9 June 2003
The Lawyer
Active service
Clarke Willmott's head of sports law Ian Smith battled apartheid before settling in the South West. Alex Wade talks to a champion surfer
Addleshaw Goddard wins first corporate work for J Sainsbury
Addleshaw Goddard has strengthened its relationship with J Sainsbury, scooping major corporate instructions from the supermarket giant for the first time. The firm is advising on a joint venture with Shell UK and also on the disposal of J Sainsbury Developments (JSD).
Allied Domecq gifts Latham adviser role
Latham & Watkins has sidelined Clifford Chance, Pillsbury Winthrop and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom to win a place on Allied Domecq's legal panel.
and sidelines CC and Ashursts on Candover
Linklaters' London office has completed its first deal for private equity giant Candover, traditionally a client sewn up by an Ashurst Morris Crisp and Clifford Chance duopoly.
Arnheim quits Landwell
Landwell's former senior partner Chris Arnheim has left the firm just a few months after stepping down from the top job at PricewaterhouseCoopers' accountancy-tied firm.
Ashursts backs winner in Europe's largest ever buy-out
In a boost for Ashurst Morris Crisp’s finance practice after the collapse of merger talks with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, the UK firm has scooped the banking mandate for the winning consortium in the Italian yellow pages auction.Clifford Chance was among the advisers brought in for lenders ...
Athens Bar files suit against UK over Iraq
The Athens Bar Association, which once sought to prosecute Norton Rose for its presence in Greece, is seeking to file a suit against the UK at the International Criminal Court (ICC). It claims that the UK's use of forces in Iraq constituted "crimes against humanity and war crimes".
Barclays Group gets rid of its HR and commoditised panels
Barclays Group has slashed two specialist panels as part of a six-month review of its legal outsourcing requirements.
Barclays panel review: the results
Barclays plc has announced that it has completed the six-month review of its legal panel.White & Case, Wragge & Co, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, SJ Berwin, CMS Cameron McKenna and
BLP grows private equity with Osborne Clarke hire
Osborne Clarke has suffered another blow in London with the loss of private equity partner Geraint Lloyd to Berwin Leighton Paisner.Lloyd counts among his clients the Close Brothers Group, for whom he works across several divisions on private equity-backed M&A transactions, development and ...
Campbell and Ruhan choose Wragges for Thistle purchase
Wragge & Co has won its first instruction from Midlands entrepreneur Alan Campbell, after he and longstanding Wragges client Andy Ruhan teamed up to buy hotel chain Thistle from Orb Estates.
Covington & Burling leads Middle East to a free press
Like other Americans of late, Covington & Burling's London managing partner Kurt Wimmer is about to take his first steps into the Middle East.Wimmer leads the pro bono efforts of the London office with a zeal that can only be attributed to his previous life as a trainee journalist, before (his words) "turning to the dark side". Since the early 1990s, Wimmer and his team have battled to create the legal framework for a free press in post-communist Eastern Europe, ...
Crate tidings
Tulkinghorn hears that there are ominous rumblings from Clifford Chance lawyers about the move to Canary Wharf. No, it's not about the abolition of the partners' dining room. Nor is it about all those expensive spare floors (tumbleweed optional). It's all to do with crates, apparently.It seems that some of the big swinging dudes are vastly unhappy at the edict that all ...
Curtis Mallet-Prevost & Gilioli in threeway Milan merger
New York firm Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle’s associated firm in Milan has merged with two Italian law firms and launched a new Milan office. Curtis Mallet-Prevost & Gilioli has teamed up with Alemani & Bocchiola and Tamburini & Associati.Milan and New York Partner Eric Gilioli commented: “We are extremely pleased with our success at integrating the three Italian firms with one another as well as with Curtis’s family of offices worldwide.”
Deals round-up
Linklaters (James Douglass) advised the arrangers for an offshore facility of $276m (£169m), IntesaBci SpA, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi (HK), Crédit Lyonnais, DZ Bank and Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank. The firm also acted for the arrangers of an onshore loan facility of Won245bn (£122.5m), Kookmin Bank and Samsung Life Insurance Co, in the financing of the Korean infrastructure Pusan Newport project. ...
