It’s safe to say that any firms that have tried to access the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS) would agree it’s a work in progress. The government has put in place a £330bn package, meaning businesses generating less than £45m in revenue can access a loan of up to £5m that is 80% […]
When Dinah Rose QC takes up her role as principal of Magdalen College, Oxford in September she will have more on her mind than the deer park. Tucked away on her list might be some scrutiny of why Magdalen, the alma mater of Lords Denning and Sumption, is one of the lowest-performing colleges at the […]
Life After Slaughters – wait, there is one? For those partners in Slaughter and May considering what light exists outside of Bunhill Row, then fear not. Those 30 years of hard graft can open doors in all sorts of areas, as history has shown. Ex-Slaughters partners have ended up at the regulators, with Charles Randall […]
Back in February 2017, our sister title Lawyer 2B conducted a survey. Six months after the Brexit vote, we asked foreign lawyers if they were thinking of returning to their country of origin. Around 10.8 per cent of the over 400 foreign-born lawyers polled said yes, and the figure rose to 16.5 per cent among […]
One of the most eye-catching deals of recent weeks was the sale of the Ritz, which completed late last Friday despite the best efforts of the virus and featured Weil Gotshal advising the iconic hotel. It provided a reminder that while Covid-19 has understandably shunted 99 per cent of all other news off the agenda, […]
Reed Smith has struck a deal with Elevate for its Leeds service centre, in a move that will enable the US firm to start offering a flexible resourcing service. As part of the multi-year agreement, the value of which was not disclosed by the parties, Elevate will support the firm’s lawyers in the EMEA regions […]
Mayer Brown has launched an emergency service to support staff with problems working from home, as the number of technical issues rise in a remote working environment. The service, called ‘virtual technology guru’, was launched last Thursday and it was designed as a way to help people with complex requests that go beyond remote helpdesk […]
Around a fifth (17 per cent) of Eversheds Sutherland’s total revenue is generated from the real estate sector, according to The Lawyer’s Global Real Estate 50 report, and its focus on the market stretches back decades, particular in the UK. Consequently, there are few firms better placed to comment on the state of the real estate market […]
A group of fee-earners at Brown Rudnick’s London office have been asked to join the UK Government’s furlough scheme, as the firm implements a series of protective measures globally. The Lawyer understands that approximately 17 members of staff across practices areas such as white-collar, litigation and corporate have been furloughed, with employees ranging from paralegals […]
Clifford Chance will run its 2020 summer vacation scheme as a virtual event, in response to the current coronavirus pandemic. The virtual scheme will take place from Wednesday to Friday, 1-3 July and will comprise three days – instead of the traditional two weeks – of virtual learning by using external platform InsideSherpa, which was […]
Herbert Smith Freehills is the latest City firm to reduce partner profit distributions, while maintaining it will still award bonuses in two separate payments over the next year. The firm confirmed today that all employees will remain on their current respective salaries, with this pay freeze set to be reviewed in six months. While some […]
The UK Government’s Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has put most of its current panel reviews on hold while it reprioritises work in light of coronavirus. The CCS has paused procurement activity for its general legal advice services, finance and complex legal services, rail and edisclosure panels, as firms wait in the lurch about when the […]
Pinsent Masons is placing some of its non-fee-earners on furlough in response to the coronavirus pandemic, while it also considers a change to its quarterly cycle of partner payouts. These are just two of the latest measures put in place by the firm. Senior figures are now undertaking a programme of scenario planning to consider what […]
Family chambers 3PB has launched a remote courtroom to assist on the financial aspects of claims brought in the family court. Members at the set have decided to launch the Remote Access Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) Court Room for instructing law firms and clients, who are now having to engage remotely. The set, which had […]
Eversheds Sutherland has created an app that allows staff to interact on themes that go beyond their routine jobs, as it seeks to counteract the sense of loneliness sparked by the sustained remote working period caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The app, called Open House, was sponsored by the firm’s managing partner Keith Froud, and […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer will not be dishing out partner profits for Q4, while the magic circle firm has also called off its partner conference, which had been scheduled for this summer. It comes as firms across the board decide whether to hold back or reduce partner distributions, or ask partners to put in slightly more […]
Department store Debenhams has revealed its intention to appoint administrators, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Kirkland & Ellis among the firms acting on the lengthy restructuring process. The department store filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators early this morning, with FRP Advisory working on matters related to an administration. Freshfields has been acting […]
Ashurst and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were on call as two high street businesses plunged into administration in one day. Ashurst is acting on the administration of Carluccio’s, which has become the first major casual dining casualty since the coronavirus lockdown. Led by restructuring partner Drew Sainsbury and corporate partner Bruce Hanton, the firm is advising […]
