Big Four accountancy firm KPMG has extended its legal services network to Hong Kong, targeting a headcount of 20 lawyers for its newly-established legal outfit in the region. The new firm called SF Lawyers is being set up by former Harneys counsel Shirley Fu, who started her professional services career with KPMG back in Australia in 2004. […]
Gowling WLG’s Monaco office has been acquired by an advisory firm, nearly two decades after legacy firm Lawrence Graham launched private client-focused operations in the principality. The office has been acquired by advisory firm Maitland, with the new entity being renamed as Maitland Advisory (Monaco). It will be led by former Gowling partner Peter Walford, who will now […]
Litigation boutique Signature has launched its second overseas office with two lawyers from Hogan Lovells, including its former head of Paris disputes. The firm has hired Hogan Lovells partner Thomas Rouhette to establish a three-partner site in the French capital. Rouhette had been head of litigation at the international firm and is joined by Hogan […]
Fieldfisher has debuted a new firm that will focus exclusively on the hedge fund market and work with businesses in the alternative investment management area. Located at 1 Mayfair Place, a hedge fund hub, specialist firm Cummings Fisher has been launched to deal with derivatives and investment funds and will be helmed by Claire Cummings, […]
Reed Smith’s head of private equity real estate, Oliver s’Jacob has left to join US counterpart Morrison & Foerster as its first real estate partner in London. s’Jacob becomes MoFo’s first and only real estate partner in London, following on from the arrival in late 2017 of partner Florian Ehrich, who joined to build out the real […]
In what has already been a busy January for Kirkland & Ellis‘s City operations, the firm is gearing up to hire another new lateral from Weil Gotshal & Manges. The Lawyer understands that Weil’s most senior tax lawyer in London, David Irvine, has resigned for Kirkland. Irvine started his career at Deloitte in Australia as a tax […]
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is to launch its first alternative legal services centre in New York, with the firm’s in-house tech unit now generating over £40m worth of revenue worldwide. The firm is opening in New York with a new e-discovery team, as well as a smaller operation in Hong Kong. Building on its existing e-discovery capabilities […]
Legal employees at Jaguar Land Rover face uncertainty at the company after it announced it was embarking on a programme to slash 4,500 jobs worldwide. The job cuts across the vehicle manufacturer, which are part of its £2.5bn plan to reverse losses, will begin with a voluntary redundancy programme in the UK. The bulk of the cull will […]
Dechert’s former Dubai co-managing partner Gavin Watson has left the firm for Pillsbury, where he will work as a partner in its London office. Watson has relocated from the Middle East to London, with a focus on cross-border corporate transactions in the oil and gas space. He joined Dechert in 2012 from defunct firm Dewey & […]
Deliveroo has reshuffled its in-house legal team after the departure of chief legal officer Rob Miller, who has left the food delivery service after just 12 months. Miller joined Deliveroo at the start of 2018 from tech startup Improbable, where he led its legal team for a year too. The former Fieldfisher lawyer also held […]
Revealing today double-digit revenue growth in its first six months as a listed firm, Knights is also looking to streamline its management functions with a new COO from Procter & Gamble. The appointment of Richard King as the firm’s first COO means Knights CEO David Beech can focus more on increasing the firm’s top line, new […]
Crowell & Moring’s new London managing partner Robert Weekes has set out plans to launch a training contract in the City office, having joined the US firm today from Squire Patton Boggs. Weekes’ move was revealed by The Lawyer last November, months after it was revealed that Squires’ global head Stephen Mahon would be relocating from the US […]
Latham & Watkins is one of the heavy hitting City firms that have been ushered in to advise on the next chapter of New Look’s restructuring saga, following the arrival of Sidley Austin’s Yen Sum last year. Sum, who moved to Latham after a short spell at Sidley in 2018, won a place for the bondholders […]
Herbert Smith Freehills and Morgan Lewis & Bockius are representing a consortium in its rescue of troubled Flybe Airways for £2.2m. The consortium is formed by Connect Airways, a joint venture company owned by Cyrus funds, Stobart Aviation and Virgin Atlantic. Morgan Lewis partner Georgia Quenby has been leading for Connect and Cyrus, along with […]
Eversheds Sutherland and Hogan Lovells are acting on the development of the BBC’s new studios, as part of the £1bn regeneration of the cultural and education district of London’s Olympic Park. Real estate partner Ian Barker at Eversheds is advising the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), alongside senior associate Hugo Jay and associate Ezra Mackenzie. The LLDC […]
Mirroring a claim already filed by the firm in New York, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is battling six major banks in London over allegations that they conspired to manipulate the foreign exchange market. Quinn is the first firm to file a charge on these grounds in Europe. London co-head of competition litigation Boris Bronfentrinker has filed […]
Jenner & Block partner Jason Yardley, one of the 30+ speakers at last year’s Managing Risk and Litigation conference, talks to The Lawyer about the newly established commercial courts across Europe and their potential impact on English Commercial Courts, and whether costs will have a greater impact on London as a preferred forum for international disputes. Will […]
These are the main messages that came out of The Lawyer’s 2018 Managing Risk and Litigation conference (MRL) last month.
