Online October 2014

Outsourcing company Interserve establishes first Scottish panel

Interserve, the FTSE 250 outsourcer that won one of two private contracts for probation services in England and Wales last month, has put together its first Scottish panel. The company’s assistant general counsel Adrian Pound was responsible for setting up the new roster, which saw Burness Paull and CMS Cameron McKenna beat seven firms to […]

BLP and Olswang arbitrators join rush to the bar

The revolving door between law firms and the bar is turning again with Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP)’s arbitration head Nic Fletcher QC heading for a new role at 4 New Square and Olswang’s arbitration chief Andrew Aglionby also leaving for a career at the bar. Fletcher will take up a post as an independent arbitrator […]

Lorna Meyer QC from No5 represents Birmingham City Council in hearings

A High Court judge who heard evidence at family court hearings in Birmingham has granted short-term injunctions against five men, which ban them from approaching any female under 18 in public places. Lorna Meyer QC from No5 Chambers represented Birmingham City Council. The court heard that a teenage girl, who is in local authority care, […]

This week’s top 15 legal briefings – 31 October 2014

‘I don’t like liars, I don’t like cheats, I don’t like bullshitters, I don’t like schmoozers, I don’t like arse-lickers’ — the immortal words of Lord Sugar explaining his hiring policy. If The Apprentice is to be believed, the rules of getting a job are: give 110 per cent, put your balls on the line […]

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DWF cuts 26 jobs in Liverpool

DWF has made 15 secretaries, six solicitors, four paralegals, and one analyst from its fraud, intelligence and motor teams redundant following a consultation that kicked off in June. In May the Liverpool-based team was told that up to 37 jobs could be at risk (30 May 2014). DWF managing partner Andrew Leaitherland said: “We are […]

Court

RPC acts as Pinsents sues RP Martin over unpaid fees for Libor advice

Pinsent Masons has filed a High Court claim for £700,000 plus interest against broker client RP Martin after the company failed to stump up fees for advice relating to its Libor investigation. The Financial Times reported that court filings detail six unpaid Pinsents invoices billed between March 2013 and January 2014. The highest outstanding bill […]

Herbert Smith Freehills raids Ashurst’s Asia Pacific offices for two corporate partners

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has hired two corporate partners from Ashurst’s Australia and Japanese offices. Damien Roberts will be based in HSF’s Tokyo office, while Ian Williams will reside in Brisbane. Both will begin their roles at their new firm in early 2015.  Roberts has been based in Tokyo since July 2011, specialising in M&A […]

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Ashurst scraps Australia managing partner role as incumbent Carrington retires

Ashurst’s Australia managing partner John Carrington retires today (31 October), after six years as head of legacy Blake Dawson. Following his retirement, Ashurst is set to scrap its Australia managing partner position, with the responsibilities being shared among a number of partners in the jurisdiction.  Ashurst’s managing partner James Collis said: “Given John’s decision earlier […]

Wedding bells ring for Charles Russell Speechlys

For Charles Russell and Speechly Bircham it’s the end of an era. As of tomorrow, they’ll have formally merged into a firm with a turnover  of £130.2m – putting it into 26th place in the UK200. In many ways the tie-up seems too good to be true. The newly-weds have roughly similar revenues, practice specialisms, […]

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Diversity League Table reveals that just one in 200 partners is black

South East firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin has topped an annual diversity league table, beating a host of City and international firms to the title of most diverse firm. The Black Solicitors Network’s (BSN) annual Diversity League Table showed that in 2014 just 1 in 200 law firm partners are black, compared to just over […]

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Top 10 stories: 24-30 October 2014

The Lawyer Management Awards dominated the stories in our top 10 list this week. The publication of The Lawyer Management Awards Book of the Night pulled in the readers last week, with no fewer than five of our top 10 stories being part of the write-up of our celebration of operational excellence. Categories which were […]