According to proponents of chaos theory, the gentle flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Indonesia has the potential to spark a hurricane in Bermuda. Now, we don’t claim to understand the complexities of the Ricker model or Poincaré maps any more than the next fella on the Clapham Omnibus, but ructions in the legal market […]
Ipswich firm Birketts is planning to merge with Chelmsford-based Wollastons to create a firm that would be propelled into the top 100 UK firms by turnover. No deal has been reached as yet, but according to Birketts managing partner Nigel Farthing, “partners from both firms have confirmed their enthusiasm to progress with negotiations”. If talks […]
The US justice system protects lawyers from being sued by dissatisfied clients to a greater degree than its English counterpart. John Keeney and Giles Hutt put paid to a popular misconception and examine the key differences between the two systems There is a general perception that it is easier to succeed in negligence and […]
Forsters’ former corporate head Jeremy Whiteson (left) has left the firm to join West End rival Fladgate. Whiteson, who has been a partner at Forsters for nine years, join as a partner in Fladgate’s corporate practice. Move of the week He was replaced as corporate head by former Withers partner Craigie Pearson in April. […]
Bondholders rejoice as ’mini-bubble’ buoys Central London’s property sector. By Luke McLeod-Roberts Paul Hastings partners Conor Downey and Michelle Duncan will be patting themselves on the back this week. Having been instructed by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) to act on the receivership of a string of corporate vehicles and the sale of nine properties […]
White & Case has advised Russian property developer AFI Development on a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The placement of 520 million B ordinary shares, giving a market capitalisation of £550m, comes following the IPO of its global depository receipts (GDR) on the LSE in 2007. London corporate partner Greg Stonefield, who […]
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Nabarro and SJ Berwin have assisted on the sale of a chic London hotel in one of the largest European hotel deals this year. A joint venture made up of US-based opportunity fund Starwood Capital and European property company London & Regional bought the 1,019-bedroom luxury Cumberland Hotel based at London’s Marble Arch for an […]
Ashurst and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe have scored leading roles on the investment by Landprop – the development arm of the Inter IKEA Group – in a 12.9 acre site near the London 2012 Olympic Park. Ashurst real estate partner David Jones led the team acting for new client Landprop in its first investment in […]
Travers Smith has bagged a lead role advising on the creation of a new banking venture that will target state-owned assets. Head of corporate Spencer Summerfield and corporate finance partner Anthony Foster are leading the Travers team acting for the new client. The initial plans for the entity would see it seeking an AIM listing in the next month […]
The US firm would gain access to Europe, but what’s in it for SJ Berwin? Proskauer Rose has battened down the hatches as its merger talks with SJ Berwin enter an advanced stage – the firm said it preferred not to comment on this article. But while Proskauer may be reluctant to speak about its […]
Salans has poached a team of real estate lawyers, including rainmaker Pawel Debowski, from Clifford Chance’s Warsaw office. Debowski, one of the leading real estate lawyers in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), is leaving Clifford Chance after four years to join Salans’ Warsaw office as head of CEE. His exact leaving date is yet to […]
Mental health conditions are a particular challenge in equality law because claimants often experience difficulty in proving that they are disabled. There appears to be a resistance within tribunals and courts to making mental health conditions less onerous to prove under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), partly because of a fear of too many […]