Maaike de Bie has taken the general counsel (GC) role at Royal Mail, following seven months as interim GC after Neil Harnby’s departure last September. Continue reading “In the post: De Bie takes top role at Royal Mail after seven months as interim GC”
‘An important victory’: Travers Smith gets another Tchenguiz claim dismissed
Travers Smith has secured a win against British entrepreneur Vincent Tchenguiz, as a Commercial Court judge dismissed a £2.2bn claim against Jóhannes Rúnar Jóhannsson, who had helped wind up Icelandic bank Kaupthing.
Continue reading “‘An important victory’: Travers Smith gets another Tchenguiz claim dismissed”
Comment: GCs have scraped a seat at the table but too many are wasting the opportunity
Barclays, Volkswagen and Tesco are three massive businesses in three significant, sophisticated and important business sectors. Each one of these successful and long-lived businesses has access to significant in-house legal expertise, each is capable of paying for the best legal advice money can buy, each has invested heavily in risk management. And all of them are now paying the price for poor decisions made by some senior people behaving badly, very badly.
‘A global perspective’: Australia partner Jenkins next to head Ashurst
After four months of searching for the firm’s next global managing partner, Ashurst has turned to its Australian side and appointed Sydney-based banking partner and global finance co-head Paul Jenkins as the second man in charge.
Continue reading “‘A global perspective’: Australia partner Jenkins next to head Ashurst”
Clyde & Co makes up 16 partners in half-female promotion round
Clyde & Co has announced a record number of promotions, adding 16 new partners, half of whom are women.
Continue reading “Clyde & Co makes up 16 partners in half-female promotion round”
Guest post: How to write like a lawyer
Writing properly florid legal text takes years of practice. No-one enjoys reading it: not even the curmudgeon who has taken the trouble to write it. Construing a contract should not be a bodily pleasure but an act of ascetic sufferance, the reward for which comes in the hereafter*. Lawyers do this so you don’t have to.
Shell slashes global panel from 11 to six post-BG merger
Shell has slashed its global panel from 11 firms to just six, with Eversheds and Reed Smith newcomers to the panel. Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Baker & McKenzie and Norton Rose Fulbright have been reappointed.
Continue reading “Shell slashes global panel from 11 to six post-BG merger”
Comment: Why one-stop shopping isn’t doing what it was supposed to
Sometimes in business what you correctly forecast can prove as problematic as what you get wrong. Because even when you manage the considerable feat of identifying what will happen in the world you are left with problems of unintended consequences.
Continue reading “Comment: Why one-stop shopping isn’t doing what it was supposed to”
Clifford Chance rebuilds competition team with plum hire from the CMA
Just one week after losing star competition partner Alastair Mordaunt to Magic Circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance has hired the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) director of mergers Nelson Jung as a City partner.
Continue reading “Clifford Chance rebuilds competition team with plum hire from the CMA”
KWM real estate duo land at Ashurst following restructure
With 24 partners on the market following King & Wood Mallesons‘ (KWM) decision to axe 15% of its European and Middle Eastern practice, Ashurst has picked up real estate partners Darren Rogers and Patrick Williams.
Continue reading “KWM real estate duo land at Ashurst following restructure”
New Treasury report claims lawyers will be worse off as result of Brexit
A new report issued by the Treasury has claimed lawyers and other professional services will be worse off if Britain leaves the European Union (EU) because of a reduction in access to the single market.
Continue reading “New Treasury report claims lawyers will be worse off as result of Brexit”
Weightmans and DAC Beachcroft reappointed as North West local authorities finalise £10m panel
DAC Beachcroft, Hill Dickinson, Weightmans, and Geldards have been appointed as partners on the North West Legal Consortium’s £10m legal panel, positioning them to work closely with local authorities associated with over 40 councils in the North West of England.
‘The ideal platform’: Stevens & Bolton shows award-winning credentials with senior CC partner hire
Legal Business‘ National/Regional Firm of the Year, Stevens & Bolton, has underlined its ability to offer City levels of expertise with the hire of David Steinberg, joint leader of Clifford Chance (CC)’s insolvency and restructuring group in London.
Continue reading “‘The ideal platform’: Stevens & Bolton shows award-winning credentials with senior CC partner hire”
DAC takes advantage of market liberalisation to enter JV in Malaysia
DAC Beachcroft is the latest firm to take advantage of market liberalisation in Asia, applying for a joint venture (JV) licence with Malaysian association firm Gan Partnership.
Continue reading “DAC takes advantage of market liberalisation to enter JV in Malaysia”
Linklaters ramps up City promotions as 24 make partner
Magic Circle firm Linklaters has made up 10 partners from its Silk Street headquarters amid a 24-strong round.
Continue reading “Linklaters ramps up City promotions as 24 make partner”
Revolving doors: Pinsent Masons makes board appointments as BLP and Mayer Brown make City hires
In a busy week for City hires, Pinsent Masons, BLP and Mayer Brown have made key appointments, as DWF, Irwin Mitchell and Burness Paull all added to their benches around the regions.
Trainee retention: Pinsent Masons posts ‘disappointing’ 50% rate as Norton Rose, Ashurst release figures
In the latest run of trainee retention rate releases, Pinsent Masons has recorded a ‘disappointing’ rate of 50% of its spring qualifiers, with just five of its 10-strong cohort accepting offers within the firm. Elsewhere, Norton Rose Fulbirght has kept on 96% of its 23-strong cohort as Ashurst retained 79%.
Guest post: A new report into HMRC’s investigation of tax fraud by the wealthy
Overnight the Public Accounts Committee published a timely report on ‘Tackling Tax Fraud’. It’s fairly short and you can read it here.
Prospectively the greatest point of interest in the report is when it addresses the ‘perception that HMRC does not tackle tax fraud by the wealthy.’
Continue reading “Guest post: A new report into HMRC’s investigation of tax fraud by the wealthy”
Q&A: RBS general counsel Collins on external advisers, technology and the stress of investigations
Set to take on the top legal role at Santander UK later this year, The Royal Bank of Scotland’s outgoing general counsel (GC) John Collins (pictured) talks to Sarah Downey about his career and the growing recognition of in-house lawyers.
Moving in-house: Pinsents Issacs seconded to Barclays litigation and investigations team
Pinsent Masons head of banking and finance litigation Michael Issacs, has been seconded to Barclays’ litigation and investigations team, led by Stephanie Pagni. The move comes as the bank is undergoing a panel view.