Mishcon de Reya has recruited heavyweight former director of public prosecutions (DPP) Sir Keir Starmer QC as a part-time consultant in its business crime unit.
Taylor Wessing launches US rep offices in Palo Alto and New York
Taylor Wessing has today (23 June) announced the opening of two representative offices in the US to facilitate access to its European network. Located in tech-focused Palo Alto and New York, both offices are set to open in September this year.
Guest post: Snake Hall – the games tax lawyers have played
I recently finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, a truly brilliant novel about the ascent of Thomas Cromwell to political and legal power in Tudor England. There is something of the intrigue and drama of that in Confidence Games: Lawyers, Accountants, and the Tax Shelter Industry by Tanina Rostain and Milton C. Regan. The book is a detailed investigation of a series of abusive tax shelters in the US between 1994 and 2004 whereby Rostain and Regan say, ‘law firms, accounting firms, and financial institutions involved in the shelter industry… perpetrated fraud not only on the government but also on their own clients.’
First Edwards Wildman City fallout since ‘revolt’ as Cooley one of three US firms circling
In many ways the only real surprise about the departure of Edwards Wildman senior London venture capital partner Shawn Atkinson to Orrick is the speed with which it has been announced, after Legal Business revealed on Tuesday (17 June) that the US top 100 firm is in talks with five London partners following a string of exits, with Cooley and two other US firms said to be circling.
Guest post: Good news for the SFO in Innospec – jury convicts former CEO and sales director
Dennis Kerrison and Miltiades Papachristos were found guilty [on Wednesday 18 June] at Southwark Crown Court of conspiracy to commit corruption. In a nutshell, that they gave or agreed to give corrupt payments to public officials and other agents of the Government of Indonesia as inducements to secure, or as rewards for having secured, contracts from the Government of Indonesia for the supply of fuel manufactured by Innospec.
Law Society back in black as intervention costs double and Hudson receives 19% pay rise
The Law Society’s latest financial accounts show that the cost of dealing with an increasing number of firms in financial difficulty doubled from £3m to £6m, in a year that saw the body enter the black for the first time since 2010 and soon-to-retire Law Society chief executive Des Hudson receive a pay rise of nearly 20%.
Clifford Chance’s Australia office leads on Shell’s $5.7bn Woodside disposal
Clifford Chance’s (CC’s) Sydney office has been given a vote of confidence in taking the lead on Royal Dutch Shell’s $5.7bn sale of a majority stake in Woodside Petroleum as the energy major moves to develop its own gas assets in Australia.
Leadership overhaul for Clifford Chance as partners prepare to vote on Manco cut
Clifford Chance (CC) is expected to vote next month on cutting down its 16-strong management committee as part of newly-appointed global managing partner Matthew Layton’s election manifesto.
Ashurst remuneration review sees partner profit points allocated up front
Ashurst is to adopt merger partner Blake Dawson’s system of allocating partner profit points at the start of the financial year, potentially ending criticism that its original appraisal system lacks transparency.
Guest post: Is sustainability improving corporate and professional ethics?
The ethical dimensions of in-house practice are a significant source of academic and practical interest, as the recent investigation of GM suggests. I have the pleasure of doing two projects where I engage with in-house lawyers on ethical questions: one on the ethics of legal practice and the other on legal risk. So it was with great interest that I read Bond Dickinson report Beyond Responsibility: The emerging role of legal counsel in sustainable business.