Suzi Ring

September 21, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Dickson Minto have won roles on the near-£1bn takeover attempt of pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) by billionaire Joe Lewis' Piedmont investment vehicle. Freshfields is advising M&B on the bid with a team led by corporate partners Chris Mort and Barry O'Brien. The role comes after the City firm, a longstanding adviser to M&B, was appointed as exclusive legal provider for M&B's London work last year.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 21, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired former Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) Russia dispute resolution chief Maxim Kulkov to head up its Moscow litigation practice as part of a wider strategy to strengthen the firm's disputes practice internationally. The magic circle firm has identified Russia, Asia, the Middle East and the US as key areas where it wants to expand its litigation practice in response to growing demand from existing clients and in order to capture new work. Including Kulkov, Freshfields has four disputes lawyers in Russia and this figure is expected to double over the next three years, with similar expansion planned in Asia, where the firm currently has three partners.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 21, 2011 | International Edition

Olswang has appointed a chief operating officer (COO) for the first time in four years in a bid to support the firm's recent international expansion. Simon Glynn, formerly group director of strategy and operations at Management Consulting Group (MCG), will join the firm at the end of the month. He will initially work alongside former COO Kevin Munslow – who stepped down from the role in 2007 to become chief executive and is now a consultant at the firm – while he gets to gripswith the new position.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 21, 2011 | International Edition

As the only High Court appointee from a five-strong round this year to already carry a judicial title, Judge Henry Globe QC marks the exception rather than the rule. Called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1972, Globe started out like most, working with his set, Exchange Chambers, and practising as a junior counsel on the local circuit. Now, having been a circuit judge for the past eight years, Globe is joining the select few who make it as far as the High Court.

By Suzi Ring

8 minute read

September 21, 2011 | International Edition

Clyde & Co has bulked up its Hong Kong arm with the hire of a construction partner from Stephenson Harwood. Gilbert Kwok joined the firm this month after one year in Stephenson Harwood's Hong Kong litigation group.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 21, 2011 | International Edition

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is launching an investment management practice in London with the hire of Macfarlanes funds partner Stephen Sims. The launch, which will happen in the coming months after Sims has worked out a notice period, will give the New York firm its first investment management practice outside the US.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 20, 2011 | International Edition

Stephenson Harwood has been replaced by Addleshaw Goddard as adviser to the former chairman of Kazakhstan's BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov on a multibillion-dollar fraud case. Addleshaws was formally instructed on the case earlier this month, with litigation head Richard Leedham now leading the case for the firm, alongside fellow litigation partners Ian Hargreaves, Jon Tweedale and Jamie Harrison.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 19, 2011 | International Edition

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is set to launch two offices in Germany with the hire of a four-strong team from Linklaters, marking the firm's first venture into the country. The firm announced today (19 September) that it will open in Berlin and Frankfurt by the end of the year, with a focus on high-end real estate work.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

September 19, 2011 | International Edition

Criminal barristers are facing severe delays in the payment of legal aid fees by the Legal Services Commission (LSC), after the body took over responsibility for payments from Her Majesty's Courts Service earlier this year. The LSC, the government body which handles the administration of legal aid, took charge of barristers' fees this April, and a number of barristers have since reported delays of up to four months for legal aid payments - a significant increase from the previously accepted timescale of 28 days.

By Suzi Ring

3 minute read

September 19, 2011 | International Edition

Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) is set to launch in Bristol with the hire of four partners from CMS Cameron McKenna, with the firm also in discussions to take on the whole of Camerons' local insurance and reinsurance group. Insurance and reinsurance partners Jeremy Barnes, Joe Bryant, Simon Chandler and Peter Mansfield are all set to join RPC in the coming months.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read