Welcome to The Hearing, your weekly insider’s guide to the UK litigation market, now brought to you on Wednesdays. Two days in to the Easter Term and there’s a definite green feel around London. Much of that has blown over from Strasbourg, which got the legal world all in a flutter yesterday. A big moment?: The […]
EasyGroup takes on “brand thieves” again in new suit EasyGroup, the owning group of budget airline EasyJet, has filed a part 7 “passing off and trade marks claim” in the Intellectual Property List, continuing its long-running campaign against what it calls “brand thieves”. Stephenson Harwood has been called in to represent EasyGroup in this latest […]
Santander has cut its UK panel by five following the bank’s latest review of its roster. Originally a panel of 19, the roster of firms has been cut to 14. Firms that have made the cut include Slaughter and May and Allen & Overy, as well as Hogan Lovells and Addleshaw Goddard. A source told […]
Charles Russell Speechlys (CRS) has launched a new department and created 10 full-time roles as the firm ramps up its tech and innovation offering. Known as “advanced client solutions”, the department will explore, develop and utilise artificial intelligence (AI), legal tech, and alternative processes to improve the delivery of legal work in the firm. The […]
Kirkland & Ellis has swiped another partner from Allen & Overy, just one month ahead of the magic circle firm’s tie-up with Shearman & Sterling. Vanessa Xu is making the move to Kirkland, having spent the entirety of her 17-year career at A&O. She was made partner in 2017. A leveraged and acquisition finance partner, […]
Hill Dickinson is swiftly growing its new Birmingham office, with the addition of two more teams from Irwin Mitchell. The firm has significantly strengthened its real estate capabilities in the Midlands, adding expertise in both transactions and litigation to the five-strong corporate team it onboarded in February to launch the office. The real estate team […]
One Essex Court is consolidating its real estate in a bid to modernise and encourage more of its members to work from chambers. The magic circle set has taken over the entirety of 5 Essex Court, which comprises four floors, meaning 27 more barristers’ rooms will be available. The chambers has just completed the tendering […]
Sports Direct takes on Newcastle United in kit rights clash The Magpies are heading to the Competition Appeal Tribunal tomorrow (9 April) for one day in a claim brought by Sports Direct, as the high street sports equipment retailer challenges Newcastle United over its third-party kit sales policy. Sports Direct, represented by Travers Smith, alleges […]
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan client Phones 4u (P4u) has been granted permission to appeal its £1bn competition suit against some of the biggest mobile network providers, following a defeat in the High Court last year. The firm has succeeded in having eight grounds approved to take to appeal, including the allegation that an exchange […]
Dentons’ client Stagecoach South Western Trains has agreed to settle part of consumer champion Justin Gutmann’s boundary fares class action, which concerns train passengers paying higher fees when travelling between zones. Gutmann, represented by Charles Lyndon and Hausfeld, filed a joint application for a collective settlement approval in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) with Stagecoach […]
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison’s rapid growth in London is now translating to the Continent, as the firm has hired a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partner to launch an office in Brussels. Simpson Thacher partner Ross Ferguson will join the growing European partner base at Paul Weiss. Jason Glover, London office head at Simpson […]
Listed firm Knights has become the latest firm to make lawyers redundant across the country, The Lawyer can reveal. It is understood that both partner and associate roles have been cut across the firm’s restructuring and insolvency, corporate, and real estate teams. The redundancies have taken place across the firm’s offices in the UK, with […]