City tax partners have long accused HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of unfairly treating all partnerships as tax avoidance vehicles but in a new report published last week, the government body appears to be taking steps to reset the relationship, albeit only shortly after announcing that salaried partners will be treated as having a ‘disguised salary’ and …
Washington-headquartered Global 100 law firm Arnold & Porter has become the latest to launch in Houston with the hire of a four-strong litigation team from Hogan Lovells. Thad Dameris, the former managing partner of Hogan Lovells’ Houston office, has left the transatlantic firm alongside litigation partners Trevor Jefferies, Christopher Odell and David Weiner, leaving a remaining …
Baker & McKenzie has lost its role as global legal adviser to British automotive group McLaren, which has opted for fellow Global 100 firm Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF). NRF will work closely with McLaren’s in-house legal team, providing services on corporate and M&A work, as well as contractual, IP, real estate and employment law. The …
Continue reading “Norton Rose takes pole position as McLaren drops Bakers as global legal adviser”
The Ministry of Justice‘s plans to levy sizeable court fees in commercial claims have encountered a setback after the Government’s own watchdog accused the department of being unclear in its cost objectives. The Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), a body set up to provide the government with external independent scrutiny of regulatory proposals, this week said …
Continue reading “MoJ’s court fee proposals criticised by internal government review”
HSBC’s steps to streamline its business by disposing of non-core global assets has gifted Taylor Wessing and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with a significant Middle East mandate, as Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) acquires the international retail bank’s local assets. Taylor Wessing’s City-based corporate partner Ronald Graham advised AJIB on the deal, which constitutes one of …
Continue reading “Deal watch: Taylor Wessing and Freshfields advise on HSBC Jordan bank deal”
A former Paul Hastings consultant and barrister has been disbarred after it emerged that he had lied about his education and qualifications, following a successful appeal by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) against the earlier decision of an independent disciplinary tribunal to suspend him. Announced today (22 January), the BSB appealed against a disciplinary tribunal, …
Continue reading “Former Paul Hastings litigator disbarred following Bar Standards Board appeal”
Top ten LB100 firm Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has moved to further protect client information with the hire the former head of cyber security for National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Paul Swarbrick as its global chief information security officer (CISO) in the London office. Announced today (21 January), Swarbrick will join the senior management team, and …
Following months of protests from the criminal Bar including the resignation of a number of barristers from the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB’s) disciplinary panel, the High Court today (20 January) dismissed a formal judicial challenge of the controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, ruling that the scheme is lawful. The court found that the scheme, under …
Continue reading “Protests and resignations but the High Court says QASA is lawful”
Frankfurt-headquartered Deutsche Bank yesterday (19 January) partially blamed its full-year litigation expenses of €2.5bn for a fourth quarter pre-tax loss of €1.2bn, shortly after Morgan Stanley blamed legal costs of $1.2bn for its drop in net income during the same period. Deutsche Bank’s litigation fees amounted to €528m for the fourth quarter. The bank – …
Morgan Stanley is the latest major financial institution to declare that it has been hard hit by litigation and the ripple effect of the financial crisis after it reported a fourth quarter 78% drop in net income to $192m due to legal costs and weak fixed income trading. Revenue for the period rose from $7bn …
