8 November 2010
The Lawyer
A&O, CC, Norton Rose and Trowers visit Kuala Lumpur to champion liberalisation
Major UK firms have sent high-profile delegations to Malaysia as the market considers allowing foreign firms to practise.
Addleshaws applicants to be quizzed on social roots
Addleshaw Goddard has begun collecting information on the social backgrounds of its graduate applicants.
Addleshaws to share risk in oligarch showdown
Firm commits to multimillion-pound ’no win, no fee’ arrangement for billionaire Berezovsky
Ashurst and DLA Piper land massive Coal India listing
Ashurst and DLA Piper have secured roles advising on the international issues surrounding what is believed to be India’s largest-ever IPO.
Camerons, Eversheds, K&L Gates oversee school PFI
CMS Cameron McKenna, Eversheds and K&L Gates have advised on one of the first Building Schools for the Future (BSF) deals to close since the coalition Government put the previous administration’s brainchild on hold.
CC’s Sweeting elected as new senior partner
Clifford Chance has elected finance partner Malcolm Sweeting as its new senior partner.
Colt resolver: Robin Saphra, Colt Technology Services
?Robin Saphra, group GC at Colt Technology Services, uses a combination of legal models to boost service levels. By Luke McLeod-Roberts
Court of Appeal comes to the rescue in European Directories restructure
Supreme Court threat means it ain’t over till it’s over, says Andrew Pugh
Dan Knight: LG
What is the most unusual Christmas present that you have received from a colleague? A pair of dark chocolate pants.
Debevoise, Norton Rose secure lead roles on Rockefeller’s Europa stake
Debevoise & Plimpton and Norton Rose have landed the plum roles on Rockefeller Group’s acquisition of a 75 per cent stake in Europa Capital.
Direct action
Mauritius is geared up for the challenges presented by the Direct Tax Code with regard to investment into India. By Craig Fulton and Nicolas Richard
Double top
Across many alternative asset classes, high-profile managers, such as Altis Partners, EQT, Nordic Capital and Terra Firma, have chosen to set up shop in the Channel Islands.
Fishnets and briefs for legal starlet
Hard-working people that they are, lawyers need to find ways to unwind away from the stresses and strains of the office.
Focus: Latham & Watkins, Hard corp
Latham & Watkins is probably the easiest US firm in London to recruit for,” claims one City-based legal market recruitment consultant.
Freshfields, Mills & Reeve kick off network plan
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s move to formalise its referral relationships with national firms has moved a step nearer, with the magic circle outfit working alongside Mills & Reeve on the first matter since the initiative began in the summer.
Gide aims to become ‘one of the top firms in Hungary’ with first in a series of hires
French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel is expanding in Hungary after its global strategic review made Budapest its Central and Eastern Europe hub.
Herbies aims for emerging markets by homing in on private client
Herbert Smith is upping its emphasis on private client work as part of a strategic push into emerging markets.
Howard Kennedy acts on Adnams gas project
Howard Kennedy has advised brewer Adnams and sister company Adnams Bio Energy (ABE) on their partnership with British Gas to supply renewable energy to the National Grid.
InterLaw and JAC join forces to help LGBTs become judges
The InterLaw Diversity Forum for LGBT Networks has teamed up with the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to prime LGBT candidates on improving their chances of selection for a career in the judiciary.
Müller seeks replacement as legal chief walks out
The head of Müller Dairy (UK)’s legal operations Florian Mattinson has resigned from the company.
Off and on relationships
As evidenced by Ireland, the growing strength of ’offshore’ centres and their firms means they’re closer than ever to their ’onshore’ counterparts. By Paul Govier
On the move
Offshore firm Ogier has named Peter Cockhill as managing partner in its Cayman Islands office. Cockhill, who has held the job on an interim basis since June 2010, will replace outgoing head James Bergstrom, who is taking over as managing partner in Hong Kong.
Paul Hastings’ hunt for labour boss mirrors City litigation growth drive
Litigation expansion in City and globally has become a ‘top priority’.
Personality clash
A recent decision in an English court has thrown up uncertainty as to the status of Guernsey limited partnerships. Ian Kirk and Paul Wilkes ask: are they just letterbox entities?
Place for bets
Online gambling is a massive global phenomenon, and as Nick Verardi explains, the Isle of Man is at the top of the game in providing the best environment for e-gaming operators
Practitioners grapple with issues of ABS-led future
With just a year to go before the implementation of the Legal Services Act, The Lawyer’s conference on alternative business structures (ABSs) today (8 November) looks set to highlight the key issues, with contributions from influential players in the debate.
Regulatory reforms escape unscathed from US election
?Last week’s US mid-term election result, which saw the Republican Party win a majority in the House of Representatives and reduce significantly the Democratic majority in the Senate, looks to have set the scene for a standoff for the remaining two years of President Barack Obama’s current term.
Role playing
Investors need to wake up to the legal complexities pertaining to the precise nature of their law firms’ involvement in fund structures. By Nick Holland
Safe in the knowledge
Offshore practitioners can breathe easy that they will be able to cope with any hazards thrown up by the AIFMD. Ben Robins sheds some light on the issues likely to be facing investor clients
Siemens outsourcing arm hires UK GC
Siemens IT Solutions and Services, the IT and outsourcing outfit spun off from global electronics company Siemens, has appointed a new UK general counsel.
SJ Berwin partner duo quit for BLP, Lloyds
Two partners have quit SJ Berwin in the wake of its disputed managing partner election, with property litigation head Michael Metliss going to Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and competition partner Niamh Grogan to Lloyds Banking Group.
Tate expo garners lawyers’ and artists’ views on privacy
By the time you read this the curtain will have fallen on ’Exposed’, the Tate Modern’s provocative photographic exhibition.
Tax relief?
Historically, the UK hasn’t made it easy on non-doms. Sophie Dworetzsky explains that the sounds coming from the new coalition Government represent an opportunity to sort out the morass of tax regulations
Taylor Wessing: partner hiring spree will not hinder internal promotions
Taylor Wessing’s recent capture of a high-profile trio of partners from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) is the latest sign that the firm has pushed lateral recruitment at the highest level to the top of its agenda.
The aim of the name
With the exception of Slaughter and May, every law firm has built parts of its business by recruiting external senior talent. Some, such as Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), have been flamboyantly hiring laterals during the recession, much to the incomprehension of its rivals.
Tough call
The recent decision by a Mumbai court in the Vodafone case means the role of offshore financial centres in Indian transactions has become a more complex and different animal. By Chetan Nagendra
Trowers contrives merit-based switch
Trowers & Hamlins is consulting fee-earners over plans to abandon its PQE model in favour of a merit-based remuneration system.
Tulkinghorn: Porn to be filed?
Tulkinghorn has heard some stories in his time, but this one takes the soggy biscuit.
When push comes to shove
Hiren Mistry, Richard Wakeham and Philip Sinel examine the potential effects as the Extradition (Jersey) Law 2004 makes its presence felt
Work Life Quiz: Jason Lewis, Howard Kennedy
What was your first-ever job? Working for European Leisure, a nightclub company that owned such famous venues as the Camden Palace and the Hippodrome.
Wright Johnston
For Scottish firm Wright Johnston & Mackenzie (WJM) clients are at the centre of everything it does - so much so that it has developed a strategy it dubs ’ClientCentric’.
