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 […]
The Law Society has spent a staggering £2m in consultancy fees over the past two years, including £1m on advice relating to its much maligned IT programme Project Engineer. The Law Society spent £160,000 on consultancy advice from PricewaterhouseCoopers over last year’s proposed £48m relocation of its regulatory section into a single Midlands office, which […]
The £130m dispute between the Football League and Hammonds over the collapse of ITV Digital has finally kicked off. The league has not issued a claim form yet, but Hammonds’ insurer has appointed Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, and The Lawyer understands that pre-action correspondence is now taking place. The league recently instructed Mayer Brown Rowe […]
Following the appointment of a new head of legal, WS Atkins, the largest multi-disciplinary consultancy and services company in the UK, is in the throes of establishing its first ever legal panel. Anne Randall, who is conducting the review, is now head of legal following an internal promotion. Firms that have advised WS Atkins in […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has netted the largest share of Germany’s deals despite the slow market, as revealed by Thomson Financial’s M&A tables for announced deals, January-June 2003. It is understood that some of the firm’s German offices are now matching, or are slightly outperforming, London. Meanwhile, Slaughter and May‘s best friend Hengeler Mueller has had […]
Linklaters has sealed its first major acquisition for United Technologies Corporation (UTC) since being appointed as preferred legal adviser by the US conglomerate 18 months ago. The magic circle firm advised UTC on its acquisition of Chubb, previously part of the demerged Williams Group. It is expected that Slaughter and May, which advised Chubb, will […]
As predicted by The Lawyer last week, Allen & Overy (A&O) lawyers sat on both sides of the negotiating table when WPP, the exclusive bidder for Cordiant, agreed to acquire the majority of Cordiant’s debt. An A&O corporate team led by partner Mark Gearing represented Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP, with a banking team led by […]