Legal Week

December 22, 2008 | International Edition

Sullivan's hire of TIm Emmerson in 2006 secured the New York giant's long-awaited City corporate debut.

By Legal Week

4 minute read

December 18, 2008 | International Edition

Richards Butler's long search for a merger partner ended on 1 January, 2007, when it hooked up with the only US firm ever to have had an office in Coventry.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

December 11, 2008 | International Edition

The Treasury Solicitor's Department's new Lit-Cat panel has been unveiled, with 40 firms being appointed for a three-year term. A clutch of regional and national firms have been named on the panel including Eversheds, Nabarro, Blake Lapthorn, Clarke Wilmott and HBJ Gateley Wareing.The Lit-Cat panel provides litigation and regulatory advice to the Treasury Solicitor's Department's in-house legal staff.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

December 10, 2008 | International Edition

On Monday, January 21, 2008, back when extreme stock volatility was still a novelty, world equity markets plunged 6% with no full explanation apparent. Then, on Thursday, the mystery abated when at least a partial explanation for the sell-off appeared. The French bank Societe Generale (Soc Gen) announced that a young trader named Jerome Kerviel had somehow, without the bank noticing, bet A50bn that stock markets would rise. Soc Gen had spent the past few days desperately selling his positions - and set a new standard for rogue trading losses at A6.4bn. Hit by scandal and a potential legal mess, Soc Gen did what plenty of other rich and powerful French institutions would do in such a situation: It hired Jean Veil.

By Legal Week

15 minute read

December 03, 2008 | International Edition

Pinsent Masons has teamed up with the United Arab Emirates University to give local law students a chance to train with the firm in the UK. The firm has operated in Dubai since 2004 and will offer UAE University College of Law students the chance to develop skills across areas including commercial, property, outsourcing and Dubai law. The scheme, initially limited to two students, is not a full training contract but will run between January and February and June and July. Students will spend the rest of the summer in one of the firm's UK offices.

By Legal Week

1 minute read

November 27, 2008 | International Edition

It's ironic but strangely familiar that, as the number of jobs lost in the UK legal services market passes 1,000, firms are trying to claw back costs put into their business through inflation-busting pay-rises only a year before. Familiar, of course, because this is largely what happened in 2002 and early 2003, when law firms slashed jobs only a year after similar rises.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

November 25, 2008 | International Edition

The expansive West Coast firm has recently bulked up its Europe presence with a German tie-up.

By Legal Week

3 minute read

November 12, 2008 | International Edition

Cross London Rail Links (CLRL) has completed its first formal legal panel, with Eversheds and Ashurst winning places on the roster. The pair, alongside Wragge & Co and Cripps Harries Hall, will advise CLRL - the delivery vehicle for the Crossrail project - on the land acquisitions needed to complete the new London rail route. The appointments are expected to generate a significant flow of work for the four firms as CLRL is expected to acquire more than 13,000 land interests over the next few years under powers granted by the Crossrail Act.

By Legal Week

2 minute read

November 11, 2008 | International Edition

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has appointed two new sector heads with partner hires from Hammonds and Bevan Brittan. Hammonds banking partner Gwyneth Macaulay joins as the new head of RPC's finance group, while Bevan Brittan partner Tim Fogarty, a former Clifford Chance lawyer, has joined as the firm's new property litigation chief.Fogarty will be accompanied by fellow Bevan Brittan lawyer Tara Goggin, bringing RPC's real estate and projects team to a total of seven partners and 18 lawyers.

By Legal Week

1 minute read

November 11, 2008 | International Edition

DWF has become the latest firm to unveil its figures for the first half of the financial year, reporting a 12.5% increase in fee income. The firm recorded an income of £28m, with litigation, private client work and insurance all showing significant increases on the corresponding period last year.DWF managing partner Andrew Leaitherland attributed the firm's growth to the recruitment of new lawyers and consulting with clients to better direct their work.

By Legal Week

2 minute read