Slaughter and May has dropped out of the top 10 law firms involved in international bond issues, according to an annual league table produced by the International Financial Law Review (IFLR). The firm has slipped from the main table of “advisers to lead managers” for the first time in 15 years of the survey. In […]
Like the Government, the Solicitors Indemnity Fund has abandoned the concept of accepting outright blame when things go wrong. A shortfall of £248m paints a picture of solicitors’ negligence and fraud, says the SIF. Clients are becoming more demanding in claiming compensation when they come across mistakes by their lawyers. The SIF is right to […]
The New Law Journal is right to complain in its 24 January issue that the question of solicitors’ property centres should not be discussed by the Law Society’s council behind closed doors, nor should discussion of the proposal have been deferred. When I chaired the British Legal Association I wrote to every local law society […]
Worthing solicitor Trevor Cooper does not own a dog or, come to that, a pet of any sort. “I’m a busy general practitioner going flat out seven days a week and it just wouldn’t be fair to own a pet,” he says. Yet in UK canine circles Cooper’s name is legendary. He has probably saved […]
Chris Fogarty reports The embattled European courts face a positive future, despite being a “political football”, according to Richard Plender QC, who has compiled a new book on their workings. “The notion that the European courts are political is very widespread, and I think it is misplaced,” said Plender, editor of the 1,000-page European Courts: […]
Concerns about the current Police Bill extend beyond police powers “to bug and burgle”. Part V of the Bill enables the Secretary of State to issue certificates relating to criminal record checks. It is likely to affect millions of people. Criminal record information will be far more accessible, undermining principles of rehabilitation and privacy. That […]
A landmark legal action in which a Macclesfield secretary is claiming damages for repetitive strain injury (RSI) is to be probed by the Law Lords. So far two judges have ruled for and two against the claim of 47-year-old Ann Margaret Pickford of Macclesfield who is seeking £175,000 damages. In the High Court in November […]
Berwin Leighton represented Tesco and SJ Berwin & Co represented the British Land Company in establishing a joint venture, BLT Properties, in which to spin off £175m worth of properties including several Tesco stores, two retail parks and two distribution centres. Allen & Overy advised a syndicate of 10 banks led by HSBC Investment Bank, […]
The new Bar Council complaints system is as complex as it is controversial. Scheduled for an April launch, the scheme faces the difficult task of keeping both the public and barristers happy. And the Bar Council anticipates that the publicity surrounding the setting up of the system means it will be inundated with complaints. At […]
The British Legal Association is poised to make an official complaint to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors alleging mishandling of the Regis project. As The Lawyer went to press it was understood that the BLA was finishing the complaint, expected to be filed this week. It is also understood that it will pick […]
The fact that Germany is a tough market to crack was made clear by the decision of Slaughter and May and US firm White & Case to shut their Frankfurt offices 18 months ago. But far from sounding a mass retreat, the closures sent a clear message to the city’s foreign contingent: change or perish. […]
US firm LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & Macrae has recruited former Theodore Goddard corporate finance partner Charles Ashton. He will be joining Washington-based partner Charles Landgraf, who returns to the London office after a five-year absence. He headed the London office in 1991. Ashton left Theodore Goddard three weeks ago and will be joining LeBoeufs’ London […]