By Nabila Mallick Recently I represented a white female Muslim in a claim of direct and indirect religious discrimination under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. The Direct Discrimination claim was that she was treated less favourably as a Muslim in not being provided with uninterrupted breaks. The indirect discrimination claim was wider. […]
Penningtons completed the takeover of Manches yesterday, a move facilitated by a pre-pack administration deal. At exactly 5.28pm yesterday (14 October), Penningtons bought Manches in a pre-pack administration deal. It was a blink and you’ll miss it event, reported on a dreary Monday afternoon. Here’s exactly what happened. The merger talks began in early September, […]
The High Court has thrown out a libel case by a retired Moscow policeman against a UK fund manager in a case that has been labelled a blow to libel tourism. UK businessman Bill Browder instructed HowardKennedyFsi (HKFsi) partners Mark Stephens and Sue Thackeray to lead the defence of defamation claims by Pavel Karpov. Karpov […]
Today we reveal that two top Chinese firms, Jingtian & Gongcheng and Commerce & Finance, are being sued by international underwriters for their opinions on the controversial capital raising transactions of Sino-Forest in Canada. What are the professional indemnity and reputational implications of this lawsuit, and are Chinese firms geared up for them? China: Forest […]
Today The Lawyer reveals that two top Chinese firms, Jingtian & Gongcheng and Commerce & Finance, are facing claims by 11 international underwriters worth hundreds of millions of pounds. These are the kind of cases that will put major Chinese firms on the international stage. It will also be one of the rare occasions that […]
Mishcon de Reya has held its first-ever management elections for both the managing partner and heads of department positions. Current managing partner Kevin Gold has been re-elected to serve a three-year term while the heads of the corporate and dispute resolution groups, Nick Davis and Kas Nouroozi respectively, have been re-elected to their roles. All […]
Italian firm Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners is in the process of launching a Hong Kong office, with the aim of building closer links with the Chinese market. The office, which could be operational by the end of this year, will be Gianni Origoni’s tenth office globally and its fifth outside Italy. The firm […]
Quadrant Chambers is moving further into the energy sector and the Far Eastern market on the back of the appointment of its first joint senior clerk last month. Simon Slattery joined the set from Atkin Chambers on 9 September to take up the role with long- serving senior clerk Gary Ventura. Chief executive Tim Gerrard […]
Penningtons has acquired Manches in a move that will see 265 Manches employees and 46 partners move to Penningtons and operate under the name Penningtons Manches. The Lawyer first revealed that the two firms were in advanced merger talks in September (24 September 2014). At that time it was understood that Manches had been scouring […]
All the latest partner hires and other appointments within firms and offices in the Asia Pacific region. Australia K&L Gates has hired five partners across Melbourne, Perth and Sydney from international and Australian rivals. In Perth, the firm has added former Squire Sanders partner Amber Stanton to its energy, infrastructure and resources practice, and employment […]
Allen & Overy and Australian firm Minter Ellison have advised Lloyds Banking Group in selling its Australian operations to Australian bank Westpac for £900m (A$1.55bn). The deal is one of the largest financial services transactions in Australia and will see Lloyds Group sell its Australian asset finance business, Capital Finance Australia (CFAL), and its corporate […]
The postal service may have have grabbed its fair share of headlines last week, as Royal Mail’s stock market debut became engulfed in a right royal pickle over pricing. However, it’s not the only great British institution that has been busy shape-shifting over the past couple of months. Our round-up of deals in September highlights […]