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‘I could walk away but I don’t want to’: Mansfield QC explains launch of virtual chambers following Tooks closure

The recent dissolution of Tooks Chambers was widely regarded as a sign of the times, as legal aid cuts coupled with a turbulent economy have hit publicly funded sets at the Bar harder than most. Now, however, former chief Michael Mansfield QC has embarked on plans to reinvent a low-cost, virtual version of the civil liberties set.

While Tooks closed its doors in Farringdon Street last Friday (11 Oct), 15 of the 55-strong set are expected to join Mansfield Chambers, as it will be known. Although the official launch is expected to take place in February next year, the new set began operating out of serviced offices at 5 Chancery Lane on Monday (14 Oct).
Continue reading “‘I could walk away but I don’t want to’: Mansfield QC explains launch of virtual chambers following Tooks closure”

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In-house: A&O, Ashurst and Eversheds on Morrisons first-ever legal panel

One of the UK’s largest supermarket chains, Morrisons, has revealed its first-ever legal panel, with Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, DAC Beachcroft and Eversheds are among the 15 firms selected, which was overseen by the company’s recently appointed general counsel Mark Amsden.

40 firms made the long list, which was whittled down to a shortlist of 22. Amsden divided the panel into six categories: employment, property, personal injury, licensing and regulatory as well as one panel covering ‘everything else’ – corporate, commercial, litigation, pensions and intellectual property. One more panel covers Scotland, with DWF and MacRoberts selected.

Continue reading “In-house: A&O, Ashurst and Eversheds on Morrisons first-ever legal panel”

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Bind and drive: Freshfields’ Tim Jones to join England Rugby 2015 as GC

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner and former City head Tim Jones has been hired as general counsel to England Rugby 2015 ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Established by the Rugby Football Union, whose current legal and governance director is Karena Vleck, England Rugby 2015 will employ the corporate heavyweight three days a week, beginning on 1 November. Jones, however, will also continue to work on a part-time basis for the Magic Circle firm, and carry on with client matters.

Continue reading “Bind and drive: Freshfields’ Tim Jones to join England Rugby 2015 as GC”

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Comment: The social contract – what is the law firm but the people?

The market for legal services will never be the same again. Mergers, alternative business structures, multi-disciplinary practices, law firm failures, onshoring, offshoring and the continual advance of technology all signpost change, and will continue to drive change in the future. But as we all jostle for market position and attempt to make sense of this ongoing maelstrom, how much thought is being given to the lifeblood of the profession: the lawyers of tomorrow?

Continue reading “Comment: The social contract – what is the law firm but the people?”

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Linklaters private equity ambitions dealt a blow by departure of Bagshaw and Youle

Linklaters‘ now decade-long effort to carve a credible position in the private equity market has been dealt a serious blow as co-heads Ian Bagshaw (pictured) and Richard Youle leave to join White & Case.

The high profile pair, long-term friends having started their careers together at Eversheds, had to build the Magic Circle firm’s private equity practice almost from scratch after the departure of Graham White and Raymond McKeeve in 2007, although it has been an enduring irony that their own reputations in private equity exceed that of the firm. Continue reading “Linklaters private equity ambitions dealt a blow by departure of Bagshaw and Youle”

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The beautiful game: Cleary advises Inter Milan on sale of 70% stake to Indonesian tycoons

One of Italy’s most successful football teams, Inter Milan, has turned to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton as it becomes the latest European football club to be taken over by foreign investors.

The club has sold a 70% stake to International Sports Capital (ISC), which is indirectly owned by Indonesian billionaire Erick Thohir and prominent Indonesian investors Rosan Roeslani and Handy Soetedjo. Continue reading “The beautiful game: Cleary advises Inter Milan on sale of 70% stake to Indonesian tycoons”

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Paris walk out: Gide hires nine partner team from Morgan Lewis

The highly fluid Paris market has seen nine partners and ten associates walk out of Morgan Lewis & Bockius’ regional office to join Gide Loyrette Nouel, leaving the US firm with just three local partners.

Senior exits include Paris managing partner Anne Tolila and partner Jean Leygonie, who both left De Pardieu Brocas Maffei & Leygonie to launch Morgan Lewis’ Paris office in 2004.

Tax partner Christian Nouel, who only joined Morgan Lewis in September last year from Paris-based STC, having previously headed Latham & Watkins Paris tax practice, is among those leaving the firm.

