8 February 2010
The Lawyer
Linklaters partner appointed new Unilever legal chief
Unilever has reshuffled its legal management team with UK and Ireland general counsel Tonia Lovell stepping into the chief legal officer and company secretary position.
A fifth of female lawyers choose kids over careers
The pressure of motherhood is the reason that 20 per cent of all female departees decide to leave some of the UK’s top 50 firms.
A serious settlement
The Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) decision to settle its investigation into arms maker BAE Systems highlights significant disparities between how corporate fraud is dealt with in the UK and US.
Addleshaws, Cuatrecasas, Herbies, Salans, Uría bag HgCapital portfolio
Addleshaw Goddard, Cuatrecasas, Herbert Smith, Salans and Uría Menéndez have won mandates on HgCapital’s latest renewable energy investments.
AG launches new bonus scheme for salaried partners
Addleshaw Goddard is proposing to introduce a points-based bonus system for its salaried partners after plans to introduce an all-equity partnership were abandoned.
BLG dumps partner lockstep in firmwide rejig
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) is set to abandon its modified lockstep for an entirely merit-based partner remuneration system, while also considering a move away from associate lockstep as part of a firmwide shake-up of performance.
BLP to grow tax team with Lloyds VAT head
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has expanded its tax capability with the hire of Lloyds Banking Group’s head of VAT Linda Adelson as a partner.
Cassidy Moscow chief quits for solo project
The managing partner of Cassidy & Associates’ Moscow office has left to set up his own practice.
CC and Slaughters score main roles on New Look’s £650m IPO
Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May have been handed the mandates to advise on New Look’s IPO in a deal that is expected to raise £650m for the company.
Clydes, Mishcon plant flags in US
The two UK firms have snared local lawyers to lead their new launches across the Pond
Dawsons’ employment practice suffers second exit in a month
Dawsons has lost its second employment partner in a month with the departure of Jill Andrew to Marriott Harrison, it has emerged.
DLA Piper falls in with Kenyan firm
DLA Piper has expanded its African footprint through an exclusive tie-up with Kenyan firm Iseme Kamau & Maema Advocates (IKM).
Ex-Match.com GC finds new partner with Seatwave
Fan-to-fan ticket exchange company Seatwave has appointed a former WilmerHale lawyer as its in-house lawyer to assist with the company’s expansion across Europe.
Focus: McDermott: Where there’s a Will…
At the beginning of this year McDermott Will & Emery made a fresh start.
Garden Court North duo defect to Doughty Street
Manchester set Garden Court North has lost a further two barristers to civil rights set Doughty Street Chambers.
German state to pilot English-speaking courts
Courts in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia are proposing to use English in commercial court cases in a bid to attract more international business litigation to the country.
Guernsey rush hastens Mourant-Ozannes tie-up
Offshore firms Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes were spurred into making their merger talks a reality after Appleby launched in Guernsey with a four-partner team poached from Ozannes (The Lawyer, 11 January).
Hackney shores up legal with double hire
The London Borough of Hackney has made two new appointments following a reorganisation of its in-house legal function.
Hoff’s scoff at libel reform
After years railing against Mr Justice Eady’s judgments, has the Daily Mail found a judge it actually likes?
Hogan Lovells to choose between Murdoch and ITV
Merged firm’s global executive kicks off high-stakes conflicts probe
Jaguar sale sees legal function overhauled
Jaguar Land Rover legal chief Keith Benjamin is revamping his global legal team after the business was sold by Ford to India’s Tata Motors.
Latham leaves W&C Gulf plans in tatters
White & Case is one of the biggest legal names in the Middle East with a reputation stemming back 50 years. But by the middle of this week it might be hard to recognise it as the same outfit that has been in growth mode for the past decade.
Lovells opens Jeddah base with Al-Yaqoub
Lovells has opened an associate office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second city, through its associate firm Al-Yaqoub Attorneys & Legal Advisers.
Mitsui Sumitomo to gain legal panel as new GC creates first in-house team
The former general counsel at Chubb Europe’s commercial lines department David Casement has left to form a new legal team at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group.
No5 moves for 2 Hare Court silk
Leading fraud and crime specialist David Howker QC has joined No5 Chambers from 2 Hare Court. A silk since 2002, Howker was previously standing counsel to HM Customs & Excise.
Norton Rose happy for more staff to work flexibly
Norton Rose is expecting the proportion of its staff working flexibly to increase as a result of an initiative it took to prevent job cuts.
Norton Rose, Bakers start on Finnish mining contract
Norton Rose and Baker & McKenzie have landed leading roles on the $335m (£209m) refinancing of Talvivaara’s project-financed nickel mine in Finland in a ’streaming deal’.
On the move
Reed Smith has hired Philip Olmer as a partner in its London real estate group.
Pharma wiles: Robert Fairless, Merck Serono
Merck Serono’s Robert Fairless makes sure his legal team is at the centre of the biopharma company’s business. By Tom Phillips
Quinn Emanuel figures spark growth in London
?One of the founding partners of US litigation boutique Quinn Emanuel popped in to the London office last week as the firm unveiled its 2009 financial results.
Ropes & Gray beefs up finance with Freshfields hire
Ropes & Gray has continued to expand its newly opened London office with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer finance counsel Matt Cox as a partner.
Safeway v Twigger could hamper OFT’s efficacy
The High Court recently considered whether a company that has been fined for anticompetitive conduct can recover the fine from employees and directors whom it alleges were responsible for the infringement, or whether the claims are barred as a matter of public policy.
Six Nations: a union of lawyers and rugby
Rugby and the law have always been happy bedfellows. In the innocent amateur days of yore it was not uncommon to see a barrister tearing down the wing or mixing it in the front row at your local club.
Slater Heelis
Manchester firm Slater Heelis rebranded in December last year, dropping legacy names Collier Littler and vowing to focus on new areas as it gears up for the implementation of the Legal Services Act (LSA).
Stephenson Harwood hikes finance practice
Stephenson Harwood has beefed up its finance team once more following the hires of partner Jayesh Patel and senior associate Jonathan Proctor from Denton Wilde Sapte.
Tax attack
The forthcoming tax regime will certainly have a lightening effect on partners’ pockets. David Furst examines the various ways to mitigate the impact
Tulkinghorn: Bowler drama
Tulkinghorn is delighted to remind readers that this Thursday (11 February) is Bowler Hat Day.
Turkish delight
The future looks rosy for the Turkish market, with recovery well underway. James Swift reports that this has not gone unnoticed by the big international players
Warburg calls on CC for advice on Survitec buy
Clifford Chance has scored a lead role on Warburg Pincus’s £280m acquisition of safety and defence equipment manufacturer Survitec from fellow private equity firm Montagu.
White & Case puts on brave face as thirteen partners quit for Latham
Has the US firm learnt nothing in the two years since losing Allen and Goetz? asks Gavriel Hollander
Work Life Quiz: Peter Crowther, Dewey & LeBoeuf
What do you do at weekends? Try to be a full-time family member.
