Kennedys has made two local partner hires in Miami in a move which will allow the firm to practice US law for the first time. US-qualified Neil Bayer and Dan Sanders will join Kennedys’ Miami office and will oversee the firm’s US advisory capability. The hires come as the firm aims to give ‘rise to new local growth opportunities and strengthen its London market capability’.
Freshfields top-paid member takes home £3.2m in 2015, 68% more than year before
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer‘s highest-paid LLP member took home 68% more last year, pocketing £3.2m at the end of the 2014/15 financial year, compared to £1.9m the previous year.
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Legal aid u-turn: Gove scraps two-tier contract regime
More than two years after the government announced a wave of cuts to legal aid contracts, followed by continued calls by solicitors for their abolition, today (28 January) the Lord Chancellor Michael Gove (pictured) has made a surprise decision to scrap the radical two-tier contract regime.
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King & Wood Mallesons opens Cambridge near-shoring office
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is to launch an office in Cambridge which will initially house a real estate team, as part of a cost-efficiency drive for clients.
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RBS plans ‘clean up’ and sets aside £2bn for PPI claims and US litigation
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has warned it will report its eighth successive full-year loss this year as it sets aside £2bn for past scandals including claims relating to mortgage-backed securities and payment protection insurance.
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‘Grave concerns’: Senior judges blast government over court fees
Three of the nation’s most senior civil judges appeared before the justice committee of the House of Commons yesterday and condemned government plans to raise court fees.
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Linklaters and HSF land roles as Aussie pension fund ups stake in £5bn King’s Cross redevelopment
As pension, sovereign and private equity funds rush to invest in prime London real estate, Linklaters has picked up a major client as Australia’s largest pension fund purchased a 42% stake in the £5bn redevelopment of King’s Cross.
Latham takes another private equity partner from the Magic Circle as Linklaters’ Traugott departs
US firm Latham & Watkins has hired Linklaters‘ German head of private equity Rainer Traugott as it continues its aggressive push into the European private equity market.
News UK recruits Kingsley Napley partner McBride as general counsel
Rupert Murdoch-owned media giant News UK has recruited high-profile Kingsley Napley partner Angus McBride as its general counsel (GC), just months after its decision to re-hire former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks as chief executive.
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Slater & Gordon plans closure of two UK offices
Months after the UK government announced unexpected personal injury reforms, Slater & Gordon is consulting on the closure of two its UK offices, a move which could affect 51 staff.
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US and Irish firms act on $16.5bn Tyco-Johnson Controls merger
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, A&L Goodbody and Arthur Cox have all landed roles advising on the $16.5bn merger of industrial company Johnson Controls and security provider Tyco – a deal that will lower the new company’s tax bill.
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Colt Group legal chief Saphra departs following structural review
Colt Group’s longstanding group general counsel Robin Saphra (pictured) has left the company following an internal structural review. He is succeeded by Caroline Griffin Pain, who becomes company secretary and legal counsel.
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Irwin Mitchell top earner pay falls as employee costs up 7%, accounts reveal
LB25 firm Irwin Mitchell has slashed the amount given to its highest paid earner by 30% from £1.22m to £849,000, despite a lift in profits, the firm’s accounts show.
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Revolving doors: Withers and Watson Farley make City hires as A&O boosts Frankfurt and New York practices
In a busy week for lateral hires, Withers and Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) have made appointments in the City while Allen & Overy (A&O) has boosted its German and US offices.
High Court cases against law firms down 47% in a year
The post-financial crisis wave of professional negligence suits against law firms appears to have passed, as RPC figures show a 47% drop in High Court cases against law firms last year.
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‘This is going to blow up’: tensions rise between the Law Society and the SRA as regulator seeks formal split
The ongoing dispute between the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has escalated after a row broke out over whether the regulator should formally split from the representative at Chancery Lane.
RSA group GC Walsh to depart as rising star Heiss appointed legal chief
Insurance giant RSA’s longstanding group general counsel and company secretary Derek Walsh (pictured) is to leave the company at the end of February after nearly six years, with Charlotte Heiss to succeed him in the new role of chief legal officer and company secretary.
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Addleshaws staff costs rise as firm ups partner rewards, accounts reveal
Addleshaw Goddard‘s staff costs rose 12% from £57,000 to £63,600 in the 2014/15 financial year, the firm’s filings at Companies House show, after it paid larger bonuses and salaries to its employees.
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International moves: Bonelli recruits A&O Italy senior capital markets partner while BLP makes double Dubai hire
Italian firm BonelliErede, the European best friend of Slaughter and May, has made a key hire with Allen & Overy‘s Italy senior partner, Massimiliano Danusso. Meanwhile, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has invested in its Dubai team with a double hire.
Macfarlanes sticks by management duo, reappointing Martin and Howard until 2020
In a conspicuously early move demonstrating confidence in its leadership, the partnership at Macfarlanes has re-appointed Charles Martin (pictured) and Julian Howard to the roles of senior partner and managing partner respectively for another three years.
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