Channel 4 has promoted Prash Naik to the role of controller of legal, replacing Jan Tomalin, who has left to set up her own firm. Naik will be responsible for all legal and compliance issues at Channel 4, reporting to finance director Anne Bulford. Previously Naik was deputy head of legal. Naik has been with […]
Clifford Chance and O’Melveny & Myers have jointly advised emerging markets private equity house Actis on a rare fundraising in persistently challenging markets. Actis, which focuses exclusively on emerging market investments, has raised a total of $2.9bn (£1.88bn) for Actis Emerging Markets 3. At Clifford Chance, partners Jason Glover and Ed Gander and associate Peter […]
Manches family partner Helen Ward has cemented her place as the UK’s leading divorce lawyer after securing a £50m divorce settlement for Madonna’s husband Guy Ritchie. Ward set legal history in May 2007 when she secured a £48m divorce settlement for Beverly Charman, the wife of insurance tycoon John Charman (TheLawyer.com 24 May). Madonna’s spokeswoman […]
Clifford Chance has elected litigation partner David DiBari as head of its Washington DC office following the defection of incumbent Leiv Blad. White collar and regulatory partner DiBari replaces Blad in the managing partner role after he left the magic circle firm earlier this year to join Bingham McCutchen along with partners Jon Roellke and […]
High Court judge has ordered Allen & Overy and McDermott Will & Emery to estimate their costs before an intellectual property (IP) trial, showing judicial unease over the cost of UK litigation. A High Court judge has ordered Allen & Overy (A&O) and McDermott Will & Emery to estimate their costs before an intellectual property […]
Kennedys returns to DLA for fresh pickings” />DLA Piper’s Birmingham office has been hit by a second recruitment assault from insurance heavyweight Kennedys. DLA Piper’s professional indemnity (PI) head Eamon Mooney will lead Kennedys’ PI team in Birmingham and will be joined by partners Robert Welfare, Khalid Mahmood and two legal directors. It comes just […]
Denton Wilde Sapte is setting its sights on an Iraq launch as it seeks to expand its Middle East footprint. Chief executive Howard Morris said Iraq’s vast oil reserves were in line with his ;firm’s ;energy ;and infrastructure focus and that the firm would only go ahead with a launch if there was “existing unstimulated […]
BT Group is in the process of overhauling the in-house functions of its separate businesses, creating central pools of lawyers to handle employment and regulation issues. A source told The Lawyer that the company was looking to build specialist “centres of excellence” to give specialist advice to the different BT Group businesses, including BT Retail […]
Beresfords Solicitors partner Jim Beresford has been struck off along with his colleague Douglas Smith after all but three of 11 allegations of professional misconduct against them were upheld by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). The duo found themselves in front of the tribunal for failing to act in the interests of their clients by […]
Prince Harry’s girlfriend Chelsy Davy has started a Christmas vacation scheme at the Queen’s law firm, Farrer & Co. As revealed on TheLawyer.com last week, Zimbabwe-born Davy was snapped by paparazzi as she took a lunch break from the Lincoln’s Inn Fields-based firm (10 December). The 23-year-old, who has an Economics degree from the University […]
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is eyeing a Middle East launch with plans for a dual assault on Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The US firm’s chairman Ralph Baxter, who visited both jurisdictions last month, said: “We’ve been studying the Middle East for some time now. Our strategy has always been to open offices in places our […]
The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have cast a dark shadow over India’s status as the world’s largest offshore outsourcing location. Many of the world’s leading offshore outsourcing suppliers have their headquarters in Mumbai and many Western banks are located within the city. A spate of terror attacks in India over the past 10 years, culminating […]