The head of Mayer Brown’s Brussels office is to join German firm Noerr next month. Jens Peter Schmidt has been the managing partner of Mayer Brown’s Brussels office since 2014, and a partner at the firm since 2001 when he joined from Shearman & Sterling. He will join Noerr’s partnership on 15 February. The partner’s […]
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has recruited its third London lateral in as many months, with the firm now set to bring on board a funds partner from Norton Rose Fulbright. This time the firm has picked Michael Newell, who specialises in funds and has been at Norton Rose Fulbright for a decade. As part of […]
A Russian regional court has ruled that billionaire Vitaly Orlov cannot hide behind the Russian legal system to avoid the London High Court. The latest twist in a complicated case comes as a setback to Orlov, whose lawyers at Macfarlanes had successfully discharged a worldwide freezing (WFO) order last July. Russian businessman Alexander Tugushev, instructing […]
Slaughter and May represented Premier Oil as the Scottish company cleared the first hurdle on a scheme of arrangement related to its expansion in the North Sea. Premier Oil, advised by Slaughters restructuring partner Tom Vickers, faced opposition from its largest creditor Asia Research & Capital Management (ARCM) on the implementation of the company’s scheme […]
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson has hired its first European chief operations officer to support the firm’s growth. Ed Enzor, who was previously a director of administration at Paul Weiss’ London office, has joined Fried Frank as the firm’s first dedicated COO. He had also previously been at Baker McKenzie and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer […]
The Science Museum has appointed a new general counsel, four months after its former GC moved to The National Gallery.
Lawyers departed and re-emerged this week, while a familiar name in alternative legal services set forth on a new chapter and pledge to turn over £100m. Here are the key takeaways. HSF’s hire of the “father of private equity funds” has had the desired effect: people are talking about it Funds veteran Jonathan Blake joined […]
DAC Beachcroft has launched a redundancy consultation in its London and Leeds real estate teams, with ten roles at risk. The Lawyer understands the consultation will run for four weeks, with 10 roles at risk at associate and legal director level. This will consist of four roles in DAC’s London-based commercial investment and development (CID) […]
After an ongoing struggle to assert itself in New York, Mishcon de Reya has finally shut down its US office 10 years after its launch – with its remaining staff joining King & Wood Mallesons. The closure now leaves Mishcon with no international outpost and its sole base of operations in London, with the firm’s […]
Hogan Lovells is debuting a new legal services delivery hub in the US as part of a multimillion-dollar contract struck with provider Elevate. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the centre will provide global document review exercises with a wider range and less costs. It will specialise in matters specifically related to US litigation document review matters […]
Farrer & Co has boosted its private wealth offering with a hire from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP). Partner Georgina James joins Farrer & Co’s private wealth team after nearly 11 years at BCLP. She advises international families, trustees and family offices on cross-border taxation and estate planning issues. In particular, she has worked with […]
The UK’s largest law firms are squeezing their staff and fee-earners ever more densely into their offices, with the space allocated per person having shrunk by more than a third in recent years, The Lawyer can reveal. The Lawyer’s data, exclusive to the new UK 200: Operational Health Check report, confirms that the amount of […]
Linklaters has taken the lead role on the potential takeover and rescue of Yorkshire-based fertiliser development company Sirius Minerals. Corporate partners Aisling Zarraga and Nick Rees are taking the lead for the FTSE 100 multinational Anglo American on its £386m bid to buy Sirius, while Allen & Overy is acting for the ailing Sirius. Norton […]
Macfarlanes and DAC Beachcroft have acted on L’Oréal’s London HQ move to White City Place.
The value of UK-related deals tumbled over 2019, though there are signs that 2020 may be different. The question is, which firms can hold their nerve over the next 12 months? On last year’s showing, there are some good signs for UK outfits in particular.
Walker Morris is acting in the administration of The Book People, which suffered collapse just before Christmas.
