West End boutique Forsters has appointed Fiona Smith to take over as head of the private client department as it achieves a run of 164% revenue increase over five years. Smith, who succeeds current head David Robinson at the Mayfair firm, specialises in offshore tax planning, wills, trusts and probate law. She acts as adviser …
As court staff go on strike this afternoon (17 June) in protest at the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) plans to cut £220m off the annual criminal legal aid budget, it is with the support of many City lawyers. The unusual move comes as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) last week claimed the MoJ’s …
Rated Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) City tax disputes lawyer Rupert Shiers is set to join Hogan Lovells to head its direct tax disputes practice. Shiers will start in his new role on Monday (24 June), working alongside indirect tax disputes head Michael Conlon QC. He focuses on disputes with HM Revenue & Customs and has led appeals …
A Consumer Rights Bill published on Wednesday (12 June) is set to radically overhaul the rights of consumers in the digital age but could open the door to US-style class actions, lawyers warn. The Bill was one of many announced in the Queen’s speech at the state opening of Parliament in May, and if enacted, will …
Nabarro’s profit per equity partner (PEP) has risen by 30% over the past financial year, figures released by the firm today (13 June) reveal. Preliminary figures show the firm’s net profits increased by 11% from 2012-13, while PEP has risen from £332,000 to £430,000 during the same period. The firm’s annual turnover is up by 2.6% from £113.4m …
Continue reading “Nabarro’s PEP up by 30% as firm posts modest growth in revenue”
Merger talks between private client firms Withers and Speechly Bircham were called off at the end of May as both sides claimed the merger would not be in their best interests. A joint statement from the firms said: ‘Following detailed discussions between the management and partnerships of Withers and Speechly Bircham, both sides have now …
Continue reading “Withers and Speechly union off as SJP and KWM edge closer”
Top 50 City firm Travers Smith has suffered the rare public reverse of losing a high-profile discrimination case after a tribunal found the firm denied a former trainee a place in the firm because she became pregnant. The Central London Employment Tribunal found that Travers ‘contrived to prevent Katie Tantum from being offered a post …
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Bluechips continue to grow legal teams as buyside lawyers shift from external counsel In-house departments are expanding rapidly and overshadowing private practice growth as corporates plan to further bolster their internal legal capability. Both recent statistics and developments on the ground indicate that corporates are increasingly addressing issues such as regulatory and compliance pressures, as …
With copyright and trade mark law reform top of the agenda in Europe, Legal Business talks to IP lawyers about the implications of a groundbreaking copyright case and the EC’s proposed changes to the European trade mark system. `It always used to be that copyright cases were literally about copying – that’s hardly an issue …
Continue reading “Protect and serve – Europe moves to keep IP plugged into the digital age”
Taylor Wessing has posted modest turnover growth after an expansive 2012, announcing its global revenue for the financial year 2012/13 has increased by 7% from £212m in 2011/12 to £228m, while UK revenue grew by 4% to £104.5m. Tim Eyles, who was re-elected as UK managing partner of the firm in May last year, said …
Continue reading “Financials update: Taylor Wessing increases global revenues by 7%; UK up 4%”
