Law firms in the hotseat once again A raft of claims have mounted against several law firms in the past week, including suits against solicitors and barristers and those regarding professional negligence against Wiggin, Keystone, Fox Williams, Setfords and JMW. Banner Universal Motion Pictures (BUMP), an independent TV, film and entertainment company, filed a claim […]
Venice interest rate swaps case heads to Court of Appeal The case against the Municipality of Venice brought by two Italian banks regarding interest rate swaps starts on Tuesday 24 October for four days in the Court of Appeal. The High Court action was the latest in a long line of cases in which Italian […]
This week on The Lawyer’s Litigation Tracker, we explore the “future disputes” group at Allen & Overy as a team of litigators focus on disputes that might arise from space exploration and satellite use. The market: As early as the 1950s, satellites have been launched to provide us with information about the weather and climate change, to […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your insider’s guide to the UK litigation market. This week, we take a dip into the UK Litigation 50, which is due out in a few days, we ask why other firms aren’t paying out special bonuses like Quinn, and why Shoosmiths might be a good bet […]
Law firms in the hotseat once again A raft of claims have mounted against several law firms in the past week, including suits against solicitors and barristers and those regarding professional negligence against Wiggin, Keystone, Fox Williams, Setfords and JMW. Banner Universal Motion Pictures (BUMP), an independent TV, film and entertainment company, filed a claim […]
Venice interest rate swaps case heads to Court of Appeal The case against the Municipality of Venice brought by two Italian banks regarding interest rate swaps starts on Tuesday 24 October for four days in the Court of Appeal. The High Court action was the latest in a long line of cases in which Italian […]
This week on The Lawyer’s Litigation Tracker, we explore the “future disputes” group at Allen & Overy as a team of litigators focus on disputes that might arise from space exploration and satellite use. The market: As early as the 1950s, satellites have been launched to provide us with information about the weather and climate change, to […]
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your insider’s guide to the UK litigation market. This week, we take a dip into the UK Litigation 50, which is due out in a few days, we ask why other firms aren’t paying out special bonuses like Quinn, and why Shoosmiths might be a good bet […]
In a new class action in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), Slaughter and May has been instructed to defend Santander, The Lawyer can reveal. In August, Enfield Labour Councillor and consumer advocate Doug Taylor brought the £1bn class action against Santander, Lloyds Banking Group and MotoNovo Finance. Taylor alleges that consumers were unknowingly charged higher interest rates due […]
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 […]