City law firms are supporting an investigation into the future of the UK’s position in the Unitary Patent Court (UPC) post-Brexit with Simmons & Simmons instructing Brick Court on the matter.
Continue reading “Simmons instructs Brick Court to advise on future of EU patent court”
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance and have all won places advising on Phoenix Group Holdings’ proposed £935m acquisition of life insurance company Abbey Life from Deutsche Bank.
Junior doctors have suffered a major blow after the High Court yesterday (28 September) rejected a judicial review challenging the legality of a controversial new contract, handing a win to health secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Continue reading “Dismissed: Junior doctors lose High Court challenge to new contracts”
Clyde & Co senior partner James Burns is to step down as senior partner to take on a new board-level role at the firm, becoming head of the Americas on 1 November.
Jones Day has hired Herbert Smith Freehills’ Middle East finance head Nadim Khan, who joined the firm to launch its Dubai office in 2007.
Olswang has suffered a double exit with its co-head of life sciences departing the firm in favour of Clifford Chance, while Bond Dickinson has appointed another partner from the tech firm as its head of funds.
Continue reading “Exits stack up as Olswang loses partners to Clifford Chance and Bond Dickinson”
Brick Court Chambers‘ Mark Howard QC has been appointed to co-head the set with Helen Davies QC, as incumbent Jonathan Hirst QC prepares to step down.
Continue reading “Top silk Howard QC to co-lead Brick Court as Hirst QC steps down”
Banking partner Nigel Ward is to remain at Ashurst after it was announced earlier this month he was to make a move to Paul Hastings.
Continue reading “Stay or go? Heavyweight Ward abandons Paul Hastings move to remain at Ashurst”
Baker & McKenzie has hired experienced KPMG tax partner Steve Labrum to strengthen its City transfer pricing team.
Covington & Burling has landed a heavyweight in-house veteran to boost its London project finance offering with the arrival of BG Group’s former general counsel, Graham Vinter, to chair and supervise the expansion of the practice.
Burges Salmon has become one of the first law firms to hire legal apprentices under the Government’s new Trailblazers Apprenticeship in Law initiative, taking on five apprentices who start today (26 September).
In a rare defection from Macfarlanes, financial services head David Berman is set to join Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
With corporate counsel consistently burdened by onerous cost constraints levied by their executive, the pressure to deliver efficiencies in-house may prove greater than ever. Newly-released data shows FTSE 100 companies have set aside £31.3bn in the last year for legal provisions, a rise of 22% from £26.5bn the year before.
Continue reading “Preparing for the worst: legal costs spike as FTSE 100 sets aside £31bn”
Although last week saw several partner departures from a select few LB 100 players, namely Ashurst and Simmons & Simmons, a quartet of firms including White & Case, Winston & Strawn, Fieldfisher and Bond Dickinson added to their benches.
Clifford Chance (CC) is to cut down its UK trainee intake for 2018 by 20%, reducing numbers from around 100 trainees each year to 80.
Continue reading “Reducing the ranks: CC to cut trainee intake by a fifth by 2018”
Bond Dickinson is the latest firm to postpone its salary reviews until November, blaming the Brexit vote for hitting activity levels.
Continue reading “Bond Dickinson latest to blame Brexit as firm implements pay freeze”
Allen & Overy (A&O) has taken its third and fourth IP partner from Simmons & Simmons this year, as it strengthens its City IP practice.
Continue reading “Allen & Overy takes another two from Simmons in sustained IP push”
Outgoing Linklaters senior partner Robert Elliott will stay on as a consultant at the firm when his term finishes at the end of the month, with a focus on the firm’s Asia offices.
The debate amongst the profession over ever-increasing court fees continues to prove contentious, with Lord Justice Jackson being the latest to suggest the costs of pursuing civil cases is emerging as a real source of concern.
Ashurst has lost another office head with its long term Brussels managing partner leaving the firm in favour of Simmons & Simmons, along with one counsel.
Continue reading “Ashurst loses another outpost leader with Brussels duo off to Simmons”
