Sofia Lind

June 08, 2011 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Norton Rose's Canadian merger partner Ogilvy Renault have taken lead roles on a €3.4bn (£3bn) financing deal for transport manufacturer Bombardier. Montreal-based Bombardier turned to legacy Ogilvy for advice, while magic circle firm A&O advised the joint bookrunners in a 36-strong syndicate of financing banks, with the facility oversubscribed by around €2bn (£1.78bn).

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

June 08, 2011 | International Edition

Bird & Bird is set to target standalone UK tax advisory work after sealing the hire of a second City tax specialist. The law firm has recruited LG partner Julian Hickey to practise alongside UK tax head Mathew Oliver – currently the firm's only dedicated London partner in the practice area.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

June 08, 2011 | International Edition

Norton Rose has overhauled its management teams in the wake of the three-way merger with Canada's Ogilvy Renault and South Africa's Deneys Reitz, which went live last week (1 June). The combined firm has added eight new positions to the Norton Rose Group supervisory board, with three new partners joining the firm's executive committee (excom).

By Sofia Lind

4 minute read

June 08, 2011 | International Edition

The Co-operative has begun a two-week trial of its plan to offer legal advice through its network of bank branches. The limited pilot scheme will see the Co-op offer its members free legal advice in three Bristol-based Britannia branches, with customers able to drop in for advice or book an advance appointment.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

June 08, 2011 | International Edition

Former Clifford Chance (CC) senior partner Stuart Popham has secured a new role as a non-executive director at Legal & General. The appointment, which Popham will take up in July, will see him act as an independent non-executive director on the insurer's risk, remuneration and nominations committees.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

June 07, 2011 | International Edition

Clifford Chance (CC) has announced pay rises for its City associates, with salary bands for junior lawyers increased by up to 4%. The new salaries, which are backdated to 1 May, include pay rises for lawyers with between one and three years' post qualification experience (PQE), with the 2PQE pay band seeing the biggest increase, rising almost 4% from £72,250 to £75,000.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

June 02, 2011 | International Edition

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recommended that the individual practicing certificate (PC) fee should be cut by almost a fifth. The recommendation, which was passed at a board meeting yesterday (1 June), now requires approval by the Law Society Council, which will meet on 13 July. If confirmed, the move will see the PC fee reduced by 18% from £428 to £350.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read

June 02, 2011 | International Edition

The College of Law has confirmed that it has launched a redundancy review, with 20 full-time roles at risk of being cut. The college began the consultation last week (26 May), with the cuts set to affect tutor staff members. The redundancies come on the back of a staffing review which found that some of the college's eight centres were overstaffed, with others understaffed.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

June 01, 2011 | International Edition

CMS Cameron McKenna has called on its partners to put in additional cash, with the firm upping the amount of capital paid in by equity partners by £1,000 per equity point. The capital increase, which was approved by a partner vote at the end of last month, affects the amount of money partners pay in when they join the equity, with all also required to make a one-off payment covering the increased cost for each of their equity points.

By Sofia Lind

2 minute read

May 31, 2011 | International Edition

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has hired former CMS Cameron McKenna partner Peter Hill in a bid to strengthen its corporate insurance offering. Hill, who left the UK top 15 firm at the end of April, had been a partner at Camerons since 2007 after joining from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, where he had been a partner for ten years.

By Sofia Lind

3 minute read