HSF leads in sale of Devonshire Square to co-work giant WeWork
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has advised private equity firm Blackstone, in its £580m sale of a sizable chunk of prime City real estate, the historic Devonshire Square.
Stephenson Harwood boosts real estate team with Goodwin hire
Stephenson Harwood has recruited a new real estate partner in London from US firm Goodwin Procter, The Lawyer can reveal.
WeWork kickstarts hunt for first-ever European general counsel
WeWork is searching for its first European general counsel as the collaborative workspace giant ramps up its legal capabilities outside the US.
What real estate clients really think about law firm tech
Real estate clients surveyed show how important tech is when picking advisers or thinking about future collaborations.
BCLP’s global expansion plan: use real estate to drive growth in US, France and Germany
Though the merged firm may only have gone live a week ago, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has targeted its primary global growth areas.
Freshfields joins the fray as Hammerson sets pause button on Intu deal
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is representing French shopping centre giant Klépierre in its eleventh hour bid for its British rival, Hammerson, The Lawyer can reveal.
Herbert Smith Freehills retains £6m Severn Trent corporate tender
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) will retain its position as sole corporate adviser to Severn Trent Water for another three years.
DLA Piper loses near 50-strong cohort to McDermott in the US
Nearly 50 partners, counsel and associates have decamped from DLA Piper to McDermott Will & Emery in the United States, as the US firm has also signaled its intentions to add a fourth Californian office.
Ashurst hires second City disputes lateral for proptech push
Ashurst has hired its second London lateral to its disputes team this year, recruiting Squire Patton Boggs partner Alison Hardy.
Addleshaws continues national push with six-partner swoop in Manchester
As the firm continues its infrastructure push in the UK, Addleshaw Goddard has made a six-partner hire from Irwin Mitchell in Manchester, including regional real estate head Anita Weightman.
Freshfields and Pinsents lead on Michelin’s £1.2bn Fenner deal
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Pinsent Masons have scored the key roles as Michelin has acquired Fenner PLC for £1.2bn.
Bakers loses US real estate technology star
Baker McKenzie has lost real estate partner and data centre specialist Michael Rechtin from the firm’s Chicago office.
The problem of Mipim: when a boys’ tour doesn’t cut it any more
As lawyers pack their bags for Mipim next week, you can feel the ripples of unease that this year they will be the focus of unprecedented public scrutiny.
Case study: Mishcon’s proptech transformation
Mishcon de Reya’s real estate team is leading the technological revolution. Here’s how it is rethinking real estate data with Mishcon Maps.
Norton Rose Fulbright-Chadbourne merger: US benefits won’t help London
Norton Rose Fulbright’s impending tie-up with Chadbourne & Parke is all about the US. But what will the impact be on London? Expect some fall-outs.
Real estate blog: as the residential market booms, will Hogan Lovells follow its clients?
Hogan Lovells’ UK real estate team is considering a shift in strategy that could see it expand its traditional commercial practice to include the residential property sector.
Competition body secures real estate agent director disqualifications
By Simon Barnes, Angela Gregson and Louisa Mottaz On Tuesday 10 April, the UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it secured the disqualification of two directors of the Abbott and Frost Estate Agents Ltd in Burnham-on-Sea for breaching competition law. The disqualification follows the investigation into anticompetitive agreements between six real […]
Understanding easements: What you don’t know can hurt you
By Morgan Wolfe If you are buying, selling or developing a property in England or Wales, it is critical that you understand easements and how they could affect a property’s intended use…
A constructive development for employers to construction contracts?
A significant judgment in Justice Coulson’s final case in the TCC before heading off to the Court of Appeal (Grove Developments Ltd v S&T (UK) Ltd [2018] EWHC 123 (TCC, [2018] All ER (D) 08 (Mar)) has allowed an employer to challenge, by way of further adjudication, the amount due to a contractor in respect […]
High Court quashes unconditional planning permission over error
By Katherine Evans The High Court has quashed an unconditional and permanent planning permission which had been granted in December 2011 on the basis of an error by the local planning authority (LPA). The error, being the omission of conditions including a five-year time limit which had clearly been envisaged by the planning committee, did […]
Construction: What does insolvency mean for your contract?
By Sue Ryan, Pippa Hill, Lindsay Hammond and Stephan Smoktunowicz In the second of our miniseries on insolvency in construction, we consider what you need to do when you find out that the party you are in contract with has become (or is about to become) insolvent. Who are you in contract with? Which specific entity? Does the […]
New rules on residential development from conversions of agricultural buildings
On 6 April 2018, amendments made pursuant to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2018 (the New Regulations), SI 2018/343 came into force which extended permitted development rights in relation to agricultural buildings. What is permitted development?
Best-laid plans: Onus to obtain consent falls on employer
In Clin v Walter Lilly & Co Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 490, the Court of Appeal held an implied term would be implied into a building contract (based on amended JCT terms) to provide for the employer’s obligations relating to planning permission or conservation area consent. On 25 September 2012, Mr Clin (the Employer) engaged […]
New BIM protocol published – What you need to know
By Sarah Rock and Michael O’Shea The 2nd edition of the UK’s only standard form Building Information Modelling (BIM) Protocol was published on 10 April 2018 following significant consultation with the construction industry, legal practitioners and standard contract publishing bodies and is stated to have ‘been updated to reflect current practices and standards regarding the […]
Judicial Review of ministerial statement on neighbourhood plans overtaken by revised NPPF
By Christopher Young QC The Judicial Review of the Written Ministerial Statement (“WMS”) on Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDP”) (12 December 2016) was brought by 25 house builders and developers. It challenging both the process and content of the WMS. The key attribute of the WMS is that it removes the requirement for a 5-year supply […]