The Irish government announced this morning (Friday 27 April) that it has appointed the managing partner of Dublin-headquartered Arthur Cox, Pádraig Ó’ Ríordáin, as chair of the new Financial Legislation Advisory Forum. Ireland’s minister for finance, Brian Cowen, said that the financial services sector was key to the growth of the Irish economy. The establishment […]
Thompsons has won the first age discrimination case since new laws were introduced in October 2006, paving the way for a slew of similar cases. Public sector union Unison instructed Thompsons legal executive Mark Gray on the groundbreaking case of hospital employee Ann Southcott, who was dismissed last October just one day before the Employment […]
Marks & Clerk Solicitors won a last-minute injunction against Channel 4 for client Miss World Limited, forcing the broadcaster to change the name of its Mr Miss World show. On Monday morning Mr Justice Pumfrey ruled that Channel 4 had infringed Miss World’s trademark name in its documentary about a transvestite beauty pageant in Thailand. […]
Lovells is advising BNP Paribas on its defence of allegations over sex discrimination despite losing key employment partner Lisa Mayhew to Jones Day last year. Mayhew was the lead partner who won the high-profile sex discrimination battle for Merrill Lynch against former employee Stephanie Villalba in a potential claim of £7.8m. She was also a […]
Lawyers in Pakistan have clashed with police over a decision by the country’s president to sack the country’s top judge. In what has been widely interpreted as an attack on judicial independence, Pakistan’s president General Pervez Musharraf made Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ‘non-functional’ on 9 March. Summoned to Army House, Musharraf’s residence in […]
Bristows, Taylor Wessing alumni spirit away human genome case” />Two of the biggest names in IP, Bristows and Taylor Wessing, have missed out on the UK’s first-ever human genome patent litigation after the loss of key litigation partners. Penny Gilbert, who left Bristows in March to set up IP boutique Powell Gilbert, is acting for […]
Hammonds has advised regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM) on re-establishing the long-defunct Birmingham Stock Exchange. The online exchange, known as Investbx, will enable West Midlands-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to raise equity finance of up to £2m. It is set for a summer launch and could pave the way for the re-establishment […]
A trio of barristers from 20 Essex Street has secured a House of Lords ruling that could alter significantly the principles governing the way damages are measured for breach of contract. The five-judge panel, by a majority of three to two, upheld a previous Court of Appeal ruling that general compensatory principles should be used […]
Allen & Overy (A&O) has clawed back its relationship with high street giant and takeover target Alliance-Boots, advising it on the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) investigation into medicine distribution, which was announced on 4 April. A&O and Slaughter and May have been battling it out to be primary counsel to Alliance-Boots since last September […]
The Law Society has been working on a project to promote pro bono legal services to Nigerian state governments. The three-year, E1.25m (£845,000) Nigeria Law Project is based around the concept of a court duty solicitor scheme. It was initiated in 1999 via a partnership between the Law Society and the Legal Defence and Assistance […]
Irish property group Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has instructed Lovells to advise on legal action taken against UBS in relation to the collapse of the split capital trust market. The House of Lords has ordered UBS to hand over documents relating to its involvement in the split capital trusts debacle. UBS is being sued by […]
White & Case fought off two rivals firms to advise Saudi Arabian telecoms company Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) on the largest-ever syndicated Islamic financing. The Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh in association with White & Case competed against Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy to advise Etihad on its $2.88bn (£1.46bn) sharia-compliant financing. This refinancing […]