General counsel Carol Hui and her small team are guiding Heathrow through turbulent times Building a third runway at Heathrow; curbing growth at Stansted; using RAF Northolt for short-haul civilian flights; and even constructing a ‘Boris Island’-style transport hub on Kent’s Isle of Grain – all these were ideas pitched to former FSA chairman Sir Howard […]
Judicial appointments system must be overhauled to boost the legitimacy of decision-making The concept of institutional discrimination is now familiar. It is seen in processes, attitudes and behaviours that amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice and stereotyping that disadvantage people in a minority group. One thinks immediately of the police and ethnic minorities, but what of […]
China link could give SJ Berwin the friendly leg-up it needs Earlier this month, BBC world affairs editor John Simpson questioned whether China is friend or foe to the West. A day later SJ Berwin (SJB) gave its own answer by voting in favour of a merger with Sino-Australian King & Wood Mallesons (KWM). The […]
What just happened? At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the $1bn merger of SJ Berwin (SJB) and King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) looks capable of kicking off a ramped-up round of global consolidation. For any US or UK firm out there that has lost its way, maybe they should tap ‘Asia’ into the satnav. That […]
Peter Chater has been head of resourcing at Herbert Smith Freehills since October 2008, when he joined from credit rating agency Fitch. Prior to that he worked at recruiter Hudson and in the HR team at Goldman Sachs. Chater studied politics in Warwick and, on graduating, spent a year as a police officer in the West […]
The move of Salans’ former UK head of international arbitration George Burn from Dentons to Vinson & Elkins this month seems to be part of a larger pattern – US firms bulking up their arbitration practices. What does this tell us about the UK job market? Well, reactions from recruiters are mixed. For Freddie Lawson […]
Feathers fly as regulator is accused of getting itself into a mess over interventions Nobody loves a regulator. They are either too hard or too soft, too hands on or too arm’s length. If the SRA had not already learnt this lesson the row swirling around Midlands high street practice Challinors must have brought it […]
What was your first-ever job? Collecting beer glasses in my parents’ nightclub in Eire at the age of six. What was your worst experience as a trainee? Leaving aside 9/11 being my first day as a trainee, I suppose it must be losing my cool as a second-seat trainee in a closing meeting and telling […]
The city-state is working hard to become a global wealth management hub, and law firms are gearing up for a prosperous new world Singapore has just celebrated its 48th birthday as a republic. The young nation has a lot of achievements to be proud of, among them its growing reputation as Asia’s premier wealth management […]
Never mind the secrecy demands of the rich and famous, keep the barriers to open justice high The Court of Appeal (CoA) recently upheld the centuries-old British tradition of open justice in Apex Global Management Ltd v (i) Fi Call UK Ltd (ii) Global Torch Ltd (iii) HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal bin Abdulaziz Al […]
Move of the week Brodies has added DLA Piper partner Neil Burgess to its corporate team. Burgess will be based in Glasgow and focuses on acquisitions, disposals and investments both in the UK and overseas. He was at DLA for eight years, six and a half of which spent were as a partner, having previously […]
New ‘pay-to-play’ rule will do little to ease the pressure on the Employment Tribunal system For employment lawyers and the Employment Tribunal system, 29 July was a significant date. First, new rules of procedure came into force, with the aim of simplifying rules criticised for not being user-friendly. In many ways, the new rules formalise […]