Latham & Watkins has reaffirmed its commitment to the burgeoning Saudi legal market with the award of a regional headquarters licence, officially making Riyadh the heart of its Middle East strategy. The firm issued an announcement this morning stating that MENA managing partner Salman Al-Sudairi would lead the office with Safaa Arthold taking up the […]
Top 20 London Capital & Finance case kicks off After a three-week delay, another of The Lawyer’s top 20 cases of 2024 is finally going to court today (19 February). The administrators of London Capital & Finance (LCF) are taking eight defendants, including former executives, to what is due to be a 20-week-long trial. An […]
Last week’s The Lawyer Podcast was a good’un, eh? Lofty metaphors about the flapping wings of a butterfly, searing insights contrasting London with New York, and explosive statistics about how seriously the European firms are taking London. Give it a listen, and you’ll hear how European law firms are sensing a moment to pounce on opportunity […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has imposed practice restrictions on Shoosmiths’ national head of Court of Protection (CoP). The SRA’s conditions relate to Sue Bowler, who has headed Shoosmiths CoP team since 2020. Bowler has been told that she can remain in her current position as partner and head of CoP, subject to the SRA’s […]
Paul Hastings has hired two disputes partners from Latham & Watkins, including its London head of litigation. Oliver Browne, who has been co-chair of Latham’s London litigation practice since 2018, and Stuart Alford KC, former head of banking fraud at the Serious Fraud Office, are set to join Paul Hastings. Browne leaves Latham after 18 […]
Pogust Goodhead has launched an office in Sydney with a warning to Australian corporations that the firm is “ready to hold them to account”. The claimant law firm, which specialises in social and environmental mass claims, has hired Sydney litigation boutique Crichton & Co’s two partners, Amie Crichton and Joshua Carton. It is also looking […]
Walker Morris has named its first female managing partner as Malcolm Simpson retires after a six-year tenure. The firm’s head of regulatory and compliance Jeanette Burgess will take the reins from 1 May 2024. Burgess joined the firm in 2006 and has served on the Walker Morris board since 2015. In her new role, Burgess […]
The £2bn class action against Facebook and Meta has been given the green light to proceed to trial by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The CAT has granted a collection proceeding order (CPO), which means that the opt-out proceedings, brought on behalf of the UK’s 45 million Facebook users, can now continue to a full […]
Addleshaw Goddard has snapped up the deputy general counsel at the Bank of England to strengthen its financial services regulation team. Tess Kelly will return to private practice after almost 11 years inhouse. She starts at the firm on 19 February. The move comes after the hire of senior financial regulation partner James Greig. Partners […]
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s London office head Jason Glover is standing down in October after seven years in the role. Glover, who joined Simpson Thacher from Clifford Chance in 2010 to establish the US firm’s UK funds practice, will be replaced corporate real estate partner Wheatly MacNamara in the autumn. Speaking to The Lawyer, Glover […]
Irwin Mitchell has opened an office in Brighton in order to extend its footprint in the south and to attract more high-net-worth clients. The firm is taking office space at Mocatta House, Trafalgar Place, and it will be set up to allow for client meetings and collaborative working. Irwin Mitchell already has four other offices […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your weekly insider’s guide to the UK litigation market. The new Serious Fraud Office (SFO) chief gave his first speech since taking office, giving the broadsheets a raft of headlines about paying whistle-blowers. Corporate and white collar crime investigations lawyers have been short of work in recent […]