By Sydney M White, Jim Halpert, Vinny Sanchez and Fernand A Lavallee The White House has announced its eight preliminary incentives to encourage private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure (CI) to adopt the final Cybersecurity Framework, now under development by the administration. And in the meantime, a report from the Department of Defense and the General Services […]
We should all tip our hats to those corporate regulators over at the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. Why? It’s thanks to their rule change in September 2011 that we’re now granted a sneaky peak at the fees being charged by law firms for UK public M&A work. Our regular analysis of the stats always […]
Valentine’s Day should be a romance fest but can sometimes signal the end. Which is where the right legal solution can help. What is meant to be the most romantic day of the year is also a popular time for many couples to call an end to their marriage. But with a variety of options […]
The collapse of Heenan Blaikie took many in the North American market by surprise. DLA Piper may have pulled out of acquiring the rump of the firm, but Canada remains a key part of Norton Rose and Clyde & Co’s global strategy Canada: Farm horizons DLA Piper pulls out of Heenan Blaikie Canada deal DLA […]
London set 39 Essex Street has confirmed plans to open an office in Kuala Lumpur in October, making it the first UK chambers to have a presence in Malaysia. 39 Essex Street has taken an office at the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) following a formal signing of the lease yesterday. The Lawyer […]
Taylor Wessing’s UK managing partner Tim Eyles wants lawyers to be more creative. Sounds like a lightbulb has gone off. Taylor Wessing’s UK managing partner Tim Eyles is one of those lawyers who enjoys peering into a crystal ball occasionally. Under his leadership his firm has just launched an initiative called “lightbulb” which replaces the […]
Former chief whip Andrew Mitchell has returned to Atkins Thomson partner Graham Atkins and 5RB’s David Sherborne to defend him against a libel claim being levelled at him by Metropolitan Police officer Toby Rowland. In a new twist to the ‘Plebgate’ saga, Rowland is pursuing Mitchell for libel over accusations that he lied about Mitchell’s […]
New legislation reforming the Belgian State Council (Conseil d’Etat/Raad van State), the supreme administrative court of Belgium, was published on 3 February 2014. The new legislation aims to shorten the length of proceedings before the State Council and to increase its flexibility. Some changes will only affect proceedings commenced on or after 1 March 2014, […]
Gateley has made its first non-lawyer an equity partner after converting to an ABS structure in December. Finance director Neil Smith became an LLP member and full equity partner on 1 January 2014, senior partner Michael Ward said the firm was “delivering on a promises we made quite some time ago”. Ward said the firm […]
The Court of Appeal has given clarification on the threshold that an applicant must meet in order to obtain pre-action disclosure. Under rule 31.16 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the court may make an order for pre-action disclosure only where: the applicant and respondent are likely to be the parties to subsequent proceedings; and the […]
The case of Richard Gabriel v Peter Little, High Tech Design & Build Ltd, Whiteshore Associates Ltd, BPE Solicitors, BPE Solicitors LLP ([2013] EWCA Civ 1513) has highlighted the importance of engagement letters in clarifying the scope of a professional retainer. Mr Gabriel lent the sum of £200,000 to Whiteshore, secured on a property known as Building […]
On 10 December 2013, HMRC published the 2014 Draft Finance Bill. Among the proposed changes is a proposal to address what the government views as disguised employment of individuals working as salaried partners in an LLP. The new rules will come into effect from 6 April 2014 (although anti-avoidance provisions came into force from 5 […]