Sponsored Q&A: Incorporating social value into projects – Lorraine Bellinger, head of legal project delivery at international law firm, Bird & Bird

Posted on |
Sponsored Q&A: Incorporating social value into projects – Lorraine Bellinger, head of legal project delivery at international law firm, Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird is an international law firm with over 30 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Africa working across multiple sectors and supporting organisations being changed by the digital world or those leading that change.

Lorraine Bellinger joined the firm in 2020 to build Bird & Bird’s legal project delivery function, drawing on her private practice and in-house experience. She started her law firm journey as a PA and made a career move into legal project management 15 years ago when her then employer identified a need for a different kind of business support. Continue reading “Sponsored Q&A: Incorporating social value into projects – Lorraine Bellinger, head of legal project delivery at international law firm, Bird & Bird”

‘It sits squarely in the SFO’s wheelhouse’: criminal investigation launched into Axiom Ince as regulators and ex-employees grapple with aftermath

Posted on |
‘It sits squarely in the SFO’s wheelhouse’: criminal investigation launched into Axiom Ince as regulators and ex-employees grapple with aftermath

A criminal investigation has been launched into Axiom Ince, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced last month. Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the investigation and searches have been carried out across nine sites.

More than 80 SFO investigators, alongside Metropolitan Police officers, went to locations across the South-East of England on the morning of 14 November to search for potential evidence and bring in individuals for questioning. Continue reading “‘It sits squarely in the SFO’s wheelhouse’: criminal investigation launched into Axiom Ince as regulators and ex-employees grapple with aftermath”

Banking and Finance perspectives: Dr Sandie Okoro

Posted on |
Banking and Finance perspectives: Dr Sandie Okoro

Why did you want to become a lawyer? 

I always wanted to. I wanted to fight injustice. It began when I watched Crown Court on TV – although I wanted to be the judge rather than any of the lawyers. So, my first inclination was after watching a TV programme, and thinking ‘I want to do that’.

Continue reading “Banking and Finance perspectives: Dr Sandie Okoro”

TLT, Latham and Compass Group among the big winners at 26th Legal Business Awards

Posted on |
TLT, Latham and Compass Group among the big winners at 26th Legal Business Awards

TLT, Latham & Watkins and Compass Group were among the major winners at the 2023 Legal Business Awards, which welcomed more than 800 guests to the Grosvenor House hotel on 19 September.

Hosted by actor, writer, and producer Sally Phillips (pictured, below), the evening saw TLT crowned Law Firm of the Year, with judges particularly impressed by its stellar performance over the past few years, with a strong financial performance in 2021/22 underpinned by key client wins. Continue reading “TLT, Latham and Compass Group among the big winners at 26th Legal Business Awards”

Life During Law: Sandra Paul

Posted on |
Life During Law: Sandra Paul

I head up our criminal defence and police investigations team as well as our sexual misconduct in the workplace practice. I am interested in people, and I guess I am a nosey person.

I decided to become a lawyer because I wanted to have my own voice. In my twenties, I was a team leader in a child protection social services team. I would have done an assessment, done the work, known the family, thought I had made good decisions, but then it would get reinterpreted a couple of times for me. The legal department would say ‘this is what you mean’, then the barrister would say ‘this is what the legal department have told me that you mean’. I thought: ‘Actually – maybe I can say what I mean.’ These people were doing a job that I knew was hard, but nowhere near as hard as turning up to these families’ homes and making decisions about their children. So, I decided to do the conversion and see what would happen. I didn’t know if it would be for me, as I am not the usual type of person that becomes a lawyer. Continue reading “Life During Law: Sandra Paul”

Go big or go home: Market reacts to Paul Weiss’ daring London play

Posted on |
Go big or go home: Market reacts to Paul Weiss’ daring London play

Grabbing headlines in recent weeks, Paul Weiss has pursued an English law offering at breakneck speed, hiring some of the City’s biggest hitters. Here LB canvasses the reactions of industry peers to the Wall Street giant’s bold play.

‘The firm was keen to do something for a while and spoke to a lot of people in the market. But it needed a big name to lead it,’ commented one source with knowledge of the matter. And it is fair to say that Paul Weiss’ hire of debt superstar Neel Sachdev from Kirkland & Ellis has arguably been the most groundbreaking move the City has seen since buyout star David Higgins left Freshfields for Kirkland in 2017. Continue reading “Go big or go home: Market reacts to Paul Weiss’ daring London play”

Partners vote yes on A&O Shearman – now they have to make it work

Posted on |
Partners vote yes on A&O Shearman – now they have to make it work

‘You’ve now got one more 64,000lb gorilla,’ said one former UK firm leader, in response to the news that the merger of Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling will proceed.

On 13 October, the firms announced the end of partnership voting on the combination, with more than 99% of votes cast at each firm in favour. The firms are due to combine as A&O Shearman from May 2024 at the latest, creating ‘the first fully integrated global elite law firm’, with nearly 4,000 lawyers across 48 offices in 29 countries. Continue reading “Partners vote yes on A&O Shearman – now they have to make it work”

‘A salutary lesson’: Axiom Ince closed by SRA following months of turmoil

Posted on |
‘A salutary lesson’: Axiom Ince closed by SRA following months of turmoil

Drawing a long-running saga to its inevitable conclusion, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced on 3 October that it had closed down Axiom Ince with immediate effect following its intervention to protect the interest of clients and former clients of the firm.

Regarding the intervention, the SRA said: ‘We will stop the firm from operating, take possession of all documents and papers held by the firm, and take possession of all money held by the firm (including clients’ money). We are not responsible towards employees or trade creditors of firms that we have intervened in.’ Continue reading “‘A salutary lesson’: Axiom Ince closed by SRA following months of turmoil”

Kirkland endures more losses as Magic Circle firms continue expansion in the US and Middle East

Posted on |
Kirkland endures more losses as Magic Circle firms continue expansion in the US and Middle East

September saw it finally confirmed that, as suspected, M&A lawyer Roger Johnson will join Paul Weiss’ new English law offering, leaving Kirkland after the firm’s management discovered that he was in discussions to take a team to a US rival firm. Johnson joins former Kirkland colleague Neel Sachdev who moved to Paul Weiss in August. Indeed, September was not the easiest month for Kirkland, which suffered further losses to McDermott in New York and London from its transactions and employment practices.

The rest of the London and international markets have also been hectic, picking up after the summer lull with notable lateral activity reported in corporate, energy and infrastructure, finance and employment in particular. Continue reading “Kirkland endures more losses as Magic Circle firms continue expansion in the US and Middle East”