The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed the names of the 136 firms which have been forced to close since 1 October having been unable to secure professional indemnity insurance (PII).
The list of firms, which the SRA said it has published in the interests of protecting consumers and third parties, includes Alastair J Brett, the London-based firm set up by the former legal director of The Times newspaper, who was recently suspended over the Nightjack case.
As the unconventional method of extracting shale gas increasingly becomes a phenomenon in the UK, Dentons has taken the lead on advising French oil and gas corporation Total on its 40% interest in two shale gas exploration licences in the UK- the first major oil company to invest in UK shale.
The energy giant confirmed it would invest $48.1m (£29.3m) in the search for shale gas in the Gainsborough Trough area in the East Midlands region covering an area of 240 sq km.
The Dentons team was led by energy partner Danielle Beggs and environment partner Sam Boileau, alongside its energy and planning team including senior associates John Stockdale and Roy Pinnock.
DLA Piper‘s Africa Group has expanded in north, southern and eastern Africa with the addition of three new member firms.
Algerian firm B L & Associés, Rubeya & Co Advocates of Burundi and Namibian firm Ellis Shilengudwa Inc joined the 4200-lawyer firm’s Africa Group as of 1 October 2013. The firm now has member firms in 14 countries in Africa, and is located in 30 countries around the world.
Two-partner B L & Associés is run by Algerian-based partner Fatima Zohar Bouchemla and Paris-based partner Mohamed Lanouar and is based in Algiers. The firm also comprises eight associates, all of whom are admitted to practice in either Algeria or France.
The expiry of Clyde & Co’s three year post-merger partner lock-in appeared to pass almost unnoticed last April but the top 20 firm has lost two London partners as its established US practice is this month hit with a 15-strong team walk out including three litigation partners.
London commercial partner Alan Meneghetti, who joined the firm five years ago as a legal director and became an aviation partner in 2010, left the firm on 31 December 2013 for Locke Lord’s corporate practice in London.
Firms have kick-started the year reporting high trainee retention rates with Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Ashurst retaining the vast majority of their newly qualified (NQ) trainees, although total intake numbers at the firms were noticeably lower than last time around.
BLP confirmed 89% of its spring 2014 qualifiers will remain at the firm, rising slightly from 86% of the autumn 2013 qualifiers, but maintaining its recovery from its March 2013 results when the firm offered positions to just 64% of trainees or 14 from a total of 22.
US firms Katten Muchin Rosenman and K&L Gates have strengthened their international corporate practices this month through lateral hires from rival Global 100 firms.
Hogan Lovells’ private equity partner Philip Watkins has quit the firm to join US firm’s Katten Muchin’s London office.
He joined Katten Muchin Rosenman at the beginning of the year, along with two associates who will join the Chicago-headquartered firm’s London base next month. Watkins joined legacy firm Hogan & Hartson’s City corporate practice in November 2008.
Top ten LB100 firm CMS Cameron McKenna has posted a revenue drop for its UK limited liability partnership (LLP) of 6.6% for the 2012/13 financial year alongside a 12.5% decrease in operating profit, accounts filed at Companies House showed yesterday (14 January).
Turnover fell to £212.6m from £227.6m in 2011/12 financial year while group operating profit slid to £47.7m from £54.5m in 2011/12.
The appetite shown by global elite firms to hire laterally at the start of the year has spread wider in the City, as Bird & Bird, Bond Dickinson, Simmons & Simmons and US firm Sedgwick have all been in action recently.
Bird & Bird secured the hire of partner Sven-Michael Werner from rival firm Taylor Wessing to its China corporate practice. Werner, who speaks Mandarin, has over 12 years’ experience practising Chinese law and will be based at the firm’s Shanghai office. He has a focus on M&A and foreign direct investment, particularly advising European clients investing into China.
Top-20 Global 100 firms Norton Rose Fulbright and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have made significant and experienced additions to their London offices today (15 January), from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells respectively.
Weil Gotshal has taken on Hogan Lovells partner Chris McLaughlin to join its banking and finance practice in London.
McLaughlin has extensive experience acting for banks and borrowers on the financing of cross-border private equity buyouts as well as European real estate acquisitions and restructurings.
Hogan Lovells has expanded its Latin America offering with the launch of its second office in Brazil, with the hire of former Clifford Chance partner Isabel Costa Carvalho.
Its new São Paulo office will operate as a foreign legal consultancy offering services to local and international companies and banks after the Brazilian Bar Association awarded the firm a license to practise in the region in July 2013.
Capital markets partner Costa Carvalho will lead the new team and focus on bolstering the firm’s Latin America-based equity capital markets, corporate and international debt capital markets practices as well as its New York, Washington and London based capital offering focused on Latin America.
