Property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten is being sued by his former law firm Minaides Robson which is claiming more than £400,000 in unpaid fees. The firm is claiming £409,076.77 from van Hoogstraten, the majority of which relates to advice on the landlord’s defence against a case brought by the family of Mohammed Raja. van Hoogstraten […]
Irwin Mitchell’s tax team has broken away to set up a specialist company 4 Eyes Ltd. The new entity will specialise in VAT and customs duties, and boasts a strong tribunal practice as well as a VAT compliance and planning function. The split from Irwin Mitchell was “entirely amicable” and 4 Eyes has taken a […]
Clifford Chance’s Washington DC managing partner has joined the constant flow of firm departures, upping sticks for the Securities Industry Association. Ira Hammerman, a legacy Rogers & Wells partner, will become senior vice president and general counsel at the association. Hammerman practised with Rogers & Wells and its 2000 merger partner Clifford Chance for over […]
Dechert has swooped on Morgan Lewis & Bockius, taking an eight-lawyer securitisation team including the former chairman of the group. Steven Molitor, a partner with Morgan Lewis for over 10 years, this week led the team of attorneys to Dechert’s Philadelphia office. During his time at Morgan Lewis before which he practised with New York’s […]
Lewis Silkin is battling its largest ever employment tribunal matter, taking the lead for former Merrill Lynch banker Stephanie Villalba’s sex discrimination claim against the investment bank. Joint head of employment and incentives James Davies is leading the team for Lewis Silkin, instructing employment junior Dinah Rose alongside Brian Kennelly of Blackstone Chambers as counsel. […]
A giant referral network encompassing three Middle Eastern law firms and Cyprus’ largest practice, Andreas Neocleous & Co, has been forged. The Middle East Legal Alliance (MELA) hopes to capitalise on expected growth in the number of companies using Cyprus as a “strategic base” for Middle East business, following the island’s entry into the European […]
Finers Stephens Innocent (FSI) has posted a astounding 45 per cent increase in average profits per equity partner (PEP) for the year. Turnover edged up just 6.5 per cent for the firm, to £16m. However PEP has gone through the roof, exploding to £285,000 for 2003-04 compared to £195,000 in the previous financial year. FSI’s […]
Bird & Bird’s Paris office has taken on its second new partner within a month, recruiting the head of public law from French independent August & Debouzy. Jean Dominique Bloch will lead Bird & Bird’s public law team, and has been joined by two assistants from his former firm. With the hires, Bird & Bird’s […]
Martineau Johnson and Bircham Dyson Bell have both posted double digit increases for the year, bucking the downward trend afflicting other law firms. Average profits per partner (PPP) at Birmingham’s Martineau, which also has an office in London, jumped by 26 per cent for the year to 30 April 2004. The increase saw PPP reach […]
Norton Rose is the major beneficiary of FTSE 250 company Amlin’s first legal panel for non-insurance related work. Linklaters will continue as the insurance company’s key corporate adviser but Norton Rose has been called on to act on corporate and regulatory issues. Regular law firm Ince & Co has been retained in addition to Fox […]
Nomura International’s former European general counsel has resurfaced at Dubai-based private education company The Varkey Group. David Mee, who left the Japanese investment bank in early 2003, will join the company as group general counsel in July. Mee quit Nomura after ten years following a shake-up of the bank’s legal department, resulting in the transactional […]
The Young Solicitors Group (YSG) last night honoured lawyers who give up time to help their communities. Coinciding Monday’s (7 June) launch of National Pro Bono Week, the YSG 2004 Pro Bono Awards, presented by the Master of the Rolls Lord Philips of Worth Maltravers, saw 11 individuals and four teams in the finals. Clare […]