Sean Farrell meets Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Paul Harter, who is charged with implementing plans for the US firm to start practising English law in London. Paul Harter, corporate partner at US-based firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, has been practising law in London for 10 years, yet had never appeared in The Lawyer until […]
As relief agencies are still picking through the rubble and shrapnel left after the war in Kosovo UK law firms are at the forefront of attempts to rebuild the country. Some have already begun to form links with regeneration groups. And others, which specialise in construction, are following their clients into the region. Clifford Chance, […]
Designers Guild and Russell Williams (Textiles) may go to the House of Lords in a copyright tussle. Designers Guild successfully sued Russell Williams in the High Court last year, alleging infringement of copyright in one of its fabric designs. However, Russell Williams succeeded in overturning the decision on appeal. The Appeal Court ruled there had […]
Denton Hall advised the Equitable Life Assurance Society on development of Basingstoke shopping centre Festival Place. The scheme is funded through a partnership between Equitable Life, Grosvenor Estate, Hermes and the National Provident Institution (NPI). Nichola West, property partner at Denton Hall, acted on the deal with corporate partner Charles Green and assistant Joanne Knibb. […]
In Shops Centre and Bristol City Council are heading for the High Court in a dispute over repairs to a car park in Bristol. In Shops says that joists supporting the car park floors are in danger of collapsing unless u20,000 repairs are carried out. However, the company, which is represented by Warwick-based solicitors Moore […]
Norton Rose acted for Scotia Water Dalmuir on the £50m design, build, finance and operation of new waste-water treatment works at Dalmuir. Banking partner David Coulter led Norton Rose’s team. Bird Semple acted for Scotia Water. Wilde Sapte and McGrigor Donald advised Paribas, which arranged the loan. Dundas & Wilson acted for the West of […]
Roger Pearson reports on a row between BT and the Humber Bridge Board over access to telecom cables on the crossing. A legal battle centring on the Humber Bridge is heading for the High Court. The Humber Bridge Board faces a courtroom confrontation with British Telecom as the latest move in a row over access […]
A recent High Court Family Division action before Mr Justice Sumner has introduced a new dimension to litigation aimed at obtaining orders for the mentally handicapped to be sterilised. A string of cases in which sterilisation orders have been sought, and often granted, in respect of mentally handicapped women has built up since 1976. Now, […]
The Government’s proposed legislation for limited liability partnerships (LLPs) will put City law firms at a disadvantage overseas firms with offices in the UK, say critics of the bill. The draft Limited Liability Partnership Bill requires UK LLPs to disclose accounts, but does not require overseas LLPs to do so. This would mean US partnerships […]
The Law Society is launching an internet service which will allow firms to compare their financial performance with their competitors. Members of the society’s law management section will be able to use the new benchmarking service to measure their profitability against other firms of similar size and area of work, although all the information will […]
What was your first job? Bartender on a luxury cruise ship in the Caribbean. What subjects did you fail at school? Mathematics – the accounts department are my best friends. What was your first ever salary as a lawyer? 300 zlotychs. What would you have done if you hadn’t been a lawyer? A vet. What […]
Formerly law-abiding Liverpool mother Patricia McCarthy has been jailed for a year for theft and burglary by Preston Crown Court – despite winning u450,000 compensation from doctors a month earlier for brain damage which occurred during an operation and caused criminal tendencies. McCarthy’s barrister, William Parkinson of 19 Castle Street in Liverpool claimed her Jekyll […]