The High Court has awarded Thai businessman Nopporn Suppipat more than $850m in compensation after his companies were sold when he went into exile. Suppipat claimed that prominent businessman and Wind Energy Holding (WEH) former manager Nop Narongdej, several individuals, entities and the Siam Commercial Bank had all committed fraud. WEH was founded in 2009 […]
In the last week of judgments this side of summer, the Court of Appeal upheld nominal damages in a libel case after a claimant was found to have lied, a class action was allowed to proceed on an opt-out basis, and Ocado claimed victory in an out-of-court settlement, suspending patent litigation. Exaggerating defamation may see […]
The Supreme Court sent shock waves through the litigation market this week, with its ruling in a DAF Trucks appeal causing plenty of uncertainty for lawyers and funders. The Court ruled that the claimants’ litigation funding agreements (LFAs), which are very similar to many in the market, are damages-based agreements (DBAs), even though funders had […]
Hello and welcome to the last edition of The Hearing before the summer break. As is always the way in the last full week of the courts’ Trinity Term, we’ve seen several significant judgments published this week as judges rush to hand in their homework before the holidays. On Monday the High Court threw out […]
The High Court has awarded Thai businessman Nopporn Suppipat more than $850m in compensation after his companies were sold when he went into exile. Suppipat claimed that prominent businessman and Wind Energy Holding (WEH) former manager Nop Narongdej, several individuals, entities and the Siam Commercial Bank had all committed fraud. WEH was founded in 2009 […]
In the last week of judgments this side of summer, the Court of Appeal upheld nominal damages in a libel case after a claimant was found to have lied, a class action was allowed to proceed on an opt-out basis, and Ocado claimed victory in an out-of-court settlement, suspending patent litigation. Exaggerating defamation may see […]
The Supreme Court sent shock waves through the litigation market this week, with its ruling in a DAF Trucks appeal causing plenty of uncertainty for lawyers and funders. The Court ruled that the claimants’ litigation funding agreements (LFAs), which are very similar to many in the market, are damages-based agreements (DBAs), even though funders had […]
Hello and welcome to the last edition of The Hearing before the summer break. As is always the way in the last full week of the courts’ Trinity Term, we’ve seen several significant judgments published this week as judges rush to hand in their homework before the holidays. On Monday the High Court threw out […]
Pinsents questioned over professional negligence Pinsent Masons has been hit with a lawsuit by Gloucestershire investment management company Blackfinch Group and Kuwait supply chain services firm Agility. The two organisations have teamed up to issue a professional negligence claim against the law firm. Pinsents has called on Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) for its defence, while […]
Does anyone need any confirmation of the gradual takeover of the City by rampaging US law firms? No, thought not. If, however, your answer is yes, then more evidence of the Americanisation of London can be found in the upcoming edition of the UK Corporate 50. Much of the focus in this year’s report is […]
Mexico is set to welcome thousands of lawyers later this year when the capital city plays host to the International Bar Association’s (IBA) showpiece event. Partners and support staff will mingle from dawn until way after dusk, discuss strategies and scan way off into the horizon. However, Mexico’s been high on the interest list for […]
At times, Clyde & Co appeared dangerously close to squandering the growth opportunities presented by its July 2022 acquisition of BLM. The firm’s most recent financials, however, suggest BLM was the fuel Clydes needed to grow in the UK. Not that it has been without casualties, with a significant proportion of former BLM partners having […]
The M&A rankings for the first half of 2024 confirmed one thing we already felt was true: that Linklaters and Slaughter and May have had a lot of acquisitive or targeted clients this year. According to data provided by the London Stock Exchange Group, the pair rank first and second respectively in terms of the […]
When Stephenson Harwood chief executive Eifion Morris set a target for doubling revenue to £400m by 2027, he knew it would be a tough challenge. “A profitable growth strategy will probably take more than individual lateral joiners and internal promotions to achieve,” he told The Lawyer back in 2021. This protective view came as the […]
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 […]
Welcome to The Passport, your regular round-up of the most important stories to come from the European legal market. In this edition, we look at how CMS zoomed past Dentons in the Polish lawyer headcount stakes; why you might have to get used to the idea of three firms with ‘Snellman’ in their name; and […]
Akin Gump has recruited three of Cooley’s London partners, including its City managing partner Justin Stock. Stock moves to Akin along with Stephen Rosen and David Bresnick. The three focus on transactions with a life sciences and technology element. At Akin, Stock will become the firm’s international head of technology. Both Stock and Bresnick joined […]
For elite firms with ties to big banks, the first half of 2024 has been fruitful for corporate transactions. Sainsbury’s banking business was sold to NatWest Group last month, with Linklaters and A&O Shearman advising, while Addleshaw Goddard, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Paul Hastings led on Co-operative Bank’s sale to Coventry Building Society in an […]
Mills & Reeve’s turnover rose by double digits in 2023/24 to a new record high that has resulted in the firm’s highest-ever all-staff bonus pool of £3m. The firm’s turnover rose by 14.1 per cent to £168m, beating its 2025 strategic target of £150m a year ahead of schedule. The firm has not yet revealed […]