Continue reading “Paris walk out: Gide hires nine partner team from Morgan Lewis”

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Caught in controversy: A&L Goodbody jettisons Irish lottery clients after conflict arises

A&L Goodbody has received unwelcome national press and the ire of a former client after declaring a conflict of interest in its dealings with the high profile Irish lottery licence competition.

The Irish Times reported at the beginning of October that the leading Dublin-headquartered firm had been advising the bidding consortium led by UK operator Camelot and An Post, at the same time as advising charity group Rehab on a possible legal challenge to the national lottery, which may have serious consequences for the operator. Continue reading “Caught in controversy: A&L Goodbody jettisons Irish lottery clients after conflict arises”

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It’s a wrap – Penningtons acquires Manches after PWC brokers sale of business and assets

In what was initially billed as merger talks but has turned out to be far more of a takeover Penningtons yesterday acquired the trading operations of Manches in a deal brokered by PriceWaterhouseCoopers as administrators.

Under the business transfer agreement, 265 Manches employees, including 46 partners will now move to Penningtons. However, in a reflection of the fact that, despite their contrasting recent profitability the firms are close in lawyer size and revenues, the combined firm will be called Penningtons Manches. Continue reading “It’s a wrap – Penningtons acquires Manches after PWC brokers sale of business and assets”

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Training for tomorrow – SRA outlines outcomes-focused approach to legal education

‘While the current education and training system has served us well, technology, changing consumer demands and the regulatory system itself are shaping the ways in which legal services are delivered. Legal education and training must adapt to reflect these wider changes.’

So says the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in today’s (15 October) ‘Training for Tomorrow’ report, which proposes moving to an outcomes-focused approach to legal education, with less input from the regulators on how to achieve competence and ongoing training. Continue reading “Training for tomorrow – SRA outlines outcomes-focused approach to legal education”

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Coming of age: Mishcon’s inaugural management elections see Gold voted in

If formal management elections are a sign of a firm coming of age then Mishcon de Reya, the second fastest growing firm in terms or organic revenue over the past five years, is all grown up, with Kevin Gold and two department heads formally elected for a further term.

The 254-lawyer firm has given its vote of confidence to incumbent head of corporate Nick Davis and disputes leader Kas Nouroozi, although, given that neither Gold nor the department heads faced any challengers, the inaugural election appointments have more of the symbolic than the victorious about them. Continue reading “Coming of age: Mishcon’s inaugural management elections see Gold voted in”

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Ashurst says no to Geffen for chairman in surprise election result

A popular long term board member with the social skills needed to pull together a newly-merged transcontinental firm, Ashurst’s announcement today (16 October) that outside runner, dispute resolution partner Ben Tidswell has been elected as chairman, is nonetheless a shock defeat for incumbent firm head Charlie Geffen.

After a simple ‘one partner, one vote’ election, the emergence of Ashurst Australia’s competition and consumer protection partner Peter Armitage as a contender for the top job had turned the election into a three horse race.

However, Geffen, whose current senior partner title was subsumed by the new chairman role after newly-merged Ashurst Australia revised its corporate strategy in July, was widely expected to be re-elected. Continue reading “Ashurst says no to Geffen for chairman in surprise election result”

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Vodafone develops Indian LPO as former Linklaters lawyer takes over as UK external affairs director

As Vodafone replaces outgoing UK corporate and external affairs director Justine Campbell with group legal director for corporate and commercial, Helen Lamprell, the telecoms giant has been focusing on developing a new relationship with the legal process outsourcing (LPO) arm of Indian law firm Qui Prior Law Associates (QP).

Vodafone in March signed up with QP, which is run by senior in-house lawyer of 20 years Rajiv Sarin, who has worked in senior positions in companies such as Coca-Cola, Unilever and HCL-Hewlett Packard, to initially take on work including basic contract review. Continue reading “Vodafone develops Indian LPO as former Linklaters lawyer takes over as UK external affairs director”

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BPO – Wragges transfers 65 support staff to Intelligent Office as 26 staff take redundancy

Following an extensive review of its legal support services in May, Wragge & Co has made 26 full time equivalent (FTE) staff redundant with a further 65 roles transferred across to business process outsourcing (BPO) group Intelligent Office.

