Kings of the wild frontier 07-March-2008Ukraine is the new frontier for law firms – as we first revealed last September – and it really wasn’t a surprise that Clifford Chance was going to be at the forefront of the rush to the country.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is investigating up to 60 lawyers for alleged mortgage fraud after complaints more than tripled since 2004. SRA spokesman Geoff Negus said the Authority is taking the lawyers’ involved in mortgage fraud extremely seriously. “The Solicitors Regulation Authority is investigating 40 to 60 solicitors who may be involved in mortgage […]
US firm Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker has boosted its Paris projects team with a four-lawyer raid on Ashurst. Paul Hastings has made Ashurst senior lawyers Pascal Cuche and Marc Lordonnois partners in its Paris office, and hired two associates. Their practice encompasses public law and infrastructure deals, and focuses particularly on public private partnerships […]
Taylor Wessing set for Beijing launch” />Taylor Wessing is set to open an office in Beijing as soon as the green light is given by the Chinese authorities. Taylor Wessing’s launch in Beijing is still subject to government approval. The firm hopes Beijing will complement its Shanghai office and will attract Chinese companies looking to […]
Chicago-based bank Northern Trust has hired David Curtin to lead its legal team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Curtin joins the fund manager from Aspen Insurance Holdings where he had been group general counsel since 2003. At Northern Trust, he will take on the new role of general counsel international and assistant […]
Reed Smith has tapped Herbert Smith’s German alliance partner Gleiss Lutz for a Munich IP hire. Alexander Klett, a specialist in areas of copyright, trademark, design, unfair competition and media law, has joined Reed Smith as a partner to launch the firm’s IP practice in Germany. Reed Smith’s Munich managing partner Stefan Kugler said Klett’s […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has lost a further partner with the departure of banking and finance lawyer Roger Dyer. Dyer, who spent 25 years at the magic circle firm, has joined the London office of US firm Hunton & Williams to build up its banking practice. Talking about what attracted him to Hunton, Dyer said: “It […]
Debevoise & Plimpton has smashed the market average for US firms’ 2007 financial results, posting increases of 23.4 per cent and 27 per cent respectively for revenue and average profit. Figures provided by the firm today (Wednesday 5 March) showed firmwide gross fee income rose from $575m (£287.4m) in 2006 to $709.5m (£354.6m) in 2007. […]
Heller Ehrman has hired former DLA Piper Asia head Nick Seddon to lead its four offices in the region as Asian managing partner. The move comes after Seddon relinquished his role at DLA Piper at the end of 2007 following a management shake out. Seddon, who will be based in Heller Ehrman’s Hong Kong office, […]
Utilities giant National Grid has revamped its general commercial panel, dropping Pinsent Masons and taking on Wragge & Co and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) as full service firms. The four-firm panel, which will handle general commercial and disputes work, is completed by long-time advisers Eversheds and Hammonds. Corporate and M&A advice will continue to be […]
Clifford Chance partner; launches Dubai real estate team” />Real estate partner Arthur Dyson is leaving Clifford Chance for arch rival Allen & Overy. Dyson will join the London-based real estate finance team, where he will report to Mark O’Neill, and team up once again with former Clifford Chance colleague Robert Porter. Porter denied that this […]
Birmingham set Equity Chambers head Balbir Singh is the highest-paid legal aid criminal barrister for the second year in a row.