EasyGroup v Easyfun The venture capital conglomerate EasyGroup, owners of EasyJet and the Easy family of brands, has launched a passing off and trademarks claim against musician Finn Keane, who goes by the stage name of Easyfun. EasyGroup, represented by Stephenson Harwood, has an extensive history of lodging similar IP claims against businesses using the […]
Court of Appeal tackles mandatory mediation debate The case between Churchill and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is heading to the Court of Appeal on Wednesday 8 November for two days. The original dispute involved a Japanese knotweed claim, but the fundamental importance of this litigation is that it has the potential to overturn an […]
This week on The Lawyer’s Litigation Tracker, we examine Fieldfisher’s young commercial crime team comprising “blood and guts” crime lawyers and civil fraud specialists as they bolster their reputation in this highly active space. The market: It’s an exciting time to be a commercial crime lawyer. The new director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Nick Ephgrave is […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your weekly insider’s guide to the UK’s litigation market. Something strange happened this week. Fountain Court hired a barrister. Not just any barrister, a sports barrister, Hot 100 member John Mehrzad KC. As a result, we’re sticking to one theme in The Hearing this week: sports law. […]
EasyGroup v Easyfun The venture capital conglomerate EasyGroup, owners of EasyJet and the Easy family of brands, has launched a passing off and trademarks claim against musician Finn Keane, who goes by the stage name of Easyfun. EasyGroup, represented by Stephenson Harwood, has an extensive history of lodging similar IP claims against businesses using the […]
Court of Appeal tackles mandatory mediation debate The case between Churchill and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is heading to the Court of Appeal on Wednesday 8 November for two days. The original dispute involved a Japanese knotweed claim, but the fundamental importance of this litigation is that it has the potential to overturn an […]
This week on The Lawyer’s Litigation Tracker, we examine Fieldfisher’s young commercial crime team comprising “blood and guts” crime lawyers and civil fraud specialists as they bolster their reputation in this highly active space. The market: It’s an exciting time to be a commercial crime lawyer. The new director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Nick Ephgrave is […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your weekly insider’s guide to the UK’s litigation market. Something strange happened this week. Fountain Court hired a barrister. Not just any barrister, a sports barrister, Hot 100 member John Mehrzad KC. As a result, we’re sticking to one theme in The Hearing this week: sports law. […]
Skyscanner files trademark claim against Polish competitor Scottish travel agency and search engine Skyscanner has filed a passing off and trademarks claim against Polish competitor eSky, according to the public filing system. Skyscanner’s search engine aggregates results from multiple travel companies and allows customers to book tickets, hotel stays and car rentals. The company’s pitch […]
This summer has seen two sizeable acquisitions in Paris by major international firms of smaller boutique practices. First, Paul Hastings bolstered its white collar team with the incorporation of Antonin Lévy & Associés. The move brought three partners and nine associates into the US firm’s fold, upgrading its offering as a key Paris practice. Then […]
Few UK start-up firms have experienced the same meteoric rise as Knights. Its position as a mid-tier disruptor and consolidator has been largely unchallenged, helping it to lift revenue by a market-topping 185 per cent over the last five years. With so many sub £50m firms contending with the twin issues of a cashflow crunch […]
How did your firm fare in salary review season? For associates at Freshfields, their firm can claim the early-mover advantage prize after announcing a bold NQ salary jump to £150,000. But its moment was short-lived. Within a week, Quinn had upped its junior lawyer pay from £152,000 to £180,000. If there was an award for […]
Mid-market firms have been forced to re-evaluate their hiring strategies in the face of greater competition for partners. With lawyers more likely than ever before to switch firms, these firms have to move fast to secure the right talent, and one handy way to achieve that is to recruit from outside the partnership. Where first-time […]
Does anyone need any confirmation of the gradual takeover of the City by rampaging US law firms? No, thought not. If, however, your answer is yes, then more evidence of the Americanisation of London can be found in the upcoming edition of the UK Corporate 50. Much of the focus in this year’s report is […]
Linklaters is retaining 46 of its 59 qualifying trainees for this autumn round, posting a retention rate of 78 per cent. No qualifiers will be kept on fixed-term contracts (FTC) unlike the previous round this year where one was offered an FTC. Eleven of the qualifiers were also part of the cohort transferred over from […]
Hogan Lovells and Pinsent Masons have scored roles on a deal that will see NatWest purchase nearly £2.5bn worth of Metro Bank’s residential mortgage portfolio. The two firms are the latest to get involved in recent transactional efforts made by Metro Bank to bolster its finances and manage potential risks to its clients and shareholders. […]
Listed firm Knights has acquired the West Midlands firm Thursfields in a deal worth £12.5m as it aims to enter another period of rapid growth. Knights has been a prolific acquirer of mid-market law firms over the past decade, with Langleys (£17.7m), Shulmans (£17.6m), Keebles (£12.6m), ASB (£12.5m) and Coffin Mew (£11.3m) among its most […]
Millions of people around the world will tune in to the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris this evening. With both the Olympics and Paralympics set to dominate headlines over the coming weeks, we climb to the top of the 10-meter platform for a deep dive into one of the firms that specialises […]
BDB Pitmans is throwing its entire weight into finding mid-market US firms to join its soon-to-be-launched international network, Broadfield. The Lawyer understands there is space in the proposed network for multiple US firms with BDB Pitmans managing partner John Hutchinson describing the UK and US as “starting points” for its grand plan. The firm announced […]