Return of the black dog – Hard times return for Cyprus’ legal community

black dog howling at grungey Cyprus flag

Wind back 12 months and the mood from the Cypriot legal community was undeniably improving. The island was meeting the terms of its €10bn bailout from Europe, following near economic collapse in 2013; the discovery of gas reserves offshore looked particularly favourable; and even the Turkish and Cypriot halves of the country had begun reviving stalled peace talks with the aim of once and for all reuniting the island.

Once again, though less happily this time, what a difference a year makes. Twenty four months on from the EU-imposed haircut, a feeling of pessimism has returned to Cyprus – certainly among its legal elite.

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No judicial experience required: Judiciary rolls out diversity initiative for deputy High Court judge roles

In a move to boost diversity within judicial ranks, the judiciary has begun piloting a new initiative to allow candidates from ‘non-traditional backgrounds’ to apply for positions as deputy High Court judges without gaining judicial experience first.

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Seeking £3.4bn in damages: Clifford Chance and Travers Smith lead on HP High Court contest with Autonomy founders

Clifford Chance and Travers Smith have taken lead roles advising on the £3.4bn dispute between Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Autonomy founder Michael Lynch and its former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain regarding allegations of fraudulent accounting.

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Partner promotions: Trowers promotes nine as Debevoise makes up third of six-strong round in the City

Continuing the trend of bumper partner promotions by law firms this year, Trowers & Hamlins has made up more than double the number of lawyers it did in 2014 with nine joining the partnership, while Debevoise & Plimpton, which has missed London out in recent years, made up a third of its round in the City.

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Guest post: Parliament dissolved – the fight for power at Westminster commences

On 30th March, Parliament was dissolved. The coalition government remains in place pending the outcome of the General Election on 7th May and it may remain in place for some time beyond the election (see later). At present, the opinion polls suggest that no political party will gain an overall majority over all other parties in the House of Commons.

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International hires: A&O makes first lateral in South Africa as Freshfields bulks up in Hong Kong with Links partner

Allen & Overy (A&O) has bolstered its project finance offering in its sub-Saharan practice with its first lateral partner hire in South Africa, turning to Linklater-ally firm Webber Wentzel. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also turned to Linklaters in building its Hong Kong office with finance and energy partner Thomas Ng.

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