Happy New Year. The Speed Read is back for 2019 and those who took an extended Christmas break will find, as they slope back into the office wiping the last crumbs of mince pie from their mouths, that a number of interesting developments have already taken place in the legal world this year. Those lawyers whose […]
“No-one’s interested in KWM any more,” we’re confidently told by, er… lots of former KWM partners. This comes as news to us, as our analysis of what happened to the trainees who had to be rescued from the smoking ruins of King & Wood Mallesons’ UK operation is our most-read article of the month to […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority rarely makes for gripping reading, but this week was an exception, as The Lawyer also reported on mid-market mergers and expansive insurance players.
The arrival of Hodge Malek QC and Hefin Rees QC last year are evidence of a bounceback by 3VB after Sonia Tolaney QC’s high-profile defection
Barristers from sets including Red Lion Chambers, Brick Court and 3 Verulam Buildings are among the 108 new QCs to be announced today, while lawyers have also made silk from Allen & Overy and White & Case. There will be 108 new QCs this year, with the female percentage in this year’s round reaching at […]
4 Pump Court silk Alexander Gunning QC has joined magic circle chambers One Essex Court in a key boost to the set’s arbitration group. Gunning was first called to the Bar in 1994, taking silk six years ago with a practice focused heavily on international arbitration, as well as commercial in the energy, insurance, construction […]
Lawyers from the top European firms will converge on Grosvenor House on Tuesday 19th March 2019, for The Lawyer European Awards – an unrivalled celebration of excellence across the Continent. The shortlist, published today, spans firms large and small, from European giants to specialist boutiques. Last year Danish firm Kromann Reumert was crowned European Law […]
Clifford Chance has ramped up recruitment efforts in Luxembourg with a second partner hire so far this year, taking on magic circle rival Linklaters’ funds partner Emmanuel-Frédéric Henrion this time. Henrion joins Clifford Chance as a partner in the investment funds practice in Luxembourg. This is the firm’s second lateral partner hire in the European […]
Norton Rose Fulbright has become the latest global firm to expand its Singapore law practice as it enters into a formal law alliance (FLA) with Singapore litigation boutique Ascendant Legal. The FLA, operating under the brand of Norton Rose Fulbright Ascendant, has recently received the approval from the Singapore Ministry of Law. It is set […]
Pinsent Masons is to open its third office in Germany, hiring partners from a number of different firms for its latest international launch in Frankfurt. The office will be its third location in Germany, after Munich and Düsseldorf, and will focus on the technology, energy and real estate sectors. The founding team have been recruited from […]
.Gowling WLG has extended its “best friend” relationship with Indian law firm Naik Naik & Company from its UK LLP to the firm’s Canada arm as post-merger integration continues.
Clifford Chance has brought in its latest new recruit to its Luxembourg office, hiring DLA Piper’s local tax head Geoffrey Scardoni to the team. The move highlights the growing importance of Luxembourg as a hub for financial services companies and asset managers, particularly as the UK prepares to leave the European Union this March. In response to […]
Technological advances are, at best, patchy in this part of the world, but some practices have plans to make up the ground
The countries are set to become major players on the world stage, with big investments on the horizon. But there are hurdles to overcome.
An unstable Middle East has led several international firms to downsize, creating opportunities for local leaders
Plugging a gap in its leveraged finance offering in the City, Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson has secured a new partner in London from Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. Neil Caddy has been a partner at Milbank for over six years, joining in 2012 from Mayer Brown. His practice focuses on leveraged financing and restructuring, […]
Partners continue to trickle out of DWF ahead of its proposed £1bn IPO, with the latest two leavers being snapped up by Fieldfisher. Iain Thomas and Christian Francis are to join Fieldfisher’s real estate finance practice. Thomas led the real estate practice at DWF, where he has been since 2014. He was previously a partner at […]
Deloitte Legal has ended its nine-month long search for a leader of its new UK legal arm, with the appointment of a new managing partner from Allen & Overy. The role, which for months was believed to have targeted a general counsel, has by contrast fallen to A&O banking partner Michael Castle, who has spent […]
DWF former City funds head Lorraine Reader is to join DLA Piper’s real estate team, just months after news of DWF’s intended IPO broke in June last year.
Real estate partner David Cox has become the third partner to leave White & Case’s London office so far this year as he joins King & Spalding. Cox left White & Case following a 15-year stint, having served as head of real estate and real estate finance in London between 2003 and 2014. He joins […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Adrian Maguire is understood to be joining his former boss David Higgins at Kirkland & Ellis, over a year after the US firm made a concerted push to expand its corporate credentials in the City.
