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International Edition

Linklaters partner duo to head up China practice

Linklaters has appointed a partner duo to head up its China practice, with Asia litigation head and Hong Kong managing partner Marc Harvey and Beijing head Celia Lam replacing Zili Shao in the role. Harvey and Lam take up their four-year terms with immediate effect after Shao was appointed as Asia managing partner in April.
2 minute read

International Edition

BLP makes A&O partner hire for finance practice

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is to bolster its finance practice with the hire of high profile Allen & Overy (A&O) leveraged finance partner Andrew Bamber. Bamber is set to join BLP over the coming weeks after seven years as a partner in A&O's leveraged finance team. He came over to the magic circle firm in 2002 from Norton Rose as part of a team of four partners to leave the firm, including current leveraged finance chief Tim Polglase.
2 minute read

International Edition

Global disputes: Still waiting for the train to leave

Over the last few months, international law firms have been gearing up for the long-awaited upturn in litigation, with a string of office openings and major hires. With the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) gaining in popularity in recent years, it is no surprise that the UK capital has been at the forefront of the action, alongside other major arbitration centres like New York and Paris. There have also been moves to bulk up on dispute resolution expertise in Asia and the Middle East.
11 minute read

International Edition

Global disputes: Headed in the right direction

Much time and attention has been devoted to considering the relative minutiae of the conduct of proceedings in the Commercial Court since the establishment of the Commercial Court Long Trials Working Party over two years ago. The result is the now amended Commercial Court Guide - the Admiralty and Commercial Courts Guide (8th edition, 2009), published on 18 May, 2009.
8 minute read

International Edition

Global disputes: On the up

The air cargo price-fixing litigation looks promising from a plaintiffs lawyer's perspective. Since US and European antitrust authorities raided the offices of more than a dozen airlines in February 2006, settlements and fines have been racking up. The US Department of Justice has levied more than $1.6bn (£1bn) in fines against 15 airlines and air cargo companies. In 2006, Deutsche Lufthansa settled claims from a class of US plaintiffs for $85m (£54m). Class actions against other airlines are pending in the US and Australia.
4 minute read

International Edition

Global disputes: The unknown truth

Donald Rumsfeld, the former US defence secretary, speaking at a press briefing in 2002, famously said: "As we know, there are known knowns: there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know."
9 minute read

International Edition

Global disputes: Responding to crisis

For 10 years or so, the global economy grew. Lenders were free with their funds, especially in the US, where billions of dollars worth of mortgages were sold to people with weak credit ratings. The US banking sector packaged these subprime home loans into mortgage-backed securities known as collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which were sold on to hedge funds and investment banks around the world. When borrowers started to default on their loans, the value of these investments plummeted, resulting in huge losses for banks globally.
8 minute read

International Edition

Global disputes: Now is the time to speak

International arbitration has, for many years, experienced extraordinary growth. A greater range of parties use arbitration for a wider range of disputes. Arbitration faces a number of challenges, however, not least from the fact that at a time of recession resources are stretched and businesses want to focus their resources on the productive parts of their business rather than on fighting disputes. Moreover, they want value for money, which translates into a desire for greater efficiency and effectiveness across a broad array of disputes.
8 minute read

International Edition

Bar report flags huge start-up costs of LSB as 'a major issue for the future'

The Bar has highlighted funding obligations to set up the Legal Services Board (LSB) and the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) as key concerns for the profession. The Bar Council and Bar Standards Board's joint annual report, published earlier this month (13 June), highlights the major challenges facing the Bar, with the organisations particularly concerned about meeting the costs of the profession's new regulator and complaints body.
2 minute read

International Edition

Ashurst to refer litigation to German independent

A senior German partner has left Ashurst as former Munich head Karl Wach sets up his own litigation boutique alongside senior associate Frank Meckes. The top 10 City law firm said the move came as part of a bid to refocus its Munich office around corporate and finance law. Wach was the only litigation partner in the office, although there are still three associates.
2 minute read

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