Pui Guan Man

March 14, 2013 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) is bulking up its regulatory enforcement and white collar crime practice in London with the hire of Norton Rose litigation partner Dorian Drew. Drew, who joined Norton Rose in 2000, recently led a Norton Rose team advising former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond in relation to the Libor rate-fixing scandal. He is expected to join CC this summer.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

March 13, 2013 | International Edition

Google's chief legal officer David Drummond has received a $3.3m (£2.2m) cash bonus for his performance last year, a regulatory filing by the search giant has revealed. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing contains details of annual discretionary cash bonus payments to Google's executive officers, including a $6m (£4m) payout for exec chairman Eric Schmidt.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 12, 2013 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has seen the departure of high-profile international arbitration head Jan Paulsson, as competition partner Andrea Gomes da Silva prepares to take up a nine-month secondment at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Paulsson, who joined the firm in 1989 and has been the head of Freshfields' international arbitration group for around 20 years, is top-ranked by Chambers and Partners for global arbitration and public international law.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 11, 2013 | International Edition

Technology, investment and private client firm Taylor Vinters has boosted its partnership ranks with two new additions including top-rated Bird & Bird commercial partner Rhys Williams. Williams, who is ranked in band one by Chambers and Partners for UK telecoms work, joins Taylor Vinters' 18-strong Cambridge commercial and technology team alongside Taylor Wessing senior associate Charles Fletcher, who is joining as a partner.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 10, 2013 | International Edition

SJ Berwin has secured the hire of Pinsent Masons' head of financial services regulation Tim Dolan for its City financial markets practice. Dolan, who was formerly an associate at SJ Berwin before joining Pinsents' London arm as a partner in 2007, also previously worked at the enforcement arm of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 07, 2013 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has delayed its annual bonus payments to senior equity partners because of unsettled market conditions. Senior equity partners, who see 25% of their pay linked to performance, receive around three bonus instalments between November and June each year. But with less than two months to go until year-end, none of these payments have yet been made.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 07, 2013 | International Edition

The UK's largest 100 law firms have seen average year-on-year fee income growth of 3.5% during the third quarter of 2012-13, with mid-tier firms in particular continuing to struggle to grow revenues. Figures from Deloitte's quarterly law firm survey show that revenue across the top 100 rose year on year by 3.5% in the three months to 31 January. This comes after the equivalent Q2 figure of 3.4% marked the slowest rate of growth for seven quarters. Drivers for the modest upturn included a 1.8% rise in fee earner headcount and a 1.9% increase in average fees per fee earner.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 07, 2013 | International Edition

Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) have both landed top roles on oil giant Shell's $6.7bn (£4.4bn) acquisition of assets from Spanish energy company Repsol. The deal has seen Shell acquire liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply positions in Peru and Trinidad & Tobago, as well as a 25% stake in a Spanish power plant, for $4.4bn (£2.9bn) in cash, while taking on $2.3bn (£1.5bn) in financial leases and debt.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 07, 2013 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has made up nine lawyers in its annual partner promotions round, including seven in the firm's London headquarters. The firm's corporate practice has received the largest share of new partners with four, followed by tax with two and one each in finance, litigation and real estate.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

March 06, 2013 | International Edition

Addleshaw Goddard and Nabarro have confirmed that the two firms held merger talks, with preliminary discussions ending at the start of February. The failed talks, which were first reported by Legal Business earlier today (6 March), could have created a combined firm with revenues of more than £280m, putting it just outside the top 10 UK firms by revenue.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read