Kent-based Cripps has appointed former Co-op Legal Services (CLS) policy director Christina Blacklaws as director of client services with a remit to lead the firm’s growth strategy. Blacklaws was responsible for all external relationships at CLS before leaving earlier this year. She also sits on the Law Society Council, representing the Women Lawyers Division, and […]
DLA Piper has won awards in two categories at the Law Awards of Scotland 2014: Global Law Firm of the Year and CSR Firm of the Year. The awards, judged by a national panel of experts chaired by Hector MacQueen of the Scottish Law Commission, recognise best practice in Scotland’s legal sector. The firm received […]
Liz Fitzsimons, legal director and data privacy expert at Eversheds, has commented on news that some banks will begin to use finger vein technology as a security measure, saying that the move could be hindered by new draft Data Protection Regulation. She said: ‘Use of fingerprint technology for security purposes is already widespread but not, […]
Bruce Dear, partner and real-estate expert at Eversheds, has commented on the news that Chinese property developers are borrowing at a record pace. He said: ‘China’s larger developers represent a measured risk for lenders. Extraordinary central bank rates have created a global yield famine. Lenders and bond buyers must take return where they can. Because […]
Eversheds has advised Prospects College of Advanced Technology (PROCAT) on becoming the first new further education college formed in England since 1992. The college, based in Basildon, Essex, will provide cutting-edge technical education through partnerships with the engineering and construction industries, including some of the UK’s leading employers. The Eversheds education team provided all the […]
Aim-listed European IP group Murgitroyd saw its pre-tax profits drop by 10.9 per cent during the course of the 2013/14 financial year. According to the group’s preliminary results, its profit before income tax dropped from £4.6m to £4.1m. Meanwhile, its basic earnings per share fell by 13.1 per cent, from 38.2p to 33.2p. Murgitroyd pointed to […]
No5 Chambers was victorious at the Birmingham Law Society (BLS) Golf Day held at Nailcote Hall, the home of the British Par 3 Championship. The day, organised by ex-BLS president Martin Allsop, was attended by solicitors, barristers and businesses across the region and culminated in a dinner hosted by current BLS president Eileen Schofield. No5’s […]
Shoosmiths has worked with longstanding client Chord Investments to complete work on the sale, lease-back and refinancing of a large mixed-use scheme in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The scheme — St Paul’s Place — combines 148 apartments and a substantial commercial office space off St Paul’s Square. Shoosmiths has acted for developer Chord throughout the lifecycle of the […]
Energy and waste lawyers from Walker Morris have advised Energos on its role in a £950m public-private-partnership (PPP) waste project in Derby. The 27-year contract was signed on 20 August between Resource Recover Solutions (RRS), a joint venture between Interserve and Shanks Group, and Derby City and Derbyshire county councils. It will see Interserve build […]
Slater & Gordon has acquired East Midland firm Flint Bishop’s Injured Patient Claims arm, a claimant personal injury (PI) and clinical negligence team. The Derby-based team of 10 staff which will be led on an interim basis by Slater & Gordon PI lawyer Richard Geraghty has joined forces with Slater & Gordon. Slater & Gordon head […]
Minster Law’s director of legal services Craig Underwood has joined Capita-owned volume legal business Optima Legal as head of legal services today. As the firm’s first head of legal services Underwood takes on responsibility for all legal matters and business development in the legal market. A litigator by background, Underwood had been at Minster for […]
Scotland could well be on course to become an independent country, with a YouGov poll published at the weekend putting the pro-separatist Yes campaign ahead for the first time. For the country’s law firms, the result will make uncomfortable reading. Although the Scottish top 20 started to put the ravages of the recession behind them […]