Jeremy Hodges

July 08, 2008 | Law.com

Baker & McKenzie has received a significant boost for its Russian practice with the addition of a 22-lawyer team. The team, which includes three partners, comes from the legal department of global accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Real estate lawyers Konstantine Kouzine and Maxim Kuznechenkov and corporate lawyer Igor Makarov all join the firm as partners, bringing with them a team of 19 other fee earners.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

April 02, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Baker & McKenzie spent over �3 million restructuring its London office last year after making 70 employees redundant.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

May 10, 2010 | Law.com

In its hunt for a U.S. merger partner, London-based law firm SJ Berwin has shifted its attention to Proskauer Rose, with detailed discussions set to begin over the next month. Proskauer Rose has been identified as the sole merger candidate, although the discussions remain at a relatively early stage. A union would propel the merged firms into the global top 30 in revenue, according to the most recent financial data.

By Jeremy Hodges and Sofia Lind

2 minute read

March 27, 2009 | Corporate Counsel

Merrill Lynch's U.K. legal team has been cut back by 25 percent following the bank's merger with Bank of America. The majority of the cuts affect lawyers in Merrill's sales and trading group, which covers areas such as emerging markets, derivatives, structured credit and retail structured products. It is unclear how Bank of America's legal team has been affected by the job cuts or how the banks' external advisers will change post-merger.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

October 21, 2009 | Law.com

Legal fees on the administration of Lehman Brothers in Europe have hit $112 million in the year since the bank's collapse. The figure is contained within a progress report from administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers, which covers all payments relating to the bank's collapse for the year ending Sept. 14. The report also shows that the fallen bank's administrators earned $238 million in fees over the year, and that average hourly rates for advisers have fallen from $538 to $505.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

March 19, 2008 | Corporate Counsel

Almost half of European in-house counsel believe disputes with regulators will be one of their biggest litigation risks over the next three years, according to research by London firm Lovells. Perhaps surprisingly, the survey of more than 180 in-house lawyers, general counsel and legal heads across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K. found the U.S. was highlighted as the market where companies most feared cross-border disputes.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

June 04, 2008 | Law.com

Two of the U.K.'s leading law firm lenders are under investigation after the Office of Fair Trading confirmed that both Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are the subjects of a price fixing investigation looking at professional services loans. The OFT has already raided the offices of the two banks, which between them are the two largest lenders to legal and accounting firms. The investigation was sparked by Barclays, which initially approached the watchdog to notify it of the irregularities.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

March 31, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Linklaters will this year move its associates through its annual pay bands as normal in a move that looks set to end the effective pay freeze seen at many UK firms in 2009.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

March 21, 2008 | National Law Journal

London boutique Edwin Coe and U.S. giant White & Case are leading the way as shareholders of Northern Rock gear up to battle the British government's controversial plan to nationalize the troubled bank. Both firms have sent "letters before action" to the Treasury on behalf of their clients -- the U.K. Shareholders Association and hedge fund SRM Global -- and will claim that the government's decision to nationalize Northern Rock violated their clients' human rights under the terms of the European Convention.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read

April 16, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Lovells has made up 21 lawyers in the its annual promotions round, with five new partners made up in the City.

By Jeremy Hodges

2 minute read