What was your first-ever job? A Saturday job in BHS in Belfast when I was 16 where my potential was swiftly recognised to the extent that I was moved from being on security on day one to cleaning out the freezing and bloody meat fridges in the butchery department on day two, where I remained […]
Bad news for outsourcer Integreon as two top legal clients pull work back in-house Last week was not a good one for the big beast of the outsourcing jungle, Integreon. The company got hit by a double whammy of marquee clients turning their backs on it, at least partly. The week of hell kicked off […]
Financial companies’ lawyers should brace themselves as the new regulator makes its mark Today (1 April) the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) come into existence, replacing the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Apart from the obvious point about the significance of the commencement date, what will be different about the FCA? […]
Cypriot lawyers say lawsuits are likely following bailout cash grab It ain’t over yet – that’s the message from lawyers in Cyprus, the latest poster boy for those forecasting the demise of the eurozone. A last-minute bailout deal may have averted the country’s bankruptcy and temporarily calmed markets, but local lawyers anticipate a wave of […]
The Scottish legal market is on its knees: discuss. A pessimist could certainly make a case for this. In a smaller market, overlawyering becomes rather more obvious. In the past few years we’ve seen a serious player falter (Dundas & Wilson), another firm collapse (Semple Fraser) and a whole slew of practices (McGrigors, Biggart Baillie, […]
The recent move by US firm Bracewell & Giuliani to ramp up recruitment in its London office suggests that the shale gas sector is a particularly hot one in the UK right now. But is that reallythe case? According to Freddie Lawson of Glass Consultancy, lawyers with LNG experience are currently in high demand. “There […]
While Scottish banks prospered law firms lived like lairds, moving into modern, high-end premises. But then came the crash When Glasgow-headquartered Semple Fraser called in the administrators on 8 March the reaction from Scotland’s legal fraternity was one of knowing surprise: they knew something like this was going to happen at some point, they just […]
The very British Pryce/Huhne farce would hardly have raised an eyebrow in France The Pryce/Huhne story has been explored from almost every news and legal angle. Indeed, at times it seems as though the whole sorry saga has been dreamed up by some fanciful law lecturer trying to construct a single case study to cover […]
An increasing number of CEOs at top companies have legal backgrounds There’s no denying that, in the words of Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changing. And in changing times, some do good – just look into the boardrooms of the FTSE 100. According to Reed Smith and KPMG, the proportion of CEOs with a […]
Pinsents wins Balfour Beatty work, but it’s getting harder to make big-name rosters Every law firm wants to be on the panel of a big company. But with fees falling and the sophistication of in-house departments rising, the benefits are not as obvious as they used to be. That’s why Pinsent Masons is justifiably delighted […]
The UK has weakened its sanctions against Iran by falling into line with the amended EU regime In November 2011 the UK broke ranks with the EU and introduced its own Iranian sanctions regime. The Financial Restrictions (Iran) Order 2011 targeted the financial services sector by prohibiting financial institutions in the UK from doing business […]
Government looks poised to sidestep tough decisions following Francis NHS report There is an expectation on all NHS staff, under the NHS Constitution, that they acknowledge mistakes, apologise for them, explain what happened and put matters right. However, this is not what has been happening in the service. Robert Francis QC, in his recent report […]