No5 barrister S Chelvan has joined over 300 experts calling on the UK to do more for refugees. Published in yesterday’s Observer, leading experts on community cohesion, asylum, refugees, migration and law signed the letter, stating: “We believe the government’s current position on the European refugee and migration crisis is misguided and requires urgent change.” The […]
The investigation into the killing of a Syrian-born preacher in London has escalated after two people were arrested on suspicion of terror offences. Abdul Hadi Arwani, who had been imam at the An-Noor mosque in West London between 2005 and 2011, was found behind the wheel of his car in the Greenhill area of Webley […]
Walker Morris has appointed trademark attorney Heather Williams to head its trademarks and designs unit and underpin its intellectual property client offering. The trademarks and design unit provides advice on all aspects of non-contentious and contentious trade mark and design work, providing a seamless and distinctive intellectual property service to its clients. Prior to joining […]
Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the third magic circle firm to launch an office in South Korea with the relocation of Tokyo partner Matthias Voss. A&O has secured a foreign legal consultant office (FLCO) licence to open an office in Seoul, several months after it lodged an application with the country’s Ministry of Justice in […]
The first week of September saw a noticeable number of partner moves in Asia. Reed Smith and Baker Botts picked up three partners each to build up their presence in Singapore and China respectively. In Hong Kong, Kirkland & Ellis hired experienced debt finance partner David Irvin from Linklaters, as partner departures continue from the […]
Blake Morgan and Browne Jacobson have come out on top after winning the most seats within the Welsh Government’s £60m legal panel. The National Procurement Service Framework is the first legal framework to cover all of Wales after previous panels covered North and South Wales separately. A total of 18 firms have won places across […]
Last week rumours began to circulate that Irwin Mitchell was gearing up to vacate its Birmingham office. The rumours started after professional services company JLL began to look for a 40,000 to 50,000sq ft premises for the firm. Although it is true that the office lease is due for renewal in 2019, JLL’s activities are […]
Hogan Lovells has made an application to the High Court for its client, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), to settle the question of authority over the management of Libya’s assets in the UK. The assets form part of Libya’s $67bn sovereign wealth fund, which is administered by the LIA, a body marred by internal political divisions […]
Leading UK pharmaceutical companies set aside a colossal £1.46bn in legal spend this year to fund tax litigation, according to new research. The figure forms 88 per cent of the total funds allocated by FTSE 100 companies for litigation arising from tax disputes in 2015, which was £1.66bn. This year represented a 31 per cent […]
After months of speculation, Tesco has finally sold its South Korean Homeplus business to a consortium of investors led by MBK Partners. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Bae Kim & Lee represented the retailer in the £4.2bn sale, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and local firm Yulchon worked with MBK Partners. Meanwhile Ropes & Gray […]
Shearman & Sterling has made its fourth M&A partner hire this year in the form of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s telecommunications, media and technology co-head Frank Miller. Miller joined the magic circle firm in 1999 as a corporate associate from New York’s Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. He joined Freshfields’ partnership in 2003, where he has […]
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Ropes & Gray have won top roles advising on the £4.2bn sale of Tesco’s South Korean business Homeplus. Freshfields advised Tesco and its team consisted of co-head of global financial institutions Claire Wills and corporate partner Alison Smith, both based in London. Partner Simon Weller also […]