Different strokes
In some countries the worlds of commerce and politics inevitably collide, making bribery rife. Robert Hunter warns of how offshore jurisdictions often unwittingly get involved
Divorce thoughts
Barely a day goes by without another rumour emanating from the Italian legal market. US firms are signing teams from X, while UK firms are merging with Y. But Tulkinghorn heard words of caution from one Italian in-house counsel this week and thought he ought to share it with all thoseflirty Anglo-Saxon firms. Commenting on the Grimaldi-Clifford Chance shenanigans, he said simply: "The ...
DLA rejig sees management board role come up for grabs
A place has become available on the DLA management board following today's (9 June) announcement that Alastair Da Costa is to give up his position to take over as head of corporate.
Eugene F Collins merges with property firm
Second-tier Dublin firm Eugene F Collins has taken over commercial property and finance boutique GD Fottrell & Sons.
Fathers invade High Court
Hundreds of angry fathers dressed in black and brandishing purple flags have staged a demonstration at the High Court in London, as part of a special Fathers Day protest against their treatment at the hands of Family Division judges.Between 60 and 70 men are said to have made it past security guards to occupy the Family Court building itself, while the protesters claim that up to 500 others staged a non-violent protest outside. The court is believed to have been in session ...
FCO puts prospective UK ECJ judges on trial
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) last week interviewed candidates to replace the UK's retiring European Court of Justice (ECJ) judge David Edwards.
Foley opens Tokyo office with IP star
US firm Foley & Lardner has gained its first foothold in Asia by launching an office in Tokyo.
Freshfields on brink of losing trophy client Royal Bank of Scotland
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has fallen out with and may lose key client Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). In the last few months, the bank has had discussions with other magic circle firms with a view to replacing Freshfields as board level adviser.
Freshfields set for RBS coup on GUS refinance
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer looks well placed to advise Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) if, as expected, the bank opts for a securitisation to refinance the Barclay brothers' acquisition of GUS's home shopping division.
Full of spirit
Allied Domecq general counsel Len Quaranto is no stranger to billion-pound transactions. Husnara Begum talks to the man who's expecting even more deals in the coming year
Germany's legal market: debunking the myths
Want to get ahead in Germany? Aled Griffiths reveals the seven steps to happiness
Gide Loyrette opens in London with Sidley hires
French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel is launching in London after taking four partners from US best friend Sidley Austin Brown & Wood. UK-qualified partners Michael Doran and Colin Mercer and US-qualified partners Scott Cameron and Christopher Mead will launch the office with Gide Loyrette partner Arnaud Duhamel, who will relocate from Paris. The haul comes from Sidley's corporate securities group in London.
Global concern
Different countries have different priorities when it comes to international tax information exchange. Anthony Travers says the OECD is keeping a watchful eye on the offshore world
Government lawyers to be offered judicial posts
The Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith announced last week that Government lawyers will be offered posts in the judiciary. Lawyers working for the Crown Prosecution Service, for example, will be eligible to sit as deputy district judges and civil recorders. He said full-time judicial posts may also be created and announced that applicants are sought for the post of Director of Public Prosecutions, as incumbent Sir David Calvert-Smith QC (left) is retiring. First reported on www.thelawyer.com/lawyer
Govt rids CFA cases of indemnity principle
The Government has thrown its weight behind the use of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) by removing a long-running legal complication that has made them confusing for clients.
Heller Ehrman hikes local Hong Kong capability
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe's Hong Kong office has scooped a team of lawyers from Siao Wen and Leung. The San Francisco-based firm has taken the bulk of Siao Wen's corporate securities, commercial and China practice, taking the number of lawyers in its Hong Kong office to 28. The 19-strong group comprises four partners, 15 associates and six trainee associates. The firm is also planning to open a Beijing office. First reported on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews 5 June
High Court figures take a nosedive
The financial crisis faced by the civil courts has been compounded by figures showing that the number of High Court claims has dropped by 66 per cent over the last five years.
