BDB Pitmans partners have voted through proposals that will see the firm transition to a CMS-style network model, having called off merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson in 2023. The firm has signed a letter of intent with Alvarez & Marsal Legal Services (AMLS) to help internationalise the business. Both BDB Pitmans and AMLS issued […]
Dentons has cut carbon emissions equivalent to charging 14,500 smartphones by adopting sustainable legal practices with key client Defra. This initiative, termed the “low carbon blueprint”, was developed with Defra’s legal department – Defra Legal Advisers – which is part of the Government Legal Department (GLD) that advises the Department for Environment, Food and Rural […]
Lawyers and business services staff from across the UK legal industry joined the masses yesterday in bringing their dogs to polling stations as they cast their vote in the general election. Martin Hamilton, managing partner at Capsticks, was among the crowd, attending his local polling station with his salt n pepper miniature schnauzer. In a […]
DLA Piper has once again raised pay for its newly-qualified lawyers (NQs), setting a new standard in the regions with a £6,500 increase. The firm’s regional NQ salary will go up to £75,000 from September, up 9 percent from the previous £68,500 implemented in 2023. In early 2022, DLA Piper was among the first to […]
An Osborne Clarke partner appeared before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) today to challenge allegations brought by the legal regulator and apply for a preliminary hearing on his case, which was refused. Represented by 4 New Square’s Ben Hubble KC, Osborne Clarke’s head of client strategy Ashley Hurst argued that the SDT should approve his […]
Revenue at Brabners reached £55.6m in the 2023/24 financial year, subject to audit, after the firm increased its top-line by 18 per cent from the previous year’s £47.1m. The firm’s newly re-elected managing partner Nik White told The Lawyer that it was a “standout year”, with just one department out of 13 across the firm’s […]
The head of Clifford Chance’s office in Newcastle has left the firm after six years in charge. Lucy Nixon left the firm last week. She joined in 2018 when Clifford Chance acquired Carillion Advice Services, the paralegal and managed legal services arm of the contractor. Nixon joined Carillion in October 2007 as an operations manager, […]
The Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling today, overturning decisions by the High Court and Court of Appeal to grant waterway owners the right to bring legal action against polluters for nuisance and trespass. This case, one of The Lawyer’s top 10 appeals of 2023, has been progressing since 2010 and has taken over […]
Weightmans is handing out £3,000 bonuses to all of its staff to celebrate a record year in which revenue grew by 12 per cent. The firm changed its financial year-end from 30 April to 31 March this year, posting revenue of just over £140m for the 12-month period. This equated to a 12 per cent […]
The North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) has drastically reduced its legal services panel, cutting 17 firms from its £100m roster. The new panel – effective from 3 June 2024 to 2 June 2028 – features 18 firms, down from the previous 29. New additions to the panel include Bird & Bird, Brodies, Devonshires, TLT and […]
Climate activists rallied outside Linklaters’ London office yesterday to put pressure on the firm for its involvement in enabling fossil fuel transactions. The group, known as Lawyers Are Responsible, created placards highlighting the billions of dollars in fossil fuel transactions that Linklaters had allegedly facilitated since 2019 until 2023, questioning the firm about its role […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has over 20 live investigations ongoing into solicitors and firms who worked on behalf of the Post Office or Royal Mail Group. In a statement released yesterday, the regulator said it is looking into a number of issues raised in debates about the Horizon scandal. Between 2000 and 2015, Post Office […]
Making partner can be stressful, full of uncertainty and unmet promises. Walker Morris’s new formal scheme hopes to change that.
Over two decades Peter Jackson has steered his firm through mergers, spin-offs and redundancies to growth
Leeds: Leeds’ legal industry has been going through a resurgence. The city, once known for being the largest legal hub outside of London a couple decades ago, had fallen behind the bustling centres of Manchester and Bristol in the years that followed. But with seven UK100 firms having opened in Leeds since the Covid-19 pandemic […]
Addleshaw Goddard’s energy practice has come a long way from doing the “weird renewables stuff” in the 90s, now aiming for £70m in revenue by the decade’s end.
