The in-house legal team of publishing giant Pearson have had a busy summer. The billion-pound sale of both the Financial Times (FT) and The Economist has kept the group busy, plus there has been the added headache of simultaneaously running a global panel review of its external law firms. The sales were overseen by deputy […]
The Lawyer’s second edition of the China Elite Report, which ranks the country’s largest 30 firms by revenue and the 10 largest international firms by their mainland China lawyer headcount, has broken new ground: for the first time, the financials of Chinese firms are revealed. We also look at metrics such as leverage and female […]
National law firm Shoosmiths has advised Murray Hennessy on his appointment as non-executive chairman of TGI Friday’s UK and his investment in the group. Hennessy brings to the TGI Friday”s Group a wealth of board-level experience and a track record of delivering growth in consumer-facing industries. He was chief executive of online train ticket retailer Trainline.com from 2008 […]
Gateley has advised the management team and other shareholders of Mobica Ltd, an award-winning software development and integration services company, on a minority investment in the company by Inflexion, a leading independent mid-market private equity house. A cross-discipline team from Gateley’s Manchester office, including corporate partners Charles Glaskie and Paul Jefferson, assisted by corporate solicitor […]
Allen & Overy (A&O) advised on its fourth IPO in a month last week, working alongside Weil Gotshal & Manges on the intended listing of service provider Equiniti. It’s been a busy September for the magic circle firm, with A&O winning mandates on the planned flotation of insurance provider Hastings, as well as payment processor […]
The number of foreign firms in mainland China has dropped for the first time since the country opened its door to non-domestic firms in the early 1990s. The dip in numbers was revealed in The Lawyer’s China Elite 2015 report, which was released last week. There were 170 foreign firms with 225 representative offices in China in […]
Clyde & Co litigator Julian Connerty has exited for Signature Litigation over conflict issues related to RBS’s £4bn shareholder battle. Connerty told The Lawyer the principal shareholder group in the mammoth litigation – which is bringing £1.2bn of claims against the bank – approached Clydes for representation twice but was turned down by the firm. […]
This week’s real estate blog looks at how the Government guarantee scheme for infrastructure is benefitting UK projects Last week Thames Tideway Tunnel general counsel Celia Carlisle spoke to The Lawyer about how the Government guarantee scheme for infrastructure helped get the super sewer the financial backing it needed to begin work. Carlisle was in […]
US employment giant Littler Mendelson has acquired German employment boutique Vangard as its first foothold in Europe. The deal sees Littler Global, Litter Mendelson’s international arm, take on Vangard’s four German-based offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich. Vangard’s 21 lawyers have experience advising start-ups and international corporates on employment law matters. A spokesperson for […]
London firm Gordon Dadds will acquire Jeffrey Green Russell (JGR) following a pre-pack administration. The Lawyer broke the news JGR had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators last week (2 October). The merger sees Gordon Dadds become a £30m full-service firm, taking on a number of JGR directors and their clients. It is not yet known […]
RPC has hired Worldpay corporate general counsel Matthew Griffith as a partner in its corporate insurance and financial services team. The appointment comes just weeks after payment processor Worldpay announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. Allen & Overy, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Weil Gotshal & Manges are advising on the IPO. Griffith joined Worldpay in […]
This report features the output of two separate research projects; one of the largest salary surveys ever conducted among legal professionals and a more focused study with HR departments looking at benefits and wellbeing strategies. As well as benchmarking the approach of law firms against benefits strategies adopted in the corporate world and other professional […]