Claire Ruckin

November 03, 2010 | International Edition

Slaughter and May is set to increase its firmwide bonus, which was halved last year as a result of the downturn, and give fee earners a marginal increase in base salary. The magic circle firm is to pay all fee earners, including trainees, an end-of-year bonus equating to 8% of salary - a significant increase on last year's payout, when the bonus was halved to 5% of salary.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

November 03, 2010 | International Edition

Hammonds partners face seeing the firm's name pushed into second place if the merger with Squire Sanders & Dempsey goes ahead, with the brand being dropped entirely in countries where Hammonds does not have an office. Legal Week has learned that the merged transatlantic firm would be known as Squire Sanders Hammonds in those jurisdictions where Hammonds has a presence, including the UK, Europe and Asia. However, in the US and Eastern Europe, where Hammonds has no offering, the combined firm would be branded as Squire Sanders & Dempsey.

By Claire Ruckin

3 minute read

November 02, 2010 | International Edition

Charles Russell is set to overhaul its partnership and restructure around industry sectors as part of a comprehensive review that also sees the firm setting its sights on a UK merger. The UK top 50 firm has drawn up a new three-year plan to take it through 2013, with a UK merger forming a key plank of the strategy. Failing this, the firm's management hopes to grow in London through bolting on team hires. It has already explored mergers with a number of firms in recent years, including at least one in the top 50.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

November 02, 2010 | International Edition

Wragge & Co has bolstered its intellectual property (IP) practice with the hire of Paul Inman from Howrey. Inman is set to join the national law firm's City office next week (8 November), becoming the 12th partner in the firm's IP team. He will work with Patrick Duxbury, who leads the UK top 30 firm's 16-strong life sciences team.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

November 02, 2010 | International Edition

Addleshaw Goddard has strengthened its energy practice with the hire of the former head of legal at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Roger Clayson joined the national law firm earlier this week (1 November) from the NDA, where he most recently served as head of property law, having held the head of legal role between 2007 and 2009.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

November 01, 2010 | International Edition

Former partners at defunct law firm Halliwells have been issued with details of new potential claims, after the firm's joint administrators at BDO sent out letters detailing possible action they may bring. BDO administrator Dermot Power sent a letter last week (26 October), warning the ex-partners that they may face proceedings relating to a number of claims including repayment of overdrawings, unpaid capital contributions and breach of duty.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

November 01, 2010 | International Edition

Addleshaw Goddard is aiming for a 25% female partnership by 2014 in one of a number of new targets set out to bolster diversity within the firm. The national firm has also laid down a commitment to having 10% of all its employees from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background by 2014. Currently, 20% of the firm's partnership is female - an above-average proportion among the UK's top 20 law firms.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 28, 2010 | International Edition

Hammonds has boosted its business recovery and insolvency teams with the promotion of two new partners. The half-year promotions will see Paul Muscutt and Daniel French made up to the national firm's partnership next month (1 November) in London and Birmingham respectively. Muscutt specialises in non-contentious and contentious insolvency work, with a focus on the banking and asset-based lending sectors. He recently completed a nine-month secondment at Barclays Bank.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 27, 2010 | International Edition

DLA Piper has put plans to overhaul its partnership structure by moving to an all-equity partnership on the back burner. The firm had put together a working group last year to look at moving to a single-tier partnership and had planned to make any changes by May 2011. However, management has opted to delay any move in this direction.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 26, 2010 | International Edition

A global financial disputes tribunal to settle complex international disputes is set to be created in The Hague next year. The launch, which is slated for the first half of next year, comes as a result of a roundtable featuring leading lawyers and financial experts held at the Peace Palace in The Hague yesterday (25 October). The meeting, which was organised by Dutch not-for-profit organisation World Legal Forum (WLF), was chaired by former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf of Barnes.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read