Former Field Fisher Waterhouse senior assistant Michael Helmer has become the first ever in-house lawyer at Shopsmart.com. He tells Abigail Townsend how he enjoys being part of the team. While waiting to meet Michael Helmer, Shopsmart.com’s new head of legal affairs, the receptionist takes a phone call. Putting the caller on hold, she informs the […]
South Africa is perhaps feeling the effects of globalisation more than any other economy worldwide. Due to both its geographical location and its political past it has traditionally been “out of the loop”. The emergence of e-commerce, however, coupled with the abolition of sanctions – both of which have taken place within the past five […]
Convicted drink drivers, who may now be able to challenge their convictions following the discovery that one of the breath test machines used by the police may be inaccurate. The Intoximeter EC/IR, which is used by eight police forces in the UK and all forces in Scotland, gives higher readings than other models, and accounts […]
As a frequent attendee at court, I am astonished at the inaccuracies that occur when metres are converted to yards, and vice versa, mainly during motoring offence hearings. These inaccuracies would appear to be occurring within a (middle-aged) group who were educated in imperial units rather than metric, but as these mistakes might have an […]
Channel Islands v European Union. A proposal by the European Union to create a system to exchange information between tax collectors and bankers has been angrily refused by the governing parties of the islands of Jersey and Guernsey. The islands, regarded as a tax haven for the rich, have vowed to resist any efforts made […]
Ashurst Morris Crisp’s managing partner is stepping down to return to the firm’s property unit as three lawyers leave the department. Ian Nisse is due to rejoin the property department in September, before an election to choose a new managing partner to take up the position on 1 October. But the property group has been […]
Stuart Clark believes that UK practitioners should be keeping an eye on Australia’s CFA experience. In the past two weeks you could have been forgiven for thinking that the legal world is starting to become a fully fledged business. The news that Gareth Quarry, chief executive of QD, has made £31.8m by reversing his business […]
Eleven years after the death of 96 football fans in the Hillsborough disaster, a jury has failed to reach a decision on whether the senior police chief in charge of the crowd was responsible for the tragedy. David Duckenfield, the former South Yorkshire police chief superintendent was charged with manslaughter. Alun Jones QC, prosecuting, failed […]
Mohammed Al Fayed, who has lost another Appeal Court hearing in his application for British citizenship and a passport. Three judges, upheld Jack Straw’s earlier decision on the grounds that Fayed was not of “good character”. Fayed described the verdict as “disproportionate and irrational”. The House of Lords. Due to an increase in the number […]
Winston & Strawn, the Chicago firm, is poised to merge with the New York office of Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan to boost its City presence to 250 lawyers. The talks, which were revealed in The Lawyer (27 March), have been finalised and Winston & Strawn partners will finish voting today. A merger is due […]
“What am I going to do with it? I really don’t know. I really don’t know at all.” – Gareth Quarry on the quandary of having an extra £31.8m after the sale of recruitment consultancy QD.
Manches represented Durlacher on establishing a separately funded vehicle to invest in the European applications service providers (ASP) market. The new venture, entitled App-X, has received £10m from private investors, which will eventually hold a 62.5 per cent stake in the vehicle. Durlacher has invested £600,000 in cash and a percentage of its minority stakes […]