This week has seen two of the larger global challenger firms reveal significant wins on behalf of major international clients. Hogan Lovells closed a $650m acquisition for the trustees of the Kodak Pension Plan and DLA Piper secured victory for China Southern Airlines in the High Court. Meanwhile, one of the top performers in this year’s …
Global accountants including KPMG and EY have the UK’s legal sector firmly in their sights as they consider their options under the Legal Services Act (LSA) in a move said by one tax partner at a leading City law firm to be ‘clearly a threat’. Last month it emerged that KPMG is looking at an …
Continue reading “Return of the accountants: KPMG and EY consider ABS”
Fears that the government is reducing the justice system to a ‘stack it high and sell it cheap’ model were today further allayed as the Justice Secretary backtracked on his proposals to award legal aid contracts to the lowest bidders. In a deal reached with the Law Society after listening to the concerns of dozens …
Continue reading “Legal aid reform: Grayling scraps competitive tendering plans”
It’s been a year of highs and lows for private client firm Speechly Bircham which, after enduring flat revenues for 2012/13 and unsuccessful merger talks with rival private client firm Withers earlier in the year, has opened an office in Geneva this week. Meanwhile, both Pinsent Masons and Osborne Clarke have made key strategic hires to …
Senior exits from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) continue apace as Clifford Chance has confirmed the hire of Liesl Fichardt, the head of BLP’s contentious tax practice. Announced today (4 September), the loss is a blow to the tax team at the 782-lawyer BLP as heavyweight Fichardt, who joined the firm in 2008, is a veteran …
Continue reading “Clifford Chance snares BLP’s contentious tax head”
The start of September has seen international firms reinvigorate their expansion plans, with Clyde & Co revealing an Indonesian alliance after joining forces with Indonesian law firm, while Charles Russell has extended its global footprint with the opening of an office in Qatar. Elsewhere, central and eastern European focused firm Kinstellar launched its seventh office …
It’s been a week for the traditional corporate bluebloods to shine in real estate-related work, with Macfarlanes, Slaughter and May and German royalty Hengeler Mueller individually winning significant transactions. Macfarlanes secured a key role advising CBRE Britannica on the sale of its shopping centre portfolio for £250m to US investor Kennedy Wilson, advised by Herbert …
Intense speculation over Vodafone’s $130bn disposal of its US group, whose principal asset is its 45% interest in Verizon Wireless, to Verizon Communications this evening (2 September) came to an end after the deal announced, with Macfarlanes revealed as acting for Verizon and Slaughter and May for Vodafone. Slaughter and May corporate partner Roland Turnill led …
It was a busy football transfer window for some of the UK’s leading law firms, with Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Graham Shear and a host of Fladgate partners advising Premier League footballer Gareth Bale on his record-breaking transfer to Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for (€100m) £85m. Slaughter and May and Charles Russell were also both very …
Bought by the Central Bank in 2012 from lender and toxic loans body the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) for an estimated €7m (having been valued at €250m in the boom years), plans to use the tower as the now defunct Anglo Irish’s headquarters were abandoned after the company’s collapse. The grey shell of a …
