Anna Reynolds

May 02, 2013 | International Edition

Ashurst and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have landed key roles on Samsung SRA Asset Management's acquisition of London's 30 Crown Place, in the Korean fund manager's first overseas investment. The sale of the 192,070 sq ft office building, the London base of Pinsent Masons, is reportedly valued at £142m. Ashurst advised Samsung SRA – a new client of the firm – and Cushman & Wakefield Investors, fielding a team led by real estate partners David Jones and Sarah Watkinson and tax partner Paul Miller.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

May 02, 2013 | International Edition

Law firm managers are becoming increasingly concerned about the likelihood of their firm being subject to a cyber attack, according to new research from Legal Week. A Legal Week Benchmarker survey – which canvassed the views of more than 370 partners, IT directors, chief information officers (CIOs) and other senior managers – found almost 80% of respondents believed that their firm is likely to be the subject of cyber attacks, while nearly two fifths (38%) believe that the number of cyber attacks is on the rise.

By Anna Reynolds

3 minute read

May 02, 2013 | International Edition

The number of new partners promoted across the magic circle has fallen by 17% this year, with three of the five elite UK firms making up fewer partners in 2013 than they did in 2012. Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters this week became the last of the group to announce their new partner promotions for 2013, with CC's 20-strong haul marking a decrease of more than 25% on the 27 the firm made up last year. In total, 79 partners have been made up across the five-firm group this year, down from 95 in 2012. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer saw the biggest decline in new partners at 30%, ahead of CC, while A&O made up 17% fewer partners this year than last.

By Anna Reynolds

3 minute read

May 01, 2013 | International Edition

The founder of new legal franchise brand Dynamo Legal is set to compete for a £250,000 investment in his business as one the contestants on the new series of the The Apprentice. Alex Mills is among 16 candidates competing to secure a business partnership with Lord Sugar in the new series of the BBC show, which kicks off next week. He intends to use the cash injection to target 245 law firms across England and Wales and pool their marketing spend to create a collective brand.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

May 01, 2013 | International Edition

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has seen the departure of another senior partner, with the firm's global co-head of arbitration Charles Kaplan leaving to join Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Kaplan, who is based in Paris, is top ranked by Chambers and Partners for international arbitration in France. He will join Orrick's Paris office as a partner in the next few weeks.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

April 30, 2013 | International Edition

Ashurst has recruited a new chief financial officer (CFO) with the hire of Allen & Overy (A&O) finance chief Brian Dunlop. Dunlop, who will start at Ashurst next Tuesday (7 May), will replace Nigel Morland, who has decided to step down.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

April 29, 2013 | International Edition

Lawrence Graham has made up three lawyers to its partnership in the firm's annual promotions round. Two of the promotions have been made in the firm's City office, including commercial lawyer Vanessa de Froberville, who specialises in IT, intellectual property and sales and marketing. She joined the firm in 2000 and recently advised on the sale of the Jessops brand to buyers including Dragons' Den star Peter Jones.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

April 28, 2013 | International Edition

Lawrence Graham (LG) has sublet 20,000 sq ft of surplus office space in its City offices to Bond Dickinson. The newly merged Bond Dickinson, the combination of Bond Pearce and Dickinson Dees, will move into the More London Riverside base at the end of July.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

April 25, 2013 | International Edition

Lawrence Graham (LG) and Simmons & Simmons have landed key roles on the launch of the UK's first residential real estate investment trust (REIT). The pair are advising GCP Student Living, which is currently seeking seed capital from investors to fund a property portfolio that it intends to grow to £500m over the next five years.

By Anna Reynolds

2 minute read

April 25, 2013 | International Edition

The chairman of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has appealed to the public to back protests against Government reforms of criminal advocacy, following an all-day meeting of Northern Circuit barristers this week that led to disruption at courts in the north of the UK. The Northern Circuit of the Bar met in Manchester on Monday (22 April, pictured top) to address the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) plans to introduce price-competitive tendering (PCT) for legal aid contracts, which could see criminal work awarded to the lowest bidder regardless of expertise.

By Anna Reynolds

4 minute read