Hodgart parts with Hildebrandt
Strategy consultant Alan Hodgart is leaving Hildebrandt International to set up his own business.Hodgart, a well-known commentator in the legal sector, merged his business Hodgart Temporal with US-based Hildebrandt three years ago. He leaves Hildebrandt at the end of this month.
Holme Roberts shrinkage prompts office change
Denver-based Holme Roberts & Owen is looking for smaller premises to house its London office. London-based partner Thomas Laursen said the firm is looking to leave its Savile Row office because the team has dropped from 13 fee-earners to five.
Host of a chance
A debate on the commercial lease code organised by Nabarro Nathanson last week boasted some pretty important names, including representatives from Land Securities, Hammerson and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It also happened to include Dixons Group managing director Martin Meech - who just happens to be finalising his real estate and property litigation panel at the moment.No doubt ...
Ince & Co lands Sinclair Roche shipping expert
Former Sinclair Roche & Temperley partner Michael Stockwood has joined Ince & Co's shipping team. He specialises in shipbuilding disputes and acts for shipowners, shipyards and banks, with a focus on Norway.
Irwin Mitchell loses IP head to Pinsents
Irwin Mitchell has lost its national head of intellectual property to Pinsent Curtis Biddle. James Love, one of Yorkshire’s most highly rated litigators, will replace Pinsents’ former IP head Stephen Chandler, who recently moved to a role with one of the firm’s clients. Love will be based at Pinsents’ office in Leeds, as Chandler was before he left.
Isle of Man hosts largest ever SEC fraud case
The Isle of Man has taken centre-stage in the largest Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud case of its kind in history
James Chapman & Co
James Chapman is fighting for a premier league place for its Manchester base
Jardine Matheson wins A&O partner
Linklaters client Jardine Matheson Group has appointed veteran Allen & Overy (A&O) corporate partner Jonathan Gould as its next general counsel based in Hong Kong.
Judges to be used as witnesses in Judge Blackie trial
Fergie Blackie, the retired judge arrested in Zimbabwe last year for allegedly attempting to ‘defeat the course of justice’, is facing trial at the end of this month. Judge Blackie’s trial is set for 30 June in the Harare Magistrates’ Court. The state is likely to call three other judges as witnesses. The UN has already condemned the Mugabe regime for stating that it would call judges as witnesses in the similar case of Mr Justice Paradza, a Zimbabwean ...
Land of trusts
Cayman Islands trusts are becoming increasingly popular and more complex. Grant Stein and Elisa Gatti give the lowdown on the different types of trusts and their main uses
Latham lures second Luther Menold partner
Ernst & Young's German law firm Luther Menold has lost its second partner in a month to Latham & Watkins.
Lawrence Graham continues with solid growth
Lawrence Graham continued its steady growth this year, boosting turnover by 7 per cent and average profits per partner by 3 per cent. Turnover is up to £54.9m from £50.5 last year, with average profits per partner now hitting £373,000. Corporate was up 11 per cent, generating £17.2m. It has now almost reached the size of the property department, traditionally the strongest, which last year generated ...
Leader
Please, Santa, when I go to work I'd like the following: yoga lessons, shopping discounts, mortgage assistance, sport and theatre tickets, a signing bonus, a concierge service, gym membership, a laptop, home insurance and reimbursement for househunting expenses. I'd also like to earn more than my parents ever dreamed of and then post endless messages in chatrooms moaning about how exploited I am.
Legal Widow
Deminimus came in on Sunday complaining that he wanted to go and play football with Thomas down the road, but that Thomas was spending hours cleaning his father's car. "I mean, it only takes half an hour, doesn't it? If he was washing it with his tongue he couldn't take longer," Deminimus despaired.
Linklaters beats rivals to Orange's German sale
Linklaters has elbowed aside Slaughter and May and Shearman & Sterling to advise Orange on the disposal of its German mobile company to Carphone Warehouse.
Linklaters partners set for New York rebellion
US strategy in turmoil as management gets tough; partners vow to protect lockstep
Linklaters secures Insinger de Beaufort
Linklaters looks set to win a new client out of its first ever deal for private equity giant Candover.
