Ashurst says no to Geffen for chairman in surprise election result

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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 …

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

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‘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’ …

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

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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, …

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HMRC review raises questions over law firm financing as banks tighten up lending terms

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Law firms are facing a shake-up of their banking and taxation arrangements as both lenders and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) move to minimise their losses under the current system. Following HMRC’s consultation on limited liability partnerships, draft legislation will be unveiled in its autumn statement, which is expected to substantially tighten the criteria for …

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Consolidation watch: Dentons and McKenna Long in merger talks

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Dentons and McKenna Long & Aldridge confirmed late on Monday (30 September) that they are in merger talks to create a firm with more than 3,100 lawyers around the world. The firms are reported to be aiming to complete the deal by 1 January 2014 and in response Dentons issued the following statement to the …

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The in-house survey: Buy-side stories

Posted on | In-House |

In our second annual in-house survey, corporate legal teams are continuing to grow amid strong demand for their counsel. How high can general counsel build their empires? And the growth story continues. Legal Business’s second annual in-house survey confirms again that, despite the prolonged economic headwinds afflicting the UK and Western economies, in a risky …

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From a big bang to a whimper – infighting and calls for reform of regulatory framework

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Caroline Hill and Sarah Downey assess the agendas in the MoJ’s review of regulation The Ministry of Justice (MoJ)’s decision to conduct a review of the profession’s regulatory landscape comes just a little over a year since the landmark Legal Services Act (LSA) came fully into force. The irony is that barely has the radical …

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First limb of Lloyds privatisation sees Slaughters and Freshfields win lead roles

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Five years on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Slaughter and May and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have won the leading roles on the first limb of the government’s privatisation of Lloyds Banking Group, which was rescued by the UK taxpayer in 2008. Slaughters is advising UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI) on the HM Treasury’s disposal of a …

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No such thing as a free lunch – first judgment clarifies termination of third party litigation fund

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Third party litigation funders look set to adopt a similar position to insurers in driving the litigation agenda after a judgment last week confirmed what the market already knew; there is no such thing as a free lunch or litigation. Sitting as deputy judge of the High Court, Mr David Donaldson QC in Harcus Sinclair …

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The Client: Philip Bramwell – BAE Systems

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Caroline Hill talks to the plain-speaking general counsel When BAE Systems’ group general counsel (GC) Philip Bramwell started out as a lawyer in the pharmaceuticals industry, his mother approved on the basis that ‘everybody gets sick’. But as the assertive corporate veteran set out on the deliberate path to change industry every few years, she …

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