The former head of legal for Microsoft Russia has quit the technology giant to lead Akamai Technologies’ EMEA legal arm from the UK. Alexander Borovik, who built Microsoft’s Russia legal team from scratch before moving to Seattle, is expected to take up the role of EMEA head of legal for Akamai in mid-March. He was […]
London is a battleground for the world’s top two legal cultures and the hiring struggle is a telling manifestation of this – with America seemingly winning For the past four years I have been conducting an annual survey into lateral partner hires in the London market, research that has attracted interest and brickbats in almost, […]
Linklaters has lost another capital markets partner with the exit of Nigel Pridmore, who quit the firm last month. Pridmore’s destination is unknown but his departure follows debt capital markets partner Francis Kucera, who left for Ashurst at the end of 2013 (9 December 2013). Kucera joined up with former Linklaters colleague Stephen Edlmann who […]
Russia dominates accolades of firms that have stayed strong and imaginative It has become apparent over the past few years just how competitive a market Europe now is for law firms. Independents jostle for position with top players from the UK, US and now even Asia in an economic climate that continues to be volatile. […]
The fragile refinance market is back in rude health and US-style alternative lenders are stepping up with innovative structures to sustain the recovery After years of the European refinancing markets dragging their feet, they came back with a bang in 2013. The figures say it all – deal volume increased by more than 20 per […]
Move of the week Clifford Chance private equity (PE) partner and Carlyle contact Kem Ihenacho has left for Latham & Watkins. He is the third partner to quit Clifford Chance for Latham in the past year. London partner and Africa practice co-head Ihenacho was one of the firm’s contacts for Carlyle deals. His departure follows […]
From billing apps to crowdsourcing and social media, technology is changing lawyers’ working lives With an increasing number of clients complaining that their lawyers are inept when it comes to forecasting litigation costs, technology entrepreneurs are getting in quick to find a solution. When business magnate David Schottenstein had to use three law firms in […]
Standard Life dropped a hand grenade into the acrimonious debate over independence for Scotland at the end of last week. The financial services giant has been based in Edinburgh for 189 years and its suggestion that it would up sticks and move to London if Scots voted to bail out of the union is guaranteed […]
Wragge & Co’s banking and finance team has assisted long-standing client Sanctuary Group in the securing of a £350m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The deal is the first time that the EIB has agreed a direct loan to the social-housing sector. The transaction allows Sanctuary Group, which owns a total of 96,000 houses, to push […]
From 6 April, the statutory limits on the level of compensation that employment tribunals can award will go up. Furthermore, tribunals will have the power to impose financial penalties of up to £5,000 on employers, where it determines that the employer has breached worker’s rights and the breach has one or more aggravating factors. In […]
By Ben Gipson, Eric S Beane and John E Fitzsimmons California has a reputation for employment litigation: it is the state where everyone seems to feel obliged to sue their boss for something. While some suits have merit and others are understandable, there are suits by current or former employees that have no substance […]
The government recently published its Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2014, which seeks to amend a number of areas of law. This article will focus on the proposed reforms to judicial review and cost-capping orders, which will have an impact upon planning and environmental matters — the extent of the impact of the proposed amends […]