Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has become the tenth major law firm in the UK to establish a gender target, committing to ensure that 30% of the partnership by the end of 2018 are female.
Revolving Doors: Linklaters makes a strategic hire in Europe, Hunton & Williams expands in the City while the LSB appoints a new chief
Last week saw Linklaters make a key hire from DLA Piper in Frankfurt as it sought to expand its cross-border litigation offering, Bird & Bird increase its offering in Sweden while Hunton & Williams did the same in the City developing its energy and natural resources team. Also in the UK, the Legal Services Board (LSB) appointed a new head, Richard Moriarty.
The Friday Edit: Ethics and the modern GC, ethics in court and partners behaving badly
As we prepare for the clocks to go back this weekend, here’s our regular look back at some of the stories that have drawn attention over the last five days. For access to subscriber content, click here for full access to Legal Business.
‘We are a true partnership’: Slaughter and May names Wittmann new practice head as CC re-elects senior partner
Slaughter and May has appointed David Wittmann as the firm’s practice partner with the role’s current holder, partner Paul Olney, stepping down at the end of the year.
‘A warning to third-party funders’: Litigation funders found liable for indemnity costs in $1.6bn Excalibur dispute
In what was a keenly awaited judgment for the third party funding profession, the Commercial Court has yesterday (23 October) handed down judgment on the costs liability of litigation funders in the high profile Excalibur Ventures v Texas Keystone & Ors battle, a $1.6bn energy dispute over oil rights in Iraqi Kurdistan and one of the biggest cases of 2013, and has ordered the funders to pay the defendants’ costs of the action.
‘Not weighed down by a partnership’: Private equity invests £3.15m in Keystone Law
Keystone Law has turned to boutique private equity house Root Capital to fund its growth plans, raising £3.15m in return for a 35% stake in its business.
Testing times: CC’s Myers and Felsenstein talk partner exits and having probably ‘the best private equity team in the world’
It’s fair to say Clifford Chance’s (CC’s) traditionally esteemed private equity team has faced testing times in recent years, as evidenced by the ongoing recruitment of the Magic Circle firm’s quality lawyers by US outfits.
Dealwatch: Latham & Watkins, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith lead on £200m Gorkana sale
Latham & Watkins, Macfarlanes and Travers Smith have all landed key roles on the £200m sale of media database Gorkana to US rival Cision.
Guest post: Partners Behaving Badly – how not to handle client relations
The other day we were in a meeting with the head of strategy and marketing and the chair of an AmLaw 100 firm, and the chair mentioned an extremely promising introductory meeting he’d had a few days earlier with the General Counsel of a well-recognised company.
Redundancy watch: Parabis closes entire claimant offering in Croydon
Parabis Law’s claimant arm Cogent Law is making 24 redundancies in its Croydon base affecting Cogent Law office’s entire headcount, with redundancy reviews set to take place over the next five months.