A partner duo from Clifford Chance has taken legal duties for UK chip designer Imagination Technologies as part of a license contract with Apple that will revive a relationship that ended a few years ago. The multi-year license agreement marks a new collaboration between Apple and Imagination Technologies, which in the past provided graphic chips […]
Paul Hastings and Norton Rose Fulbright have advised on the latest telecommunications deal, which will see Monaco Telecom acquire Vodafone’s Maltese business. Monaco Telecom was advised by Paul Hastings on its €250m acquisition, with a team led by London corporate partner Garrett Hayes that also included senior associate David Prowse, competition partner Pierre Kirch and […]
Last orders for law’s drinking culture? Really not very many years ago, the news that the Junior Lawyers Division was not going to serve alcohol at its events would probably have been received with hilarity. What is life at the Bar, after all, without a cheeky snifter at the Seven Stars? And whether it’s The […]
Firms’ leadership elections under Brexit will be a test for London The general election was not the only significant leadership development happening in the UK this week. Not ones to give out the spotlight easily, a number of firms either shook up or geared up their highest echelons as they enter 2020. The race to […]
Firms serious about bagging the best graduate talent should take a look at Clifford Chance A few years back, a bunch of firms set up events for first-year law undergraduates – a group long ignored on the milkround in favour of second and third-years. We predicted what seemed like the obvious conclusion: the war for […]
The number of new QCs has increased by five per cent this year, with Fountain Court and Blackstone adding to their roster of silks, as well as two magic circle firms. A total of 114 new QCs were announced today, from 258 applicants, with the percentage of women falling by two following last year’s 28 […]
A Garden Court barrister is launching legal action against the Metropolitan Police after he was arrested at a university hospital protest this week. Franck Magennis was attending a protest at London’s St George’s University hospital when police officers arrested him. He was showing support for security guards at the hospital, who are on strike in […]
Despite successfully winning Samira Ahmed’s landmark discrimination case today, Matrix Chambers has also lost two of its barristers this week to Essex Court. Alison Macdonald QC and Angeline Welsh have both decamped to join magic circle set Essex Court. This comes just days after Henderson Chambers announced Jason Housden will be joining as its new […]
Baker McKenzie’s Chinese joint venture firm FenXun Partners is set to open a fourth office in Southern city Shenzhen, giving the global firm a foothold in China’s own “Silicon Valley”. The new office in Shenzhen will be the Chinese firm’s fourth location in China, following Beijing, Shanghai and Hainan. This means Baker McKenzie, which has […]
Dechert has been pulled into an Iraqi telecoms dispute after the firm was issued with a subpoena in the US, documents have revealed. The dispute dates to 2011, when one of Kurdistan’s most powerful businessmen Sirwan Barzani invested $800m in Korek, Iraq’s third-largest telecoms company. The US lawsuit alleges that Barzani and other locally-based investors […]
Clyde & Co has made its first venture into Chile after entering into an association with local firm Grasty Quintana Majlis. The association will see the firms work together, refer matters and provide an integrated service to existing clients in the region and globally – the focus will be on the insurance, construction and infrastructure, […]
Clifford Chance’s veteran Hong Kong litigation partner Brian Gilchrist has resigned from the magic circle firm and will join Gibson Dunn, as global firms focus on building up litigation practices in Hong Kong. Gilchrist will be joined by fellow litigation partner Elaine Chen as Gibson Dunn’s first major litigation hires in Hong Kong. They will […]
Reed Smith has hired a five-partner team to spearhead the opening of its new Brussels office. The Belgian team will be part of the firm’s global corporate group. It comprises five partners, two associates and one counsel from a plethora of different firms. The collective will work on practices that are closely related to Brexit implications, […]
Eversheds Sutherland has put in place plans to change the limited liability partnership (LLP) of its German offices in case of a hard Brexit. If a no-deal outcome is implemented, at the end of the year the firm will switch its German internal structure from an English LLP to a local one if UK LLPs […]
Despite Brexit, European law firms remain confident about London retaining its status as a prime global financial centre, and they cite a rise in restructuring-related work, regulatory advice and data protection issues
Investigating organised crime remains a major challenge in the Balkans, yet better collaboration and cooperation between cross-border authorities are strengthening legal frameworks. The Lawyer spoke to those working on these changes
This small Alpine country has long been a preferred seat for arbitration, but it needs to stand out from the likes of London, Paris and Singapore.
