Issues

Cat Griffiths index

Chance of a sturdier Saudi solution

Last week Paris firm August & Debouzy quit its six-year alliance with Nabarro, a move that leaves the London firm rather stranded in France. At the launch of the European alliance in 2008 then-senior partner Simon Johnston told us, “It’s a model that’s worked for Slaughter and May and we don’t see why it won’t […]

Cardiff

Legal players head for pastures new

As the market expands again, UK cities are grabbing a piece of the action  The UK legal market is worth an annual £26.1bn to UK plc. The largest slice of that pie goes to London. With the profession in growth mode at home and as an exportable product, it is little wonder that major cities […]

Roundtable

Roundtable on south-east Europe: Edge funds

‘Exotic’ investors and opportunities for legal work beyond M&A feature in The Lawyer’s high-level roundtable debate on south-east Europe  As Vladimir Putin squares up to Kiev’s new government, Russian troops pour into the Crimea confining their Ukrainian counterparts to barracks and its navy blockades to Sevastopol, it is easy to flash back to Europe’s last […]

Hong Kong

US firms muscle in on Hong Kong

Hong Kong IPO activity is hotting up again, but UK legal stalwarts are looking over their shoulders as US rivals make up ground fast There has been a notable revival of IPO activity in Hong Kong in the past three months, but there are alarming signs for UK firms that have traditionally dominated this market […]

Ansell

Silks 2014: The QC stories

Successful QC applicants are at a three-year high. Encouraging stuff for the next silk round? For many litigators, taking silk is a career high – an official recognition of years of hard work and dedication. Of the 225 wannabe silks who embarked on the lengthy application process a year ago, just 100 were successful. It […]

RSC2

In-house interview: RSC – Order of play

The Royal Shakespeare Company had no formal panel until legal head Marina Zain joined to bring some logic to bear on the ‘artistic’ legal set-up Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or organise an annual retainer on a fixed fee… You get the gist. For theatre […]

pro neg

Professional negligence: Claims vs reality

Clients are more willing to bring claims against professional service providers but the risk to defendants is not as dramatic as it might seem  Professional negligence claims have soared in value in recent years, with damages being sought for tens, if not hundreds of millions of pounds, but the settlements are often far lower. Robin […]

Portugal

Portugal: First rays of the new rising sun

A more confident economy is raising expectations among Portugal’s lawyers, who had turned their gaze overseas Near Lisbon Cathedral in the heart of the Portuguese capital is a plaque marking the home for more than 200 years of the Colegio de Estudiantes Irlandeses. Established by Portuguese noblemen and a group of exiled Irish Jesuits, the […]

This week’s top 15 legal briefings – 9th March 2014

Remember Libor? It was that name that sounded a bit like the hunchbacked assistant to Dr Frankenstein in many a Hammer Horror film, but was in fact something to do with banks that only about six people understood. In fact it is the London interbank offered rate, and there has been a huge scandal around […]

Compliance and white-collar crime

In all areas of business, companies are facing mounting levels of compliance risk. Consequently, effective corporate compliance measures, corporate criminal proceedings and investigations have markedly gained in importance. In response to this, and to better service the needs of our clients, Schoenherr has established a dedicated criminal compliance and white-collar crime team. The team’s substantive […]

Banking, finance and capital markets

Schoenherr advises on banking, finance (including project and acquisition finance), debt restructuring and re-financing, acquisition and disposition of distressed assets and loan portfolios, claims trading, capital market transactions (including equity/equity linked, hybrid, debt and regulatory capital issuances) funds, derivatives, structured finance, securitisations and other financial services. We provide transactional and regulatory advice. In addition, we […]

No5 Chambers represents one of five men jailed after crashing getaway car

No5 Chambers’ Ecky Tiwana has represented Marcus Cohen, one of five men jailed for a total of 22 years after stealing from a jeweller, then crashing their getaway car while trying to escape from police. The incident happened on the morning of 17 September last year. The five men entered Deacon & Sons in Marlborough, smashed […]