A group of bar heavyweights have won a major victory in the House of Lords, which today unanimously ruled that the use of control orders breaches the fundamental right to a fair hearing. A number of leading counsel went before the House of Lords to challenge the decision to charge three terror suspects with offences […]
City-based Rosenblatt Solicitors last week won a victory in the High Court on behalf of 1,000 servicemen who had argued that they suffered ill health as a result of nuclear testing carried out by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the Pacific Ocean in the 1950s. The MoD rejected the claims, saying that because the […]
Over the last few weeks the Government has found itself out of favour with the public, thanks in part to MPs making some interesting expense claims. In the last week it has also found itself out of favour with the law after two separate judgments – handed down in the High Court and the House […]
Has access to justice been impaired by mediation coercion? asks Katy Dowell The introduction of the Woolf reforms in April 1999 overhauled the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and brought about a radical change to the litigation system. A decade on and the profession is divided over whether the reforms have had the intended effect of […]
Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have helped resolve a competition dispute between the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and rival trading platform Plus, preventing the need for a High Court date in June. Plus, advised by Clifford Chance litigation partner Luke Tolaini, challenged the LSE over a rule that it claims effectively prevented AIM companies from trading on […]
Lovells has won a role alongside magic circle firm Clifford Chance advising on French company EDF Energy’s e1bn (£870m) bond issuance. Lovells capital markets head Sharon Lewis advised EDF on the euro medium term note (EMTN). The issuance is the first tranche of EDF’s programme, which has a limit of e16bn. Clifford Chance Paris partner […]
Jones Day has won a lead mandate on the administration of the recession’s latest high-street casualty, greetings card chain Birthdays. Partner Peter Saville of administrator Zolfo Cooper has appointed Jones Day London restructuring head Adam Plainer and partners Paul Bromfield and Michael Rutstein as he tries to find a buyer for the company. Plainer said: […]
Herbert Smith and Weil Gotshal & Manges have won roles in the administration and subsequent rebirth of Cobra, the popular curry-house beer. Stephen Wilkinson Cobra went into pre-packaged administration with debts of around £100m, to re-emerge under the joint ownership of Canadian brewer Molson Coors and Cobra founder Lord Bilimoria. Weil advised Cobra in […]
Media boutique Schillings is looking to expand the professional development of its junior lawyers with the launch of the Schillings Academy. Keith Schilling The first phase of the academy, which is open to associates at all levels at the firm, will be launched at the beginning of July with the aim of providing lawyers with […]
A number of City investment banks have raised salaries for in-house lawyers to offset precipitous falls in bonus payouts. While bonuses had been slashed across the board, several banks have tried to limit the damage for back-office staff. UBS, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have all increased wages for in-house lawyers, research by search agency […]
Welter of litigation predicted as pension trustees eye legal actions over alleged bad advice in the 1990s Eversheds is facing potential legal action from the trustees of a pension scheme in what could be the first in a deluge of pensions-related claims against law firms. The trustees of the Britannia Building Society Pension Scheme […]
DLA Piper and Clifford Chance have advised on Hammerson’s sale of a 75 per cent interest in Allen & Overy’s global headquarters at London’s One Bishops Square in a deal valuing the building at £445m. DLA Piper’s Oman managing partner Bruce Mullins led a team advising Funderburk Europe 2 – a special purpose vehicle formed […]