Ogier Legal has acted as Jersey legal adviser for Index Ventures in relation to the establishment of its latest fund, Index Ventures VII, which recently closed at €400m (£320m). Index Ventures VII has already made a number of investments and will continue to invest in equity and equity-related investments primarily in private European, US and […]
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co has advised Empiric Student Property on its £85m admission to the UKLA Official List and trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. The £85m was raised by way of a placing and offer for subscription. Empiric Student Property is an internally managed real-estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investment […]
Partners at Charles Russell and Speechly Bircham have today voted favour of merging their firms to create a £135m firm with 170 partners. Charles Russell Speechlys LLP will go live on 1 November 2014. Headquartered in London, the outfit will have a further eight offices scattered across the UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. […]
If all goes to plan, the merger will deliver to the legal market a bumper baby named Charles Russell Speechlys , a new entity with a turnover of around £126m and a berth among the UK’s top 30 firms. Speechlys, which still has last year’s failed merger talks with Withers fresh in its memory, appears […]
The introduction of a ‘residency test’ for civil legal aid would be “discriminatory” and “unlawful”, the High Court has ruled. The House of Commons approved the test proposed by the Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling last week. The court said, however, that Grayling had acted beyond his powers by attempting to bring about legislation that would […]
The former head of legal at The Times, Alastair Brett, is to appear before the High Court next week in an appeal against his suspension from practice and costs of £30,000 imposed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) last year. Brett’s appeal will be heard in the Administrative Court next Wednesday (23 July). He is […]
Speechly Bircham and Charles Russell partners are going to the polls today (16 July), to cast their votes on their potential £126m merger between the firms. It is thought that the firms have set a 75 per cent approval threshold in order for the merger to be rubber-stamped. If the deal is approved the firms […]
It’s no wonder that Jones Day’s London office has been on a corporate associate shopping spree over the past year, hand-picking eight new associates to handle its increased workload. According to the latest figures from Thomson Reuters, the firm has worked on more mid-market M&A deals with UK involvement than any other during the first […]
Growth has slowed at Stewarts Law following a five-year meteoric rise, with revenue increasing by 3.5 per cent from £45.2m in 2012/13 to £46.8m in 2013/14 while net profit stayed flat at £20.4m. The modest revenue increase is a marked contrast to five years of stratospheric performance for the firm, which had been growing by […]
South African firm Bowman Gilfillan is strengthening its maritime expertise by merging with Durban shipping boutique Velden Pike Nichols. The merger will take effect on 1 August and will see three partners – Mark van Velden, Andrew Pike and Trudie Nichols – as well as five lawyers, one trainee and four support staff join Bowman […]
After eight months of deliberating, Latham & Watkins has finally today unveiled its new global chair and managing partner. And it’s none other than London-based projects partner Bill Voge. Voge triumphed in the firm’s partner vote, with more than 50 per cent approval – beating competition from LA-based projects partner Jeff Greenberg and corporate partner […]
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Hampton Bishop Parish Council against the decision of the High Court (Hickinbottom J; [2013] EWHC 3947 [Admin]), which upheld the decision of Herefordshire Council to grant planning permission to Hereford Rugby Club to develop new rugby grounds in open countryside outside of the city. The development […]