Online December 2014

Shoosmiths celebrates a record year for its corporate practice group

Shoosmiths is celebrating a record year for its corporate practice group, reflected in several third-party endorsements of its growing reputation. Shoosmiths was placed as the number two law firm by deal volume nationally in Experian’s 2014 UK Deal Review and Advisor League Table, with 120 reported deals. The national team’s strength in depth is evidenced by […]

Barclays and RBS GCs call it a day

Two high-profile departures from the legal departments at major banks characterise the last week of in-house news. Last week (9 January) Barclays Capital confirmed the resignation of general counsel Judith Shepherd who is set to leave the company before the summer. Shepherd joined the bank from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in 2006, starting as deputy […]

Female silk numbers on the up as 93 appointed QC

After months of nail-biting tension, 88 barristers and five solicitor-advocates opened envelopes this week confirming they could add ‘QC’ to their names. The numbers appointed silk this year are slightly down on 2013/14, when 100 were appointed. But the number of applications from female candidates, and the number of women appointed, are at an all-time […]

LLP accounts reveal cost of employee pensions

As we revealed when we published our UK 200 back in October, the last financial year was a record-breaker for the UK’s legal market, with revenue, profit and headcount numbers for the top 200 UK-headquartered firms all at record levels. With LLP reporting season well under way, though, it is clear that dealing with some […]

Wragges advises Riviera Travel on investment made by private equity firm

Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co has advised Riviera Travel on a significant investment made into the company by private equity firm, Phoenix Equity Partners. Based in Burton-upon-Trent, Riviera is a leading UK tour operator providing overseas escorted holidays and river cruises. Riviera was set up by owner Michael Wright 30 years ago and he and […]

DLA Piper appointed as principal legal adviser to Heineken UK

DLA Piper has been appointed as principal external legal adviser to Heineken UK in a first for the UK brewing and pub giant. The three-year appointment will see the firm acting for Heineken across the full range of legal work in the UK, including property, litigation, intellectual property, corporate and employment law. The relationship will […]

Top litigation cases of 2015

Last year The Lawyer’s top 20 cases were dominated by professional negligence claims, with a number of law firms in the firing line. Many of these settled, with Clifford Chance escaping a £130m derivatives claim relating to the Berlin public transport system while Nabarro and Weil Gotshal & Manges also reached settlements before the claims […]

London

Kirkland & Ellis entices former London chief Jim Learner back to the City

Kirkland & Ellis has confirmed that its former London chief Jim Learner will return to the firm’s London office on 1 February, three years after his shock defection to US private equity house Huntsman Gay (HGGC). Learner was instrumental in setting up the firm’s London office during his last 12-year stretch in the City. He […]

DLA Piper represents Cushman & Wakefield in Massey Knakel acquisition

DLA Piper has advised Cushman & Wakefield, a global commercial real estate services operator, in its acquisition of Massey Knakel Realty Services, a New York investment sales firm. The transaction will further strengthen Cushman & Wakefield’s capital markets presence in the tri-state region. It is also representative of an ongoing consolidation trend in the commercial […]

DLA Piper represents InterContinental Hotels in acquisition of Kimpton

DLA Piper is representing InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in the acquisition of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, the world’s largest independent boutique hotel operator, for US$430m in cash. The acquisition makes IHG the clear market leader in the boutique segment, the fastest-growing in the hotel industry. The Kimpton deal will bring its portfolio of boutique-style properties […]

DLA Piper advises on Market Tech Holdings AIM IPO

DLA Piper has advised Market Tech Holdings, a holding company that combines real estate assets in London’s Camden Town with an e-commerce business, on its £750m AIM IPO. The AIM IPO was combined with an oversubscribed placing which raised £100m before expenses. Market Tech, which is majority owned by Israeli entrepreneur Teddy Sagi, which priced […]

Schoenherr advises VIG on its first direct real estate acquisitions in Poland

Schoenherr has advised VIG Fund, a company of Vienna Insurance Group on its recent purchases of two top-tier commercial properties in Warsaw. The transactions, which involve a total of over 21,000sq.m. of office and were completed in October and November 2014 respectively, represent VIG’s first direct acquisitions of real estate in the Polish market. A […]