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‘Unprecedented in scale’: Travers, Slaughters and Hogan Lovells advise as Tata Steel separates UK pension scheme

Travers Smith, Slaughter and May and Hogan Lovells have all advised as Tata Steel today signed a long-awaited agreement to separate its business from the £15bn British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS), in what is the largest pensions scheme restructuring ever in the UK.

As a result of the separation, achieved through a regulated apportionment arrangement (RAA), Tata Steel will pay £550m to BSPS, which will also be given a 33% equity stake in the steel company. With the support of the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), a new BSPS will be created after an assessment period. Continue reading “‘Unprecedented in scale’: Travers, Slaughters and Hogan Lovells advise as Tata Steel separates UK pension scheme”

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Pinsents picks up key mandate on Carillion’s £1.3bn HS2 contracts

Railway Photo

Pinsent Masons has picked up the key advisory mandate as embattled British construction company Carillion was handed a lifeline last month thanks to the award of two contracts worth £1.3bn on the HighSpeed 2 (HS2) project.

Carillion is to build two sections of the UK’s second high-speed rail project from London to Birmingham along with its joint venture partners Kier Construction and France’s Eiffage Genie Civil, which will take at least five years to complete. Continue reading “Pinsents picks up key mandate on Carillion’s £1.3bn HS2 contracts”

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Troubled water: Hill Dickinson in talks to sell insurance business to Keoghs as revenue and profit dip again

Peter Jackson - Hill Dickinson

Insurance and shipping specialist Hill Dickinson is in talks with fellow LB100 firm Keoghs to sell off part of its insurance business group.

Both firms – each based in the North West – confirmed they had held ‘high-level, preliminary discussions’ on the potential transfer of £23m worth of business, including 16 partners and more than 400 other staff but excluding Hill Dickinson’s marine and clinical negligence work. Continue reading “Troubled water: Hill Dickinson in talks to sell insurance business to Keoghs as revenue and profit dip again”

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Revolving doors: Fieldfisher hires from Hogan Lovells as global players make international appointments

game of hoopla with lawyers

Fieldfisher has made a major addition to its London corporate team while DWF, Watson Farley & Williams, O’Melveny & Myers and Linklaters have all made key hires around the globe.

Arriving from Hogan Lovells, Fieldfisher has appointed Keith Woodhouse as a partner in its London office. Woodhouse has experience in advising private equity houses on investments, M&A, disposals and restructurings. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Fieldfisher hires from Hogan Lovells as global players make international appointments”

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Linklaters and Addleshaws among the runners on William Hill’s leaner UK panel

Pinsent Masons, DLA Piper, Ashurst and Bird & Bird have all missed out on William Hill’s latest UK adviser panel, with Linklaters and Addleshaw Goddard the only firms to retain their places on the FTSE 250 bookmaker’s slimmed-down roster.

Slaughter and May, Eversheds Sutherland and Wiggin each won new spots on the five-firm panel following a review. Firms were invited to pitch for places around Easter. Continue reading “Linklaters and Addleshaws among the runners on William Hill’s leaner UK panel”

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‘A stellar team’: Pinsents to open in Perth with Norton Rose Fulbright partners

Perth Nightime CityScape

Pinsent Masons is continuing its extensive international expansion of late with a new Australian office and the hire of four infrastructure and energy partners from Norton Rose Fulbright.

The firm’s new Perth base, to open in the autumn, will be its third Australian office after Sydney and Melbourne and its fifth international launch in the last 18 months. Continue reading “‘A stellar team’: Pinsents to open in Perth with Norton Rose Fulbright partners”

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Financials 2016/17: Trowers & Hamlins steadies ship with double-digit turnover rise

Top-50 UK firm Trowers & Hamlins has recorded increases in turnover and profit per equity partner (PEP) to recover from last year’s mixed financial results.

Revenue at the 400-lawyer firm rose 12% from £85.6m to £97m, while PEP also saw a marginal 1% increase from £310,000 to £312,000 for the 2016/17 financial year. The growth in PEP was underpinned by a 10% increase in net income, from £19.5m to £21.5m. However the firm’s equity spread remained largely flat, with top of equity at £450,000 and the bottom at £180,000. Continue reading “Financials 2016/17: Trowers & Hamlins steadies ship with double-digit turnover rise”

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‘We are seeing results’: Kennedys’ international growth continues with Melbourne launch

melbourne

Insurance specialist Kennedys is continuing to invest in its international operations by expanding into Melbourne through what is its seventh international office opening and eighth lateral hire this year.

The firm’s second Australian base will be led by Michael Kavanagh from local firm Lander & Rogers, where he was a partner. Continue reading “‘We are seeing results’: Kennedys’ international growth continues with Melbourne launch”

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‘Right to be voluntary’: Litigators respond to Jackson’s latest fixed costs proposals

City disputes partners have responded cautiously to proposals put forward by Lord Justice Jackson to extend the fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime to a number of different claims.

Lord Jackson had been reviewing whether or not FRC should be introduced to all civil claims with a value up to £250,000. But in the report – published 31 July – he recommended introducing a voluntary capped costs pilot scheme solely for High Court claims valued up to £250,000. Continue reading “‘Right to be voluntary’: Litigators respond to Jackson’s latest fixed costs proposals”

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‘Takes us to a new level’: Hogan Lovells picks up Freshfields investment funds veteran Baird in latest partner exit

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has seen the departure of a member of its corporate team with the exit of investment funds partner Jonathan Baird to Hogan Lovells.

