In-house: face of BT Law to change after Miles Jobling steps aside

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The face of BT Law, having last year secured a licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to hive off BT’s successful motor claims business into an alternative business structure (ABS), Miles Jobling has now handed over his lead role to Sheffield-based co-founder Archana Makol. Makol has become the Compliance Officer of the Legal Practice (COLP) …

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Remaking legal education – after 18 years at Europe’s largest law school, Savage confirms retirement

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In a career spanning dead-end jobs and the upper echelons of the global legal market, Nigel Savage, the man who almost certainly did more than any other individual to shake up legal education in the UK, has announced his retirement. In a statement issued today (6 February), Savage confirmed his retirement as the president and …

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In-house lawyers to be affected by impact of ABS as hundreds of corporates consider conversion

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Up to 700 companies, public authorities and charities could currently be considering the business case for applying to become an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) according to a report commissioned by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on the in-house market. Published yesterday (4 February), the report, simply called ‘the role of in-house solicitors’, surveyed over 2,000 …

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Legal innovation – Connect2Law’s Jabbari to join Parabis to extend ABS portfolio and set up regional network

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Just weeks after resigning from Manchester-based consumer services and personal injury (PI) firm Pannone following its £33m acquisition by ASX-listed Slater & Gordon, the firm’s former executive board member and chief executive of Connect2Law David Jabbari has joined Parabis as a partner. At Parabis, which last month partnered with Direct Line Group as the insurance giant obtained …

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USP: PwC to expand legal services with ‘under one roof’ pitch as LLP results show legal revenue up

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PwC has plans to grow its legal services capability and promote to clients the obvious advantages of providing business and legal advice under one roof, after the Big Four accounting giant last week became the first of its direct competitors to secure alternative business structure (ABS) status from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The firm announced …

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Professional negligence – Matthew Arnold & Baldwin to appeal against dismissal of £10m claim against Watson Farley

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Matthew Arnold & Baldwin has said its client plans to appeal against the High Court’s decision last week to dismiss a £10m professional negligence claim against Watson, Farley & Williams. In a case heard in London’s High Court last Friday (31 January), Mr Justice Silber dismissed a counterclaim from former Watson Farley client Itzhak Ostrovizky, who sought …

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Homegrown BPO – Hogan Lovells puts South Africa at centre of new business support initiative

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Transatlantic firm Hogan Lovells has put South Africa at the centre of its cost savings plans for clients, setting up a business support services function that will see new vacancies from Europe and Asia evaluated in terms of whether they could as easily be done from the lower cost site. Announced today (3 February), the …

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Growth in Germany for HSF as it launches disputes practice in Frankfurt

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Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) today (3 February) took a further step towards building up its German capability following the collapse of its alliance with Gleiss Lutz and Benelux firm Stibbe with the hire of former Baker & McKenzie partner Mathias Wittinghofer to launch its disputes practice in Frankfurt. A specialist in banking and finance disputes, as …

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Risk and regulatory: NRF launches a 600-lawyer global regulation and investigations practice

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The increasingly wide-ranging and cross-departmental regulatory needs of clients sees Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) today (3 February) launch a 600-lawyer international global regulation and investigations practice led by former Fulbright & Jaworski disputes partner and investigations head Lista Cannon and global antitrust chief Martin Coleman. The 130-partner team will connect global practices including antitrust and competition …

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Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank blame litigation for drop in Q4 profits

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Financial institutions report multibillion-dollar effects of post-crisis costs Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank have become the latest major financial institutions to declare that their earnings have been hit hard by litigation costs with Morgan Stanley in January reporting a fourth quarter 78% drop in net income to $192m, compared to $890m in its third quarter, …

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