Dechert’s former trade co-chair Miriam Gonzalez is to join Cohen & Gresser, where she will split her time between Washington DC and London.
Two members of Jones Day’s project finance team have decamped from its London office, one of whom has resurfaced at Baker Botts. Nick Collins has joined Baker Botts’ growing London offering, while Myles Mantle’s next role has not yet been lined up, The Lawyer understands. Both left the US firm at the end of last year. Collins […]
Baker McKenzie has taken on two new partners from White & Case’s London office, after a series of hires into its banking and finance teams last year. Capital markets partners Rob Mathews and David Becker will join Bakers’ corporate finance practice. Both partners, who specialise in high yield, were partners at US outfit White & Case for […]
Barclays head of incentives law Andrew Patterson has joined magic circle firm Clifford Chance as a partner, having been with the bank for nearly nine years. The former Ashurst associate went in-house to Barclays incentives team in 2010 after spending over six years with the City firm, qualifying in 2006. Patterson joined the bank as […]
Dechert has started off 2019 with two partner additions, recruiting funds expertise into both its Dublin and Luxembourg office. The US firm has hired Maples & Calder’s Carol Widger as its new managing partner of Dublin, a financial services lawyer that advises companies on services to investment funds. She replaces Declan O’Sullivan in the role, […]
KPMG is continuing its push into the legal market with the raid of two partners from Norton Rose Fulbright‘s international network. The hires include corporate tax partner Angela Savin, who has joined KPMG’s tax litigation and disputes team in London, and Sydney -based Zein El Hassan, who helmed the firm’s financial services risk advisory team in Australia […]
The Bangalore bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (Tribunal) in a recent case of M/s Jupiter Capital Pvt. Ltd. v The Assistant commissioner of Income Tax (ITAT order dated 29 November 2018) has allowed the claim for capital loss on account of reduction in share capital of the company (Ruling). The Tribunal held that […]
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its meeting held on 18 August 2018, besides reviewing the total expense ratio of the mutual fund schemes and agreeing to introduce united payment interface with ASBA facility for public issues, has also paved the way for further stimulating the bond market by removing the requirement […]
By Trudy Feaster-Gee, Sue Harris Now that the House of Commons has overwhelmingly rejected the government’s Brexit deal, we take a look at what happens next and what it means for businesses. On Tuesday 15 January 2019, the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly to reject the Brexit deal negotiated between the government and the European Union. A […]
By Christina Gill A recent High Court case has shed some light on the extent to which the courts may imply additional duties into mortgage agreements requiring lenders to make decisions by way of processes that would be “lawful and rational in the public law sense”. Banking Litigation specialist Christina Gill explains UBS AG v Rose Capital […]
By Philippe Pulfer, Olivier Sigg Welcome to the 2019 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to Private Client which I am delighted to introduce this year. The Guide covers a comprehensive and diverse range of articles that would pique the interest of any domestic or international practice client adviser. The publication is designed to provide readers […]
By Catarina Pinto Correia, Ana Marta Castro, Pedro Fontes 2018 begins with a general positive feeling, since, in 2017, Portuguese economy grew – for the fourth year running – at a projected rate of approximately 2.5%. This growth follows a deep recession experienced between 2011 and 2013, years that were also marked by a significant decrease […]
The insurance M&A activity during 2017 followed the consolidation trend of the previous years, with a number of sales procedures of insurance companies being completed or initiated during this period. Similar to the previous years, these sales procedures attracted mainly foreign investors (particularly China-based), thus the control of the insurance sector has become more and […]
By Angus Evers, Lucy Shepherd Bristol City Council has used its powers under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to prosecute a property owner for allowing the spread of invasive plant species Japanese knotweed. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the ‘Act’) enables local authorities to take action for anti-social behaviour, which […]
Corporate legal teams are under constant pressure to deliver more value to their organisations. Growing demand and changing expectations from the business mean that legal departments are adapting to embrace innovation and requiring their network of external counsel to do the same. Generally, corporate legal teams are adopting new technologies and adapting to changing pressures […]
A ban on the import into Russia of certain commodities, the country of origin of which is Ukraine or which move through the territory of Ukraine was introduced by the Decision of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 29 December 2018 No. 1716-83. The list of the commodities prohibited for import is provided in […]
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has published Draft Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2018 (Draft Rules) for objections and suggestions. The key highlights of the Draft Rules are broadly set out below: International Applications: Patent agents will be required to file all documents, including scanned copies of documents, only by electronic transmission at the time of […]
In a long awaited move, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified the provisions of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 (CA Amendment Act), relating to managerial remuneration, which are now in force with effect from 12 September 2018. By way of a notification, the amendments to Section 197 and Schedule V of the Companies […]
