Former Fladgate corporate head Nicolas Greenstone has been reprimanded by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for actions that led to a £27m fraud. Greenstone, who left Fladgate in 2003 and who now works for Merchant Capital, was admonished as, although his conduct was not fraudulent, it allowed others to implement a multimillion-pound deception. While ;at […]
National firm McGrigors has bought out West End litigation boutique Reid Minty after the latter advertised itself for sale in The Lawyer. As reported by The Lawyer (2 June), Reid Minty had been on the lookout for an international or regional UK firm “seeking a modern, profitable and up-and-running London base”. McGrigors managing partner Richard […]
DLA Piper is conducting a firmwide review of staffing levels, resulting in five redundancies in the firm’s technology, media and communications (TMC) group. The layoffs, which were all in London, include three assistants, a legal director and an associate. The cuts, which were all voluntary, coincided with the loss of IP partner Richard Penfold, who […]
The defection of Weil Gotshal & Manges US restructuring partner Christopher Marcus is the latest in a long line of one-way traffic to Kirkland & Ellis. The defection of Weil Gotshal & Manges US restructuring ;partner Christopher Marcus is the latest in a long line of one-way traffic to Kirkland & Ellis. Weil has long been […]
McDermott Will & Emery has lost the head of its Brussels office after Bird & Bird poached a two-partner competition team from the US firm. José Rivas, who was head of the Brussels competition team, as well as managing partner of McDermott’s Brussels office, has joined Bird & Bird’s competition group along with EU law […]
Commercial chancery set XXIV Old Buildings has snared Michael Black QC of Two Temple Gardens – the silk who drafted the court procedure ;rules ;for the Dubai International Financial Centre. Black, who took silk in 1995, headed Temple’s international arbitration and projects group. XXIV practice director Nicholas Luckman said that Black’s practice, which includes construction […]
Pinsent Masons has stormed to the top of Hemscott’s AIM adviser rankings, gaining six new clients in the past six months. In the last quarter the firm overtook AIM heavyweights DLA Piper and Norton Rose for number of clients listed on AIM. DLA Piper remained in second place despite five companies dropping off its roster. […]
Mills & Reeve has continued its insurance recruitment spree, hiring Vizards Wyeth partner Nicolas Oldham for its London insurance team. The firm expects to make another lateral insurance hire by the end of the year. This follows the recent hire of professional indemnity partner Elisabeth Taylor from Halliwells in Manchester.
Wragge & Co is set to open an IP litigation office in Munich by September, although it will maintain its relationship with German best friend Graf von Westphalen, which also has a Munich presence. Wragges head of IP Gordon Harris said: “Increasingly, if you have European patents, US clients ask themselves whether to enforce in […]
Virgin Media has promoted associate general counsel Scott Dresser to deputy general counsel. Dresser will oversee M&A, corporate strategy, communications, government affairs and competition matters. Virgin Media has been involved in long-running competition disputes with BSkyB over the pay-TV market, notably in the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the High Court and in Ofcom investigations.
Addleshaw Goddard has hired business support and restructuring partner Alison Goldthorp in London. Her new team consists of 24 fee-earners nationally. Goldthorp joins from Taylor Wessing, where she was head of the firm’s reconstruction and corporate recovery (RCR) group until 2007. Taylor Wessing recently hired Osborne Clarke partner Patrick Cook to head its RCR group, […]
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Cooley Godward have brokered a deal that sees the end of a three-year global dispute between Qualcomm and Nokia. The three US firms managed to bring together the two mobile phone companies to sign a 15-year licensing agreement. The deal has put an end […]