Ashurst Morris Crisp’s relationship with British Telecom (BT) was bedevilled by a row over fees prior to the firm’s exit from BT’s panel, The Lawyer can reveal. The firm advised BT on its massive £2.3bn property outsourcing in 2001. It is understood that a problem with Scottish stamp duty meant that the deal was not […]
A £1.4m negligence claim against Bircham Dyson Bell brought by Frizzell Financial Services has been dropped just weeks before the case was due to go to court. The case was due to start on 7 July, but three days after witness statements were exchanged earlier this month, Frizzell withdrew its claim. The financial services company […]
Robert Griffiths QC of 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square has beaten off several rivals to become counsel to the inquiry investigating a proposal to make the South Downs one of only two national parks to be established in the past 50 years. Although his title is counsel to the inquiry, Griffiths is officially acting for the […]
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson has been hit by the departure of its highly-rated head of structured finance and securitisation. Laurence Isaacson, who has been a partner at Fried Frank since 1997, is leaving for Ernst & Young-associated firm McKee Nelson, taking with him partner Andrew Kwok. He will join McKee Nelson on Wednesday […]
Clydes beats the City with Iraqi launch as it stakes key claim to lucrative post-war reconstruction Clyde & Co is set to be the first UK firm into Iraq since the cessation of hostilities last month. The firm has established an exclusive cooperation agreement with prominent Baghdad practice Numan Shakir Numan, one of Iraq’s largest […]
In a move which underlines the firm’s growing flexibility on fees, Slaughter and May is not charging the Prudential for helping draw up its best-practice guidelines for outsourcing. The firm hopes the loss leader will put it in pole position for future outsourcing projects with the financial services giant. Slaughters has advised the Prudential for […]
Following the UK Government’s rejection of proposals by a House of Commons select committee that it should legislate on privacy, a judge in New Zealand has asked the New Zealand parliament to create a new privacy law. In the case of Hosking v Runting, involving unauthorised pictures that were taken of a New Zealand TV […]
In a damaging email blunder, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has revealed limited partnership promotion prospects for associates in the London project finance department. In an emailed memo intended for project finance partners, but mistakenly sent out to assistants, the firm set out the business case for growth of the department. Sources at Freshfields said that some […]
Microsoft has appointed Mishcon de Reya to lead its fight against piracy, ahead of rival panel firms Linklaters and Covington & Burling. Mishcons is advising the software giant on the first UK suits ever filed against ‘spammers’, the senders of junk email. Head of litigation Kasra Nouroozi and assistant Ben Gallagher at Mishcons are advising […]
Wedlake Bell is hoping to get a share of airline industry work after hiring British Airways (BA) senior employment lawyer Jo Pawley. Pawley returns to private practice after more than seven years in the role at BA. She was originally seconded from Osborne Clarke. Wedlake Bell is not one of BA’s panel firms, but Pawley […]
Mr Justice Jacob, one of the finest judges in the High Court, has been promoted to the Court of Appeal. In a move predicted in The Lawyer (5 May), Judge Jacob moves up from the Patent Court to replace Mr Justice Aldous, who steps down after some 15 years as a judge. It is understood […]
German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein is set to launch legal panels in the US, Japan and Singapore following a successful pilot scheme in the UK. A further German panel is likely to follow. Global head of legal services Stephen Lowe, who is leading the review with assistance from the bank’s procurement division, said the […]