At the end of the nineteenth century, Oscar Wilde brought an action for criminal libel against the Marquess of Queensbury, only to end up being prosecuted himself. Fast forward 65 years, when a prosecution was launched against Penguin Books for the publication of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. What followed was not a conviction of the defendant […]
Nokia is to assess six panel firms on their equity, inclusion and diversity (E, I&D) credentials through a new scorecard system. As part of the initiative, Nokia’s legal and compliance organisation will conduct quarterly and annual assessments of its key panel law firms. The initiative was presented to firms in March, with Eversheds Sutherland, Roschier, […]
Shearman & Sterling has hired long-serving project finance partner David Clinch from Herbert Smith Freehills to replenish its projects team in Singapore. The appointment is one of a few senior level hires made by Shearman & Sterling in the city state in recent years. Clinch joins the US firm as a partner following a 27-year […]
A corporate partner in Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom’s Hong Kong office has moved to one of the firm’s clients Grab as group general counsel. Christopher Betts has relocated to Singapore to take up the new in-house role. He joined the Singapore-headquartered “super app” in the same month when Grab formalised its plan to […]
At the end of the nineteenth century, Oscar Wilde brought an action for criminal libel against the Marquess of Queensbury, only to end up being prosecuted himself. Fast forward 65 years, when a prosecution was launched against Penguin Books for the publication of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. What followed was not a conviction of the defendant […]
Nokia is to assess six panel firms on their equity, inclusion and diversity (E, I&D) credentials through a new scorecard system. As part of the initiative, Nokia’s legal and compliance organisation will conduct quarterly and annual assessments of its key panel law firms. The initiative was presented to firms in March, with Eversheds Sutherland, Roschier, […]
Shearman & Sterling has hired long-serving project finance partner David Clinch from Herbert Smith Freehills to replenish its projects team in Singapore. The appointment is one of a few senior level hires made by Shearman & Sterling in the city state in recent years. Clinch joins the US firm as a partner following a 27-year […]
A corporate partner in Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom’s Hong Kong office has moved to one of the firm’s clients Grab as group general counsel. Christopher Betts has relocated to Singapore to take up the new in-house role. He joined the Singapore-headquartered “super app” in the same month when Grab formalised its plan to […]
A retrial has been ordered in a case involving Natwest’s investment banking arm, after it took 19 months for the judgment to be handed down. In Natwest Markets and Another v Bilta (UK) and Ors, Court of Appeal judges criticised the wait and said a “delay of the magnitude in the present case, whatever the explanation may […]
Barclays’ legal team was once among the most influential in the UK. That power has diminished over the last decade, yet the banking giant still packs a punch when it comes to talent management. Some 40 lawyers are understood to have left Barclays in the UK last year. There are cost-cutting measures at play here, […]
Keystone Law, the poster child for the platform firm, is likely to break the psychologically important £100m revenue barrier in 2025. The success of this firm has spawned a new market, which is challenging traditional firms on the talent front. More than 3,500 lawyers now work across a variety of fee-sharing outfits, research from Atlas […]
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Gowling WLG and Norton Rose Fulbright’s London offices will all be under water in a few decades. This trio shares idyllic views overlooking the Thames, but they will all be submerged in the river by the year 2100 as climate change-induced sea level rises occur. And this is based on the […]
Talent churn is accelerating among the junior ranks with today’s associates more mobile than the generations before them. The concept of long-term professional loyalty is fading as Gen Z rises. These lawyers ask not what they can do for you, but what your firm can do for them. This generational shift in working attitudes is […]
Hooray, big-ticket M&A is having a mini-revival and so are the firms that make so much of their money out of it. Already in 2024, major European M&A deals to have been announced include International Paper’s £5.8bn planned acquisition of London-listed packaging company DS Smith, which trumped another offer from rival Mondi. Other significant matters […]
In its largest promotions round ever, Ashurst has elevated eight London lawyers to partner out of 30 worldwide. The firm has made up eight lawyers in London, as well as seven in Sydney. In total, 17 promotions were made in Ashurst’s Australian offices, meaning just five were made outside of either London or Australia. Loans […]
Frustrated Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) candidates are calling on the SRA to increase accessibility to the appeals process after a results error saw 175 candidates mistakenly told they had failed their exams. On Monday last week, the SRA announced that 175 candidates who sat SQE1 in January and were told they had failed on 14 […]
The administrators of collapsed firm Axiom Ince have filed a creditors’ bankruptcy petition against its former boss. Filed at the end of last week, the petition will seek to force Pragnesh Modhwadia’s bankruptcy, The Lawyer understands, applying to the court for his assets to be taken and sold to pay debts to the administrators. Pinsent Masons […]
Partnership promotions are continuing apace, with three City firms announcing a fresh new set of partners for 2024. Addleshaw Goddard has bumped up 26 lawyers this promotions round, which is the largest number of lawyers to make partner in one go in the firm’s history. The international firm’s partner count now stands at 429. Nine […]
Cooley is set to defend LGBTQ+ social networking and dating app Grindr in a High Court class action launched by Austen Hays, a new collective actions firm owned by Gateley. The claim alleges that Grindr is in breach of UK data protection laws for sharing sensitive data with third parties for commercial purposes without their […]