Put your money where your mouth is: eight firms say they are doing just that.
As private practice firms continue to increase NQ pay in a bid to match the competition, magic circle chambers are unmoved. The past year has seen a consistent rise in pupillage awards across the Bar. However, as the quest to attract the best pupils continues and awards reach figures as high as £100,000 in some specialist […]
The energy crisis poses an opportunity for law firms to become experts in new areas of project finance – an opportunity HSF has grasped with both hands.
A law firm’s private carpark was once a coveted perk. No longer: they are about to go the way of the dinosaur
As law firms get to grips with evaluating their supply chains to improve those all-important scope three emissions, The Lawyer explores what’s more sustainable: a real Christmas tree or a fake one?
Team moves were all the rage last year, fuelled by firms launching offices in both Leeds and Manchester. Over 2023 and the trend was very much centred on finding the right lateral hires to kickstart a new practice area offering, particularly in the areas of energy, real estate and employment. Here, we look at the […]
Sussex: Back in June Beyond the Bubble talked to Cripps’ new managing partner James Beatton about his plans for the firm and making a go of it in Tunbridge Wells. “The growth in our London office has been fantastic but there are only so many lawyers you can recruit into Tunbridge Wells, lovely though it […]
A recent collaboration with The Nature Conservancy has helped MoFo gain valuable experience in the new world of biodiversity net gain.
In the first of a series of articles, TLT introduces the Law Society’s recently updated Blockchain Guidance and the impact this new technology will have across our sectors.
A number of taxpayers with HICBC appeals awaiting the outcome of the forthcoming Court of Appeal in HMRC v Wilkes have recently contacted the firm about correspondence received from HMRC about their 2017/18 tax position.
Private healthcare provider Bupa has been ordered to pay a purported record £1.04 million penalty (fine and costs combined) after admitting fire safety failings.
In the first half of 2021, £355 million was lost to authorised push payment (APP) fraud. This compares to £208 million in the first half of 2020. As a result, APP fraud losses now exceed card fraud losses for the first time. This significant growth in sums lost to APP fraud comes despite the successful introduction of phase 1 of Confirmation of Payee.
Financier Worldwide regularly bring together leading experts from around the world to discuss issues at the centre of their audiences’ interest. Shoosmiths were invited to contribute to the November 2021 roundtable which covers the significant, ongoing challenge many companies face: corporate fraud.
On 18 October 2021 we marked World Menopause Day. It is, therefore, timely that, this month, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has provided one of the few binding rulings on this topic. It has considered whether employees experiencing severe menopause symptoms can be protected from disability discrimination.
After many judicial speeches on the topic the summer saw three significant publications.
The Government has published its first statement setting out its vision for legal migration and border control as part of the new plan for immigration. This article summarises the key goals that form part of the vision.
The CMA recently launched its much anticipated review as to how competition law should apply to many common types of commercial arrangements (including, among others, distribution agreements (including exclusive and selective distribution), agency and franchising). It will, of course, be relevant in the automotive sector, bearing in mind that dealer agreements now fall under the “general” competition law rules rather (with the Motor Vehicles Block Exemption being confined to aftermarkets).
The Government’s much anticipated response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation has finally been released but those seeking clarity at this stage may be left scratching their heads. It appears to represent no more than an indication of the Government’s direction of travel under considerable media pressure to ensure that “something must be done” […]
By Bernardine Adkins, Sean Giles In 2018, new measures were introduced to expand the scope of government intervention in mergers. This year, the government’s briefing note accompanying the Queen’s Speech proposes new rules on investment screening. What does this mean for business? Our experts examine the existing UK foreign direct investment rules, and explain what any […]
By Lee Perry Part 5 of the Environment Bill, contains a number of disparate proposals relating to water – which could have major implications for many. Senior associate Joanne Sear and solicitor Grace Mitchell take a look at some of the key points in the Bill. Water resources planning According to its explanatory notes, the […]