He is the latest hire into Hogan Lovells’ investment funds practice, with the transatlantic firm bringing in New York-based Adam Tope from Greenberg Traurig in March. Continue reading “‘Takes us to a new level’: Hogan Lovells picks up Freshfields investment funds veteran Baird in latest partner exit”

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Paying its way: TheCityUK report says law and accounting firms contribute £15.5bn of UK taxes

Over 60,000 legal and accounting firms contributed £15.5bn worth of taxes in 2015/16, representing 2.5% of tax receipts in the UK, according to a new report by TheCityUK.

The legal and accounting sector employs just under 700,000 people across the UK – including over 300,000 in law, representing 2% of the total workforce. The average wage per employee at the study participants, which the report said ‘broadly represent the largest firms’ totalled £61,176, with each employee contributing around £22,463 to public finances. Continue reading “Paying its way: TheCityUK report says law and accounting firms contribute £15.5bn of UK taxes”

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‘Careful and diligent’: Reed Smith re-appoints global managing partner Thomas in uncontested election

Reed Smith has re-elected its global managing partner Alexander ‘Sandy’ Thomas for another three-year term following an uncontested election.

The partnership vote drew to a close on 9 June and the firm confirmed his election this month, as he formally started his four-year tenure. Thomas has been managing partner of the firm for four years. Continue reading “‘Careful and diligent’: Reed Smith re-appoints global managing partner Thomas in uncontested election”

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Sainsburys appoints eleven firms including Linklaters, Addleshaws, CMS and Dentons to new roster

UK supermarket and retailer Sainsbury’s Group has appointed eleven firms to its new legal panel, including Linklaters, Addleshaw Goddard, Dentonsand CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Oslwang.

The other firms on the roster are TLT, Cleaver Fulton Rankin, Lewis Silkin, Winckworth Sherwood, BLM, Mason Hayes Curran and Shepherd & Wedderburn. Continue reading “Sainsburys appoints eleven firms including Linklaters, Addleshaws, CMS and Dentons to new roster”

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Shorter trial scheme undergoes first full test as court allows BP appeal in $70m claim

The first case brought to trial under the London courts’ ongoing shorter trial pilot scheme has concluded on 27 July, when the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of BP in a $70m breach of warranty and misrepresentation dispute.

The High Court started the pilot scheme for shorter trials in September 2015, for cases in the commercial, technology and construction courts, the chancery division and the mercantile courts, all located in London’s Rolls Building.  Continue reading “Shorter trial scheme undergoes first full test as court allows BP appeal in $70m claim”

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Snap Inc names Munger, Tolles & Olson partner as new general counsel

Snap Inc has named Michael O’Sullivan as its new general counsel (GC), after former legal head Chris Handman stepped down from the role in July leaving an interim GC in place.

O’Sullivan joins the California-based Snap Inc after spending over 20 years at US firm Munger, Tolles & Olson. He joined the firm in 1996, and focused his practice on financial law, M&A law and securities law.  Continue reading “Snap Inc names Munger, Tolles & Olson partner as new general counsel”

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Eversheds Sutherland gains further momentum in Germany with fourth office in Düsseldorf

Eversheds Sutherland has expanded further in Germany by acquiring Düsseldorf-based firm Grooterhorst & Partners, giving the firm a fourth office in the country.

The office, which will launch today (1 August) with three partners, will initially focus on real estate and insurance with plans to become a full-service practice. The three partners, Johannes Grooterhorst, Marc Christian Schwencke and Ralf-Thomas Wittmann, will be joined by a team of 11 lawyers. Continue reading “Eversheds Sutherland gains further momentum in Germany with fourth office in Düsseldorf”

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Financials 2016/17: Bond Dickinson posts flat turnover as PEP drops 4%

Bond Dickinson has posted flat turnover for 2016/17 of £104m, while profit per equity partner (PEP) has slipped 4% from £275,000 to £265,000.

Meanwhile, profit per lawyer at the firm is up 2% to £38,000, albeit against a 7% fall in total lawyer headcount to 478. Equity partner numbers at the firm have increased by two to 68, explaining the fall in PEP. Continue reading “Financials 2016/17: Bond Dickinson posts flat turnover as PEP drops 4%”

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Quinn Emanuel breaks tradition as merger talks with DC disputes leader Williams & Connolly begin

US litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has entered into merger discussions with Washington DC disputes shop Williams & Connolly, Legal Business can reveal.

Negotiations between the two began in the past month. The tie-up would mark Quinn’s first full-scale merger with the aim of complementing its existing white-collar and product liability practices, as well as its general contentious coverage in the DC area. Continue reading “Quinn Emanuel breaks tradition as merger talks with DC disputes leader Williams & Connolly begin”

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Financials 2016/17: Baker McKenzie resilient in face of full year of global headwinds

Baker McKenzie has unveiled stable revenue and profits for the year end 30 June, the first global firm to unveil its financial performance covering a full 12 months after the UK referendum on exiting the EU and the US presidential election.

The firm increased its global revenues by 2% to $2.67bn. On a constant currency basis, gross income was up 5% on last year’s $2.65bn. Continue reading “Financials 2016/17: Baker McKenzie resilient in face of full year of global headwinds”