The Czech legal market is fiercely competitive and heavily reliant on foreign trade. Joanne Harris reports on all the comers, stayers, goers and refocusings The Czech Republic has long been home to one of the most competitive legal markets in Europe. International firms piled in post-Iron Curtain and have come to dominate the scene. But […]
BP is forbidding the firms vying for places on its upcoming panel from working with other oil companies, with its final roster expected to be in place by the end of this month. Firms believed to be in contention include BP’s current line-up of UK advisers – CMS Cameron McKenna, Field Fisher Waterhouse, Freshfields Bruckhaus […]
Clifford Chance has formally launched its Istanbul office and is setting its stall out for M&A work. The move comes four months after first announcing the development. The firm will operate alongside affiliated firm Yegin Legal Consultancy (YLC). Clifford Chance partner Simon Williams is heading the new office, working closely with YLC founder Mete Yegin […]
“I sometimes wonder if I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive,” says Baker & McKenzie HR director Martin Blackburn. This is not because of the man’s passion for the minutiae of employment legislation, but rather due to his much longer-standing addiction – the theatre. Blackburn goes to the theatre most evenings. So when the chance came to become […]
The regional bar has come through the recession in good form and larger sets should no longer be seen as London’s poor relations, argues Bill Braithwaite QC Just how successful can a barristers’ chambers become without having a presence in London? An analysis of The Lawyer’s bar top 30, which ranks the leading chambers in […]
Local courts can be entirely appropriate places to bring complex litigation, as Victoria Jones explains A question frequently put to barristers practising outside London is whether there are advantages to bringing proceedings in local courts. In the commercial sphere the question is often preceded by a query as to whether it is even possible to […]
Firms are hoping that privatisation will give a jolt to the stagnant market in Slovakia. New governments often herald new flows of business in a jurisdiction, and Slovakia is no exception. When the country’s prime minister Iveta Radicová was elected in July 2010 she announced a fresh wave of privatisation in the country. Its neighbour […]
Retail comparison site Kelkoo’s sole in-houser Chris Davies has been instrumental in making the ex-Yahoo! subsidiary a top three player in its own right. Kelkoo is one of the pioneers of the shopping comparison website model. Launched back in 2000, it spent four years as part of internet giant Yahoo! before being sold to a […]
Tulkinghorn doesn’t get out much, except for a spot of Gilbert & Sullivan with the D’Oyly Carte, but Mrs Tulkinghorn recently forced him to witness some popular beat combos in The 100 Club at the first of this year’s three-night legal music festival that is Law Rocks, now in its third year. Balloonacy at the […]
Where’s the best place to go if you want to find out what’s really going on in the office? The ladies’ toilets. What was your first-ever job? Working in Poundstretcher in Grimsby as a Saturday cashier followed by a job as a cinema usherette when studying at university. What was your worst experience as a […]
Simmons & Simmons is rebuilding its depleted Paris office with the hire of Landwell & Associés partner Michèle Anahory. Move of the week Her arrival follows a number of partner losses from the firm’s French office. This week it was announced that Africa group head Christophe Asselineau (bottom right) is joining Shearman & Sterling, employment […]
And so it came to pass. Ever since the publication of the Legal Services Bill in 2006 there have been immense expectations that big brands will target the law. So the Co-op confirming the extent of its plans may not be unexpected, but the clarification of its venture has – along with the abolition of […]