The European Commission (EC) is under attack from lawyers over its handling of the proposed merger between British Airways (BA) and KLM. The now defunct talks between the carriers, which would have resulted in a £5bn merger, fell through on 21 September following two and a half months of negotiations, after both sides failed to […]
Baker & McKenzie (B&M) is hiring the head of Rowe & Maw’s aviation, transport and leisure group. Mark Henrick boosts the number of partners in B&M’s corporate department to 29, and adds capability in both private M&A and public company flotation work. He will work closely with the firm’s technology groups and the projects team, […]
Every six months, Rosalyn Schofield leaves her desk at JD Wetherspoon’s HQ, where she is head of legal and company secretary, and dons a pinny. For a day she will spend her time preparing scampi and chips, ploughman’s lunches and other traditional pub grub for customers at a JD Wetherspoon pub. Her turn in the […]
The cool attitude of Rakisons co-founder and senior partner Tony Wollenberg makes him the perfect man to see the firm through its US merger with Steptoe & Johnson. Julia Cahill meets the gambling man
A former Watson Farley & Williams partner is taking on some of the largest shipping firms by setting up his own niche practice. Paul Rodgers has set up Rodgers and Co as a litigation-only boutique operation specialising in shipping and international trade disputes. The practice, based in the London offices of Den Norske Bank, will […]
Shipping firm Holman Fenwick & Willan’s new senior partner Robert Wilson may have a hard task filling the shoes of his predecessor, but as Ryan Dunleavy discovers, there is a strong personality behind the professional. At first glance it seems that Robert Wilson, newly elected senior partner at maritime practice Holman Fenwick & Willan, has […]
Hilton Group’s company secretary and head of legal is very protective of his external lawyers. After a little persuasion, Geoff Chester admits which firms he instructs, although he will not let on which individual lawyers he deals with. The reason? Chester is worried that if names are revealed, others might start instructing them, leaving his […]
It is nearly a year since Peter Kennerley left Simmons & Simmons, where he was a corporate partner, to join Scottish & Newcastle (S&N), the UK’s biggest brewer. “I am company secretary and corporate lawyer, so I am doing the corporate law I did before but in an in-house capacity advising the board. It is […]
Abigail Townsend meets Lawrence Graham’s new shipping partner Charles Baker, a lawyer who loves to travel but hates the journey from his home to Heathrow. Charles Baker, maritime expert and new shipping partner at Lawrence Graham, is a keen traveller and explorer of different cultures – but he has his limits. While he is happy […]
Three months ago, the completion of Whitbread’s £2.8bn attempt to buy the Allied Domecq retailing arm seemed assured. The deal, which would have given Whitbread 3,500 of Allied’s pubs, appeared to be finalised, with the two sides advised by top City firms Clifford Chance and Linklaters & Alliance respectively. Both sides were fighting to meet […]
Struan Robertson may seem the epitome of Englishness but Anne Mizzi discovers Sinclair Roche & Temperly’s new senior partner has spent most of his legal career in the Far East. Struan Robertson, senior partner at Sinclair Roche & Temperley, is a man clearly suited to his firm. Sinclairs, which specialises in shipping, is well known […]
The elections may have gone to a second round, but Tony Scales believes his job as senior partner of Stephenson Harwood is not one coveted by many. Anne Mizzi reports. It is not usual for a chief executive to sit in on and interject in a profile interview with his firm’s new senior partner. But […]