Weightmans has been axed from two panels, lost its retail and leisure team and seen merger talks collapse, but senior partner Ian Evans is fighting on Manchester is uncharacteristically sunny and looking pretty damn fine when I meet Ian Evans, senior partner of Weightmans. Although based in Liverpool, Evans has travelled down the M62 to […]
Dealing with lawyers can be so disappointing sometimes, as experienced by Christopher Digby-Bell at Palmer Capital Partners. Recently a firm (which shall remain nameless to spare its blushes) came in to pitch. Expecting at most two of them, he was astonished when half a dozen trooped in. There then followed a tedious hour or so […]
Linklaters & Alliance and Herbert Smith are advising Innogy Holdings and Northern Electric on a landmark asset swap deal.Innogy, which was part of National Power until a year ago, is giving up its interests in its Yorkshire electricity distribution business and associated debt in exchange for Northern Electric’s electricity and gas supply business.A Linklaters team […]
Risanamento advised by Simmons & Simmons (Damon Le Maitre-George, Manfredi Vianini Tolornei). Global Switch’s shareholders advised by Ashurst Morris Crisp, Wragge & Co and Canadian firm Davies Ward Philips & Vineberg.
Rarely has Mrs Tulkinghorn been as interested in a case as she is in the possibility of David Ginola taking his Aston Villa FC boss to court for harassment.The French footballer – who is worth a whole lot more than the couple of quid a bottle of the shampoo he advertises costs – is considering […]
The Law Society has been strongly criticised by former president Robert Sayer over its handling of a postal ballot on the proposed rise in the Practising Certificate (PC) fee The postal ballot sent out last week asks members to vote for or against a resolution presented at the AGM by former president Robert Sayer calling […]
A round up of stories from the UK and around the world Gowling Lafleur Henderson and Smith Lyons have merged to form Canada’s second-largest firm. The merged firm now totals 700 fee-earners, while Canada’s largest, McCarthy Tétrault, has just eight more, according to its figures at the end of June. The merger will strengthen Gowling’s […]
DLA has promoted Steven Norris to the role of national head of regulated procurement. Norris will lead a group advising public and private sector clients on procurement matters.Norris will operate from the firm’s Leeds office. He said: “The regulation of procurement by the public and utility sectors is of ever-increasing importance, both from a commercial […]
Three magic circle firms are dominating the European market for Medium Term Note (EMTN) programmes, leaving clear blue water between themselves and their closest rival for the last six months, Hengeler Mueller Weitzel Wirtz. Only three US firms made it into the top 10 of advisers to lead managers on EMTN programmes signed from 1 […]
Nabarro Nathanson is set to lose one of its best-known property finance partners to Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker as the US firm ramps up its London real estate practice. Nigel Heilpern is still negotiating his leaving date with Nabarros, where he has spent his entire 15-year career.His clients include joint ventures comprising overseas investors, […]
Former Biddle senior partner Martin Winter has won three new clients for Taylor Joynson Garrett’s private equity department since he moved to the firm in May. He has already completed a deal for one of them, Legal & General Ventures, on its acquisition of Craegmoor Healthcare Group.Craegmoor is the UK’s largest nursing home operator. Legal […]
The press is campaigning for a change in libel law, claiming freedom of expression to be the highest goal. But Jonathan Coad asks: is it really the public’s interest they have in mind? Even for a lawyer who believes in the value of free speech and who makes their living defending media clients from libel […]