Macfarlanes and Weil Gotshal & Manges were the two firms leading on the sale of the iconic Ritz Hotel completed late on Friday evening. The acquisition means an unnamed Qatari investor now owns the Ritz hotel on the same night that the property closed its doors for the first time in more than 100 years […]
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have acted on Blackstone’s £120m acquisition of a logistics portfolio from Clearbell Capital. BCLP acted for Clearbell from its London and Southampton offices, led by funds and investment management head Justin Cornelius and partner Kieran Saunders. Partners Claire Milton and Verity Waington advised on real […]
Telecoms giant BT has sold its legal technology business Tikit, with legal advisers including Kirkland & Ellis and Addleshaw Goddard. The sale came after BT scanned the market for potential buyers as part of a divestment process that began in the summer of 2019. Financial terms were not disclosed. Tikit provides technology solutions to legal […]
Addleshaw Goddard, Greenberg Traurig and Forsters have seen through the £80m sale of Ted Baker’s London HQ to the British Airways’ Pension Fund (BAPF). Addleshaws corporate M&A partners Simon Wood and Andrew Rosling acted for Ted Baker, alongside co-head of the firm’s real estate sector William Boss. The stricken retailer bought the 8,920 sq ft […]
Paul Hastings, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Stephenson Harwood and Covington & Burling formed the legal lineup behind Fosun Pharma’s $135m (£113.7) deal with Germany’s BioNtech, in the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) is advised by Paul Hastings. The US firm’s team is led by Shanghai-based corporate partner Jia Yan, who is also […]
This week saw Norton Rose Fulbright revive its Flex scheme of 2009/10, while junior barristers voiced concerns over their livelihoods. Here are the key takeaways. Norton Rose Fulbright rolls back the years As we’ll no doubt be reminding people a lot in the coming weeks, the firm that probably came out best reputation-wise from the […]
The changing dynamics between firms’ corporate and restructuring teams was highlighted this week, while listed law firms brace for tough times due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the key takeaways. What a time to be a restructuring lawyer If you’re a corporate lawyer right now, you’re probably still flat-out speaking to clients as they […]
Exams, and students’ ability to sit them, was just one of the many things to have been affected by coronavirus this week. You can find all the updates on how law firms have been individually affected and how organisations are reacting to the crisis here in our coronavirus resources hub, including two interviews with Italian […]
The old saying goes that necessity is the mother of invention, and this has been starkly demonstrated within the legal industry over the past few weeks. ‘Necessity’ here is represented by the Covid-19 pandemic, and ‘invention’ by the rapid pace with which professionals have had to rethink the way that they operate while coping with […]
Atkin Chambers has brought in a partner from Reed Smith, as Shourav Lahiri becomes the second barrister to leave private practice for the Bar in as many weeks. Last week, The Lawyer reported that Stuart Isaacs QC has joined Wilberforce from King & Spalding and Atkin has followed suit in hiring the energy lawyer from Reed Smith. […]
Barrister Keir Starmer has been elected as Labour leader and thus becomes Leader of the Opposition. He has been mentioned many times in the pages of The Lawyer over the years: here are some of the most notable occasions.
Every festivity has its own set of traditions, and Chinese New Year is no exception. In towns and cities, during the celebrations, red envelopes containing money are usually exchanged among families and friends as a good luck wish. This year, however, the tradition was partly broken. Instead of cash, envelopes were filled with face masks. […]
The ever-expanding Paris office of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has hired yet more lawyers from a boutique French firm, this time adding in employment and antitrust. The lawyers all join from Franklin; they are antitrust partner Julie Catala Marty, employment partner Claire Fougea and employment of counsel Marion Brière Ségala, who joins BCLP as […]
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has promoted one London partner in its round of 13, bolstering its white-collar crime practice in the City. Andrew Good has been made up in the Canary Wharf office, effectively immediately, following on what may be the start of a trend for the US firm after it made one London […]
The founder and managing partner of Gowling WLG’s Singapore association firm JurisAsia, Sheena Jacob, has left for CMS with her entire IP team. The move comes three years after the Singaporean IP boutique entered into an exclusive association with Gowling WLG. JurisAsia was launched by former Tan Rajah & Cheah IP partner Sheena Jacob, who is […]
Almost 400 barristers registered to the Irish Bar have volunteered to carry out coronavirus contact tracing in order to help relieve pressure on health staff. A total of 385 barristers, which is about one-sixth of all practising barristers in Ireland, have signed up to volunteer for the Health Service Executive. Under the scheme, which is […]
Shearman & Sterling’s Italian arm has told its staff that it will not be handing out any pay rises this year. Following a management decision, which is understood to have been made slightly before the coronavirus outbreak, staff in the Milan and Rome offices of the US firm will not be granted raises for the […]
As recession hits the domestic market, Italian firms have been looking abroad for growth opportunities.
