11 December 2000

Law Society harassment claims to be investigated

At least two members of Law Society staff have made formal complaints of bullying and harassment under the body’s “Dignity at Work” policy, through the MSF trade union. Two workers at the Law Society are understood to have left or are in the process of changing jobs because of the alleged harassment. Bahl has denied […]

Clayton Utz on expansion drive

The expansion drive in the firm’s Government Services Group is part of it’s strategy to bring in more outsourced government legal work. The firm has already brought in former immigration secretary Chris Conybeare and former government lawyers Paul Armarego, Wal Jurkiewicz and John Carroll. Further appointments are understood to be announced soon. National chairman Brian […]

Melbourne firm appoints chief executive

John Chisholm takes up the newly created role at Middletons after spending 21 years at Maddocks – a firm his grandfather helped found in 1939. Chisholm’s father, Don, is still with the medium-sized Australian firm after 45 years of service. Chisholm is charged with introducing a new management strategy that will blend the cultures of […]

Clifford Chance pulls out of Vietnam

The firm’s regional managing partner for Asia, John East, reportedly says the offices in Hanoi and southern Ho Chi Minh City will probably close in the first half of next year. Clifford Chance opened in Vietnam in 1994 when economic indicators in the region looked good. It is understood, however, that investors have since found […]

Simmons & Simmons partner case declared a mistrial

For the second time this year, jurors in a New York court hearing the case against David Sandy could not reach a verdict. After four days deliberation, the jury voted 11 to one for conviction, unable to reach the majority verdict required. Sandy is charged with concealing the computer business diary of BCCI’s chief executive. […]

Garretts loses third partner in a month

Corporate finance partner Roland Todd is joining the Leeds office of Dibb Lupton Alsop in January. His departure comes two weeks after the founder of Garretts’ Manchester office, head of banking Susan Molloy, announced she was leaving for Halliwell Landau. Share scheme partner Shabnam Qasim also announced his departure for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Birmingham practice. But Garretts’ […]

Former Sonnenschein managing partner joins Warner Cranston

Peter Borrowdale joins the City firm’s corporate and finance team in January. The move comes after US firm Sonnenschein closed its eight-strong London office at the beginning of this month. Ironically, Warner Cranston and Sonnenschein were in merger discussions earlier this year, but the talks fell through (The Lawyer October 4). Peter Alfandry, Warner Cranston’s […]

Kamlesh Bahl accused of harassment

At least three Law Society staff members are understood to have officially complained that Bahl has subjected them to bullying and intimidation. The society’s staff trade union has reportedly become involved. The former chairman of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Bahl was asked to absent herself from her official duties at a closed meeting of the […]

In-house counsel quits

The former deputy director of the division of investment management at the Securities and Exchange Commission, she has worked for major financial institutions such as AIG and Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management, a subsidiary of PaineWebber. The firm says Hoene will focus on mutual funds and the representation of investment advisers. Robert McTamaney, head of corporate […]

Clifford Chance agrees Luxembourg merger

Partners at both firms voted overwhelmingly for the union which has won approval from the Luxembourg Bar Association and will take place from 1 January 2000. The marriage to Faltz & Kremer, the country’s sixth largest firm with 20 lawyers, gives Clifford Chance a foothold in Luxembourg’s lucrative banking market. The new firm will be […]

Edge Ellison hires IT guru

IT and telecoms specialist, Oscar Rowlands – who headed up Sabre’s legal department for Europe, Middle East and Africa – joins Edge as a partner. He will join the law firm’s nine-lawyer Technology Law Group whose clients include Dolphin Telecommunications, Mindshare Digital and Blue Wave Systems. Rowlands, who holds degrees in both law and computer […]

Criminal courts face radical overhaul

Barristers who take too long cross-examining witnesses will be curbed, and Lord Irvine said he wants to move away from the “no blame culture” which exists between the CPS, police and defence lawyers. The sweeping review comes hot on the heels of a damning report from the National Audit Office which concluded that £85 million […]