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WilmerHale review set to shut City branch to refocus on Mayfair arbitration team

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is set to close one of its two London offices, with its 10-lawyer transactional outpost in the City currently being reviewed amid expectations that the office will be wound down. The review is likely to result in the US law firm refocusing its London practice heavily around its arbitration team at its existing Mayfair office, according to two current partners.

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Legal Services Act to be reviewed as Gove says regulators are in danger of ‘falling over each other’s feet’

In an appearance in front of the Justice Select Committee this morning [15 July], Lord Chancellor Michael Gove (pictured) has confirmed plans to review the Legal Services Act 2007 as he pitched what he would like to achieve as Justice Secretary.

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‘We need to harness the best of our people to really drive profitability’: DLA Piper appoints its first UK managing partner from the regions

Birmingham-based Sandra Wallace (pictured) has been appointed DLA Piper’s next UK managing partner, the first time that the position has gone to a partner outside the City.

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O’Melveny hires new European corporate head from White & Case as it makes moves in burgeoning private bond market

With €31bn in debt having been issued through private placements (PP) in Europe in 2014, O’Melveny & Myers has made a strategic move in the sector by hiring White & Case PP specialist Andrew Weiler to heads up its European M&A and corporate finance practice. 

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UK to strengthen global grip on financial disputes with autumn launch of specialist banking court

Given that it has long been a part of the sales pitch for English courts that they have the specialist judges to handle complex commercial matters – and London’s status as one of the world’s leading finance centres – it’s strange that it has taken this long. But it has been confirmed this week that the UK is to create a financial court to handle major banking disputes at The Rolls Building in London.

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Taking the firm to the client – Simmons’ head argues that traditional rainmakers are gone

When I qualified (was it really 30 years ago?) I had this impression about how law firms worked. The partnership was made up of different people. There were the technical geniuses – the lawyers who were the equivalent of the rocket scientists at the investment banks. There were the managers who made things work, like meeting the deadlines. Then there were the rainmakers.

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