The BPO arrangement sees staff from across all four of the 502-lawyer firm’s legal groups – corporate, commercial, finance and projects; real estate; human resources; and dispute resolution – transfer to form a new document production centre, concierge hubs and a ‘docucentre’ for reprographics, post and archiving, all managed on site by Intelligent Office. Continue reading “BPO – Wragges transfers 65 support staff to Intelligent Office as 26 staff take redundancy”

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Key real estate and construction hires for Macfarlanes, Taylor Wessing and Withers

Property and construction lawyers are taking advantage of being back in vogue with a number of high profile moves in the sector this week including Ashurst partner Anthony Burnett-Scott’s move to Macfarlanes, Nabarro’s head of infrastructure Matthew Jones to Taylor Wessing and Wither’s hire of Fenwick Elliott real estate partner Julie Teal.

At Taylor Wessing, Jones will join the construction and engineering group, working closely with the firm’s real estate group, its planning, funds and tax teams and its banking group in relation to real estate acquisitions and development finance. Continue reading “Key real estate and construction hires for Macfarlanes, Taylor Wessing and Withers”

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Regulatory squeeze – JP Morgan sees rare loss after setting aside $9.2bn in legal fees

As if any reminder was needed of the impact that increased regulation and the continuing fallout from the financial crisis is having on the banking community JP Morgan on Friday (11 October) reported a $380m third quarter loss after setting aside $9.2bn to cover its legal fees.

The results are the first quarterly loss for the bank in eight years, with chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon claiming that its ‘strong underlying performance’ this term was ‘marred by large legal expense.’

JP Morgan last reported a quarterly loss in 2004, also as a result of legal expenses, in that case related to WorldCom and Enron. Continue reading “Regulatory squeeze – JP Morgan sees rare loss after setting aside $9.2bn in legal fees”

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Guest blog – Innovation in law: are you one of us?

Debates about innovation in law can be a bit tribal. The Creative Destroyers decry the billable hour. They mock Big Law as a broken model and see law as a dusty rule book in need of big data and a scientific reinvention. Law is vastly complex and inefficient. More traditional folk point to the resilience of law, and law firms. They snigger, not always unfairly, at the self-serving evangelism of the new model insurgents. And they comfort themselves, unwisely I suspect, with any signs that the current crop of innovators are failing. The singularity may not be near, but that does not mean that it is far. Continue reading “Guest blog – Innovation in law: are you one of us?”

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Aviation: Further consolidation predicted as Aegean acquisition of Olympic approved

Aviation lawyers expect further consolidation within the airline industry as Aegean Airlines was on Wednesday (9 October) given the all clear to buy troubled Olympic Air, led by White & Case and Baker & McKenzie.

The European Commission (EC) took the first-time step of reversing its earlier decision to block an acquisition attempt in 2011, approving the buyout from investment group Marfin. Continue reading “Aviation: Further consolidation predicted as Aegean acquisition of Olympic approved”

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Death knell for judge-led inquiries? Lord Leveson refuses to be drawn on MPs’ questions

It is not difficult to see why Lord Leveson’s refusal to assist MPs with their latest questions over the future of press regulation is regarded as unhelpful and, by some, the wrong call.

Assigned on 20 July 2011 by Prime Minister David Cameron to lead an inquiry into the culture, practices, and ethics of the press, the 64-year old president of the Queen’s Bench Division’s remit was ‘in the light of these inquiries, to consider the implications for the relationships between newspaper organisations and the police, prosecuting authorities, and relevant regulatory bodies – and to recommend what actions, if any, should be taken.’ Continue reading “Death knell for judge-led inquiries? Lord Leveson refuses to be drawn on MPs’ questions”

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Jones Day’s EMEA private equity ambitions grow with hire of BLP’s Weir and McKeeve

Recognised as a strong choice for UK mid-market buyouts and cross-border transactions, Jones Day’s London private equity team has expansive ambitions with the hire this week of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) corporate finance partner Michael Weir on the heels of former BLP colleague Raymond McKeeve.

Weir, who was made a partner at BLP in 2012 and specialises in private equity with a particular leaning towards large real estate funds, joins the top 10 Global 100 firm three months after McKeeve, who he worked with on mandates including Dunedin’s £44m buyout of Red Commerce in 2011, and Darwin Private Equity on its £10m acquisition of organic baby food business Plum Baby in 2010. Continue reading “Jones Day’s EMEA private equity ambitions grow with hire of BLP’s Weir and McKeeve”