Baker & McKenzie is looking for a location to launch another low-cost legal centre following the success of its Manila back office. The firm confirmed that it was “exploring options” for replicating the Manila model in other jurisdictions but emphasised that there was no timetable. There has been no indication to where further outposts might […]
The $1.6bn claim brought by Clifford Chance client Excalibur Ventures against Texas Keystone and Gulf Keystone was one of the biggest of 2012/13. When Mr Justice Clarke threw out the case in September he set in motion a series of battles over costs, exposing a number of criticisms levelled at the claimant firm and its […]
Not since Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy popped Katherine Ross on his handle bars and twirled round the Wyoming countryside has a cycling incident made such a media splash. The evening of 19 September 2012 – when then-government chief whip Andrew Mitchell attempted to cycle through the gates of Downing Street – has taken its […]
The deadline for HMRC’s new partnership tax rules is closing in. Is it too late for firms to plan a safe way through? When was the last time you heard about a law firm, chock-full of ferociously competitive individuals, deliberately trying its hardest to fail a test? It doesn’t happen often, that’s for sure. But the […]
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has launched a pilot scheme to explore how its Belfast office could support the firm’s Australian disputes practice. The plan has been on the cards since 2012, when the firm started to investigate the extent to which the firm’s offering in Belfast might be able to support Australia (19 November 2012). […]
Some firms could be facing cash windfalls of up to £9.5m in light of HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) new legislation on the way salaried partners are taxed. Under the new regime salaried partners will not be considered self-employed for tax purposes unless they can prove that status by failing one of three tests. If […]
CMS Cameron McKenna construction disputes head Rupert Choat is moving back to Atkin Chambers full time on 1 March 2014. The partner and solicitor advocate was made CMS head of construction disputes in 2011 and is deputy head of the real estate and construction sector. He joined CMS 13 years ago after beginning his career […]
For some reason the politics of King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin’s corporate department attracts extraordinary attention online from our readers. When private equity (PE) partner Ed Harris left for Hogan Lovells, the article garnered 89 comments and ended up being the ninth most-read story of the year on TheLawyer.com. When we reported last week […]
A one and a half day Supreme Court hearing is scheduled to begin on 24 March to decide whether LLP members should be protected by whistleblowing legislation. It is the latest phase of the legal battle between Clyde & Co and former partner Krista Bates van Winkelhof, in which she alleges she was unfairly dismissed […]
Freshfields, Norton Rose make it onto Stonewall gay-friendly employers listing It’s not often law firms can claim to be ahead of the curve, but this year’s Stonewall audit sees firms scrambling over each other to be more progressive in terms of diversity. The rankings reveal the UK’s 100 most gay-friendly employers, measuring efforts to tackle […]
Co-op in-housers work to forge legal roster system that suits bank and group Picking sides is generally something associated with the school playground, but not for The Co-operative Group general counsel Alistair Asher and his newly installed banking sidekick Brona McKeown. The pair were required to finalise the separation of the group and the bank’s […]
Oil giant likely to look within for replacement law boss after Rees walkout shocker The surprise departure of Shell legal director Peter Rees QC sent shockwaves through the sector last week as lawyers pondered the whys and wherefores of his sudden exit. Rees was credited with overhauling the FTSE 100 energy company’s legal department during […]