PLANS to establish an international criminal court received a setback last week when the US, France and China were accused by the human rights lobby of blocking the establishment of an effective and fair court. The recriminations came as representatives from more than 100 countries met at the United Nations in New York in an […]
LAWYERS in Canada’s most populous province are in the process of setting up a single union which they hope will give them greater representation than their law society, the Law Society of Upper Canada. Prime movers behind the plan to build the new union for lawyers in Ontario, which can be compared to the grassroots […]
FORMER Tory minister Jonathan Evans is to use the contacts and experience he gained during his time at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to help develop Eversheds’ national insurance practice. Evans, whose other government posts included a spell as parliamentary secretary at the Lord Chancellor’s Department, has been appointed to the new London-based […]
Four-partner Manchester firm Hammelburger Marks is to merge with 12-partner Kuit Steinart Levy. The new practice will have 80 fee earners and will retain the Kuit name. Based in central Manchester, the new firm will have four principal departments: company law, property, taxation and litigation. Pictured above are (left) Jonathan Marks of Hammelburger Marks and […]
TOP THREE Irish firm Arthur Cox is set to add to its growing Northern Ireland presence with the takeover of Belfast firm Martin & Brownlie. The merger, which signals Arthur Cox’s continuing expansion plans in Northern Ireland, follows a similar move in July last year when the lawyers from another Belfast firm, Norman Wilson & […]
Baker & McKenzie has been appointed as English legal adviser to Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Roma (CRR), one of the two shareholders involved in the global offering of ordinary shares in Banco di Roma, one of the biggest privatisations implemented in Italy to date. Banco di Roma and the second shareholder, IRI, a joint […]
Field Fisher Waterhouse has recruited Michael Crookes, the legal manager of Powergen, who has 15 years’ experience on electricity gas and infrastructure projects, for its energy group.
The Lord Chancellor’s legal aid reform plans took a severe battering in the House of Lords last week as peers lined up to attack the proposals. Lord Ackner, who accused Lord Irvine of being a handmaiden of the Treasury, and Lady Wilcox, who said there was too little research available on conditional fees, were among […]
With forecasts of an imminent mini-recession, specialists are devising ways of keeping companies afloat. Mike Yuille reports. Insolvency lawyers are once again packing their bags in readiness for a major tour of duty. After the recent wave of upheavals in global markets, some now expect an imminent economic downturn which will result in a glut […]
A dozen Olswang lawyers, including senior partner Simon Olswang, were treated to a night on the town by DJ Chris Evans last week after he pulled off his takeover of Richard Branson’s Virgin Radio. According to Evans, the team set off for a celebratory pub crawl in matching pink shirts which soon became stained with […]
The Law Society claims the government’s legal aid reforms could be delayed by up to a year after it commissioned a counsel’s opinion which argued that the changes will need primary legislation. But a spokesman from the Lord Chancellor’s Department said the Lord Chancellor had himself sought counsel’s opinion on the matter, adding: “He would […]
Former Law Society treasurer Mike Howells has queried a £7m surplus which has been built up by the society over the past year. “We just can’t go on pocketing money and spending it,” Howells told last Thursday’s meeting of the Law Society council meeting. “It’s the profession’s money.” Council member Edward Nally said a newly […]