Former Stewarts Law pair to return to SDT after High Court upholds one finding of dishonesty

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Legal regulation Stewarts

Former Stewarts Law partner Andrew Shaw has failed to entirely clear his name in the High Court, which has ordered that the struck-off solicitor return to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) to argue over whether one finding of dishonesty against him means he should be re-struck off the solicitors Roll.

Litigator Shaw and associate Craig Turnbull were both struck off by the SDT in February last year, after a private application alleged they misled the court when securing a freezing injunction against businessman Geoffrey Logue.

The case dates back to April 2010, when Shaw obtained a freezing order against Logue for US company The Complete Retreats Liquidating Trust.

The SDT found that the pair’s failure to give full and frank disclosure that the application was funded by a property tycoon with whom Logue was in dispute was dishonest.

More in-fighting as Law Society contests SRA’s attempts to gain greater fining powers

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Legal regulation

Further cracks in The Law Society’s already strained relationship with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have emerged this week as the representative body prepares to contest its regulatory arm’s attempt to increase its fining powers over law firms.

In a consultation which ends next month, the SRA has invited views on its proposal to increase the current level of fining powers over City and regional law firms to as much as £100,000. However, the Law Society has said it has ‘concerns over the functioning of the enforcement team within the SRA’.

$100bn of M&A deals announced as Global 100 firms advise on Suntory, Time Warner and Amec bids

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Corporate Cleary Gottlieb Steen & HamiltonSidley AustinWachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Last year’s growth in confidence in the corporate sector together with fundraising activity among a number of large private equity houses has culminated in deals totaling almost $100bn being announced yesterday (13 January), with one of the largest being Japanese investment firm Suntory’s $16bn offer for Beam, throwing up heavyweight roles for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Sidley Austin.

In-house: RFU rejigs legal team as deputy head joins sports firm Couchmans

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In-house

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has reconfigured its in-house legal team recently, promoting in-house lawyer Angus Bujalski (pictured) to lead its legal team following the recent departure of deputy head of legal Polly Handford to become a partner at sports law firm Couchmans.

The RFU has now appointed former Slaughter and May lawyer Bujalski as head of legal, who will report directly to the organisation’s legal and governance director Karena Vleck. While Vleck has oversight of legal as well as other sports-related areas such as player discipline and child safeguarding, Bujalski will have specific responsibility for the legal function.

LLP latest: Penningtons and Addleshaws both see highest-paid member drawings fall during last financial year

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Financial results 2013 Addleshaw GoddardPenningtons Manches

Penningtons Manches is the latest top-100 UK firm to file its limited liability partnership (LLP) accounts for 2012/13, which in keeping with a host of leading City firms, reveal that its highest paid member took more than a £52,000 cut, taking home £286,642 compared with £338,759 in 2012.

The firm posted a turnover figure of £32.1m, down very slightly from £32.3m in 2012, with the firm’s profits more or less flat at £11.53m compared to £11.50m.

Long-term loans at the firm, which acquired Manches from administrators PwC in October 2013, increased from £3.7m to £7.7m.

Dentons hires high profile energy partner Charles July and Eversheds’ banking partner Michael Wainwright

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Strategic recruitment Dentons

Increased optimism within the business sector at the start of 2014 is being reflected in a flurry of lateral hires as high profile energy partner Charles July joins Dentons as a partner in the energy, infrastructure and project finance City practice.

July joins from Watson, Farley & Williams, where he was head of the firm’s projects, commodities and export finance group in London. He joined the firm as a partner in May 2010, before which he was at Magic Circle firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for 28 years, latterly heading the energy and infrastructure group for the Middle East and North Africa region. He also led the firm’s Abu Dhabi launch in 2008, and was former head of the firm’s Asia project finance practice as well as Singapore office head between 1992 and 1998.

Hogan Lovells and Olswang strengthen TMT practices with hire of team heads in Hong Kong and Germany

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Strategic recruitment CMS UKHogan Lovells

As Hong Kong becomes gateway to the world’s biggest trader in goods after China overtook the US for the first time in 2013, the region continues to see high profile lateral moves, most recently from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to Hogan Lovells, which has hired the Magic Circle firm’s regional head of intellectual property (IP), IT and technology media and telecoms (TMT), Mark Parsons.

In his new role, Parsons will focus on complex commercial transactions and regulatory matters in the TMT sector and is expected to join his new 2,527-lawyer firm at the end of January 2014.

LLP latest: Shoosmiths, Morgan Cole and MMS see significant drop in highest paid partner as Charles Russell’s takes home 64% more

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Salaries Blake MorganMaclay Murray & SpensShoosmiths

The latest round of LLP accounts for 2012/13 has revealed that Shoosmiths paid £1.5m to acquire Scottish firm Archibald Campbell & Harley, while Morgan Cole’s highest paid partner took home £116,000 less, Maclay Murray & Spens reduced their borrowing despite a tough year and Charles Russell’s highest paid equity partner took home £234,000 more.

On merging with Archibald Campbell in October 2012, Shoosmiths acquired £1.77m of net assets, £1.47m of which was paid as a cash consideration, the UK top 45 firm’s first-ever LLP accounts show. The remaining £300,000 was collected by the end of the financial year.

Dealwatch: HSF, Clifford Chance and Slaughters take the spotlight in Cineworld expansion

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Corporate Clifford ChanceHerbert Smith FreehillsSlaughter and May

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has landed a role advising Barclays, JP Morgan and Investec on Cineworld Group‘s £107m rights issue and £504m acquisition of Warsaw-listed Cinema City International, a deal announced yesterday (09 January) that would create a cinema chain with almost 2,000 screens across Europe and Israel. Corporate partners Mike Flockhart and Chris Haynes are leading the team, with US securities advice from Steve Thierbach.

Slaughter and May is advising Cineworld, with corporate partners Mark Zerdin and David Johnson taking the lead.

Asia-Pacific: Clifford Chance unveils new Indonesia association as K&L Gates goes big in Japan

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Asia Clifford ChanceK&L Gates

With only Asia showing any real growth in M&A work for law firms during 2013, it is unsurprising that major international players are focusing their expansion plans in the region. Clifford Chance today (10 January) announced a formal association with Indonesian firm Linda Widyati & Partners (LWP), while K&L Gates has bulked up its Tokyo office with the addition of real estate and disputes partners. Earlier in the week, Duane Morris announced a new office in Shanghai.

LWP is a boutique firm, established by Linda Widyati and Dezi Kirana who have over 20 years’ experience in the core areas of focus for Clifford Chance: corporate/M&A, banking and finance and capital markets.