RPC has hired a four-lawyer restructuring team to boost its restructuring and insolvency practice in the City. Finella Fogarty, the former head of business restructuring at DWF, will join RPC to lead the practice at her new firm. She brings with her three new joiners; counsel William Beck, senior associate Danielle Bennett and associate James […]
One of O’Melveny & Myers’ last remaining London funds lawyers has emerged at Herbert Smith Freehills, continuing an exodus that began last year. Private equity veteran Jonathan Blake has joined Herbert Smith Freehills as head of its international private funds strategy. Blake’s departure leaves the US firm’s Paternoster Square office with just four remaining partners. […]
Linklaters has hired a new partner from White & Case to boost its London banking practice. The magic circle firm has brought in Colin Chang, who has been a partner in the capital markets practice of the US firm for more than a decade. Having first joined in 2008, he was based until now in White […]
Linklaters has lost another member of its real estate group, this time to Addleshaw Goddard. The former head of Linklaters’ real estate disputes practice, counsel Frances Richardson, has joined Addleshaw Goddard as a partner. She has been at the magic circle firm her whole legal carer, from 2004, and was made head of real estate […]
The Charles Russell Speechlys partner, whose move to Macfarlanes last year fell through, has resurfaced at Keystone Law. Ian Cooke, who until March 2019 had headed Charles Russell Speechlys’ private wealth and property practice, has joined Keystone Law after twenty years at the UK firm. Cooke made headlines in February when Macfarlanes announced his hire; […]
The head of Hogan Lovells’ Birmingham office Michael Gallimore has become the latest senior partner to leave the firm, prompting a change in leadership for the firm’s Midlands outpost. Gallimore has joined boutique planning firm Town Legal after over 30 years at Hogan Lovells. Having made partner in 1988, he was made head of planning […]
Performance evaluation might not be the sort of thing that springs to mind when you think of chambers. As opposed to working in a top-down firm, chambers are clearly far less prescriptive in their day-to day running allowing barristers to do business off of the back of their own merits as an individual. As such […]
By Gülenay Kavcar The subject of this article is about the elimination of privileges regarding the voting rights and representation in the board of directors in public partnerships, which were published in the Official Gazette dated 10.01.2020 and numbered 31004 and entered into force after being issued in compliance with the legislation for a period […]
In the light of the adoption of the Law “On introduction of amendments and additions to the Tax Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan” No. ZRU-599 dated 30 December, 2019, a new edition of the Tax Code was adopted. The significant amendments are the following: 1. The types of taxes have been reduced to 9 […]
By Dilorom Yuldasheva, Parvina Bashirova, Parvina Bashirova Currently, the pharmaceutical industry in Uzbekistan is experiencing a modification of regulatory requirements. In recent years, the country has achieved positive results in the formation and development of the primary health care system for population. It is important to note that the network of republican specialized scientific and […]
By Shaimerden Chikanayev Kazakhstan, at least on the surface, seems to have a strong political will to attract investments in renewable energy projects as demonstrated by its official general policy. The government of Kazakhstan, for instance, made an official commitment to increase the share of renewable energy in domestic electricity generation from the current 2% […]
By Liya Akzhanova 2019 was a year for developing the anti-doping framework in Kazakhstan in order to comply with the requirements of the IOC and WADA. In particular, the newly enhanced framework strengthens the administrative liability of persons who have prescribed banned drugs to an athlete. The overarching sanctions are now as follows: disqualification; refund […]
By Meldir Erbulekova Russia passed a new law, which requires certain types of devices – most likely smartphones, computers and some types of television, that enter the Russian market – to have Russian software pre installed. However, at this early stage, the law remains vague. Although it appears part of an effort to promote the […]
By Vivian Desmonts, Jamie Rowlands The fourth revision of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) came into effect on 1st November 2019. It is yet another example of the shifting landscape of intellectual property protection in China. The amendments were made in line with the International Trademark Authority’s recommendations to combat […]
By Sue Ryan, Tom George Shortly before the turn of the New Year it was the anniversary of the coming into force of the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2018[1]. As 2020 begins, we look back on the status of those regulations, relevant developments during the course of their first year in force and a brief look […]
By Tracey Spevack With increasing demand from regulators and investors for the highest standards of corporate governance and stringent compliance with a growing list of complex regulations, more and more businesses are turning to professional corporate service providers for expert help. Recent years have seen significantly increased regulatory requirements and obligations placed on businesses in […]
By Derek Stenson, Michael O’Connor On January 8, 2020 the Cayman Islands Government published the Private Funds Bill, 2020 (the “Bill”). The Bill builds upon the reputation of the Cayman Islands as a co-operative and transparent jurisdiction and introduces for the first time a requirement for private funds to register with the financial regulator in […]
The Cayman Islands is well known to be the jurisdiction of choice for structured finance transactions due to its robust legislation and judicial framework, its creditor friendly nature, its familiarity to market participants (in particular, rating agencies), and the list goes on. What is less obvious, and arguably more intriguing, is the increased reliance on […]
