Pui Guan Man

July 13, 2012 | International Edition

Norton Rose has increased salaries for trainees and newly-qualified lawyers and confirmed that junior lawyers will soon be able to spend some of their training contracts in Australia for the first time. The City firm has pushed the starting salary for first year trainees up from £37,000 to £38,000, while those in their second year will see pay rise by £1,500 to £43,000.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 12, 2012 | International Edition

Linklaters has the highest percentage of privately educated lawyers among the UK top 20 law firms by revenue, according to a major research project by Legal Week.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

July 11, 2012 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Apple on its unsuccessful design infringement claim against Samsung, marking the second recent dispute loss for the firm after Taiwan's HTC saw off a patent challenge from the US tech giant last week. The Apple-Samsung dispute saw Judge Birss QC rule that while the registered design of Samsung's Galaxy tablet model had superficial similarities to that of the Apple iPad, few would confuse the two as the Galaxy tablet was not "as cool".

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 11, 2012 | International Edition

Addleshaw Goddard has recruited a Trowers & Hamlins partner to lead the launch of its new Dubai office. Dubai-based construction partner Andrew Greaves will head up the new base alongside Addleshaws international arbitration partner Jonathan Tattersall and senior corporate partner Keith Johnston, who will now split their time between the firm's London, Dubai and Manchester offices.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 10, 2012 | International Edition

Slaughter and May, Ashurst and SNR Denton have all posted healthy September trainee retention rates, with Slaughters set to keep on 91% of its newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers. Forty-two of Slaughter's 46 qualified trainees have been offered places at the firm, with the 91% figure marginally up on the firm's March intake this year, when 90% were kept on at the magic circle firm. A further two trainees resigned from the firm before the qualification process began.

By Pui-Guan Man

3 minute read

July 10, 2012 | International Edition

Norton Rose's Canada arm has tapped local rival Gowlings Lafleur Henderson for six hires across its Toronto, Ottowa and Beijing offices, including a quartet of partners. The four partners - who are joining Norton Rose's Toronto office - are mining partner David McIntyre and M&A and corporate finance partners Robert Mason, Janet Howard and Janet Lee, all of whom were previously at Gowlings' Toronto base.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 09, 2012 | International Edition

Former Herbert Smith ally Stibbe is launching in Hong Kong, six months after it ended its alliance agreement with the UK firm and Germany's Gleiss Lutz. The Benelux firm's new Hong Kong base will advise on corporate, finance and tax law, and will support Chinese clients with European investments as well as Benelux clients with operations in Asia. It is expected to open at the beginning of September.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 08, 2012 | International Edition

King & Wood Mallesons has set a target percentage for female partners in its Australian arm, becoming the latest firm to push gender diversity up the agenda. The firm is aiming to increase the proportion of women in its Australian partnership to 30% by 2015, as part of a broader diversity initiative.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 06, 2012 | International Edition

Norton Rose and Linklaters have taken the lead roles on the £400m acquisition of London's landmark Battersea Power Station by a Malaysian consortium. The deal, which was confirmed this week, has seen Malaysian property developer SP Setia and Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby join forces to emerge as the successful bidder ahead of rivals including Chelsea Football Club.

By Pui-Guan Man

2 minute read

July 05, 2012 | International Edition

The overwhelming majority of partners believe law firms must allow both partners and associates to work flexibly, despite acknowledging the difficulties it can cause in terms of career progression. Legal Week's latest Big Question survey found almost half of the 140 respondents said it was essential for firms to offer flexible working opportunities to partners and associates, with a further 36% believing it to be 'very important' for partners, rising to 37% for associates.

By Pui-Guan Man

4 minute read