Claire Ruckin

October 26, 2010 | International Edition

Eversheds has bolstered its disputes practice with the hire of James Southworth from Hill Dickinson. Southworth joined the top 10 law firm earlier this month (18 October) as a partner in the 15-partner financial services dispute resolution team and will split his time between Manchester and London, working with practice head Paul Worth.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 25, 2010 | International Edition

Michael Todd QC of Erskine Chambers has been named chairman-elect of the Bar Council following a contested vote. Todd will take up the post of vice chairman on 1 January 2011 and will progress to become Bar Council chairman a year later on 1 January 2012. His appointment follows a contested election against two other candidates -commercial barrister Richard Slater QC of 3 Verulam Buildings and criminal barrister Stephen Leslie QC of Furnival Chambers.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 25, 2010 | International Edition

Macfarlanes has introduced a senior solicitor rank for its up-and-coming lawyers, with associates with at least six years' post-qualification experience eligible to make the grade. The UK top 50 firm's first senior solicitors are set to be promoted next year, with candidates nominated by practice heads. Those associates already involved in activities such as training, mentoring and business development will be among those to be considered first for promotion.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 25, 2010 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed 11 new counsel in a second round of promotions this year. The appointments to counsel - the most senior role in the firm below partner - will take effect from 1 November and come in addition to the nine counsel made up in May this year.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 20, 2010 | International Edition

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is drawing up a set of guidelines for large firms facing administration in light of experience gained following the collapse of Halliwells. The regulatory body is consulting with a number of law firms, banks and insolvency practitioners to come up with a protocol to make sure that firms going into administration in the future are compliant with the profession's regulations.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 20, 2010 | International Edition

Herbert Smith is on course to generate half of its turnover from international work within five years as the firm places a growing emphasis on its presence in foreign jurisdictions. The top 10 law firm is putting added weight behind growing its international practice as a key plank of its recently completed strategic review.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 20, 2010 | International Edition

McGrigors has launched a redundancy consultation which could see 40 jobs cuts across the firm's workforce. The big four Scots firm launched a consultation earlier this week reviewing the roles of at least 30 fee earners and a handful of support staff across all of the firm's offices in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, with the exception of Manchester. Practice areas under review include real estate, banking, projects and procurement, corporate and risk advisory solutions.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 20, 2010 | International Edition

Magic circle duo Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Slaughter and May have advised on the €800m (£704m) debt restructuring of eyecare company Carl Zeiss Vision Group. Freshfields restructuring and insolvency partner Richard Tett led a team including London banking partner Peter Hall advising the senior lenders steering committee on the restructuring, which closed earlier this month after 13 months of negotiations.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 20, 2010 | International Edition

Mishcon de Reya is aiming to boost turnover by almost 70% and raise profits to £750,000 by 2013 as part of its latest strategic plan. The firm's three-year strategy sees it attempting to push turnover up to £80m by 2013 - growth that could propel it into the UK top 50.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read

October 18, 2010 | International Edition

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has launched a monitoring scheme which will oversee chambers' compliance with the profession's regulatory regime. The scheme, which was launched by the regulatory body today (18 October), will require more than 700 chambers and sole practitioners to complete a compulsory online questionnaire. The questionnaire will focus on four key areas of regulation - complaints handling, pupillage, equality and diversity, and money laundering.

By Claire Ruckin

2 minute read