Suzi Ring

September 06, 2010 | International Edition

Stephenson Harwood has bulked up its City real estate arm with two lateral hires from Travers Smith and Wragge & Co. Neil Murray has joined Stephenson Harwood's real estate finance practice after 11 years as head of banking at Travers. He has been at the firm for the last 25 years. He specialises in property finance, acquisition finance, securitisation, projects, corporate lending and restructuring.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 03, 2010 | International Edition

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has selected Kaplan as the sole examining board for the new Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS), which came into force this week. As of 1 September, the QLTS replaced the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) as the official qualification allowing foreign lawyers to practise in England and Wales. Kaplan QLTS will be the only assessment organisation for the QLTS after the training provider won a tender last month. The QLTT was previously administered by six different law schools.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 02, 2010 | International Edition

Davenport Lyons has successfully represented publishing company HarperCollins in its battle with the BBC over the publication of the autobiography of Top Gear's The Stig. The case was bought by the BBC this week in an attempt to obtain a temporary injunction preventing the autobiography's publication, after the broadcaster argued that publication of the book would breach confidentiality agreements. In the High Court yesterday (1 September), Mr Justice Morgan ruled that he would not grant the BBC an injunction.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 01, 2010 | International Edition

Withers has entered into a tie-up with financial services advisory firm BeA-asia as the top 30 UK practice targets new business in Asia. The tie-up with BeA-asia, which is based in Shanghai, gifts Withers its second presence in China alongside its existing office in Hong Kong, which opened for business in January 2008.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 01, 2010 | International Edition

Finnish firm Hannes Snellman has launched an office in Copenhagen with the hire of Bech-Bruun's head of M&A. Philip Risbjorn has left the Danish firm to head up the new outfit for Hannes Snellman, with Amanda Tonsgaard, a director at private equity manager Capital Dynamics, also joining the new team. Hannes Snellman M&A partner Mathias Lindqvist has relocated from Helsinki to Copenhagen to support the new office and two further hires are set to be announced in the coming weeks.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 01, 2010 | International Edition

Two partners have left Howrey's Brussels office to join Olswang and McDermott Will & Emery in the Belgian capital. Patricia Cappuyns joins Olswang's intellectual property (IP) group today (1 September) after five years at Howrey, where she made partner in January 2009. Her client portfolio includes MEGA Brands, DSM, Sara Lee and Elvis Presley Enterprises.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 01, 2010 | International Edition

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared that plans to form a European patent court are incompatible with European Union treaties, marking a setback in the long-running campaign to create a centralised patent litigation system. The Council of the European Union requested the opinion of the ECJ last June, with the Advocate General's response on 2 July stating: "As it stands at present, the envisaged agreement creating a unified patent litigation system is incompatible with the treaties."

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

August 31, 2010 | International Edition

A trio of Holman Fenwick Willan partners have left the firm to set up their own City marine law boutique. Partners Jonathan Campbell, Alistair Johnston and Julian Clark launched the new firm, Campbell Johnston Clark, yesterday (31 August) after working together at Holman Fenwick for the past seven years.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

August 31, 2010 | International Edition

DLA Piper has boosted its Asia presence with two appointments for the firm's Hong Kong base, including a new head of finance. Matthew Glynn, DLA's head of intellectual property and technology (IPT) for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, has seen his role extended to cover the whole of the Asia region. He is set to relocate from Dubai to Hong Kong, with his new role effective immediately.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

August 23, 2010 | International Edition

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared that plans to form a European Patents Court are incompatible with EU treaties, marking a setback in the long-running campaign to create a centralised patent litigation system in Europe. The Council of the European Union requested the opinion of the ECJ last June, with the Advocate General's response on 2 July stating that: "As it stands at present, the envisaged agreement creating a unified patent litigation system is incompatible with the treaties."

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read