Walker Morris has appointed insolvency specialist Gawain Moore, who originally trained at Walker Morris, as a director in its restructuring and insolvency group. Moore rejoins the firm from Herbert Smith Freehills, where he was based in the London office for six years, having established himself as a specialist in restructuring and insolvency. He has wide […]
On 5 November 2013, the European Commission published draft revised guidelines on state aid for rescuing and restructuring firms (non-financial firms) in difficulty. The original guidelines were adopted in 2004 and were originally due to expire in October 2009 but were extended. The main aim of the revised guidelines is to ensure that rescue and […]
The Academies Capital Maintenance Fund (ACMF) is available for academies to improve the condition of their school buildings and to expand their facilities. The ACMF is administered by the Education Funding Agency (EFA). ACMF Round 1 is available to academies for building condition and expansion projects. To be eligible to apply, academies must be open […]
Wragge & Co and Lawrence Graham are set to merge, forming a new firm — Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co — from 1 May 2014. The partnerships of both firms have voted in favour of the combination, which will create a £171m business with 1,300 people, including 770 lawyers, operating from 10 offices worldwide. The firm will […]
Is the Family Court getting an undeserved bad press? Mr Justice Munby is troubled. He feels that the Family Court and Court of Protection are getting a bad press because of some seemingly perverse decisions that are making their way into the public’s consciousness. The judge was already intending to open them to greater scrutiny […]
CMS Cameron McKenna and Dundas & Wilson partners have said yes to a £277m-tie-up that will go live in May 2014. Sources close to the firms said due diligence began in July but Dundas & Wilson partners were only made aware of the deal late last week. It is understood that Dundas’ real estate, financial […]
Davinia Gransbury, a partner and head of Wragge & Co’s dispute resolution group, has been named in the 2013 Power Part-Time list, a roll call featuring 50 powerful UK executives who all happen to work part time or flexibly. The list was put together by Timewise Foundation, a social business that champions the social and […]
In Neal v Freightliner Ltd, the Employment Tribunal (ET) looked at the payment of overtime during a worker’s statutory holiday leave. Previously only guaranteed contractual overtime has been included in holiday pay calculations. However, the ET decided that non-guaranteed overtime (whether compulsory or voluntary) should also be included. Under the Working Time Directive (WTD), a […]
By Gordon Harris In opening this talk last year, I speculated about the reasons why there had been relatively little in the way of significant developments in case law in patent litigation in recent years. I wondered if the judiciary had done such a good job at resolving the basic issues that now little more […]
Earlier this year, the government launched a consultation seeking views on the future of the company and business name regulations. Its aim was to identify opportunities to improve and simplify the current system. Now, the government has published its response to that consultation. The overall aim of the business name regulations is to ensure that […]
With competition likely to be among the top issues keeping global counsels awake at night, what regulatory-related issues and trends lie ahead in 2014? Partners Bernd Meyring, in Brussels, and Nicole Kar, in London, see the following trends in Europe Clearing the Commissioner’s desk. As the current Competition Commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, reaches the end […]
In the run-up to Christmas it’s not hard to see why firms are already starting to look ahead to try to raise their games for 2013. And as the flurry of hires in recent weeks shows, many firms are choosing to cast their gaze in-house in a bid to bolster their offerings. Earlier this week […]