Ashurst, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have won advisory roles on an IPO by Merlin Entrainments, owner of attractions that include Legoland and Madame Tussauds. Ashurst advised Merlin on the IPO, which is expected to raise £200m from a 20 per cent share issue aimed at helping to reduce its […]
Pinsent Masons is aiming at boosting the commercial focus of its Birmingham real estate team with the hire of Shoosmiths partner Joel Kordan. Kordan will take up a position in Pinsent’s 40-strong Birmingham-based real estate team in a move to re-focus the practice from urban regeneration towards more commercial contracts. His work for regional and […]
Nationwide Building Society general counsel Liz Kelly is leaving the building society to spend more time with her family just weeks after Nationwide launched its delayed general panel review. A spokesperson said Kelly, who was appointed general counsel in 2007, will remain in her post to oversee the introduction of the revised legal panel. A […]
Great firms have great stories to tell. But when the story told is less than entirely accurate, there will be consequences, particularly in Singapore where its law-abiding society is the backbone of its daily life. Nearly a year ago in December 2012, Clifford Chance rejoiced when it entered into a Formal Law Alliance (FLA) with […]
The Lawyer UK200 is out today, bigger and and better than ever. Packed within it is every conceivable metric, from cost per lawyer to revenue per square foot of property. You can buy access to the full product – which also includes detailed commentaries on all 200 firms’ financial strategies – here or by emailing […]
DWF has reduced its total lockup by 33 per cent since 2009, figures published in this year’s The Lawyer UK200 Annual Report have confirmed, with the expansionist firm posting a 51 per cent reduction in work in progress (WIP) over the same period. In 2009 DWF’s year-end WIP stretched to 120 days, a figure that […]
Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester commercial litigation chief John Lord is to join TLT following the firm’s Manchester launch in July. Lord is currently national head of recoveries for Irwin Mitchell and regional head of commercial litigation, specialising in corporate and contractual disputes in the financial services, leisure and utilities sectors. He was regional head at Irwin […]
Jones Day has lost its London antitrust head to the City office of Bingham McCutchen. Murphy, whose clients include The London Metal Exchange, led Mayer Brown’s London competition and antitrust team for eight years before joining Jones Day in 2009 (24 August 2009). The firm did not comment on who would be replacing Murphy, though […]
Clifford Chance has come under fire in Singapore after the domestic government criticised the firm for misleading clients over its operations in the city-state. Singapore law minister K Shanmugam said the magic circle firm had played a “clever word game” in publicising itself as “the first full-service, integrated law practice in Singapore” after the firm […]
By Katy Meves The vexed issues of holiday entitlement and holiday pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998 continue to keep tribunals busy. Shoosmiths rounds up some recent cases with potentially far-reaching consequences for employers. The decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Stringer was that workers continue to accrue entitlement to annual […]
Pitchforks may be raised at Pannone this week where some partners remain unconvinced by the firm’s proposed demerger to Slater & Gordon. Sources tell us some individuals are in a state of conflict and there are several bumps in the road that need to be smoothed out. All this despite the deal being voted through […]
By Simon Wain The Technology and Construction Court examined this issue in a recent case — Sabic UK Petrochemicals Limited v Punj Lloyd Ltd — and found that the contractor was in breach of the obligation. The case arose out of the construction of a petrochemicals plant in the north east of England. The parties entered into […]