Mishcon’s former head of sports stepped into the hot-seat on the third day of tribunal proceedings, as she was questioned about her involvement in making contested payments made from the firm’s client account. Kicking off cross-examination, James Ramsden QC of 39 Essex Chambers, acting for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, delved into Liz Ellen’s role in […]
Keystone Law’s revenue climbed to £33.7m for the six months ending 31 July, representing a 10.8 per cent increase on its last set of half-year results. This was alongside a significant hike in profit before tax, which in comparison to the first half of the last financial year, leapt by 109 per cent to reach […]
Hogan Lovells is introducing an incentive scheme to encourage entrepreneurialism among its fee-earners, who will be able to gain commission from client work introduced to the firm. The initiative will mean any permanent member of staff across legal and business services will be able to benefit. The Lawyer understands that employees will receive up to […]
Coca-Cola has succeeded in striking out a £11.6m competition claim from one of the UK’s largest independent wholesalers. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) sided entirely with Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain Limited (CCEP) in a recent judgment, during which it highlighted “serious deficiencies” in the claimant’s case. Forest Fresh Foods Limited (FFF), which reported revenues […]
Informa’s head of legal for EMEA and APAC has taken on a new global general counsel role at FE Fundinfo. Lisa Maxwell is set to join Fe Fundinfo, a global fund and technology company backed by private equity house Hg Capital, as GC on 27 September. She will be the first GC, and lawyer, at […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority shifted its attention towards Liz Ellen on the second day of tribunal proceedings, with the regulator criticising the former Mishcon de Reya partner for a “deeply unattractive” change in position. Opening submissions from the SRA’s counsel, James Ramsden QC of 39 Essex Chambers, heaped pressure on Ellen when referring to allegations […]
4 New Square has been granted judgment in default in its ransomware dispute, following a cyber attack this summer. After the set’s hacker failed to engage with proceedings, the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court issued a final injunction that prohibits the anonymous defendant from using, publishing or communicating the information obtained from a […]
For CRS to usher in a new era of sustained profitability it must be brave
Barclays’ litigation budget is contracting, an indication that the disputes tsunami spinning out of the global financial crisis is at the beginning of the end
Law’s numerous start-ups can provide a bellwether for tomorrow’s big issues but firms have to be alert to them – and then brave enough to exploit them
FTSE demotions and promotions can alter advisory rankings, while new London IPOs bring new firms into the mix
Mishcon is betting that an IPO will be enough to propel it to £400m within five years
After two elections in quick succession, Linklaters anointed senior partner Aedamar Comiskey and managing partner Paul Lewis as the next leaders of the firm over the summer. Both announcements ensure that power once again stays in the hands of the London office, after Comiskey’s defeat of Milan-based Claudia Parzani and Lewis’ most recent win over […]
If Matt Hancock’s affair teaches us anything, it’s that cameras are everywhere. That’s the lesson an Allen & Overy partner apparently forgot when he was filmed through a window in a clinch with a colleague in the firm’s Spitalfields headquarters. The incident occurred several months ago and is understood to have been circulating round a […]
A booming domestic market helped China’s leading law firms post positive financial results even as the pandemic curtailed overseas work
Gone are the days of the star M&A partners, as firms strive to eliminate favouritism and promote talent. A rundown of the top UK deals this year – and the teams leading them – suggests their strategy may be working.
Ashurst and CMS have acted on Rolls Royce and Babcock’s £315m sale of their respective stakes in re-fuelling business AirTanker Holdings. The businesses own a combined 40 per cent of AirTanker, which they have sold to Equitix Investment Management as part of a wider divestment operation. Rolls Royce intends to raise at least £2bn from […]
Linklaters and Latham & Watkins have acted on Caesars’ £2.2bn sale of William Hill’s non-US business to 888 Holdings, following a hotly-contested three horse race. Caesars Entertainment owns William Hill’s brand, its high street betting shops in the UK and online gambling operations throughout Europe by way a takeover of the British bookmaker just under […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is among the firms acting on the £3.6bn flotation of Petershill Partners, an investment group backed by Goldman Sachs. Freshfields ECM partner Julian Makin is leading for Petershill, alongside senior associates Ethan Magid and Tom Godwin, and co-head of international capital markets David Ludwick on the US side. Meanwhile Fried Frank Harris Shriver […]
Kirkland & Ellis, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Addleshaw Goddard have won the top roles on Apex Group’s £1.5bn takeover bid for alternative asset fund administrator Sanne Group. Apex trumped private equity house Cinven’s £1.4bn offer, after it made a fifth, unsolicited bid for the business at 875p a share in June – valuing it […]
Clifford Chance and Debevoise & Plimpton look set to have sealed Clayton Dubilier & Rice’s (CD&R) acquisition of Morrisons, following a fierce fight for the supermarket giant. The magic circle firm led the US private equity group with a multidisciplinary led by PE and global relationship partner Simon Tinkler, corporate partners Steven Fox and Katherine […]
Slaughter and May, Kirkland & Ellis and Ashurst are lined up on Cobham’s £2.6bn acquisition of UK defence manufacturer Ultra Electronics Slaughters is advising longstanding client Ultra, with a team headed by corporate partners Simon Nicholls and Christian Boney. Partner Lisa Wright is advising on competition matters, with partner Phil Linnard on employment and partner […]
Less than a week after partners voted in favour of an IPO, Mishcon de Reya is set to lose its head of international arbitration to a City rival. Karel Daele is making the move to Taylor Wessing, The Lawyer can reveal. He had joined Mishcon in 2013 from Tanzanian firm Mkono & Co Advocates, as the […]
