Legal Week

August 14, 2009 | International Edition

In the eighteenth century Sir William Blackstone described the right to trial by jury as "the glory of the English Law". Two centuries later Lord Devlin argued that juries were "the lamp that shows that freedom lives". Lord Devlin contended that the right to trial by jury ensured citizens "got the justice they liked and not the sort of justice that the government or the lawyers or any body of experts thought was good for them".

By Legal Week

4 minute read

August 14, 2009 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Denton Wilde Sapte and Dickinson Dees are among the firms advising as three bidders compete to win a £300m operating contract for the Tyne & Wear Metro. BLP has been drafted in to advise the current management team of the Tyne & Wear Metro as it bids to retain the contract from Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive, Nexus, for 2010 to 2019. The City firm is fielding a team under London project finance partner Richard Lucas.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 14, 2009 | International Edition

Linklaters has appointed a new Nordic managing partner, with Stockholm banking and finance head Per Nyberg to take over the role for a four-year term. Nyberg will replace current managing partner Peter Hoegstroem from 1 September, with Hoegstroem set to return to full-time fee earning in the firm's Stockholm office.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 14, 2009 | International Edition

Baker & McKenzie's City office looks set to take almost twice the hit on profits per equity partner (PEP) as the rest of the firm, with London PEP expected to have fallen by a third in 2008-09. The international firm's results show that firmwide revenues fell by 3% to $2.11bn (£1.27bn), with PEP falling by 17% to $992,000 (£598,000). However, Bakers expects London turnover to dip by 3.4% to £115.7m, with PEP set to plunge by 33.5% from £572,000 to £380,000.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

August 14, 2009 | Legal Week

Baker & McKenzie's City office looks set to take almost twice the hit on profits per equity partner (PEP) as the rest of the firm, with London PEP expected to have fallen by a third in 2008-09. The international firm's results show that firmwide revenues fell by 3% to $2.11bn (£1.27bn), with PEP falling by 17% to $992,000 (£598,000). However, Bakers expects London turnover to dip by 3.4% to £115.7m, with PEP set to plunge by 33.5% from £572,000 to £380,000.

By Legal Week

14 minute read

August 14, 2009 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) could rack up further costs from this year's global restructuring, after it emerged that the firm is involved in at least one lawsuit in Germany. The magic circle firm confirmed that at least one former associate in Germany still has a case pending against it, with the unfair dismissal dispute relating to redundancies made in the Frankfurt office as part of A&O's worldwide restructuring.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 13, 2009 | International Edition

DLA Piper has hired a three-lawyer corporate crime team from Clifford Chance (CC) in Germany, including Frankfurt-based partner Juergen Taschke. Taschke will join DLA Piper's Frankfurt office on 1 September along with two associates.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 13, 2009 | International Edition

Beachcroft has strengthened its Irish practice with the hire of a four-lawyer team from local firm Mason Hayes+Curran. The national firm has hired four clinical negligence lawyers led by Ann O'Driscoll to its Dublin office. O'Driscoll, who was previously a partner in the Mason Hayes' litigation and healthcare practice, advises healthcare professionals and hospitals on clinical negligence and risk management issues. She brings with her two associates and a legal executive.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 13, 2009 | International Edition

London boutique Memery Crystal has won a role opposite Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on the £532.1m acquisition of Emerald Energy by China's Sinochem. The firm is a longstanding adviser to FTSE 250 company Emerald Energy and is fielding a team of lawyers led by London corporate partner Andrew Titmas on the deal. The mandate sees the firm advising opposite Freshfields, which was drafted in to act for state-owned Sinochem on Sinochem Resources UK's recommended acquisition of Emerald Energy, which is still awaiting shareholder approval.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

August 13, 2009 | International Edition

Former Heller Ehrman chairman Matthew Larrabee has denied allegations that management at the now-defunct firm inflated profits in 2007 by overpaying partners up to $9m (£5.4m), reports The Recorder. The creditors committee in Heller's bankruptcy case made the allegations as part of its larger effort to prove the firm was insolvent in 2007 and increase the amount of money they can claw back from former Heller shareholders.

By Legal Week

2 minute read