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TLT beats heavyweight players to win BBC property role

TLT has been named as the BBC’s sole provider advising on property legal services across its estate in England and Wales.

Legal Business understands that the tender saw TLT up against heavyweight property firms including Hogan Lovells and Nabarro. The broadcaster’s incumbent property adviser was Bond Pearce.

TLT’s 17-strong real estate team, which operates across the firm’s Bristol and City offices, includes head of real estate Andrew Glynn, property litigation partner Mark Routley, and partner Stephen Elliott who joined TLT’s City office from Hogan Lovells in 2011.

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SJ Berwin pays out delayed partner profits

As partnerships continue to take a cautious approach to profit distribution, SJ Berwin has confirmed that it has released profits that it withheld in February.

The firm’s profit per equity partner (PEP) increased by 1% between 2011 and 2012 to £635,000 with revenues up 1% to £180.1m. According to the firm, the February distribution was held back as a matter of caution in light of a large tax bill in January.

The practice is becoming increasingly commonplace – in March, Field Fisher Waterhouse withheld their partner distribution, citing the firm’s investment plans as the reason for the delay. The firm saw its PEP drop by 16% in 2011/12 to £434,000 against a revenue increase of 4% to £97.6m.

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Comment: Slaughters bumps up lawyer pay but associate lockstep’s days are numbered

Slaughter and May today (30 April) became the first major City law firm to announce a review of its associate pay bands – triggering minor rises in the underlying rates its lawyers earn from trainee level to three years post-qualification.

Newly-qualified see salaries rise from £61,500 to £63,000; one year PQE pay rises £500 to £69,500; two year PQE from £76,500 to £78,000; three year PQE earn an extra £1,500 at £87,500. Trainee salaries are up by £1,000, increasing to £39,000 in year one and £44,000 in year two. The rises kick in from 1 May.

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Clifford Chance and Linklaters make most of their partner promotions in Europe

Partner promotions continue apace with Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters the latest to announce their numbers, the majority of which are in Europe.

CC welcomed 20 new lawyers to its partnership, with three-quarters of those promotions spread across Europe, while Linklaters promoted 24 partners, of which 19 were in Europe. Continue reading “Clifford Chance and Linklaters make most of their partner promotions in Europe”

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Libel law to be overhauled as Defamation Bill gets royal assent

A three-year battle to bring libel law into the 21st century came to a close yesterday (25 April) as the Defamation Bill received Royal Assent.

The Defamation Act 2013 will mean that companies and individuals bringing a libel claim are now required to show serious harm – including serious financial loss for a company – to establish a claim.

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Taylor Wessing boosts partnership by 16 in latest promotion round

Taylor Wessing has more than doubled its partner promotions this year to 16, of which only one is in its City office.

City private client lawyer Kirstie McGuigan was made up to partner while the firm’s other promotions were spread across Munich (four), Berlin (two), Frankfurt (one), Dusseldorf (two), Hamburg (one), Budapest (one), Vienna (one), and Prague (two), Bratislava (one).

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Former Dewey chairman to pay $500k mismanagement settlement

Steve Davis, former chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf, has offered to pay over half a million dollars to settle claims against him following the firm’s collapse last year.

Davis has agreed to pay $511,145 in the form of a promissory note to the firm’s liquidation trust, after Dewey became the largest law firm in US history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last May.

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A&O introduces first trainee salary increase since 2010

Allen & Overy has increased trainee pay rates bringing to an end a three-year freeze and has promoted 24 lawyers to the role of counsel.

The Magic Circle firm is the first to raise the stakes amongst its peers this year, with second-year trainee rates increasing by £800 to £44,000 – £200 less than the previous increase in May 2010, where pay packets grew from £42,200 to £43,200.

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Harbour Litigation funds claimant in dispute with Barclays

Third party financier Harbour Litigation Funding is to bankroll a claim against Barclays alleging the bank mis-used confidential information in its 2010 takeover of Tricorona.

The £164m claim is being brought by UK trading and investments firm CF Partners, which alleges that Barclays used confidential information it supplied to the bank when requesting funding for its own bid for Tricorona.

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Ropes & Gray boosts London and Hong Kong with double Fried Frank hire

Ropes & Gray is to bolster its City and Hong Kong arms with a two-partner hire from US rival Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.

In London former Allen & Overy finance partner Mark Wesseldine will join from Fried Frank on 1 May, bringing the City partner and counsel total to 20, while Fried Frank capital markets and M&A partner Victoria Lloyd is to join the Hong Kong office on 13 May.

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Mills & Reeve confirms merger with Manchester firm George Davies

Mills & Reeve today (24 April) announced that it is to expand its presence in the North through a merger with Manchester-based law firm George Davies, after partners voted in favour of the move.

Public sector and sports law specialist George Davies will add around £7m in revenue to Mills & Reeve’s £69.4m, based on 2011-2012 results, consolidating the national firm’s position in the Legal Business 100 rankings where it currently sits at position 47.

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HSF and Ashurst announce partner promotions

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Ashurst have both announced their latest partner promotions today (23 April), with Herbert Smith promoting considerably more associates than last year while Ashurst made up fewer partners this time around.

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has promoted 19 lawyers to its partnership, up from just 10 last year, with the majority of the partners come from the firm’s self professed twin engines of corporate and dispute resolution, with seven partners being made up in each practice areas.

Following the firm’s merger with Australian outfit Freehills last summer, seven partners have been made up in Australia. These include corporate lawyers Paul Branston in Brisbane and Mark Currell in Sydney; disputes specialists Leon Chung and Hugh Paynter in Sydney; Matthew Bull, a competition associate in Brisbane; and projects associate Daniel Zador and finance lawyer Rowen Cross, both based in Perth.

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Olswang creates executive committee in management overhaul

Olswang has concluded an extensive governance review that has seen the creation of an executive committee responsible for the firm’s management and strategy.

The review, led by general counsel Simon Callander, has also resulted in a complete overhaul of the firm’s board, which will now reflect the voice of the partnership and act as a check and balance to the committee’s primary decision-making role.

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Freshfields hires HSF financial services regulatory partner

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer continues to boost its disputes practice in Hong Kong with Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) financial services regulatory partner Tim Mak set to join the firm.

Mak will work alongside Asia head of financial services Royce Miller and contentious regulatory partner Georgia Dawson. Mak is tri-lingual and will specialise in both contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters but has particular experience in civil and criminal proceedings and investigations.

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Dentons strengthens private equity offering with SJ Berwin hire

Dentons has hired SJ Berwin corporate finance partner Nicholas Plant to lead its private equity group in the UK, Middle East and Africa.

Plant’s practice focuses on advising private equity houses on domestic and cross-border leveraged buy-outs. He also advises on general M&A and joint ventures. Most recently, he has been particularly involved in acting for US corporates, healthcare sector clients and on deal-by-deal financings.

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A&O picks up corporate partner as Shearman announces Düsseldorf and Munich closures

Allen & Overy has hired Shearman & Sterling’s corporate partner Hans Diekmann as a partner in its Düsseldorf office.

Diekmann, whose start date at A&O is yet to be confirmed, joined Shearman as a partner in 1999. Before that he worked in the legal department of Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt for over seven years. Diekmann will become the sixth partner in A&O’s Düsseldorf office, all of which have been hired in.

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