing to bring full transparency to the sector.
Dance floor diva: Victoria Davies, Ministry of Sound
With record deals, fitness videos and even a festival tent, Ministry of Sound has become more than just a nightclub. Tom Phillips meets head of legal Victoria Davies
Davenport Lyons’ client list gets the sex factor
Davenport Lyons’ client list gets the sex factor" /London media firm Davenport Lyons is bulking up its client list with porn companies as part of a push into copyright litigation.
Dentons helps Al Jazeera change its image
Denton Wilde Sapte has been giving lessons to global media network Al Jazeera on improving its image in the press.
Dewey & LeBoeuf makes up 20, three in London
Dewey & LeBoeuf has made up three new partners in London as part of a round that has seen a total of 20 made up across the firm.
DLA loses last Glasgow real estate partner
DLA Piper has been hit by another departure from its Scottish real estate practice, with the exit of its sole remaining Glasgow property partner.
Freshfields launches secondment scheme
Magic circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is rolling out a programme to formalise the way secondments are allocated across the firm.
GM turns to Weil, Dewey for bankruptcy advice
General Motors has turned to Weil Gotshal & Manges and Dewey & LeBoeuf for advice on potentially filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Harrison Drury
With an ambitious ex-Brabners Chaffe Street partner at the helm, Harrison Drury & Co in Preston has changed its outlook over the past 12 months.
High cost of ATE claims pushes CFAs to brink of extinction
The conditional fee arrangement (CFA) model is at risk of collapse due to the high level of litigation relating to after-the-event (ATE) insurance premiums.
Hunt for client retention strategy is on as attrition rate hits 12 per cent a year
Law firms could be losing an average of 12 per cent of their clients annually, with the rate of attrition likely to get worse due to the economic climate.
Kimbells puts some staff on four-day week
Milton Keynes firm Kimbells has told lawyers in three of its departments to move to a four-day week, putting trainees at risk of missing qualification dates.
Lambeth council overhauls legal panel
The London Borough of Lambeth has begun a panel review to service its new-look legal function.
Lawyers caught up in Mumbai seige recount ordeal
If the terrorists who attacked Mumbai last month wanted to strike at the heart of India’s international business community, then they chose their targets well. Law firms have been left counting the human cost of those attacks, with Stephenson Harwood ...
Layoffs, infighting and record PEPs: The Lawyer’s first year in New York
When The Lawyer launched in New York in October 2007, we had no idea what an era-defining year it would prove to be on Wall Street.
Linklaters' top earner pocketed £3.4m last year
Linklaters' top earner pocketed £3.4m last year" /Linklaters' highest paid partner received £3.4m in the last financial year, according to the magic circle firm's first set of LLP accounts.
Links CFO joins White & Case Emea team
Linklaters chief financial officer Nick Heywood-Waddington has left the firm to join White & Case as chief operating officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea).
Lit-Cat panel: 40 firms win places
Challinors, DMH Stallard and Freeth Cartwright are among the 40 law firms to have been appointed to the Treasury Solicitors’ Lit-Cat, panel beating more than 100 other competitors.
Managing the downturn: Alternative endings
Redundancies may be the last resort when law firms find themselves having to downsize – but retraining, redeploying and relocating people are far from easy options
Merged Cornwall councils rejig legal
Cornwall County Council will revolutionise its legal team when the Cornwall Unitary Authority is launched in April 2009.
Mishcon keeps shtum on layoffs
Mishcon de Reya has launched a redundancy consultation, but unlike the other 43 firms to have entered redundancy talks to date, the firm would not provide information on the number of staff in consultation.
MoFo installs black boss in first for City
Morrison & Foerster tax partner Trevor James has been appointed managing partner of the firm’s London office, making him the first black managing partner at an international firm.
More groups allowed to bring class actions, govt told
Proposals to allow more representative bodies to bring class actions on an opt-out basis have been put forward to the government today.
Moves roundup: 8th December 2008
Field Fisher Waterhouse has boosted its life sciences capability by taking on partner Alison Dennis. She joins the firm’s competition and EU regulatory group from Reed Smith, where she was promoted to partner in 2006.
