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International Edition

US firm Edwards Wildman cuts eight support roles in London

Edwards Wildman Palmer has concluded a firm-wide redundancy consultation, with eight support roles cut in its London office. The US-headquartered firm said no lawyer or fee-earner positions at the office were targeted in the cost-cutting exercise, which began in May.
2 minute read

International Edition

Camerons disputes partner duo join Covington's fast-growing City base

Covington & Burling has hired two disputes partners from CMS Cameron McKenna, bringing its London partner headcount to 28. Ben Holland and Jeremy Wilson will both practice in Covington's arbitration and commercial litigation practice, focusing on energy-related disputes.
2 minute read

International Edition

SJ Berwin leads Sky to victory in key Microsoft infringement battle

SJ Berwin has advised broadcaster Sky on its successful trademark claim against Microsoft, whose 'Skydrive' cloud service was found to infringe on Sky's brand in the UK and Europe. The dispute, which began in 2011, saw Justice Sarah Asplin rule that the US software giant infringed the 'Sky' trademark in naming its cloud service 'SkyDrive', ruling that the name is likely to confuse customers.
2 minute read

International Edition

Herbert Smith Freehills recruits Kirkland CFO to oversee integration

Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed a new chief financial officer (CFO) with the hire of Kirkland & Ellis finance chief Nick Willmott. Willmott will start at the firm in September and be based in its London office. He joins from Kirkland where he has been CFO since 2004, based in its Chicago headquarters. In his new role at Herbert Smith Freehills, Willmott will be responsible for leading the global business finance function and overseeing the structures to integrate and support the merged firm.
2 minute read

International Edition

Speechly posts steady turnover as firm eyes 25% PEP boost from partnership shake-up

Speechly Bircham has posted flat revenues for 2012-13 following a series of management changes and partner exits that are expected to see the firm's partner profits rise 25% next year. The City firm took in fee income of £57.5m for the last financial year, broadly in line with the 2011-12 figure of £57.6m, while profits per equity partner (PEP) fell 3% from £303,000 to £293,000. Over the last financial year around 17 partners have left the firm – six of which were retirements, with one more to take effect in October. Meanwhile, six partners have been asked to leave, alongside a number of departures to other law firms and moves in-house.
3 minute read

International Edition

Stressing the point – firms can no longer ignore the demands of the job

For some people it's the gym; others prefer a few drinks down the pub, while our Prime Minister is partial to a game of Fruit Ninja on the iPad. Most of us have a way to unwind after a hard day at work. But for a significant minority this day-to-day stress can morph into something more insurmountable. If the legal profession follows the population-wide trend of about one in four people in the UK suffering from issues including stress and anxiety annually, of the 92,000 lawyers at law firms across England and Wales, some 23,000 could be expected to be affected each year. This is no small problem for law firms and their staff. And as our feature shows, the advent of the downturn has only made the job more stressful, with more than two thirds of respondents to a recent Legal Week survey saying pressure to perform and less job security is making life as a lawyer ever-more stressful.
3 minute read

International Edition

City limits – are law firms are doing enough to combat work-based stress?

As new research reveals lawyers are finding their jobs more stressful than ever, Georgina Stanley asks whether law firms are doing enough to combat work-based anxiety and other mental health issues Statistics on mental illness speak for themselves. Every year, about one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem, with about 10% of the population suffering from depression and anxiety issues. Figures from Mind, a UK mental health charity, suggest that 8% of those suffering from mental health issues in any year will require specialist psychiatric help, while 2% will have problems so severe they require in-patient treatment.
9 minute read

International Edition

Time to show communities we really care by mucking in with charities on all fronts

When firms look at how they can support communities through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, many opt for schemes that try to improve the job chances and skills of the people they're supporting. They hope that in turn this will help the personal development of their own staff. There are, however, other types of programme addressing a range of issues that are less typical but equally worthwhile. For example, the less-travelled road of volunteering can still improve the lives of those supported. But it has the added benefit of developing communication, leadership and teaching skills for employees – skills which companies often have to address anyway through in-house training. Reed Smith is an international law firm based near Liverpool Street, right in the heart of the City of London. It is impossible for anyone working in the City not to see the sharp contrast between the area's wealth and that of its less privileged neighbours. This juxtaposition is emphasised further by a palpable lack of interaction between the two.
5 minute read

International Edition

Olswang faces multimillion-pound claim over Esporta takeover role

Olswang is facing a multimillion-pound claim relating to advice it gave on the £460m acquisition of fitness club chain Esporta from private equity firm Duke Street Capital announced in 2006. The case, which has been assigned to the Queen's Bench Division of the Commercial Court, sees Olswang accused of negligence and breach of its duties of care under its client retainer in relation to advice it gave Esporta's acquirers Ironzar III, a trust owned by property investor Simon Halabi. Ironzar claims Olswang breached its retainer duty by failing to alert the trust of the potential pitfalls created by the format of letters of engagement between the trust and Ernst & Young (E&Y), which was conducting due diligence on the acquisition. It also alleges Olswang failed to provide E&Y with the necessary documents it required as part of its due diligence exercise.
2 minute read

International Edition

Walker Morris turns to Deloitte for first non-exec board member

Walker Morris has appointed former Deloitte managing partner Stuart Counsell as its first non-executive board director. Counsell joins Walker Morris following more than 30 years at Deloitte, during which time he held a variety of senior management positions including UK managing partner. More recently, Counsell headed up the finance and legal division at the accountancy giant where he was responsible for the financial and legal aspects of a £2 billion professional services business. He was also heavily involved in the firm's continuous systems improvement and acquisition programmes.
2 minute read

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