Monday (10 November) saw the EU Council of Ministers formally adopt the European Commission’s Directive on antitrust damages, a move to standardise multiple aspects of competition litigation across the EU and one which City competition lawyers believe will generate an uptick in potential cases.
Media attention: Latham & Watkins hires six-partner team from O’Melveny & Myers
US firm Latham & Watkins continues its aggressive hiring strategy with the recruitment of a six-partner team from O’Melveny & Myers, including the firm’s entertainment, sports and media group head Joseph Calabrese and high profile London-based partner Libby Savill.
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Clifford Chance leads for Barclays in ongoing Forex investigation as regulators levy £2bn fine on five banks
Five banks have been collectively fined £2bn by UK and US regulators for failing to stop traders from trying to manipulate the foreign exchange market, in what constitutes the first settlement in a global investigation and the largest-ever imposed by the FCA.
Comment: Join our club – law firms’ obsession with the in crowd is beyond parody
As I reach my middle years I find much to admire and celebrate about the legal profession, and lawyers in general. This column is not going to be about any of that stuff. Instead, we turn to a facet of the typical lawyer’s character that does them no credit: the obsession with joining a crowd, or rather a club that the lawyer believes says something ego-stroking about them.
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Significant departures: BLP and Olswang heads of arbitration both leave for the bar
Nicholas Fletcher QC, who has led Berwin Leighton Paisner‘s international arbitration practice for the last five years, has resigned from the firm to join barristers’ chambers 4 New Square while Olswang arbitration chief Andrew Aglionby is also set to leave for the bar.
Dealwatch: Davis Polk and Linklaters act on UBM’s £565m rights issue
Corporate partner Simon Witty, who Davis Polk & Wardwell hired from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2012 to launch its English law practice, has been selected by FTSE 250 events company UBM to run a £565m rights issue to fund the purchase of trade show organiser Advanstar.
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‘A fundamental misunderstanding of DBAs’: Government rules out hybrid Damages Based Agreements
In what constitutes the latest controversial move over Damages-Based Agreements (DBAs) regulation, the Government has ruled out hybrid versions of the agreements after tasking the Civil Justice Council (CJC) with reviewing some ‘technical revisions’.
Management changes: DLA Piper overhauls board as Ince & Co picks new senior team
A mass reshuffle has taken place of DLA Piper’s executive managment team, with the firm’s Dutch head of corporate Barbara van Hussen and chief of practices and sectors Juan Picon being made joint managing directors of Europe and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Ince & Co has selected Hamburg-based partner Jan Heuvels to succeed James Wilson as international senior partner.
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Revolving Doors: Bakers hires in the UAE, while Eversheds, Bristows, and Stewarts Law grow in the City
London, last week, saw Bristows hire another Bird & Bird partner into its TMT and life sciences practice while Eversheds appointed a new head of its London tax practice and Stewarts Law launched a City tax litigation practice. In the Middle East, Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla hired Simmons & Simmons COO for the region.
A relief result – Turf war avoided as Palmer defeats Crean in HSF senior partner battle
London-based corporate partner James Palmer has triumphed over Sydney-based Mark Crean to become the next senior partner at Herbert Smith Freehills.
‘A very different role’: Q&A with HSF’s new senior partner James Palmer
James Palmer (Profile) talks to Legal Business about being elected the first senior partner at Herbert Smith Freehills since the merger and what he will bring to the role.
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Selling icons: Bakers and Taylor Wessing lead on Gherkin sale to Safra Group while Magic Circle duo act on Canary Wharf bid
Baker & McKenzie and Taylor Wessing have helped finalise the sale of London’s iconic Gherkin building to the Safra Group for over £700m, while Linklaters and Slaughter and May acted on the unsuccessful preliminary bid for Songbird Estates, the owner of Canary Wharf Group.
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Dealwatch: Lathams, Linklaters and HSF lead on $700m Dealogic sale
Lathams & Watkins, Linklaters and Herbert Smith Freehills have all won roles advising on The Carlyle Group and Euromoney Institutional Investor’s acquisition of Dealogic.
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A symbolic blow as Debevoise hires HSF’s Asia head as senior partner race down to Palmer vs Crean
Given the huge strategic weight being placed on the Asia network of Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), the jewel in the international crown of the legacy City firm, the latest senior resignation to hit HSF will go down poorly.
The Friday Edit: Glory days for HSF obsessives and Baker Mac to phase out last legacy of franchise pay
Somehow the week has flown by so it’s already time to welcome readers to The Friday Edit, our informal take on the notable legal events that happened since Monday. For subscriber content, click here for full access to Legal Business or email ‘[email protected]’ for more information.
‘Privilege is now seen as a fundamental human right’: British intelligence agencies face spying on lawyers allegations
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has heard that legal privileged documents between lawyers and their clients may have been targeted by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, a disclosure which is said to be of ‘grave concern to campaigners and lawyers alike’.
Cutting the roster: After major acquisitions, Cofely set to create first legal panel
Cofely, a subsidiary of French energy giant GDF Suez, is to establish its first legal panel in a bid to reduce legal fees and the number of firms it deals with.
Streamlining: Dentons loses second global real estate co-head this year, with Winckworth Sherwood bolstering its team
LB 100 firm Winckworth Sherwood has bolstered its real estate team with the hire of Dentons’ global co-head of real estate Andrew Bedford, a departure which comes just months after Dentons lost fellow global real estate co-head Eric Rosedale to US firm Greenberg Traurig.
Third party funding: Therium steps in to bankroll Lloyds group action
In what constitutes the latest major bailed-out bank facing a shareholder dispute, third party financier Therium Capital Management is understood to be bankrolling the high profile claim by shareholders against Lloyds with the cost of funding the case thought to be as high as £12m so far.
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