After years in the wilderness, the property markets of Spain and Portugal are undergoing a renaissance, creating new opportunities for lawyers
The Nordic stock market has seen sustained activity in recent years, particularly with its strong private equity share, but may need to review its processes if it is to continue to compete with the rest of Europe.
Wilberforce Chambers has secured the services of a high-profile silk from private practice, with Stuart Isaacs QC joining the set from King & Spalding. After a five-year stint as a partner in the global disputes team at King & Spalding, the commercial specialist will now resume his practice at the Bar. Isaacs is the second […]
A ten-lawyer real estate team, led by partner Anne O’Neill, is to leave Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s London office for West End firm Forsters. O’Neill joined Orrick in 2005 from the now-dissolved Coudert Brothers, and was one of eight of its London partners to move in one go. She led Orrick’s UK real estate practice […]
DLA Piper has hired one of Paul Hastings’ restructuring partners to bolster its offering in the City. David Manson will jump ship to DLA after just over two years at Paul Hastings, which he joined in 2017 from White & Case. He was a senior associate at White & Case from 2006 to 2012 and […]
A partner from McDermott Will & Emery’s finance practice has left the firm after 18 months for Addleshaw Goddard. Rachel Kelly, who specialises in structured finance and debt capital markets, moves to Addleshaws with fellow lawyer Kerry Pettigrew, who joins Addleshaws as a legal director. Kelly was one of the first partners to depart the […]
Covington & Burling has made its first London lateral hire in two years, bringing in a new partner from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner to boost its competition capabilities in the City. James Marshall joins the Washington DC-based firm after more than 10 years at BCLP, having spent nine of those years at Berwin Leighton Paisner […]
McDermott Will & Emery has hired a finance partner from Reed Smith, the latest in a string of senior laterals to join over the past few months. The US firm has taken on longtime Reed Smith London partner Ranajoy Basu. The finance lawyer has spent over seven years in the City outfit of the US […]
The authorities in Jersey have reaffirmed the island’s commitment to the business community in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic by amending its rules around economic substance. The jurisdiction has confirmed the circumstances under which it will not determine – under Article 6, Taxation Law 2019 – that a company has failed the economic substance […]
On 14 March 2020, the Croatian Ministry of Justice issued recommendations to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and control the pandemic (“Measures“). The Measures are applicable until 1 April 2020. The Measures advise temporary adjustments to legal requirements in civil, insolvency and criminal procedure law to avoid hardship that would otherwise arise as a result of […]
Provisional Article 3 of The Directive Regarding Authorised Institutions for Ships which was published in Official Gazette with 29952 numbered and January 18th,2017 dated, has been amended through a new amending directive published in Official Gazette with 31078 numbered and March 24th,2020 dated, as follows;
In light of the escalating status of the COVID-19 as a pandemic and the UK moving into the delay phase of disease control, a number of businesses are looking for more guidance around what they should be doing to manage their contracts. As a follow on from our previous update, more and more businesses are […]
We are facing a Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and, as a result, administrative solutions have been adopted and a state of emergency has been declared. All this has had an impact on the whole of the economy and it has also had serious adverse effects on property (real estate) transactions, which are subject to specific formalities […]
On 30 March 2020, the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (the Court of Appeal) delivered a decision of some practical importance to the practice relating to applications for injunctive relief. It confirms: That the so called “Black Swan” line of authority cannot be developed and extended by the courts to permit free standing […]
The Chief Coroner’s Guidance on COVID-19 (No.34) was issued on 26 March 2020 and reinforced on 27 March 2020 with further guidance (No.35). It is helpful to be read in conjunction with the Chief Coroner’s COVID-19 Note #3. It is intended to be the main piece of guidance for all coroners. The message overall is that coroners have discretion […]
This case raises an interesting point: does a mistake in an application, which is not relied upon by a regulator when it makes its decision, invalidate the regulator’s decision to issue an environmental permit?
When and on what terms should I inform the market of any strategic decisions and/or negative impacts on the company’s business?
Communities secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP has announced that planning rules will be relaxed so that pubs and restaurants can operate as hot food takeaways during the coronavirus outbreak.
Stephen Barclay, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced that the commencement of the revised IR35 rules will be delayed until April 2021. The move has been widely welcomed and allows businesses to focus on dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.
The appearance and spread of the coronavirus in Hungary made extraordinary measures necessary. Therefore, the Government of Hungary decided to declare a “state of emergency” on 11 March 2020 and introduced numerous preventive measures, with practically immediate effect. Primarily, the handling of the pandemic and the disease prevention is the task of state institutions. In […]