News in brief – October 2014

LORD CHANCELLOR ACTED ‘UNLAWFULLY’ IN LEGAL AID CONSULTATION

Kingsley Napley and 11 KBW last month acted for the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association and the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association in their successful challenge against the Lord Chancellor’s failure to disclose the contents of two reports during the legal aid reforms consultation process. The Treasury Solicitor instructed Blackstone Chambers’ James Eadie QC and Fraser Campbell, and 4 New Square’s Richard O’Brien on the case.

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Life During Law: Jeremy Hoyland

I always wanted to be an architect. Unfortunately I’m very messy and that’s a bad combination. Building useful things, such as bridges and roads, would be a great job.

My father was a history teacher and my favourite subject was history, but I knew I was never going to be a history teacher as I could see what it was like for him. I did law to keep my options open and was offered a job by Simmons, which felt like a phenomenally well-paid job. It wasn’t my life plan.

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Revolving Doors: Pillsbury and K&L Gates expand international corporate and finance practices, while Pinsents and TLT focus on UK

Outside the UK, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and K&L Gates have expanded their corporate and finance practices respectively, while in the City, Pinsent Masons boosts its energy team while TLT grows corporate.

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Guest post: Full of sound and fury on human rights – the Conservative’s British Bill of Rights

The Conservative plan for a ‘British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities’ is finally being made clear today. The tone of the proposals is harsh and uncompromising, and politically calculated to be. Lawyers will be shocked, and yes, some of their clients will be worse off. Tory Eurosceptics and tabloids will be jubilant, and potential UKIP voters impressed.

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Lateral hiring in the Caribbean and the Channel Islands

Philip Jennings of JLegal discusses these key jurisdictions and the opportunities (and challenges) of moving offshore.

The first thing to state is that the sub-heading above defines the importance of Cayman, Bermuda, BVI, Jersey and Guernsey. These are key jurisdictions in the global legal market and the original locations for the major offshore law firms which now have offices in myriad other locations, including in Asia and the Middle East. They are still where those firms have most of their lawyers and where most of their work originates from. The transactional and contentious work carried out under, and sometimes because of,  the laws and regulations of these countries is always high value and cross-border, involving the Magic  and Silver Circle firms on a regular basis. Sometimes the premier City or US firms will instruct the offshore firms on part of a deal or case but also some of the most prestigious clients directly instruct the offshore firms, including global banks and  financial institutions, ultra high-net worth individuals, trust companies and funds.  

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‘We can minimise the gap between business advisers and legal counsel’: EY admits Singapore boutique into network

As Big Four accountancy giant EY continues to grow its legal services offering, it has today (2 October) announced it has brought Singaporean boutique firm PK Wong & Associates into its global network as an independent member.

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An attractive proposition

 MARKET VIEW – ARBITRATION 

Manfred Heider, secretary general of VIAC, talks to Zeiler. Partners’ Gerold Zeiler about how recent changes to the institution’s rules will maintain its position as a key location for European disputes

Gerold Zeiler, zeiler.partners: With a growing number of arbitral institutions, why should a party use your institution?

Manfred Heider, Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC): The VIAC is one of Europe’s leading arbitral institutions and serves as a focal point for the settlement of commercial disputes in the regional and international community. VIAC was founded in 1975 as a permanent arbitral institution of the Austrian federal economic chamber and has since then enjoyed a steadily increasing caseload from a diverse range of parties spanning Europe, the Americas and Asia. Situated in a neutral country in the heart of Europe, VIAC offers its services for the settlement of international disputes. The arbitral proceedings are individually designed according to the parties’ requirements and meet the highest quality criteria.

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