8 March 2010
The Lawyer
A&O, Travers set to clean up in sale of swine flu soap manufacturer
Allen & Overy (A&O) and Travers Smith have continued to reap the benefit of the upturn in private equity buyouts after acting on the sale of swine flu soap manufacturer Deb Group.
Addleshaws raids DLA for planning dept chief
Addleshaw Goddard has turned to DLA Piper for the hire of a partner to head its 10-strong planning and environment team.
Appeal court takes heat off National Grid Ofgem fine
The court of Appeal (CoA) has halved the fine imposed on National Grid by Ofgem, the gas and electricity authority.
Ashfords' growth prompts Bristol relocation
Ashfords will move to new offices in Bristol to accommodate the future growth of the firm.
Bar Standards Board raps BPP Law School for taking on too many students
BPP Law School has been put under scrutiny after the Bar Standards Board (BSB) published a report on its ’triggered visit’ to the institution, which was prompted by the fact BPP’s BVC was oversubscribed.
Bargate Murray
The partners at Bargate Murray would not describe their firm as a ’super-yacht boutique’, but it is hard not to reach that conclusion.
CC and Links square up over Babcock’s bid for rival VT Group
Magic circle duo Clifford Chance and Linklaters have landed prime roles in the hostile takeover bid for VT Group by rival Babcock International.
CC partners set to vote on new-look council
Clifford Chance has kicked off the process of electing its revamped partnership council, with voting forms being sent to partners this week.
Civil unrest as criminal QC appointments escalate
The QC appointments panel reduced dramatically the number of civil barristers who made silk in the 2010 competition, raising concerns about whether the appointments process is fundamentally flawed.
Class half empty?
Have the wranglings over the introduction of Italy’s class action law eroded its effectiveness? asks James Swift
Fair game: Jason Freeman, Office of Fair Trading
As legal director at the OFT Consumer Market Group, Jason Freeman is the man leading the charge in the battle for consumers’ rights. By James Swift
Fasken wins AIM mandates as junior market perks up
Fasken Martineau has won mandates on two AIM IPOs as well as secondary fundraising, amid signs that the junior market may finally be emerging from its two-year hibernation.
Focus: Geoff Wild, Kent County Council: The Wild hunch
With the public sector becoming a political battleground, Kent legal chief Geoff Wild argues that its lawyers should get radical. So why don’t his rivals agree?
Focus: Richard Gubbins: Jolly Rajer
As Ashurst’s time in Delhi comes to a close, the firm’s India group head Richard Gubbins remains optimistic about the future for foreign lawyers in the country
Halliwells to tough it out in Sheffield after exits
Halliwells’ Sheffield office has been left with just four partners after being raided by Beachcroft and Kennedys.
HFW targets Oz as start of launch trail
Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) is examining the possibility of opening a third office in Australia, with a Perth launch expected in the next 12 months.
HSBC, firms and sets team up with A4ID
HSBC’s in-house legal team is to partner with a number of leading law firms and chambers to provide pro bono advice to charities in the developing world through Advocates for International Development (A4ID).
In for the skill
The economic downturn has forced firms to rethink their training provisions. Helen Langton says the future of training will be increasingly in-house
K&L Gates plunders Hogan’s Warsaw office ahead of Hogan-Lovells merger
K&L Gates underlined potential fractures in the impending merger between Hogan & Hartson and Lovells last week when it scooped the US firm’s entire operations in Warsaw.
Learning verve
?In an age when training departments are often the first to come under scrutiny, Patrick McCann and Dorothea Bannerman-Bruce offer this guide to making your training team indispensable
LG quartet launch private client boutique
Four LG private client partners have jumped ship to set up a wealth advisory boutique in Mayfair to target ’high-end’ individuals in the UK and abroad.
Lovells’ junior partners face Hogan-style pay
Lovells is revolutionising the way it pays salaried partners ahead of its merger with Hogan & Hartson, abolishing a profit-linked portion in favour of a performance-related bonus to mimic the US firm’s model.
Mills & Reeve extends pro bono to Brum
Mills & Reeve’s Birmingham office has launched a pro bono initiative alongside the Birmingham Law School to help provide free legal advice to members of the public.
Opinion: Why Asian markets are not necessarily the best option
Given the merger of Norton Rose and Deacons (Australia) and the bold move by Allen & Overy (A&O) in setting up shop in Australia by poaching 17 partners from Aussie firm Clayton Utz, many firms are again focusing on the Asia region.
Orchestral manoeuvres make their mark at Bakers
David Pyatt doesn’t get to meet his audience too much. The principal French horn player of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) tends to spend his life shuttling between rehearsal rooms and the Barbican concert hall.
Pensions lawyers emerge from the shadows with hike in longevity deals
Advisers bet on hedging as trustees, employers go all-out to cut risk. By Margaret Taylor
People moves
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has announced that Jeff Roberts will join the firm as a partner.
RBS posits Mexican wave model to cut legal outlay
New legal chief Campbell to reassess external legal work; favours pairing advisers over LPO
Reed Smith brings in Troutman partner
Reed Smith has made the second partner hire to its London energy, trade and commodities group this year with the recruitment of Troutman Sanders partner John Varholy.
RJW U-turn sees family and private client take centre stage
Russell Jones & Walker (RJW) is putting its newly acquired family and private client team at the heart of its growth strategy two years after outsourcing the practice.
Say hello to the Mexican wave
You’re running a mid-sized regional firm and the pressure is on. The systems are there, the staff are there, but the work’s drying up. Can you find new revenue streams? Here’s a niche: pitching for the standardised work the big names deem too unprofitable.
Shearman results show market trend
New York-based firm’s financials emblematic of wider market: revenue down, PEP up
SJ Berwin puts a halt to associate flex scheme
SJ Berwin has put associate development at the centre of its strategy for the next financial year after ending its flexible working scheme and initiating a plan whereby junior assessment recognises non-billable hours.
Steptoe realises Asia ambitions with Beijing launch
?Steptoe & Johnson’s formal launch into the Asian legal market, secured last week with the opening of its office in Beijing, has been a long time coming.
Tulkinghorn: Tooth and law
In the jungle, the legal jungle, Angus McCullough works tonight… Wimoweh a-wimoweh….
Work Life Quiz: Andrew Pena, Cubism Law
What was your first-ever job? Working as an auxiliary nurse in a mental hospital.