Goodwin has hired a new partner from Dechert to bolster its life sciences and tech practice in France. Intellectual property partner Marie Fillon will work with Paris-based technology and life sciences partners Anne-Charlotte Rivière, Thomas Dupont-Sentilles and Benjamin Garçon. Rivière was also hired last April from Dechert to kickstart the practice. An expert on IP […]
Stephenson Harwood has bolstered its London restructuring and insolvency team with the hire of a former magic circle partner. A non-contentious finance lawyer, Allen & Overy’s Tim Crocker has been working on complex debt restructurings and insolvencies for over two decades. He was made up to partner at the magic circle outfit in 2012, resigning over […]
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has recruited a team of seven associates from magic circle and US firms to support the growth of its new restructuring practice in London. The hires mean that the restructuring team now numbers 10 lawyers in the London office. In February, The Lawyer revealed that Simpson Thacher had hired two partners […]
In a boost for its real estate group in Milan and Rome, Linklaters has added a new team from DLA Piper. The magic circle firm has recruited Francesco De Blasio as its new practice head in the country, having been promoted to DLA’s partnership in 2012. He is joined by fellow DLA lawyers Francesco Macrì […]
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is losing yet another partner in its London office, with Freeths picking up a member of its real estate team. Alice Dockar’s departure comes after almost two decades at HSF, six of which has been as a partner after being made up in 2015. She will be joining Freeths as a […]
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has toppled Allen & Overy in a High Court battle over sensitive information relating to a €573m loan. The dispute centred on whether Irish lenders Emerald could obligate borrower Cassini under a senior facilities agreement (SFA) to provide information about its financial condition, assets or operations to the creditor’s agent, […]
Mishcon de Reya is partnering with Harbour to launch a £150m litigation fund, The Lawyer can reveal, which will be used to finance disputes for the firm’s clients. The fund is the result of lengthy preparations and a well-established partnership with Harbour, which has already invested $200m in recent Mishcon cases, such as Hiscox, RBS […]
Gateley is preparing to enter a £20m litigation funding facility to help finance long-term disputes. The portfolio has been arranged with Bench Walk Advisers, with the two parties understood to be gearing up for an imminent agreement that will start during the next financial year. The Lawyer understands that discussions have been ongoing between the […]
Walter Merricks’ opt-out class action brought on behalf of 46 million consumers is set to proceed after the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) formally granted permission. Confirmation of the UK’s first Collective Proceedings Order was established in a judgment from the CAT on Wednesday, which followed last year’s Supreme Court verdict in December. The Supreme Court […]
Barristers chambers are coming under increasing pressure from law firms to assess their security protocols after a series of cyberattacks on commercial sets. The Lawyer has learned that calls and questionnaires are being directed towards chambers as firms look to reassure clients that enough is being done to protect their sensitive information. This follows breaches […]
3VB has become the latest commercial set to be hit by a cyberattack, The Lawyer can reveal, less than a month after 4 New Square was also targeted. It is understood that the breach occurred on Friday, with 3VB subsequently informing many of its clients that the incident has taken place. The set is still […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer‘s global head of public international law has left the firm to join Essex Court Chambers. Ben Juratowitch QC is making the move to the Bar after 13 years at the magic circle firm, nine of which were spent as a partner. Based in Freshfields’ Paris office, Juratowitch was called to the Bar […]
One of the City’s leading sets of commercial chambers is reassuring clients after it fell victim to a cybersecurity incident, The Lawyer can reveal. The ransomware attack, which targeted 4 New Square, affected roughly six per cent of the set’s instructing solicitors over the past five years, although its members were able to continue working […]
A newly-created global verein, led by two of the largest European firms, has added an Italian player as its third member. Italian law firm Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati has joined as the Italian member firm of unyer, a global multi-disciplinary platform founded by the largest French firm Fidal and Germany’s Luther in May 2021. […]
Goodwin has raised its associate salaries in Germany by 25 per cent, The Lawyer understands, after similar increases in the UK. The firm’s first-year associates, a category that corresponds roughly to newly-qualified lawyers, will see their package go up from €130,000 to €160,000. Last July, Goodwin raised its NQ salaries in London by 6 per […]
While many firms have placed competition and regulatory at the heart of their Dublin strategy, Taylor Wessing has said its new office will focus on picking up new tech and life sciences business as private equity interest grows. The firm recently hired Adam Griffiths to lead the new operations, who was previously a member of […]
McDermott Will & Emery has hired a three-lawyer team from the Singapore office of Squire Patton Boggs, the second strike at its US rival in six months. Corporate partner Alfred Chia has made the move alongside counsels Dawn Tan and Melissa Kwek. Chia is understood to have left his previous firm three months ago and […]
Changes in legislation are sparking a surge in solar and wind energy projects across central and south-eastern Europe
International firms are making their presence felt in Ireland, undeterred by the twin challenges of Brexit and Covid-19
2020 was an unusual year for firms on the Continent, with revenues hit by the pandemic – but what is the big picture of how they are faring and how does the Euro top 10 compare to that of a decade ago?
