Alex Newman

February 06, 2014 | International Edition

Credit Suisse has become the latest investment bank to have its profits hit by escalating litigation provisions and costs. A financial report, published today (6 February), shows the group recorded net litigation provisions of 577m Swiss francs (£392m) in the fourth quarter of 2013.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read

February 06, 2014 | International Edition

Next time you are placed on hold by a phone operator or patiently queuing at the hairdresser, listen out for the background music. If it is a piece by an artist you recognise, there's a fairly good chance PPL legal director David Harmsworth and his team have had a role in that recording reaching your ears. If they haven't, they still may need to get involved. PPL – or Phonographic Performance Limited – is a non-profit organisation that grants companies licences to play music recorded by its members, which range from performers and session musicians to studio producers and composers. Given music played for personal consumption at home or at a private party are the only real exceptions, this adds up to a lot of licenses. At the last count, it was more than 300,000. When I meet Harmsworth at PPL's offices – the Bob Marley room to be exact – I cannot hear any background music, despite him assuring me he is a firm believer in workplace music. Which means PPL itself also has to have a PPL licence.

By Alex Newman

9 minute read

February 06, 2014 | International Edition

The University of Law's president Nigel Savage will retire from his full-time post in April, after eighteen years leading the institution.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read

February 05, 2014 | International Edition

DWF has continued the growth of its City corporate team with the hire of the head of TLT's commercial services group in London Richard Tall. Tall, who joins with a team of two solicitors this month, is a corporate lawyer with a particular focus on the financial services sector. He acts for bidders, targets and financial advisers, and has experience of securities offers from unlisted bond issues.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read

February 05, 2014 | International Edition

Guardian Care Homes has changed its counsel for the second time in two months in a major dispute against Barclays, seen by many as the test case for Libor manipulation.

By Alex Newman

3 minute read

February 04, 2014 | International Edition

Dechert's London office was a major contributor to the firm's revenue increase last year, it has emerged, with the 42-partner City base posting an 11% year-on-year revenue increase in 2013.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read

February 04, 2014 | International Edition

Davis Polk & Wardwell and Latham & Watkins have acted on Smith & Nephew's $1.7bn (£1bn) acquisition of Texas-based ArthroCare. The deal, which was run by lawyers' at the firms' US offices, sees the British medical technology company purchase the surgical device manufacturer at a 6% premium on the Friday's market valuation.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read

February 04, 2014 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) has poached Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner Toni Valverde to lead its newly launched Barcelona office, the magic circle firm's second Spanish base.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read

February 04, 2014 | International Edition

A type of plea bargain that will radically alter City-based white collar partners' dealings with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), will come into effect at the end of this month. Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs), which are heavily used in the US, allow self-reporting companies to strike a deal with the SFO to pay a fine rather than face the uncertainty of a criminal prosecution.

By Alex Newman

3 minute read

February 04, 2014 | International Edition

Stephenson Harwood is to conduct a redundancy round for support staff in its London office, following a review of its secretarial and document production functions.

By Alex Newman

2 minute read