The acquisitive DWF shows no signs of slowing down with the announcement today that it is to acquire niche insurance practice Watmores Solictors.
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Succession planning: Lloyds GC Whittaker steps down with deputy Cheetham picked as successor
Lloyds Banking Group group general counsel (GC) Andrew Whittaker (pictured) is stepping down from his role after two years and leaving the bank, where he will be succeeded by deputy GC Kate Cheetham in the top legal role.
Partner promotions: Olswang makes up five in an expanded all-female round
Olswang has continued the trend of firms improving their partnerships’ gender diversity by promoting a five-strong all-female round after promoting only men in the previous two years.
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Mounting departures: CC sees further German exits as capital markets partner leaves for SZA Schilling
Clifford Chance (CC) has this week seen another exit from its German operations with longstanding capital markets partner Markus Pfüller leaving for the Frankfurt office of local firm SZA Schilling Zutt & Anschutz.
Office closures: Paul Hastings picks up Fried Frank’s Asia head in Hong Kong
Rival firms have been keen to pick up talent following Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s exit from Hong Kong and Shanghai, with Paul Hastings being the latest firm to benefit from the closures.
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Guest post: The Conservative Party manifesto and human rights
The Conservative Party manifesto states that the terms of British EU membership will be renegotiated and an in/out referendum held. The Human Rights Act will be ‘scrapped’ and replaced by a British Bill of Rights. As for legal aid, the document merely informs us that they would continue to review our legal aid systems, so they can continue to promote access to justice in an efficient way.
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Guest post: Ed can enter No. 10 without Nicola’s keys
This election looks a close-run thing – very close run indeed. As I write, polls and forecasts suggest strongly that no party’s going to get near a majority. There’s a lot of talk about what could happen after May 7th. And an idea’s beginning to take hold that, in a hung Parliament, Ed Miliband would need some sort of advance promise of support from the Scottish Nationalists before the Queen would appoint him Prime Minister.
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Building the team: Withers boosts Connecticut office with 11-strong hire from US outfit
After undertaking a signifcant push into the Asia-Pacific market since the start of this year, Withers has now enhanced its corporate, litigation and IP law capabilities in the US with the hire of an 11-strong team, comprising five partners and six lawyers, to its Greenwich, Connecticut office.
Partner promotions: Wragge Lawrence Graham promotes six to partner
One year on from its merger, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) has promoted six new partners across the firm’s corporate, energy, dispute resolution and real estate sectors.
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Asia: Norton Rose Fulbright takes on five-strong Fried Frank disputes team in Hong Kong
Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has recruited a team of five lawyers from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson’s disputes practice in Hong Kong in the wake of the latter’s decision to pull out of Asia in January.
Partner promotions: CMS makes up 39 in international partnership round
The CMS international network has this year made up 39 lawyers to partner across Europe and the Middle East, including 10 in the UK and with women accounting for over 46% of total promotions.
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Partner promotions: DAC Beachcroft makes up 47% of 15-strong round in Bristol
UK-top 25 firm DAC Beachcroft has announced its partnership promotions for 2015, making up almost half of its intake in Bristol.
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In-house: Lloyds’ disputes head Simmons exits as Dixons Carphone appoints BT’s Paterson after merger
Lloyds Banking Group has seen the exit of disputes chief Philippa Simmons as the bank undergoes a consultation of the in-house legal team that could see up to 25 mid-level redundancies. Meanwhile, BT Group’s general counsel (GC) for consumer legal, governance, compliance & regulatory, Nigel Paterson, has taken on the GC role at Dixons Carphone less than a year after the latter’s merger.
Partner promotions: Taylor Wessing makes five up to partner in UK as Clydes global round sees 13 made up
As it shifts to an all equity structure, Taylor Wessing has this year promoted five lawyers to partner in its UK round, building on last year’s promotions which saw three made up in the City. Meanwhile, Clyde & Co has made up 13 to its partnership.
Targeting London: Ropes launches City commercial litigation practice with K&L Gates hire
Five years after setting up in London, Ropes & Gray has launched a City-based commercial litigation practice with the hire of K&L Gates disputes partner Thomas Ross.
Middle East: DLA Piper opens second office in Saudi Arabia with plans for a third
Following its Canada merger last month with Vancouver-based Davis, DLA Piper has embarked on further international expansion opening a second office in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah and plans for a third in the country.
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Revolving doors: CC loses another German partner as Ashurst hires from Reed Smith and HFW turns to Orrick
Last week saw K&L Gates become the latest firm to pick up a partner from Clifford Chance’s (CC) Germany practice, hiring an intellectual property (IP) partner into its Frankfurt office. Meanwhile, Ashurst turn to Reed smith to hire a global head for its pro bono practice, Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) boosted it Paris finance team with a high-profile higher from Orrick and in-house saw Publicis Groupe appoint a new general counsel (GC).
Expanding the board: BLP adds two to its board including first overseas member
With the leadership of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) set to change on 1 May, the firm’s new managing partner Lisa Mayhew will have an expanded board to work with after the partnership voted German managing partner Roland Fabian and asset finance head Russell Clifford on to the body.
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Comment: Being right in real life is much harder than being right intellectually
A long, long time ago when I used to report on fund management, one of the defining figures was Tony Dye, then the chief investment officer of Phillips & Drew, one of the City’s most storied asset management houses.
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Partner promotions: Weightmans makes an all-female round as BLM cuts its to six and Browne Jacobson’s partnership passes 100
This week saw Weightmans carry out its first all-female promotions round, making four women up to partner level, while BLM made up six in a reduced round from 2014 and Browne Jacobson promoted seven new partners taking its total partnership to 104.