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International Edition

Simmons makes double City partner hire from K&L Gates

Simmons & Simmons has made a double partner hire from K&L Gates' London office, taking on the US firm's UK heads of pensions and employee incentives. Pensions partner Danny Tsang and employment partner Ian Fraser have joined Simmons' City employment and benefits team, taking the total partner count in the group to 10. Tsang has been at K&L Gates since 2007, when he joined from McDermott Will & Emery to launch a London pensions practice for the firm. His practice covers plan restructurings and corporate pensions strategies, as well as pensions aspects relating to corporate transactions, business recovery and restructuring.
2 minute read

International Edition

Halliwells liquidator continues talks with ex-partners over reverse premium

Halliwells' liquidator BDO is continuing to negotiate a deal with the defunct firm's former equity partners which could see the group forced to repay some of the controversial 'reverse premium' property payout they received. Legal Week has been provided with some details regarding the proposed settlement, but has chosen not to disclose them due to a confidentiality agreement surrounding the mediation. Mediation between BDO and 32 former equity partners of the collapsed firm has been ongoing for almost a year as the liquidator seeks to recoup some or all of the £21m payout which was shared between the equity partners in 2007.
3 minute read

International Edition

No child left behind – helping children through the family courts

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service's (Cafcass) start was a troubled one. Established in 2001, it was created by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 with the idea of merging the 700 probation officers who handle family court welfare work, 810 guardians ad litem who represent children's interests in child abuse and care cases, and the children's branch of the Official Solicitor's Department. These workers came from 113 groups with 57 sets of pay and conditions. Delays in the family courts system, rows over the contracts of the staff and finally the departure of the first chief executive Diane Shepherd less than a year after she was appointed meant the department got off to a rocky start. Some speculated that the organisation had had a premature birth and that an initial lack of funding made life difficult.
7 minute read

International Edition

UK duo lead as RBS gives up control of Direct Line

Allen & Overy (A&O) and Slaughter and May have led on a deal that has seen the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) give up control of UK insurer Direct Line with a £507m share sale. RBS, which sold a 34.72% share in Direct Line when it listed on the London Stock Exchange last year, has now sold a further 15.3%, reducing its stake in the insurer to just below 50%. A&O City corporate partner David Broadley advised RBS on the sale, while Slaughters corporate partner Andy Ryde provided counsel to Direct Line. Linklaters corporate partner Dan Schuster-Woldan and managing associate James Wootton represented the banks.
2 minute read

International Edition

Money talks – why firms should be open about partner pay delays

For an industry so hung up on profits per equity partner (PEP), and for which information on salaries is widely available, law firms are remarkably cagey on the small matter of paying them. Given the ongoing challenges in the global financial markets over the past few years, it is unsurprising that law firms have been affected to some degree, whether in terms of seeing profits and therefore PEP fall, or having issues with cashflow.
3 minute read

International Edition

Addleshaws eyes flexi-work push as low-cost base grows with new hires

Addleshaw Goddard is looking to ramp up the use of flexible working by its lawyers following a six-month consultation with staff on how the firm can work more efficiently. The firm is set to pilot the flexi-working scheme within its employment practice, as it looks to accommodate the changing needs of staff and keep hold of talented lawyers unsatisfied with the standard working week.
3 minute read

International Edition

Dealmaker: Rachel Speight

The Mayer Brown finance partner on Ally McBeal, packed lunches and staying calm under pressure – unless she's had no sleep
3 minute read

International Edition

Field Fisher joins firms holding back profits as SNR Denton addresses past delays

Growing numbers of law firms have been holding back profit distributions in response to the ongoing economic uncertainty, it has emerged, with Field Fisher Waterhouse and SNR Denton joining the ranks of firms to have deferred payments to partners. Field Fisher has opted to delay payment of its March partner distribution ahead of a period of investment after paying the last three 'special drawings' to partners in full and on time. Monthly drawings have been paid as normal. Incoming managing partner Michael Chissick pointed to the firm's change of head office, lateral hiring programme and international expansion as reasons for a "more prudent approach" to distributions.
2 minute read

International Edition

Partners support firm moves to hold back profit distributions to shore up finances

The majority of partners see moves by firms to hold back profit payouts as sensible financial management, as new Legal Week research highlights the widespread use of such measures across the profession. The latest Big Question survey found that 45% of respondents have seen regular profit distributions delayed or withheld at their firm over the past 12 months, including 10% whose firms have held back 'all or several' payments in that timeframe. The remaining 55% said all distributions at their firms had been paid out in full and on time.
5 minute read

International Edition

Confusion will reign unless Government clarifies terms used in DBA regulations

From the beginning of April, for the first time, lawyers will be able to conduct litigation before the English courts in return for a share of any damages. The introduction of contingency fees, or damages-based agreements (DBAs) as they are now called, was recommended in Lord Justice Jackson's final report in January 2010 and is being implemented by section 45 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Lord Jackson favoured the introduction of contingency fees in part because he considered it desirable that as many funding methods as possible should be available to litigants. He also saw particular force in the freedom of contract argument: if the client wishes to enter into a contingency fee agreement with their lawyer, they should be free to do so. We agree, but it seems that the new regime will be hampered from the outset by unnecessary complexity and confusion. On 23 January, just over two months before the legislation is due to come into force, the Government published the draft Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013, which set out the requirements a DBA must meet in order to be enforceable.
6 minute read

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