No merci
While Anglo-Saxon firms remain ensconced in the upper reaches of the French legal market, their domestic rivals are aiming to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the global economic downturn. By Nicola Laver
Opinion: Journalists’ rights and police wrongs
On the same day that Damian Green’s arrest made front page headlines, the newspapers were reporting the acquittal of one of their own – journalist Sally Murrer.
Panel awaits its fate as T-Mobile probes fees
T-Mobile is set to renegotiate terms with its UK panel firms in an effort to drive down costs in response to the economic downturn.
Paul Weiss promotes four in New York
US firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has made up four associates in its latest round of partnership promotions, all in New York.
Prince Harry's girlfriend starts Farrers vac scheme
Royal WAG Chelsy Davy has started a Christmas vacation scheme at the Queen’s law firm, Farrer & Co - a move which her peers at Leeds University hope will gain the institution kudos among employees.
Private equity special report: Cometh the hour…
With deals in markedly short supply, these are challenging times for private equity transaction lawyers – but their clients have more need of their skills than ever, says Jonathan Wood.
Private equity special report: fund raising in the current market
Reports on the private equity market over the past few months have made for depressing reading for those in the fund raising industry.
Private equity special report: why investors are reluctant to fund
In recent months attention has focused on the potential demise of private equity resulting from the lack of leverage available to finance transactions.
Radcliffes builds up practice with architect hire
Westminster-based RadcliffesLeBrasseur has recruited an architect to its construction practice.
Rosenblatt sets up restructuring group
Rosenblatt Solicitors has launched a 15-lawyer restructuring and recovery group in response to the economic crisis.
Skadden loses sole Sao Paulo partner
Skadden loses sole Sao Paulo partner" /Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom's only Sao Paulo partner has defected to Brazilian investment firm Banking and Trading Group (BTG) months after the firm launched in the city.
Special report: private equity
The deals may have all but disappeared, but for private equity lawyers there isstill plenty to be getting on with. The first article in this private equity special report highlights how the knowledge of private equity solicitors can be essential to clients who need assistance ...
Switalski: Employment Tribunal to review ruling
The Employment Tribunal is to review its ruling in the £19m sexual discrimination claim against F&C Asset Management by Gillian Switalski.
Taylor Wessing elects new Brussels boss
Taylor Wessing’s real estate partner Christine Flion has been elected as the firm’s new Brussels managing partner.
Tulkinghorn: world parties, free books and not-so-cheap thrills
Allen & Overy (A&O) New York is having a frugal festive season this year.
Ukraine’s Magisters makes Belarus merger
Ukrainian law firm Magisters is to launch its first office in Belarus, merging with local law firm BelJurBureau.
Watson Burton in redundancy consultation with 14
Watson Burton in redundancy consultation with 14" /Newcastle-headquartered Watson Burton is the latest firm to moot job losses, launching redundancy consultations with up to 14 staff.
Web Week: Fun and claims
’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.
Weil, Clifford Chance act in AIG Private Bank sale
Weil Gostshal & Manges and Clifford Chance have snared lead roles advising on the sale of AIG Private Bank to Abu Dhabi investment group Aabar Investments PSJC.
What next for Slaughters, Links as BHP seam runs dry?
The collapse of BHP’s bid for Rio Tinto leaves big firms’ big billers at a loose end.
Which? makes formal "bullying" complaint about Davenport Lyons
Consumer group Which? has complained to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) about letters sent by Davenport Lyons to alleged file-sharers on behalf of copyright owners.
White & Case corporate head leaves for oil job
White & Case corporate head leaves for oil job" /White & Case joint corporate head Tim Goodell is to leave the firm for an in-house role at US oil company Hess Corporation.
White & Case loses bid for Lloyds-HBOS merger JR
White & Case's bid to launch a judicial review over the Government's decision not to refer the Lloyds TSB-HBOS merger to the Competition Commission has failed.
Work Life Quiz: Stuart Wardlaw, Dickinson Dees
Wragges lays off 24 in wake of soaring staff costs
Wragges lays off 24 in wake of soaring staff costs" /Wragge & Co's staff costs surged by £4.8m in the 2007-08 financial year after a top-of-market pay review saw salaries increase across the firm.
