Iberian firm Uría Menéndez will close in New York when its Park Avenue lease expires, after more than three decades in the US. The firm runs with a small staff in New York of just three lawyers, led by office managing partner and corporate lawyer José Félix Zaldivar. Uría Menéndez felt its US strategy would […]
The head of Shearman & Sterling’s association firm in Italy has left to join White & Case.
Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this edition we have four stories for you as we increase the volume and scope of our European content. Focus this week turns to CEE stalwart Kinstellar; Stockholm’s newly-founded finance boutique Re:Fi; a hire for […]
Over two decades Peter Jackson has steered his firm through mergers, spin-offs and redundancies to growth
Northern firm Ward Hadaway is actively exploring mergers and expansion opportunities in England as it targets £100m revenue by 2034. The firm generated approximately £48m in the 2023/24 financial year, which means it is looking to grow approximately 100 per cent within a decade. A shorter term target of reaching £75m by 2029 has also […]
The ex-general counsel of Haleon has announced that he has joined energy and chemicals business Aramco, which is based in Saudi Arabia. Bjarne Tellman was hired by GSK four years ago to prepare the company for the creation of Haleon, one of the UK’s largest corporate demergers in 20 years. The purpose of the demerger […]
The Supreme Court has upheld an anti-suit injunction against a Gazprom subsidiary, potentially halting €440m proceedings in Russia. The Gazprom part-owned special purpose entity, RusChemAlliance (RCA), had brought a damages claim against the bank UniCredit in Russia concerning an aborted contract following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. UniCredit instructed Latham & Watkins in its pursuit of […]
Since Katja Roth Pellanda joined Zurich Insurance in 2020, a lot has changed. The GC has broken down the silos in the 700-person legal function, reducing the distance between the regions and the corporate centre. Zurich Insurance is a Swiss-based insurance company that has a presence in approximately 80 countries. With such a large business, […]
Slaughter and May is to add another senior lawyer to its pensions team in the City, this time from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Charles Magoffin, a partner at Freshfields since 2010, is joining Slaughters as a senior counsel from September. Slaughters has still only ever made one lateral hire in the City, also into its pensions […]
Litigation funders will be keeping a close eye on an upcoming review into third-party funding regulation, proposed caps on returns, as well as litigation costs. The Civil Justice Council is looking to produce a full report by the summer of 2025. The review follows an increased focus on litigation funders and their role in disputes, […]
Norway’s Sands has suffered one of the largest mass defections in its history after six partners left to join Big Five firm Wiersholm in Trondheim. The hires bolster Wiersholm in a range of the firm’s key sectors, including marine law, renewables, technology, real estate and tax. The firm has committed to further growth over the […]
Moderna takes on Pfizer in Covid-19 patent clash Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna are due to go head to head in the Patents Court tomorrow (23 April) for a 16-day trial concerning the Covid-19 vaccines they developed during the pandemic. Freshfields is representing the claimant Moderna, while Pfizer is being represented by Taylor Wessing for […]