Latham & Watkins has shaken up its Middle East management structure – replacing its regional partner Rindala Beydoun in favour of London partner Bryant Edwards. Edwards, who joined the firm in 1981 and was formerly chair of the corporate department in London, has relocated to the firm’s Dubai office. Beydoun joined the firm from Vinson […]
Goldman Sachs restructuring supremo James Sprayregen has shocked the New York legal market with a return to his former law firm, Kirkland & Ellis. Sprayregen was co-head of Goldman Sachs’ Americas restructuring group for the past three years, after leaving Kirkland & Ellis to join the bank in 2006. He will rejoin the firm this […]
Ashurst has redeployed three corporate and three finance junior associates to its energy, transport and infrastructure (ETI) team as the transactional side of its business has slowed down. In contrast to the core corporate team, the ETI team has been very busy in recent months, requiring significant capacity. One Ashurst corporate partner told The Lawyer: […]
It may be thought that there is an uneasy relationship between after-the-event insurance and third-party funding, but my experiences have shown this is not the case. It may be thought that there is an uneasy relationship between after-the-event (ATE) insurance and third-party funding (TPF), but my experiences have shown that this is certainly not the […]
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing against Jim Beresford of Doncaster-based Beresfords Solicitors has been adjourned due to the case proving more technical than expected. The hearing, in which Beresford and his colleague Douglas Smith face 11 allegations of misconduct relating to their handling of sick coalminers’ compensation claims, is expected to continue for an additional […]
Intellectual property (IP) disputes in the High Court have shot up by 83 per cent in the past year as businesses move to protect their IP rights in the downturn. Judicial statistics show that 422 IP cases reached the High Court in 2007 – up from 230 in 2006. Patents and registered design cases rose […]
Firms experience a changing of the guard as key partners move on or into management. Talk to most private equity lawyers and you would never guess the country is teetering on the edge of a recession. Things are “ticking along nicely” and practices are “surprisingly busy”, they say. Privately, however, the sector’s key players must […]
When is a former partner still a partner? This is the key question that Mr Justice Warren has the hard task of answering. The judge is stuck in the middle of a highly technical but extremely important case about law firm partnerships, which could change the shape of partnership deeds at all law firms. Warren […]
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has selected a chair and vice-chair to succeed Ruth Evans and George Leggatt QC. Baroness Ruth Deech and Sir Geoffrey Nice QC will begin as chair and vice-chairman respectively on 1 January. Timothy Dutton QC commented on their appointment, saying: “We look forward to working with the BSB under their […]
Mark Abell and Christopher Jackson, the Field Fisher Waterhouse partners trapped in a Mumbai hotel siege, have been evacuated. Mark Abell (pictured) and Christopher Jackson, the Field Fisher Waterhouse(FFW) partners trapped in a Mumbai terrorist hotel siege, have been evacuated. As reported on TheLawyer.com, Abell was trapped in his room when the attacks began on […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer disputes resolution head Ian Terry has stepped down from the role with Chris Pugh due to succeed him. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer disputes resolution head Ian Terry (pictured) has stepped down from the role after three years with Chris Pugh due to succeed him at the beginning of January. Terry, who served as […]
Troubled furniture chain MFI has gone into administration, despite a last-ditch rescue attempt by its management, with Speechly Bircham getting the call from administrators MCR. Speechly Bircham private equity partner Andrew Clarke has been advising the MFI management throughout the crisis. Last month the company’s private equity owners, Merchant Equity Partner sold the business back […]