The High Court’s ignorance of popular culture was highlighted again by Confetti Records v Warner Music. Stephen Gare and David Harmsworth warn of the potential pitfalls in record deals ‘Court says rap is a foreign language!’ screamed the headlines – making Mr Justice Lewison look like a judge in need of a jukebox jury. His […]
Real Madrid’s capture of David Beckham highlights a thorny issue that the English judiciary has had to thrash out – ‘image rights’. The commercial and legal logic of David Beckham’s move to Real Madrid has the potential to confound both seasoned observers of the game and lawyers alike.In particular, there are two such issues that […]
The Government is hoping to dig itself out of a hole with its new £30K NHS redress scheme. But will victims of negligence get short changed? In the fanfare surrounding the unveiling of the Government’s proposals for a new system of handling clinical negligence claims last month – and the accompanying media umbrage about the […]
Eversheds (Martin Letza, Rachel Eccleston, David Tilly) advised Iron Mountain Europe on its acquisition of the records and information management services business of Hays for £200m. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted for Hays. Ricksons Solicitors (John Hartup) represented management consultancy and training business Morgan Kai and the training, consulting and research company Mitre Group in relation to its […]
Helen Power explains why RBS’s decision to harmonise rates across the board is bad news for lawyers Apparently the London headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) strictly enforces a Zen-like bare desk policy for its staff. Everyone is expected to leave surfaces totally clear when they go home at night.But RBS’s minimalist aesthetic […]
Allen & Overy has been brought in alongside regular adviser SJ Berwin to advise the management team of Chelsfield on a possible management buyout (MBO) that could be worth up to £2bn.The property company has traditionally used Ashurst Morris Crisp and SJ Berwin as its regular advisers. A&O has not previously advised on any major […]
Simmons & Simmons has moved to distance itself from an embarrassing involvement with high-profile multimillionairess Madame Nahed Ojjeh, who was slammed by the Takeover Panel for her part in the hostile battle for Cordiant.Paris-based Ojjeh, the wife of deceased billionaire arms dealer Akram Ojjeh, breached the Takeover Code for failing to disclose her dealings in […]
The London office of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has inadvertently developed a booming football practice following its client Russian multimillionaire Roman Abramovich’s purchase of Chelsea Football Club.Abramovich, who last week paid £17m for Blackburn Roversleftwinger Damien Duff and £6m for West Ham defender Glen Johnson, has made Skadden’s London office, which is better […]
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has won Schroders and British Airways (BA) Pensions Trustees as new clients on the back of property funds work the firm has handled for Merrill Lynch.BLP partner Antony Grossman led a team advising Merrill Lynch on the sale of Ashtenne Holdings’ properties. Merrill Lynch invested £35m in a fund run by […]
Peter Carter-Ruck & Partners got in on the battle for AIM-listed Murray Financial Corporation (MFC) last month, when former chief executive Ken Murray instructed the firm to launch an unusual defamation claim against Resurge, the institutional shareholder that forced his resignation.Murray, a high-profile Scottish businessman, was forced to resign from the board of Murray Financial, […]
Conflict cover needed as A&O advises both sides on friendly merger Lovells has been drafted in as conflicts back-up for Allen & Overy (A&O) on the British Biotech takeover of Vernalis.A&O is acting for both the target and the purchaser at the insistence of both clients, but Lovells has also been instructed in a ‘shadowing’ […]
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill was first heralded as a radical reform to suit the future, but has since been put on the back-burner. The Minister for Social Exclusion and Deputy Minister for Women Barbara Roche MP introduced the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill at second reading as setting out “a reformed planning system […]