Switzerland is fighting off rivals as it bids to remain the jurisdiction of choice
The hosting of COP26 in Glasgow this year shines a spotlight on the UK in relation to sustainability performance, applying more pressure on organisations to demonstrate their green credentials and to encourage the development and usage of sustainable technologies in the race to net zero.
The Court of Justice of the European Union declares ‘zero tariff’ options contrary to the EU legislation.
In the recent decision of Ross Leasing Ltd and Anor v Nile Air [2021] EWHC 2201 (Comm), the English High Court examined whether third-party debt orders (formerly garnishee orders) could be made in respect of a foreign debt.
Simon de Broise is joined by Chris Tarry from CTAIRA to discuss the challenges still facing the aviation industry as restrictions start to ease.
Andy Graham, Amy Anderson and Amy Leech discuss what hybrid working is and why this option will be of interest to employers going forward.
Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow in November, Cornwall Insight and TLT sought to analyse stakeholder views on the UK’s prospects of securing its role as a green finance hub, and the associated policy and regulation.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that employers must explicitly inform employees if any insurance-backed benefits are limited by the extent of the employer’s cover.
Get up to speed with the key employment developments for Northern Ireland, featuring insights into local cases and what these mean for employers and HR teams.
You have created something innovative for your small or medium-sized enterprise – now what? You want to ensure you’re legally protected to the greatest extent possible, but navigating Canadian and international intellectual property laws can be difficult.
The idea of divorce often still conjures images of warring spouses and courtroom showdowns. However, although almost all separations will be emotional, bitter fights over finances and access to children are not the inevitable outcome of a separation and there is a growing trend for parties to turn to services which offer a less combative approach to separations. Take Bill and Melinda Gates for example, they are the latest high-profile pairing to divorce with seemingly minimal fallout.
On 9 July 2021, the Data Protection Act, 2021 (the DPA) came into force in the British Virgin Islands. The DPA applies to all BVI companies, limited partnerships and other entities that process, have control over or authorise, the processing of, personal data anywhere in the world.
In the recent decision of the BVI Commercial Court in Hydro Energy v Zhaoheng, the court continued the appointment of provisional liquidators and refused to stay the underlying application to wind up a BVI company on just and equitable grounds, notwithstanding that the applicant had already commenced arbitration proceedings in Hong Kong pursuant to which interim relief had already been granted.
As we emerge from the summer holidays this is traditionally the start of the conference season. Online conferences and panels have their moments but I am probably not alone in looking forward to going ‘live’ again as we emerge from the pandemic. It’s almost as if the enforced stay away has allowed people to take […]
Jamie Butler, executive coach and facilitator, shares his reflections on coaching in the legal sector during the pandemic and for the future
Think about those nearest and dearest who you communicate with regularly. WhatsApp, text messages, emails; we’re using written communication more than ever. And through these forms of communication, you quickly become familiar with your friends and family members’ individual tone of voices. We’ve all got that one friend who sends the message staccato style, in […]
Google ‘habit’ and you will be told that it is an involuntary behaviour controlled by the subconscious mind, which governs 40 – 90 per cent of an individual’s behaviour. While we tend to fixate on our bad habits, we don’t often conduct an appraisal of our general habits which, it is generally agreed, break down […]
With such varied and prolific discussions around adopting tech in law, it can be difficult to understand how and where it fits into existing teams. Financial services companies are under great pressure to drive efficiencies and innovate but it’s not always clear as to how they can do this. This session explores the opportunities that tech and innovation can bring to legal teams through inspiring examples and real-life experiences shared by the panel.
This session will look at the blurred lines between the legal and compliance functions. Should we still be viewing them as separate functions or is this approach steadily diminishing and where exactly does the liability lie?
