19 February 1996

President was out of line

I read with mounting concern the article by John Malpas in your edition of 30 January. I deplore the publicity that the president of the Law Society appears to have sought in criticising some members of his staff. I would have thought it was elementary common sense and the bounden duty of the president to […]

Perils of complacency

The move by Kennedys to set up an office in Belfast is a brave one, despite its unfortunate timing. The Northern Irish legal marketplace is small and difficult to penetrate. However, with increasing numbers of English companies going to the province, there is more business for one and all, although NI lawyers would be the […]

Property

Charles Russell, acting jointly with Slaughter and May, advised Cannon Bridge Investments on the £64 million sale of Canon Bridge EC4 to Cannon Bridge Partnership – a joint venture between Pillar Property Investments and GE Pension Trust, advised by Gouldens. Travers Smith Braithwaite advised two German banks providing finance.

Family quarrels turn political

The reputation of the Lord Chancellor, and the livelihoods of up to 20,000 solicitors, hang in the balance this month as the controversial Family Law Bill faces its first real parliamentary test. The Bill, some 81 pages long with 60 clauses, is seen by some worried family law practitioners as the beginning of a shift […]

Property

Stones Porter advised Green Property in a joint venture with GE Capital, advised by Nabarro Nathanson, for the acquisition of a £32million portfolio of industrial properties from Standard Life, advised by Herbert Smith.

Financings

Ashurst Morris Crisp acted as supervisory counsel for Union Bank of Switzerland as senior debt arranger and underwriter in a Dutch-based leveraged buy-out in the electrical goods industry. The debt totalled 125 million guilders. UBS was advised by Leoff Claeys Verbeke on all Dutch matters.

Property

DJ Freeman acted for property developer Argent Group in a £350 million project. The firm advised on corporate, property and banking aspects of a joint venture, Argent Development.

Scott casts 'no doubt on my integrity' says Lyell

Lawyers have featured prominently in Sir Richard Scott’s report on arms to Iraq. The Government’s top lawyer, Attorney General Sir Nicholas Lyell, faces daily calls for his resignation as a result of his role in the Matrix Churchill trial. Scott criticises Lyell for advising Ministers they had a duty to sign Public Interest Immunity Certificates […]

End compensation ceiling, says report

THE LIMIT on unfair dismissal compensation should be scrapped, according to a report by the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA). The Government is carrying out its annual review of the limit of unfair dismissal compensatory awards (currently £11,300) and the limit of a week’s pay for calculating redundancy payments (currently £210). The ELA claims that limits […]

In brief: Conference to debate women's rights

Womens’ rights around the world will be the subject of a British Council/Warwick University conference on 26-28 February in Stratford-upon-Avon. A follow up to the Bejing Declaration on Women’s Rights, the conference will take further the debate that the law and legal strategies can play a part in promoting womens’ rights and inclusion within society. […]

In brief: Hammond Suddards

Richard Burns is the head of corporate finance at Hammond Suddards, not Christoper Arnheim as reported on 6 February issue.

East European first

Baker & Mckenzie advised on the first ever takeover of a listed company in Central and Eastern Europe last week. The firm advised US Pharmaceuticals giant, Bristol-Myers Squibb on the US$110 million takeover of Pharmavit, a pharmaceutical company listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange. The offer involved an innovative simultaneous domestic offer to Hungarian shareholders […]