Alex Aldridge

July 26, 2010 | International Edition

Manchester Metropolitan University is offering assistance to the Halliwells future trainees who saw their training contracts cancelled last week with the launch of a new scheme for unemployed graduates. The university will give £1,000 to firms that take on unemployed law graduates for a month-long work placement. The award will allow the receiving firm to pay the graduates a minimum wage salary for four weeks, without incurring costs. The source of the money is a £300,000 grant given to Manchester Met by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to help unemployed graduates gain work experience.

By Alex Aldridge

2 minute read

July 21, 2010 | International Edition

The FSA is to be broken up as part of a huge shake-up of regulation by the new Government - despite strong misgivings from City professionals. Alex Aldridge charts the watchdog's rise and fall and looks at the new bodies that will replace it

By Alex Aldridge

35 minute read

July 19, 2010 | International Edition

Orange and T-Mobile have combined their legal teams and will kick off a panel review later this year in the wake of the telecoms companies' merger deal to create the UK's largest telecoms provider, Everything Everywhere. The new legal team contains 60 lawyers - 25 from T-Mobile, 35 from Orange - and is headed up by former T-Mobile legal chief James Blendis, who will take on both the general counsel and company secretary functions.

By Alex Aldridge

2 minute read

July 07, 2010 | International Edition

Customers of the Indigo boutique hotel chain expect a certain level of service whichever country they are in. The same principle applies to users of the 50-strong legal team at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), whose seven brands include the Indigo network. Indeed, George Turner, the group's general counsel and company secretary, identifies the need to provide a consistent service as one of his main challenges. And there has been plenty of work for him and his team to wrestle with of late.

By Alex Aldridge

6 minute read

June 30, 2010 | International Edition

With Chancellor George Osborne last week announcing dramatic spending cuts over the current Parliament, there can be little doubt that public sector workers are gearing up for tougher times. But lawyers, at least, can claim to have made some pre-emptive moves to address the expected age of austerity. One response has been the trend of individual local authorities coming together to share services. This has been extended to buying legal services through the recent series of combined panels - effectively cross-authority panels that allow groups of local bodies to pool their buying power and cut administration.

By Alex Aldridge

8 minute read

June 22, 2010 | International Edition

"It is my strong belief that you cannot be a lawyer and a manager at the same time," says Pierre Landy, general counsel of Yahoo!'s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations. "No matter the size or importance of the matter I let my direct reports handle it, obviously discussing with them where and when needed, but generally remaining at a helicopter view." So the legal aspects of the deal Yahoo! struck with the Premier League in April to show highlights of matches was handled by the company's UK general counsel, Simon Citron. And the internet giant's recent acquisition of Middle Eastern rival Maktoob was overseen by Dubai-based Middle East general counsel Nassib Abou-Khalil.

By Alex Aldridge

6 minute read

June 16, 2010 | International Edition

June 2009, and it was just another not-so-hectic day in the finance department of Addleshaw Goddard's London office - which, after some busy years in the middle of the decade, had slowed dramatically following the onset of the credit crunch in 2007. The firm had recently posted its annual financial results, announcing a fall in revenue of 11.4% and a 30.9% decline in profits per equity partner (PEP), having earlier that year cut 10% of its partnership. Needless to say, acquisition finance partner Phil Slater was on hand to answer his phone when it rang that morning.

By Alex Aldridge

21 minute read

June 09, 2010 | International Edition

Spotify general counsel Petra Hansson has seen the music streaming company go from start-up to household name. She talks to Alex Aldridge about a memorable three years

By Alex Aldridge

6 minute read

June 01, 2010 | International Edition

Since the onset of the financial crisis, cash-strapped companies' in-house legal departments have tried a wide range of methods to bring down legal bills. Discounts on law firms' standard hourly rates have been pushed for, all manner of alternative billing methods tested and outsourcing work to offshore legal process centres has become an increasingly common phenomenon.

By Alex Aldridge

5 minute read

May 26, 2010 | International Edition

Shanghai leader AllBright is to overhaul its structure following the recruitment of a senior lawyer from Lovells. Lovells former Beijing head Robert Lewis joins AllBright this month and has confirmed plans to push through a modernisation of the Chinese firm's pay and practice model.

By Alex Aldridge

2 minute read