Harbottle & Lewis’s head of music Antony Bebawi has scooped a new role as the head of legal affairs at EMI Music Publishing. The firm will restructure after his departure, bringing together James Sully, who also heads up its music group, with specialist partner in interactive, media and games, Sebastian Belcher. Belcher and Sully will […]
Hammonds’ former managing partner, Chris Jones, will leave the firm in May next year after the firm’s 15-month equity partner lock-in comes to an end. The news of Jones’s departure follows hot on the heels of senior partner Richard Burns’s announcement in July that he is to quit his role at the end of the […]
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised Roman Abramovich on the $13.1bn (£7.4bn) sale of oil producer Sibneft to Gazprom, which was advised by Linklaters. Skadden again acted for Russian billionaire and Cheslea FC owner Abramovich, the majority shareholder of Sibneft, as his investment company Millhouse Capital sold its 73 per cent stake in Russia’s […]
ALSTON & Bird has welcomed back partner Joe Whitley to the fold after two years as the first general counsel to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), created in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York. As general counsel, Whitley oversaw about 1,500 lawyers and 400 support staff from 22 […]
Hunton & Williams has taken on the Bangkok office of disintegrating US firm Coudert Brothers. Two partners, Stephen Bennett and Surasak Vajasit, and a team of 12 associates joined Coudert from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in September 2004. The pair were offered positions at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary in June, but opted to stay with […]
US firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr will start using the shortened name WilmerHale from October 1. As first revealed in The Lawyer 6 June 2005, the change had been due in July, but was delayed out of respect for the recent deaths of founding partners Lloyd Cutler and John Pickering. Both men had […]
US firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius has announced a new Japanese joint venture with TMI Associates – TMI’s second international joint venture. TMI also has an official relationship with UK firm Simmons & Simmons, which was established in September 2001. The new partnership, named Morgan Lewis-TMI, will specialise primarily in cross-border corporate transactions in Japan […]
Herbert Smith has raided software company Oracle for a new chief operating officer (COO). The firm has hired Norman Green, Oracle’s chief financial officer for the UK, Ireland and South Africa as COO. Prior to joining Oracle Green was finance director at Arthur Andersen. Green’s remuneration package is believed to include an annual salary of […]
The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) will next week launch a new guide to the court following a sweeping review designed to improve its reputation. TCC head Mr Justice Jackson will launch the guide on Monday (3 October), nearly four months after the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice announced major changes to the way […]
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham has recruited the head of legal and business affairs from client Music Choice Europe. Gregor Pryor joins Kirkpatrick as a senior associate in the firm’s London entertainment group. Pryor was a member of Hammonds commercial and IP department before moving in-house. Digital music pioneer Music Choice Europe was acquired in […]
The Paris office of Clifford Chance has launched an investigation into the source of controversial comments about clients that were leaked by a member of staff. The incident, which took place last week, put Clifford Chance in an embarrassing position with major client, Airbus and its parent company EADS forcing the firm to apologise immediately. […]
UK entertainment and media law firm Sheridans is set to launch a new film and television practice after snatching two partners from The Simkins Partnership. Media law specialists Peter McInerney and Robin Hilton, both former partners of Simkins, will lead the new practice. Peter and Robin’s team will also include assistants Kate Davies and Kazuko […]