Online December 2013

Costs headache for Clifford Chance

The $1.6bn claim brought by Clifford Chance client Excalibur Ventures against Texas Keystone and Gulf Keystone was one of the biggest of 2012/13. When Mr Justice Clarke threw out the case in September he set in motion a series of battles over costs, exposing a number of criticisms levelled at the claimant firm and its […]

Dundas exits continue ahead of merger with CMS

New relationships can often be tricky. You think you’ve met the one but then your friends and family start confessing that they’re not so sure. So it is for Dundas & Wilson, which has lost another six partners since the start of the year following the exit of former chairman David Hardie ahead of its […]

This week’s top 15 legal briefings – 5th January 2014

Opening European football’s winter transfer window on New Year’s Day triggers a strong gust of realism to remind fans of what the sport is about – money, and lots of it, in the players’ pockets. UEFA – the game’s governing body in Europe – is attempting to teach its member clubs good housekeeping by enforcing […]

Sun is shining in Berlin for MoFo

First we heard that Hogan Lovells’ Berlin office had left for MoFo. Then we heard that the team left after a falling-out with HL management when a partner had criticised a firm client. No wonder MoFo Germany is now celebrating winning a major mandate for Axel Springer. MoFo’s Germany hires win first M&A instruction Revealed: […]

Seasonal cheer for corporate lawyers in M&A rankings

If you’re still in the office today, here’s the perfect accompaniment to your tea and mince pie break. It’s Thomson Reuters’ preliminary M&A table for 2013 – with firms ranked by the value of their announced public M&A deals with UK involvement from 1 January to 16 December. It certainly makes for an interesting read. […]

Europe: CJEU — dedicated meta search engine infringes database rights (Autotrack v Gaspedaal)

On 19 December 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered an important judgment concerning the interpretation of article 7 of Directive 96/9/EC regarding the legal protection of databases, in the context of the dedicated meta search engine www.gaspedaal.nl. The CJEU’s decision effectively bans the ‘scraping’ of databases and provides a strong […]

London

Holman Fenwick revenue increased by 13.7 per cent to £141.4m in 2012/13

Holman Fenwick Willan’s (HFW’s) LLP accounts reveal that the firm increased its revenue by 13.7 per cent in the 2012/13 financial year. The firm witnessed its turnover increase from £124.2m to £141.4m, while its operating profit bounced up more than 20 per cent – from £43.4m to £53.3m. As a result, HFW’s profit available for […]

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Video: Developing and improving your commercial awareness

If you want to gain a better understanding of commercial awareness in the legal marketplace, then Lawyer 2B’s webcast powered by The University of Law is a must-view. Our expert panel members will help you to enhance your understanding of commercial awareness by defining it, outlining its importance to firms and explaining how to improve […]

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Ex-A&O, Bingham partner gets 17 years after pleading guilty to child trafficking

A former Allen & Overy (A&O) New York partner was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison last week after pleading guilty to the sex trafficking of a child.  Former capital markets partner Edward De Sear, who joined A&O’s New York office from Bingham McCutchen in 2010, pleaded guilty before US District Judge William […]

Allan Murray-Jones
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LSB draft statutory guidance on legal education

A response to the LSB draft statutory guidance on legal education The Training and Education Committee of the City of London Law Society (CLLS), of which I am a member, has just written a strongly worded response to the proposal by the Legal Services Board (LSB) to issue statutory guidance to the front line regulators, […]

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Société Générale appoints Bourrinet as group general counsel

Group deputy general counsel Dominique Bourrinet is to take the chief legal role at Société Générale (SocGen). His promotion will take effect from 1 January 2014, once his predecessor Gerard Gardella begins his new post as adviser to the bank’s corporate secretary. Bourrinet has been SocGen’s deputy GC for just three months, having previously headed […]