Liston quits McDermotts for Wilmer Cutler
McDermott Will & Emery’s London office will be left without a recognised telecoms expert on Friday, when Stephanie Liston leaves to join the London office of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering.At the same time tax partner Jonathan Ivinson is leaving McDermotts for the London office of US firm Hogan & Hartson to launch its tax team. Ivinson joined McDermotts last year from Swiss-based European telecommunications group Carrier1 International where he was head of tax. ...
Lovells gets go-ahead for Chinese expansion
Lovells has won a coveted licence to open a second office in China in the latest round of permits issued by the Chinese Ministry of Justice.
Lukoil forms adviser panel
Russian oil company Lukoil is setting up its first ever legal panel to regularise its process of firm selection for global work and reduce rates.
Mass Dechert defection sparks Palo Alto retreat for Oppenheimer
Lawyers at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly's Palo Alto office were informed of its closure just days before the firm pulled out of Silicon Valley.
Mayer Brown raids Holmans for Lloyd's
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw is extending its Lloyd's reinsurance practice with the hire of highly-rated reinsurance litigator Ian McKenna from Holman Fenwick & Willan.
McDermott partners choose Boston founder for top job
Boston-based McDermott Will & Emery partner Harvey Freishtat has beaten head of tax Michael Fayhee to become the firm’s new chairman.William Charnley, senior partner of McDermott’s London office, said both candidates were ideally suited to the role. However, he said that the firm’s management committee felt Freishtat's management experience made him better qualified for the top job. "He [Freishtat] is an excellent candidate and he’ll ...
Microsoft raids IBM for IP chief
Microsoft has poached the intellectual property (IP) chief of rival technology giant IBM.Marshall Phelps leaves his post as vice president for IP and licensing at IBM to manage Microsoft’s entire IP portfolio from its West Coast headquarters."Intellectual property is becoming even more important to the technology industry and to Microsoft's continued innovation," said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft. "As a company we are receiving ...
OPINION
This time last year I was congratulating the Law Society on the successful launch of the first ever National Pro Bono Week, which I hailed then as a well taken opportunity to demonstrate that lawyers are not ruthless, fee-generating machines, but rather caring, committed professionals who want to give something back to the community. The society was entitled to feel pleased with itself for helping to showcase an aspect of the profession's work that too often goes unsung.
Orrick creates special counsel role for Italy
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has created a new status of special counsel to help develop its fledgling Italian practice and is in the throes of negotiating a string of deals with high-profile individuals.
Ozannes given all-clear over conflict of interests
Appeal Court ruling echoes Koch v Richards Butler; Ozannes speaks out for client freedom of choice
Paul Hastings grows Tokyo with Goldman Sachs hire
Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker has bolstered its Tokyo real estate finance practice with the appointment of Naosuke Fujita, the managing director of Goldman Sachs’ legal department in Japan. Paul Hastings hopes that Fujita’s move to its joint venture firm Taiyo Law Office as a partner will strengthen relations with the US investment bank. “I am hoping that I will be retained by Goldman Sachs – [it] is an excellent financial institution,” ...
Pillsbury raids Wilson Sonsini in East Coast drive
Pillsbury Winthrop has widened its recruitment drive to the US East Coast after taking on the co-founding partner of West Coast rival Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's New York office. Babak 'Bo' Yaghmaie is joining the firm's corporate and securities group, where he will specialise in high-tech, life science, investment bank and venture capital clients. First reported on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews 5 June
Post-merger results slump at Theodores
Legacy Theodore Goddard posts ten per cent revenue drop for 2002-2003
Rouse & Co buys patent agents and plans Munich launch
Intellectual property consultancy Rouse & Co International has acquired White & Associates, a firm of patent agents based in Yorkshire, and has announced plans to open an office in Munich this year.Patent agent Nick White, the former owner of White & Associates, remains a director of Rouse Patents, the new name for his company, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Rouse & Co.“We aim to offer a European centre of excellence for patent procurement ...
