Nearly a year in planning, Reed Smith has opened its second German office with seven partners arriving from Mayer Brown; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Jones Day to launch the firm in Frankfurt.
Moving to Manchester: Freshfields signs lease on Arndale House and appoints centre director
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has appointed Anup Kollanethu as centre director for its combined legal and business services centre in Manchester having signed a lease for space in Arndale House.
Strike action: Network Rail turns to Eversheds for legal challenge over rail workers’ looming walkout
Eversheds has been instructed by Network Rail on its legal challenge to the TSSA union in an attempt to limit disruption should talks regarding a planned rail strike this bank holiday weekend fail.
CMA seeks permission to appeal after RPC-client’s victory in Eurotunnel case
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it will seek permission to appeal a decision by the Court of Appeal last Friday (15 May) which overturned a ban on Eurotunnel-owned and RPC-client MyFerryLink’s right to operate between Dover and Calais.
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Financial results 2014/15: Dentons UKMEA sees revenues rise by 6% as net profits climb 18%
Dentons UKMEA LLP is understood to have increased its revenues by 6% to £155m in the 2014/15 financial year, while net profit rose by 18% to £34m.
£70,000 NQ salary: Hogan Lovells matches Slaughter and May as legal salary race reaches new heights
Hogan Lovells has bumped up the salaries of its newly qualified lawyers by £5,000 to £70,000 in a move that will see it again match the salary on offer at Magic Circle firm Slaughter and May.
Financials 2014/15: Browne Jacobson posts second year of double digit growth with 17% rise in turnover
Browne Jacobson has, for the second year in a row, posted a rise in turnover of over 10% with the firm generating £58.9m in the 2014/15 financial year – up 17% from last year’s £50.2m
Harnessing ‘new technologies’: Dentons launches NextLaw Labs to boost innovation
Dentons has launched a collaborative venture, NextLaw Labs, focused on developing, deploying and investing in new technologies and processes for the legal profession in a bid to ‘drive innovation in legal services, more responsiveness and greater value’.
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Taking off: Luton airport appoints TFL’s Swati Paul as new general counsel
London Luton Airport has appointed TFL’s Swati Paul as its new general counsel, the first in-house appointment since Spanish airport operator Aena acquired the UK’s fifth biggest airport in 2013.
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Guest post: An EU referendum Bill – what would it entail?
It is reported that the government’s EU Referendum Bill will be published the day after the Queen’s Speech – see, for example, The Guardian 19 May. This Bill will not be the first Bill to seek a referendum but, this time, it is a government commitment and was a clear manifesto commitment.
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Financials 2014/15: PEP soars by 22% at BLP as turnover rises to £259m
The first top 20 UK firm to announce its 2014/15 financial performance, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has posted a 6% rise in turnover to £259m as its profit per equity partner (PEP) jumps 22% to £659,000.
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Asia: Sidley builds Singapore M&A team with White & Case’s Indonesia chief as KWM loses an arbitration partner
Sidley Austin has boosted both its M&A and private equity offering in Southeast Asia with the hire of White & Case partner and Indonesia chief Charlie Wilson into its Singapore office.
Guest post: What makes tax lawyers morally limited?
I find the psychology of professional ethics endlessly fascinating. Take this piece by Elaine Doyle, Jane Frecknall Hughes and Barbara Summers (2013) An Empirical Analysis of the Ethical Reasoning of Tax Practitioners, (access here), which I thank Iain Campbell for mentioning to me.
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Targeting the City: Fried Frank hires Hogan Lovells’ Brinkworth as head of finance
After having hired two private equity partners in recent months, US firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson has bolstered its finance capability with the hire of Hogan Lovells finance partner Stuart Brinkworth (picutred) to head its London finance offering.
Revolving doors: Cooley, Pannone, DWF and K&L Gates all bolster UK numbers
Last week saw a quartet of US and UK firms, namely Cooley, Pannone Corporate, DWF and K&L Gates, all make lateral hires in the areas of tax, regulatory, real estate, and finance.
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Staying put: A&O Brazil partner remains at the firm having been set for Paul Hastings
Banking partner Bruno Soares, who decided to leave Allen & Overy’s (A&O) Brazil offering to join US firm Paul Hastings and help establish its Sao Paulo office in March, has made the unusual step of reversing his decision.
Partner promotions: Travers Smith adds seven new partners in bumper round
Following two years of slim promotions, Travers Smith has promoted seven lawyers, over 10% of its existing partnership, to partner in a round that’s bigger than 2013 and 2014 combined.
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Emerging markets: White & Case sets up another Indonesia alliance
Moving on from its former association in Indonesia after it suffered several key exits, White & Case has forged a new alliance with local, Jakarta-based firm Witara Cakra Advocates.
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Dealwatch: Linklaters and CC act on New Look sale as South African billionaire Wiese continues UK high street buy-up
Less than 30 days after advising on the £1.3bn purchase of Virgin Active by South African billionaire Christo Wiese’s private equity vehicle Brait, Linklaters‘ rising star Alex Woodward has led on Brait’s £780m deal for a 90% stake in clothing retailer New Look.
Comment: Legal boutiques – unheralded, thriving and coming after your lunch
The rise of boutiques has been yet another development shaping the legal industry that no-one predicted. Conventional wisdom for years held that law firms should go global or specialise but that was largely in the context of mid-tier players becoming more tightly defined around a handful of profitable practice areas (which pretty much hasn’t happened either).
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