A quartet law firms including Clifford Chance (CC), Travers Smith, Debevoise & Plimpton and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have all secured instructions on the £1.2bn sale of BCA (formerly British Car Auction) to publicly listed investment vehicle, Haversham Holdings.
Trainee retention: CMS Cameron McKenna keeps on 62% of spring 2015 cohort while Pinsents manages 79%
CMS Cameron McKenna revealed what it described as an ‘uncharacteristically low’ trainee retention rate today (27 March), with only 61.5% of its 26-strong intake staying with the firm while Pinsent Masons secured 15 trainees but from a smaller round of 19.
Selling part of the Queen’s bank: Ashurst and Slaughters advise on RBS sale of Coutts International
Ashurst and Slaughter and May have won lead roles advising on the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) sale of its overseas private banking and wealth management business to Union Bancaire Privée (UBP).
Media attention: Quinn Emanuel leads high-profile Clarkson mandate in potential BBC dispute
Motoring broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson has turned to litigation boutique Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s disputes partner Martin Davies as legal adviser after the BBC announced it would not be renewing the Top Gear presenter’s contract.
‘A significant cultural shift’: Taylor Wessing to move to all equity partnership
Taylor Wessing is set to convert into an all equity partnership on 1 May following a lengthy review and partnership vote held last week.
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Guest post: Behaving like an ass is a short term play – the merits of being decent
‘Taking advantage’ is a phrase I hear a lot when lawyers discuss their work. I think it is linked to the idea of lawyers as business people concerned with competitiveness and commerciality, but in any event it manifests itself in the restless and energetic pursuit of getting the best possible deal/outcome for each client on each occasion.
FOI: Blackstone duo secure Guardian’s Supreme Court win over ‘black spider memos’
Blackstone Chambers‘ Dinah Rose QC and Ben Jaffey, alongside One Brick Court’s Aidan Eardley have secured a Supreme Court victory regarding the publication of Prince Charles’ ‘black spider memos.’
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Targeting Paris: Mayer Brown boosts its French corporate team with Davis Polk’s Pérès
Mayer Brown has bolstered its European corporate team with the hire of two former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyers, including one from Davis Polk & Wardwell, to its corporate and securities practice in Paris.
Succeeding Paisner: Eisenberg to become senior partner at BLP when managing partner term ends
Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Neville Eisenberg, set to be replaced by employment head Lisa Mayhew as managing partner on 1 May, has been elected senior partner for a four-year term starting that same day.
OC, Mishcon, DLA Piper and CC major winners at 2015 Legal Business Awards
Osborne Clarke (OC), Mishcon de Reya and Clifford Chance (CC) were among the major winners at the 2015 Legal Business Awards, with DLA Piper global co-chair Sir Nigel Knowles handed a special one-off award for industry-defining achievement marking the 25th anniversary of Legal Business.
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Making partner: Addleshaw Goddard doubles its promotion round to 18
Addleshaw Goddard has doubled its number of partner promotions in its latest round, making up eighteen lawyers across six practice areas compared to eight in its March round last year.
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‘We’re gutted’: Law Society loses appeal over government’s controversial legal aid reforms
The Law Society has lost an appeal over controversial government reforms which will introduce a tendering process for 527 contracts to provide Duty Provider Work (DPW) across England and Wales.
Making partner: Slaughter and May promotes four in London
Slaughter and May has boosted its partnership ranks in the City with its latest promotions round resulting in four new partners being made up in London.
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Opening in London: Chicago’s Jenner & Block targets litigation as it sets up shop in the City
After starting up in Chicago 100 years ago, US litigation powerhouse Jenner & Block has confirmed it will open its first international office in London this spring.
‘I have to refuse maybe four out of five cases’: Dechert arbitrator exits to establish boutique
Dechert partner Pierre Mayer is set to depart the firm to establish his own boutique in Paris due to reasons of client conflict, a move which will see the disputes lawyer share office premises with former Jones Day arbitration counsel Sigvard Jarvin who broke away from his firm last year to set up his own offering.
Reassessments: Bar Standards Board asks QCA to look at re-accreditation for QCs
As the on-going dispute over its Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) rumbles on, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has asked that Queen’s Counsel Appointments (QCA) consider developing a system of re-accrediting criminal silks as the body seeks ways to ‘protect the public from poor standards of advocacy’.
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Demand and supply: Harbour more than doubles its litigation financing capacity with new £230m fund
A sign of the growing third party funding market, Harbour Litigation Funding has raised a significant £230m investment fund to bankroll disputes as it looks to capitalise on rising demand.
Revolving doors: Eversheds, Reed Smith and Gibson Dunn all make key hires while Stevens & Bolton boosts its construction practice
Both LB100 and Global 100 firms made senior appointments last week, bringing in both current and former team heads to bolster their offerings. Eversheds hired TLT’s head of financial regulation while Reed Smith took on DLA Piper’s Singapore head of restructuring and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ former US private funds co-head. Meanwhile, Stevens & Bolton hired Charles Russell Speechley partner Stephen Rockhill as it focused on its construction practice.
Guest post: Pricing Power… and how to convert it into profit
The growth of professionals in Law Land with the word ‘pricing’ in their title has been explosive over the past couple of years. It’s a trend we applaud loudly and fervently, so perhaps it’s worth a primer on how it’s done in the major leagues: When B2B companies with thousands of SKU’s (Stock Keeping Unit) and tens or even hundreds of thousands of individual prices engage in ‘pricing-excellence’ programs.
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Reshuffles: Norton Rose Fulbright finalises restructure as it reviews practice areas
Norton Rose Fulbright has carried out a reshuffle of its management positions including creating a new global business head and scrapping its deputy managing partner role as it moves forward with plans to revamp its tax practice’s and smaller departments’ strategies.