Emma Sadowski

February 03, 2010 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has bolstered its City EU & competition practice with the hire of BP competition lawyer Andrew Hockley. Hockley, who will take BLP's competition partner headcount to four across the London and Brussels offices, has served as EC competition counsel at BP for the last three years.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

February 03, 2010 | International Edition

DLA Piper and Denton Wilde Sapte have taken lead roles advising on the administration of debt-laden Crystal Palace Football Club. The Championship football club went into administration last week (26 January), with The P&A Partnership appointed as administrators.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

February 03, 2010 | International Edition

It took some time to get there, and it didn't pan out as initially expected, but the conclusion to the merger talks between Clyde & Co and Shadbolt appears to be a good result for the London-based insurance firm. Talks between the two started over a year ago after the construction boutique completed a strategic review of its business. The retirement of high-profile name partner Dick Shadbolt in 2008 left the firm without a clear-cut strategy and struggling to maintain its financial performance, according to a variety of partners familiar with the firm. With 18 partners spread across its offices in London, Guildford, Reigate and Paris, Shadbolt was struggling to adopt its focus of handling corporate and projects work for UK subcontractors to an increasingly international construction market.

By Emma Sadowski

3 minute read

January 29, 2010 | International Edition

A raft of firms have landed roles on the £440m buyout of legal process outsourcing company CPA Global by private equity investor Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). DLA Piper advised CPA on the deal with a team led by UK corporate chief David Raff, alongside London corporate partner Kiran Sharma.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

January 27, 2010 | International Edition

Norton Rose is ending the flexible working scheme it introduced last year in a bid to avoid redundancies. The City law firm is taking all staff off its Flex scheme from tomorrow (29 January), several months earlier than planned, as a result of an uptake in activity levels.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

January 27, 2010 | International Edition

Whether sour grapes or genuine grievance, commercial partners have grown increasingly doubtful regarding the influence and rigour of the major legal directories. The latest Big Question survey found some partners questioning their accuracy and relevance, with 71% of respondents arguing that directories lacked rigour. In contrast, only 7% judged the major directories to be either 'excellent' or 'good' in terms of the quality of their research.

By Emma Sadowski

7 minute read

January 27, 2010 | International Edition

Reed Smith has bolstered its London real estate practice, making its second lateral hire into the group within a month. Real estate partner Philip Olmer is set to join the international firm next month from Olswang, where he has been a partner for more than a decade.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

January 27, 2010 | International Edition

Stephenson Harwood has strengthened its London commodities sector group with the hire of a partner from Holman Fenwick Willan. Peter Bennett joined the City law firm this week (25 January) after 17 years as a partner in the insurance leader's London office.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

January 27, 2010 | International Edition

Pinsent Masons has landed a role advising on an infrastructure contract for the redevelopment of King's Cross. The national firm is advising utility infrastructure group Inexus Group and subsidiary Metropolitan Infrastructure (MI) on a deal that has seen MI win the contract to design, construct and operate all of the utility services for the project.

By Emma Sadowski

2 minute read

January 27, 2010 | International Edition

Representing status, success and wealth, the member's club has long been part of the City scenery. But with a growing wave of modern, fashionable entrants into the market, joining a club does not have to mean evenings sipping whisky in wingback chairs.

By Emma Sadowski

8 minute read