Clifford Chance has advised China Mobile on its $880m investment in Thai telecommunications company True Corporation, which turned to Linklaters for advice. Dual-listed in New York and Hong Kong, China Mobile is the world’s largest telecoms carrier by the number of subscribers. Through the $880m investment, it will acquire an 18 per cent equity stake […]
Nowhere has the legal market changed so radically as the insurance sector over the last ten years. The Lawyer’s research shows the extent to which consolidation has become the norm. Pricing challenges remain, but the dominant firms are truly emerging. The great insurance landgrab Research reveals unprecedented consolidation in the consumer insurance market Parabis revenues […]
For every new business model success story there’s a disaster. As more firms contemplate more efficient working structures, here’s how to avoid the pitfalls What will the legal market look like in five years’ time? According to management consultancy OMC Partners, by 2019 every firm in the UK 100 – those with a turnover of […]
Ashurst’s low-cost support base in Scotland is to rejig its business model by adding at least two qualified lawyers to the office by the end of the year. According to insiders the majority of work coming through Ashurst’s Glasgow office has been instructions from a financial institution client, leading to the firm’s decision to pull […]
Our analysis this week is on how major City firms have adopted the practice of disaggregation in their quest for greater efficiency (see cover story, page 10). Ashurst, Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith Freehills and most recently, Hogan Lovells, have all opened regional offshoots to handle lower value and support work rather than packaging it […]
At the time of its launch Accutrainee was described as a revolutionary change to the training model. Has it proved to be so? Not really. Among the 550 or so trainees who qualified as solicitors this spring, Flora Hussey and Simon Latham were quite unusual. The duo became the first people to qualify via Accutrainee. […]
Weightmans has hired Edwards Wildman Palmer partner Francis Mackie in a bid to transform its insurance practice. Mackie has been hired to grow Weightmans’ London market capabilities. His appointment is the first step in a strategic effort by Weightmans to develop its insurance capabilities and create a practice which is able to advise clients on […]
7KBW and 39 Essex Court have settled a payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling battle between Lloyds subsidiary Black Horse and a customer on the day it was to appear in the Supreme Court. The appeal brought by Shelagh Conlon against Black Horse was due to be heard last week in the Supreme Court but the […]
Prosperity is all around, but that will only lay bare fundamental problems in a sector accelerating towards its judgment day The wave of positive economic data that ushered in the new year has become positively tidal as momentum and growth, now driven by increased business investment levels as well as consumption, has buoyed markets and […]
Move of the week 4 New Square has a new tenant, in the form of former Herbert Smith Freehills advocacy head Murray Rosen QC. Rosen joined legacy Herbert Smith in 2005 from 11 Stone Buildings to launch its advocacy unit, and will join 4 New Square in September. UK London Lester Aldridge has hired […]
Despite rule changes, after-the-event insurance is still core to funding litigation cases, while damages-based agreements are largely ignored Q: To what extent is after-the-event (ATE) legal expenses insurance relevant to the modern commercial litigation market? Malcolm Henké, senior partner, Greenwoods: In personal injury (PI) cases the claimant is still concerned with meeting the cost of disbursements, which […]
Winning the £1bn Crossrail contract was critical in reviving Bombardier’s fortunes for big-bidding, says Lynn West, head of legal for the UK’s last surviving train maker Next time you wade into an eBay bidding war, spare a thought for Bombardier Transport’s head of contracts and legal affairs Lynn West. For West and her eight-lawyer team, […]