SJ Berwin has boosted its finance team in London after hiring a partner from Herbert Smith. Chris Fanner joins as a partner, having held the same position at Herbert Smith. Fanner specialises in leveraged buy-outs and infrastructure finance, and counts investment banks, private equity funds and corporate borrowers among his clients. He joined Herbert Smith […]
One Wednesday morning in late June many, many of Tulkinghorn’s scribes were nursing sore heads after a night on the West End tiles. The reason? The greatest, most glittering annual night in the legal calendar – The Lawyer Awards. Let it be known that the sore heads weren’t the exclusive preserve of a bunch of […]
The Government’s crowd-pleasing legal stance on immigration is creating fresh challenges for law firms In brief The Government has got itself into trouble with the judiciary over its approach to the Human Rights Act. Here, we look at the latest cases, European Court of Human Rights developments and the rise in employment law work […]
The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 has propelled insolvency law into the frontline In brief Insolvency and restructuring practitioners are some of the busiest lawyers in the business right now. In this week’s peer panel some of the key issues and cases are debated, including the impact on the legal profession of […]
Germany has become the favoured destination for lawsuit tourists seeking an injunction. But could Microsoft’s decision to move its distribution centre from Germany to the Netherlands signal a worrying trend? In brief “We’re a country of development,” responds Baker & McKenzie’s IP chief Michael Fammler, when asked why Germany is Europe’s go-to place for […]
Evidence against the bank is so strong that its lawyers’ main task will be damage limitation Given the content of the FSA’s final notice to Barclays, the bank must know it is going to be sued. The fine of £290m is going to hurt, but given that Barclays’ bonus pool is £2.7bn the pain will […]
Businesses require advice on Turkey’s new commercial code, and some will need longer term support In an effort to modernise legislation to international and EU standards, a new commercial code (TCC 2012) came into effect in Turkey on 1 July. It will revolutionise Turkey’s commercial activity and conduct, and have a considerable effect on transparency […]
Solicitors must keep a close eye on budgets or they risk falling foul of the new costs management regime The recent decision of Senior Costs Judge Hurst in Henry v News Group Newspapers Ltd is the first reported example of the risks parties and their solicitors face if they ignore the new rules on costs […]
Insurers win partial victory in war on fraudulent claims, but they must pick their battles with care Fraud is a hot topic, as last week’s decision in Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers demonstrates. With a reported increase in fraudulent or exaggerated claims, the way insurers tackle the problem effectively remains a key question. One answer […]
Dragons’ Den star James Caan plans to stir up major change in the legal world. How? By sticking to proper business principles Capital value. When was the last time that was top of the agenda at your partnership meeting? Never? Is that surprising? Not if you consider that law firms are all about profit, and […]
The legal profession remains unrepresentative of wider society despite there being a business case for change, reveals an InterLaw survey. The data is stark, the conclusions are damning and the message is clear – diversity is still a problem in the law. A comprehensive survey of almost 2,000 law professionals has given rise to what […]
Chambers see their own regulator as a block on the road to ABS Chambers wanting to make structural changes under the Legal Services Act (LSA) could turn to the SRA because their watchdog, the Bar Standards Board (BSB), will not be LSA-ready until 2014. The arrival of fixed-fee sets Riverview Chambers and Stobart Barristers has […]