Top 10 stories: 5-9 December
The latest twist in the bizarre tale of a north London lime tree and its next door neighbour, Steptoe & Johnson’s London boss, was our most-read story this week.
Burness Paull concedes conflict of interest in £200m claim
Burness Paull has conceded that its legacy firm Paull & Williamsons acted in conflict of interest in a historic private equity investment for a client, which has prompted a £200m claim against it, The Lawyer understands.
UK firms’ financial hygiene failure costing a “treasure trove of cash”
UK law firms are “sitting on a treasure trove of cash” that they are not accessing because of failures in basic financial management.
Supreme Court Brexit hearing gets record 300,000 viewers
A record number of viewers watched coverage of the Supreme Court hearing on whether the government has the power to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of the UK leaving the European Union.
Google UK legal chief exits for tech start-up
Google UK and Ireland legal head Emma Jelley has left the business to join tech start-up Onfido as general counsel.
Asia Pacific 150: International firms still struggle to achieve top-line growth
International firms in Asia Pacific are still struggling with low local fee rates, research from The Lawyer’s Asia Pacific 150 2016 report shows.
Noerr hires 11-strong team in Warsaw led by ex-White & Case head
Noerr has added an 11-strong team of fee-earners in Warsaw, including former White & Case Warsaw Poland managing partner Witold Danilowicz.
Revealed: The biggest legal teams in the FTSE 100
HSBC has an in-house legal team the size of Clyde & Co, and only slightly bigger than Barclays and Shell, according to the latest exclusive FTSE rankings by The Lawyer. Full details: The Lawyer FTSE 100 2016 report
Clifford Chance and Linklaters advise on £13.8bn National Grid purchase
Clifford Chance, CMS Cameron McKenna and Linklaters have won key roles on the £13.8bn acquisition of a major stake in National Grid’s gas business by a consortium led by CIC Capital and Macquarie.
Nabarro half-year revenues up 2 per cent ahead of three-way merger
Nabarro has posted revenue up 2 per cent in the first six months of 2016/17 to £57.5m.
Exclusive: Barclays takes extra layer of security over KWM assets
Barclays has filed to take supplementary security over King & Wood Mallesons’ assets with a second debenture, The Lawyer understands.
Linklaters leadership team takes 4 per cent pay cut
Linklaters’ top leadership team’s remuneration dipped an average 4 per cent in 2015/16, the firm’s LLP accounts have revealed.