The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has finally announced its new president, more than eight months after Sir Christopher Bellamy retired from the post. Landing the top job is Gerald Barling QC of Brick Court Chambers, whose promotion to the Queen’s Bench was announced earlier this month. Barling, who took silk in 1991, represented the successful […]
The International Trademark Association (INTA) has named Unilever global anti-counterfeiting head Richard Heath as its president for 2009. Heath will take over from Mars senior lawyer Rhonda Steele at the start of 2009 and has earmarked tackling counterfeiters in the world’s new economic powers his top priority. Heath told The Lawyer that he is currently […]
US firm Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll claims that only a handful of UK firms could take on the might of the US legal world when it comes to winning instructions on the claimant side of class actions. Anthony Maton, a dispute resolution partner in Cohen Milstein’s London office, says there is a “paucity” of […]
Bird & Bird has raided Ernst & Young’s (E&Y) Italian corporate practice as it continues its European hiring spree. The departure of M&A partner Edoardo Courir is the second this year for E&Y’s corporate practice in Italy, after department head Paolo Tanoni left earlier in the year for Lovells. In the past few months, Bird […]
Mayer Brown is suing client Vantis for unpaid fees, claiming more than £400,000 plus interest. The firm has a longstanding relationship with the accountancy and professional advisory group, with partner Stephen Bottomley advising on its AIM flotation in 2002. Bottomley advised the company on its 2005 acquisition of Numerica, which was also listed on AIM, […]
Anglo-Saxon firms have completed a clean sweep in Spain, edging out domestic players to win all the major roles in the country’s largest IPO to date. The e4.5bn (£3.14bn) listing of Criteria CaixaCorp, the investment arm of Spain’s largest savings bank La Caixa, has supplied work to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Davis Polk & […]
Boutique IT outfit Technology Law Alliance has bolstered its financial services practice with the hire of senior Norwich Union in-house lawyer Jess Brown. The new hire brings Technology Law Alliance up to six lawyers, with Brown joining as an associate. Brown spent 10 years at Norwich Union, where she concentrated on IT, outsourcing and e-commerce […]
Baker & McKenzie has hired a raft of IP lawyers in Asia to recover from last month’s raid by Jones Day, opening up a new front in the war for IP talent. Senior Baker & McKenzie corporate partner Winston Zee will move over to the IP group to oversee its revival, after three IP partners […]
IP practitioners will need to update their textbooks on trademark and design rights after the Court of Appeal handed down two judgments within a week. IP sets 11 South Square and Hogarth Chambers were the all-round winners, with their respective top silks Henry Carr QC and Roger Wyand QC taking the leading roles in both […]
Addleshaw Goddard, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Burgess Salmon and DLA Piper have all played a role in the private equity-backed management buy-in of the West Cornwall Pasty Company. Addleshaws, led by private equity head Andrew Carpenter and partner Mike Hinchcliffe, advised the management team comprising of Patrick Magarth and Richard Nieto. According to Hinchcliffe, the […]
Simmons & Simmons and offshore firm Ogier have landed lead roles on a dispute between beleaguered hedge fund Absolute Capital (AbCap) and a group of its investors. Simmons, led by finance litigation partner William Rodger, is advising an action group of AbCap investors who are disillusioned with the AIM-listed company’s proposals for restructuring some of […]
Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) and Herbert Smith are thrashing out key pensions issues that are vital if Delta Two’s acquisition of J Sainsbury is to go ahead. A DWS team, led by head of employment, pensions and benefits Alan Jarvis, is advising Sainsbury’s pension fund trustees, while a Herbert Smith team, led by pensions head […]