Morocco used to be a French legal fiefdom, but has now attracted the attention of the Anglo-Saxon giants, who see it as a gateway to Africa. Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Norton Rose Fulbright led the way in 2011-12, but with Dentons and now DLA Piper launching in Casablanca, Morocco still looks very hot […]
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co has recruited two lawyers from Clyde & Co to launch a dedicated real estate team servicing the Middle East and Africa. Andrew Thomson joins as a partner and Melissa Younan as a senior associate. Andrew Thomson joined Clyde & Co’s MENA real estate and hospitality team in 2011 and divided […]
Volkswagen has instructed Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to defend a raft of civil claims that will be brought in the UK and France in relation to the car giant’s global emissions scandal. Lawyers from Freshfields’ London office are expected to work closely with a team from Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, which is understood to be representing the car […]
Former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher partner Peter Gray has been awarded costs of £108,000 following a private prosecution launched by ex-GFH Capital general counsel David Haigh. Haigh instructed Stephenson Harwood to bring a case against Gray and his former employers GFH Capital executives Hisham Al Rayes and Jinesh Patel, alleging the trio engaged in “human trafficking” […]
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has hired Clifford Chance leveraged and acquisition finance director Lorraine Vaz as a partner in its banking group. Her appointment, which takes effect from 2 November, brings the firm’s London leveraged and acquisition finance team up to five partners. The practice is made up of 37 partners worldwide and around […]
Ashurst and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have advised on the successful £18bn agreement to build the UK’s first nuclear power station in 20 years. The agreement was reached between EDF and the China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) during a visit to the UK from Chinese President Xi Jinping. EDF said that the total cost […]
Macfarlanes has announced it has hired Ashurst partner Gerald Kelly in a continuation of appointments from the firm’s real estate team. Kelly has worked as a partner in Ashurst’s real estate team since 2001 and specialises in structured equity, corporate occupier requirements and property developments. Macfarlanes senior partner Charles Martin said the appointment signalled the […]
Risk compliance NetOTC general counsel Joanne Theodoulou talks about what companies want to see in in-house CVs, and how in-house lawyers can hold their own with management. Theodoulou, who is one of the speakers at The Lawyer’s upcoming In-house Counsel as Business Partner conference, said that in-house lawyers have to adapt outside of their legal […]
It is a Monday lunchtime and a tedious morning has my brain looking for a food-based displacement activity. There is nothing speaking to me within a mile of my office and I am not in the mood for polite conversation. I remember that I have not yet been to Bao and I am almost too […]
From October 2015, new rules are making it easier for claimants to bring antitrust claims in the UK. These changes are the final piece of the Government’s wide-ranging reforms to UK competition law, which began in 2010. The latest reforms comprise four key elements. Until now, claimants have tended to bring private actions before the […]
Walker Morris has launched an online eLearning package to help the real estate industry meet its consumer protection obligations. Breaches of consumer protection legislation are rife, albeit often inadvertent and due to a lack of awareness of best practice and common pitfalls. Specialist real estate litigation experts at Walker Morris have developed an eLearning package […]
Pinsent Masons senior partner Richard Foley has said that the firm will move into the US within the next five to 10 years in order to keep its reputation as a major international firm. Speaking to The Lawyer Foley raised the question of whether a firm can truly be seen as a top international player […]