Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy has launched a commercial litigation practice in London, hiring DLA Piper partner Julian Stait to work on technology disputes. Stait, a former head of technology, media and communications (TMC) at DLA Piper, will work in Milbank’s two-partner IT and outsourcing team. Milbank now has 13 partners in London under European […]
The stormy economic conditions will prove a tough test for reforms intended to improve insurance contract certainty and overall standards. By Paul Wordley and Graham Denny In December 2004 John Tiner, the then chief executive of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), challenged the insurance market and the ‘deal now, detail later’ approach it had to insurance business. […]
Can we expect a rash of major directors’ and officers’ claims to hit the UK? asks John Turnbull One could be forgiven in the current climate for adopting Private Frazer’s helpful advice in Dad’s Army: “We’re all doomed, I say. Doomed.” Given some predictions concerning directors’ and officers’ (D&O) claims, one could expect D&O […]
As the fortunes of AIM decline, mid-sized firms have been taking advantage of buoyancy in the Plus market to boost their corporate coffers. Kit Chellel reports When Hammonds sent out flyers recently offering to help companies delist from AIM for a bargain £5,000, it seemed like another nail was being hammered into the coffin of […]
Osborne Clarke has advised Babcock Marine on the extension of its contract to manage Devonport Royal Dockyard with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a deal worth £560m. The contract, an extension of the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative, will see Babcock continue to provide management services to the base until 2013. Osborne Clarke projects partner […]
Farrer & Co has advised on the creation of the largest UK charity for older people through the merger of Help the Aged and the UK-based affiliations of Age Concern. Partners Anne-Marie Piper and Jo Coleman led a team of lawyers from across the UK advising newly formed charity Age UK. It was the first […]
A trio of UK firms has won roles advising on private equity house Bridgepoint’s appointment as manager of Hermes Private Equity’s funds. Hermes instructed a Macfarlanes team led by partner Luke Powell. Clifford Chance partner Kem Ihenacho advised Bridgepoint. The deal will see the private equity house manage Hermes’ £550m direct investment private equity portfolio. […]
SJ Berwin has secured its largest mandate from CVC Capital Partners, acting for the private equity group on negotiations to buy Barclays subsidiary iShares after regular adviser Clifford Chance was conflicted out. Guy Norman Barclays is holding exclusive talks with CVC to sell the San Francisco-based exchange traded funds business, in a deal thought to be worth […]
Cadwalader hopes fewer shares of greater value will prove more attractive to partners Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft’s decision to reduce the number of shares available for equity partners from 401 to 332 will have a significant impact on partners in the real estate finance and capital markets groups. With fewer shares to go round, it […]
Shropshire County Council legal chief Claire Porter has been given the top legal role at the new unified Shropshire authority. Shropshire was one of nine regions to unite district, borough and county councils under a single unitary authority on 1 April. Porter will be in charge of lawyers from the county council and five borough […]
The legal teams at the NHS regulator and all other adult healthcare supervisory bodies have been overhauled with the creation of super-watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC takes over the regulatory functions of previous adult health and social care regulators the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health […]
In December last year Lord Chancellor Jack Straw QC declared that the Government would propose to change the law to allow access to the Family Court so that justice could be seen to be done. So in true New Labour style the Ministry of Justice announced that the Family Court would be thrown open to […]