Suzi Ring

July 06, 2011 | International Edition

The Court of Appeal is set to receive five new justices this year, following Lord Wilson's move to the Supreme Court and Lord Justice Thomas' appointment as president of the Queen's Bench Division.The remaining three spots have opened up following the retirements of Lady Justice Smith, Lord Justice Sedley and Lord Justice Jacob.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

July 06, 2011 | International Edition

Herbert Smith has announced its 2010-11 financial results, with the firm posting a 3% increase in both revenue and profits per equity partner (PEP), as well as a near 30% hike in Asia turnover. The firm saw revenues increase by 3.4% during the year to £465m, up from £449.9m, while PEP climbed 3.5% to £892,000 from last year's figure of £862,000.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

July 05, 2011 | International Edition

Olswang has been instructed by News International to draw up a new code of practice for the company amid new revelations in the News of the World (NoW) phone-hacking scandal. The UK top 40 law firm's senior partner Mark Devereux and head of judicial review and public law Dan Tench have been appointed to lead the review, which will see the firm recommend new policies, practices and systems in an effort to help the news group to prevent a repeat of recent events.

By Suzi Ring

4 minute read

July 05, 2011 | International Edition

Allen & Overy (A&O), Macfarlanes and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert have all confirmed their trainee retention figures for autumn 2011. A&O is set to retain 38 of its 53 newly-qualified lawyers (NQs), giving the magic circle firm a retention rate of 72%, after 39 offers were made, marking a decrease on the firm's spring round this year when 88% of trainees were kept on.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

July 01, 2011 | International Edition

Sullivan & Cromwell has overhauled its City management with former Europe M&A head Richard Morrissey appointed as London managing partner, replacing current incumbents Rob Schlein and Vanessa Blackmore. Morrissey's appointment comes as corporate partner Craig Jones has been handed the first-time role of London office administrative partner, with Tim Emmerson taking over as Europe M&A head from Morrissey. All of the new appointments are effective from today (1 July), with no fixed terms. Schlein and Blackmore will continue with client work in the real estate and capital markets practices respectively, with Schlein splitting his time between New York and London.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

July 01, 2011 | International Edition

Slaughter and May and Sidley Austin have both posted 100% retention rates for their autumn intake of newly-qualified lawyers (NQs). Slaughters is set to keep on all of its 59 trainees in September, marking an increase on recent rounds, after the firm retained 96% of its NQs in March 2011 and 93% in autumn 2010.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

July 01, 2011 | International Edition

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC) have all taken advisory roles on a $1bn (£623,700) 'Yankee' bond offering by airports operator BAA. Freshfields advised BAA with a team led by international capital markets co-head Sarah Murphy and finance partner Marcus Mackenzie, while A&O advised the arrangers and dealers - which included RBS and Citibank - led by capital markets partners Tim Conduit and Diana Billik. CC acted for the bond trustee.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 30, 2011 | International Edition

Herbert Smith is to receive additional public funding of more than £500,000 for the expansion of its newly-launched Belfast base. The firm, which has already been offered £208,000 by Invest Northern Ireland to support the launch of the 'nearshoring' venture, is set to recruit 12 further fee earners in the coming months, with at least 49 more jobs expected to be created over the next five years.

By Suzi Ring

3 minute read

June 29, 2011 | International Edition

Herbert Smith has bulked up its City construction and engineering practice with the hire of a King & Spalding team led by partner James Bremen. Bremen is set to join on 1 August with associates Simon Halliwell and Mark Veitch from the US law firm's London office. He specialises in sectors including mining, power, petrochemicals and infrastructure, and will be the second non-contentious partner in Herbert Smith's City construction practice alongside global practice co-head Nicholas Downing.

By Suzi Ring

2 minute read

June 29, 2011 | International Edition

Clyde & Co, CMS Cameron McKenna and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) lead their key peers in providing a rewarding lifestyle for their lawyers, according to a flagship research project from Legal Week. The research shows Clydes emerging as the highest-ranked top 20 UK law firm in terms of providing a rewarding lifestyle and personal experience for its staff, closely followed by CMS and BLP.

By Suzi Ring

4 minute read