Jonathan Goldstein
With the launch of LongAcre, Olswang’s corporate finance house, chief executive Jonathan Goldstein has been thrust into the public eye. Fiona Callister talks to a man with no doubts.
Property
Simmons & Simmons acted for Despa, the German open ended fund, in the £63m sale of its property at 49 Leadenhall Street to the City of London Real Property Company. The building was previously the headquarters of the Institute of London Underwriters. The team was run by property partner Alan Butler while Nabarro Nathanson advised […]
Salary hikes out of ocntrol
I am head of legal for a medium size manufacturing company which exports the majority of its output. With a large share of those exports going to euroland, we are being forced to economise just to keep people in jobs. How heartening it is that the likes of Macfarlanes and Biddle feel able to award […]
It’s been a bad week for
Judges who want to surf. New rules issued by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine ban judges from using the internet for online shopping or general surfing. One thousand laptops will be issued to judges to provide regular updates on cases. Tony Blair. The world’s leading internet watchdog warned the Prime Minister last week that his […]
Confiscating money does not pay
Ian Smith says greater powers to confiscate the proceeds of crime could go too far. Is an anti-Al Capone regime the best way to make sure that crime does not pay? When the Government announced its plans to confiscate the assets of suspected criminals, whether or not they have been convicted, it made current draconian […]
Quote of the week
“We were prepared to lose a little of our precious independence in return for its name and the quality of its activities.” – Gianni Origoni partner Alessandro Giuliani becomes the first lawyer to admit the real reason why not everyone wants to be alone.
Richards Butler
Richards Butler acted for the Commercial Bank of Qatar on arranging a £120m loan agreement to finance future public and private sector initiatives. The facility was arranged with a number of international, regional and local banks. Richards Butler banking partner Hugh Thompson acted on the deal from the firm’s associate office in Qatar. Clifford Chance‘s […]
A VIEW FROM DUBAI
Dubai is the commercial centre of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) located on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf. It is the second largest of the seven Emirates which make up the UAE with Abu Dhabi being the capital. The seven Emirates were British protectorates between 1892 and 1971. On the British withdrawal, the […]
£450m shortfall was not cause of SIF’s collapse
In her first interview since leaving the Solicitor’s Indemnity Fund, former managing director Elizabeth Mullins has denied that the fund’s £450m shortfall was the cause of its demise. By mid-1998 SIF had a £450m shortfall and was forced to go cap in hand to the profession, a move which led to the Law Society vote […]
US firms struggle to hire local talent as partners resist the lure of profits
Despite having plenty of cash, US firms in London are finding it hard to recruit local lawyers. Claire Smith reports The us’s most profitable firms are failing to attract UK lawyers in the London market, who are opting instead for the smaller pay packets of their less profitable rivals. Figures released by American Lawyer magazine […]
Holman loses HK partner to Bird &Bird
Hong Kong partner Edward Alder is leaving Holman Fenwick & Willan to join Bird & Bird‘s expanding Far East practice. He will join the firm’s Hong Kong office, which has grown fivefold in the last year. Alder specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, particularly regarding IT, telecoms and e-commerce. He trained in the UK and […]
Placements
Allen & Overy‘s Hong Kong office advised Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) on its listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Trading on HKEx, which is the new holding company of the stock exchange, futures exchange and their associated clearing houses, commenced on 27 June when it initially listed more […]