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International Edition

Imperial Tobacco restructures UK legal team

Imperial Tobacco has restructured its core UK legal team following its takeover of Spanish tobacco rival Altadis.The merged company has around 35-40 lawyers, including 10 in the legal team's Bristol headquarters. The overhaul will see the Bristol lawyers organised across four legal disciplines - company/commercial, intellectual property (IP), litigation and regulatory - rather than by geography. Lawyers within the wider group will then report into the relevant UK discipline head.
2 minute read

International Edition

Former OC senior partner to chair funding broker Calunius

Osborne Clarke's (OC's) former senior partner, Leslie Perrin, has joined specialist funding broker Calunius Capital. The high-profile move saw Perrin join Calunius earlier this week (19 January) as chairman of the funding broker, with responsibility for sourcing and vetting new work and monitoring cases.Perrin, who has a background as a litigator, was one of the UK's most well-known law firm leaders until he retired in 2006.
2 minute read

International Edition

Boston Consulting plans Euro legal team overhaul

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is planning to ramp up its European legal team as the firm moves to reduce its external legal spend and review its advisers. The management consulting group, which has more than 60 offices worldwide, is set to bring in three new legal positions in Europe - including a continental legal chief. The move will mark a departure for BCG, as legal chief Jeremy Barton, who joined the organisation in May last year, is currently the only lawyer in BCG's seven-strong team based outside the US. Barton, who was previously global general counsel at Ernst & Young, is leading the initiative, with the new lawyers expected to be in place within the next few months.
2 minute read

International Edition

Hourly rates on borrowed time

It is Christmas Eve 2008 as I write this article. The papers are full of doom and gloom. The TV is broadcasting the annual disaster movies, including Titanic, and every time I see it I imagine that one day a crew member will see the iceberg, call "about ahoy" and avert the tragedy.Well, for the last decade, I have been shouting, nay screaming, about the iceberg awaiting law firms. I have been warning the good ship Law about the dangers of defective billing systems, excessive charges and a lack of compliance to rules governing the quantification of legal costs. The biggest offenders have appeared to be City law firms.
6 minute read

International Edition

Tyco's Faure steps down from EMEA GC role

Tyco's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) general counsel Trevor Faure has left the manufacturing company to take up a new role. Both Faure and Enrique Aznar, Tyco's EMEA deputy GC and chief compliance counsel, will depart the company this month. It is understood that Faure has left Tyco to take up a global general counsel role with another company, while Aznar will join Nokia Siemens Networks as global compliance counsel.The departure of the duo has led to a reshuffle in Tyco's legal division with global general counsel Judy Reinsdorf appointing David Symonds, chief lawyer for Tyco's Flow Control business, to take on the majority of Faure's responsibilities.
2 minute read

International Edition

A&O replaces Freshfields on new-look L&G panel

Legal & General (L&G) has completed a review of its external legal advisers, with Allen & Overy replacing Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on the new-look panel. The 19-firm roster, which will advise the insurer over the next three years, includes Berwin Leighton Paisner, which retained its place on the panel despite relationship partner Vinay Veneik's resignation from the firm in January 2008 after questions were raised over mistakes made on property transactions.
2 minute read

International Edition

WilliamsF1 gears up for race for new legal chief

WilliamsF1 has begun its search for a new legal chief after current general counsel Jane Moffatt decided to leave the motor racing team. Moffat, who is departing the organisation for personal reasons, will now take up a senior legal position with General Electric Oil & Gas in Italy.The role of general counsel at WilliamsF1 involves advising on regulatory matters, working closely with the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), rights management issues, employment and general corporate and commercial work.
2 minute read

International Edition

Guardian appoints Times litigation head to editorial legal role

Guardian News and Media (GNM) has appointed Times Newspapers litigation head Gillian Phillips as its new director of editorial legal services. Phillips will lead GNM's in-house editorial legal function and will take up her new role in May. She replaces Nuala Cosgrove, who moved to media regulator Ofcom in December.Commenting on the appointment, GNM editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger said: "We are delighted that Gillian is joining us. Her wealth of experience in print, online and broadcast will be enormously valuable as we continue to fulfil our multimedia ambitions." Phillips added: "I am thrilled to be offered this job - it is a great role and I look forward to joining GNM and working with Alan Rusbridger and the team."
2 minute read

International Edition

Commerzbank legal heads keep jobs after takeover

Commerzbank's global and London legal heads have retained their positions following the bank's takeover of German rival Dresdner Bank, with London legal jobs at risk as a result of the deal. Guenter Hugger will retain his position as global head of legal at the combined bank once the legal team formally integrates in March, with City-based colleague John Benson appointed as head of legal for London. Benson previously co-headed Commerzbank's London legal team alongside Susan Cooksley. The appointments leave the position of Dresdner's London-based global and UK legal chief, Stephen Lowe, unclear post-integration, although he is expected to continue in his role until March. It is also unclear what position Cooksley will retain within the merged bank.
2 minute read

International Edition

Lloyds TSB finalises review as bank shakes up post-merger legal team

A raft of top City law firms have secured positions on Lloyds TSB's revamped legal panel, with property boutique Forsters landing a first-time appointment to the roster. Allen & Overy, Norton Rose, Linklaters, CMS Cameron McKenna, Lovells, Eversheds and Denton Wilde Sapte have all been re-appointed to the bank's main panel. The firms learned of their reappointment before Christmas after the bank kicked off its review the previous month. Forsters has won a spot on the retail bank's main panel as well as the real estate finance sub-panel, which is one of around 15 operated by the bank. It is understood that Herbert Smith has been appointed to at least one of the sub-panels.
2 minute read

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