Much has been written recently about the “death of partnership”. Of course, in the strict legal sense law firm partnerships have been significantly on the wane since LLPs came into existence, but commentators usually mean rather more than that. They are referring to a particular way of running the business and, perhaps, the type of […]
Pinsent Masons has named corporate partner Barry McCaig as head of its Glasgow office following a management reshuffle that was prompted by the election of Richard Foley to senior partner. Prior to taking over as senior partner at the start of this month (30 June 2014) Foley was head of construction at the firm. He […]
Citibank Global Markets Inc was recently saved, by the skin of its teeth, from being permanently barred from acting as a placement agent for the sale of securities in transactions relying on Rule 506 of Regulation D. Rule 506 is a safe harbour which exempts private placement transactions by an issuer from the prospectus and […]
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters advised on more main market IPOs in London than any other firms between 1 January and 30 August 2014. The market was particularly active during the period, witnessing the entry of 49 new companies with a market value of £29.5bn, as opposed to just 20 new companies worth £7.8bn during […]
On Saturday night under the bright lights of Wembley stadium’s five-a-side pitch, 800 Baker & McKenzie partners kicked up a muddy battle in the annual Bakers World Cup. The result was unknown when we went to press, but the London office team were favourites to win with the help of managing partner Paul Rawlinson. They […]
Despite the best efforts of the legal and wider business community, the term ‘offshore’ generally still has pretty negative connotations among the general public. None of the major offshore jurisdictions have managed to entirely separate themselves from the tag of tax haven – and that includes Gibraltar. Although Gibraltar is part of the EU through […]
If we see devolved government in the UK following the Scottish referendum it is likely to benefit businesses in all areas The narrow victory for the No vote in last month’s Scottish independence campaign spelt relief for the Better Together campaign and brought a renewed hope in collective prosperity for most UK citizens. This was […]
Gibraltar’s Marrache case has been staggeringly expensive and bitterly disruptive, embroiling government and financial authorities in the scandal. Will the jurisdiction emerge stronger as a result? As you read this, the Gibraltar Court of Appeal is settling down to a four-day hearing challenging the conviction for fraud of the former partners of law firm Marrache […]
IPOs are booming again, sending law firms jostling for mandates, but this time there’s a new role for banks that are independently advising the issuers. Step forward Lazard and Rothschild The IPO market has burst back onto the UK’s financial landscape with all guns blazing. In the first eight months of 2014 alone the main […]
Move of the week Gunnercooke has hired former Nationwide general counsel Liz Kelly as a partner in its corporate group. She has also taken on the role of organisational and performance director for the London team. UK London James Barratt has joined Squire Patton Boggs as of counsel. He joins from O’Melveny & Myers, where […]
Esther Felton’s vision as GC for insurer QBE was to create a legal function that works shoulder to shoulder with the business. Now a reality, her team’s remit is extending and fast acquiring specialist expertise It’s going to be an action-packed 12 months for QBE. The Australia-headquartered insurance giant announced this summer that it was […]
The celebrities at the centre of the recent hacking scandal, which saw swathes of private images leaked via websites and through social media, will be finding it hard to see any positive outcome. However, London-based litigation firm Schillings says a backlash is emerging against the distribution of private and/or disturbing images. Among those curious to […]