Salaries fall for law firm chief execs in London and South East
The average salary for chief executives in law firms of over 50 partners has fallen this year from £192,000 to £188,000 in London and the South East, but has risen from £127,000 to £138,000 in the rest of the country. A survey carried out by recruiters Carter Murray also found that the highest salary package among the law firm chief executives it surveyed was £310,000 this year, climbing slightly from last year’s highest salary of £300,000.
Scary canaries
If you go down to the park next week, you could be in for a big surprise - and you'll certainly see some well-known property figures in a whole new light.Canary Wharf general counsel and highly-rated songstress Michael Ashley- Brown will be performing in drag at the Party Near the Park charity event for the Unicorn Theatre. Ashley-Brown is even rumoured to have hired a costume from the BBC for the event. He will appear with two female colleagues as the Fabulous Canary ...
Secrecy pact
An OECD report has uncovered loopholes that allow beneficial owners of vessels to go unnamed. Richard Coles reports on how easy it is to bypass shipping registration rules
Simmons loses partner from Brussels practice
Simmons & Simmons Brussels partner Conor Maguire has quit the firm. A Simmons spokesperson said he had "left by mutual consent".
SJ Berwin profits fall for third year
SJ Berwin has been hit hard by a recent dearth of corporate work, seeing its turnover dip by 5 per cent and its profits drop by around 20 per cent.
Skadden ditches associate sabbaticals in $1m economy drive
The balance of power between law firms and their associates is beginning to shift back towards the partnership after New York giant Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom announced plans to scrap its sabbatical programme.
Social conscience
As the top law firms come out in force for Pro Bono Week, Jon Robins asks: will the Government's support of free advice undermine legal aid firms' efforts to gain funding?
Squire Sanders bags Coudert team in Beijing
Squire Sanders & Dempsey's China practice has scooped a team from Coudert Brothers' Beijing office. The US firm has hired US-qualified partners James Zimmerman and Sungo Shim and three associates for its Beijing office, taking its lawyers to eight. The firm also plans a Shanghai office by the year's end. First reported on www.thelawyer.com/lawyernews 3 June
Straight to the point
Jersey trust law is highly evolved, but it often needs to be clarified. David Cadin reports on key recent cases
Sutti sets pro bono challenge
Independent Italian firm Studio Legale Sutti is hoping to shame its international and domestic competitors into launching pro bono initiatives by creating its own centralised programme, a step that is extremely unusual in the Italian market.
Thomas Eggar creates construction unit
South East firm Thomas Eggar has launched a standalone construction and engineering unit. It will be based in the Reigate office and will be headed up by Mark Clinton, who will relocate from London. Litigation partner John Kittow will also work with the unit.
UK law firms fail to cash in on insolvency and restructuring
The legal fees on the 12-year BCCI insolvency reached £100m this year, with Lovells taking the lion's share of the cash, while Allen & Overy made a staggering £31m for less than two years work on the restructuring of Marconi. But will corporate restructuring and insolvency work see City lawyers through the downturn? Not quite.
US general counsel up on fraud charges
For The first time in US corporate history, a general counsel has been indicted for alleged securities fraud.
Wikborg Rein hires UK duo in Singapore
Norwegian firm Wikborg Rein & Co has significantly bolstered its UK capability in Singapore with the appointment of a two-lawyer team from Watson Farley & Williams, led by consultant Stephen Fordham.
Workers' rights hit Jersey
Jersey society is about to experience employment laws for the first time
Worldcom general counsel resigns
Worldcom general counsel Michael Salsbury has resigned together with treasurer Susan Mayer, a day after reports revealed further details of the accounting scandals that have bankrupted the telecoms company.The reports, which were compiled for the bankruptcy court and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), excused the legal chief of any financial wrongdoing but lambasted the legal and audit teams for failing to control a corporate culture where acts of wrongdoing ...
You won't be back
Whenever Tulkinghorn has spoken to Americans in the past, he has found them to be sensitive souls, not the sort who'd want to offend people (well, not to their faces at least). That's why it was so refreshing, though somehow strangely disturbing, to talk to the PR chap at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly.The Minneapolis firm recently decided to shut down all its US offices apart from its headquarters, sparking the inevitable question of whether there would be any ...
