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  • September 26, 2013 |

    AIG appoints 25 firms following EMEA legal panel review

    Linklaters, Mayer Brown and Travers Smith are among a clutch of 25 firms to have won places on AIG's legal panel, as the insurance group announces the creation of a new centre to manage its EMEA legal advisers. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and US headquartered firms Morrison & Foerster and Chadbourne & Parke have also taken places on the panel , which covers its claims and corporate legal panels for the UK and its nine largest European operations.

    1 minute read

  • September 25, 2013 |

    Reed Smith eyes growth in Singapore with hire of HSF Indonesia partner

    Reed Smith in Singapore has hired Herbert Smith Freehills energy lawyer Charles Ball as a partner as the firm looks to expand its presence in the city-state a year after opening there. Ball, who joins from the UK firm's Jakarta office, has extensive experience in Indonesia, which is a key market for the firm, with his focus spanning disputes, crisis management and compliance in the energy and natural resources sector.

    1 minute read

  • September 25, 2013 |

    Transfer Window Asia: recent moves including Clifford Chance, Mayer Brown and Eversheds

    Australian firm Gadens has added to its corporate team in Perth with the hire of King & Wood Mallesons partner David Perks. Having spent a decade at Mallesons, Perks has significant experience in Australia's M&A market, specialising in energy, projects and resources and advising clients such as BHP Billiton, CITIC Resources, Goldcorp and Focus Minerals.

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2013 |

    MoFo's London arm sees off £1.4m High Court negligence claim

    Morrison & Foerster's (MoFo's) UK arm has successfully countered a £1.4m professional negligence claim brought against the firm by energy investment company Petrochemical Resources. The claim was dismissed earlier this month by Exchange Chambers' Mark Cawson QC, who sat as a deputy judge of the Chancery Division, after the hearing ended in late June.

    1 minute read

  • September 12, 2013 |

    All systems go – why IT considerations are front and centre in law firm mergers

    The recent spate of big law firm mergers has brought IT to the front and centre of strategic discussions as partners recognise how reliant on technology their work has become...

    1 minute read

  • September 10, 2013 |

    Clydes hires Aussie partner trio to lead construction and shipping practices

    Clyde & Co has ramped up its new Australia operation with the hire of three partners from firms including King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) and Norton Rose Fulbright. Two of the new recruits - KWM partner Beth Cubitt and Norton Rose Fulbright partner Glen Warwick - will launch an Australia construction practice for the firm, while the third - Maurice Thompson, who joins from Australian firm HWL Ebsworth - will lead its shipping, trade and commodities practices in the country.

    1 minute read

  • September 10, 2013 |

    Eversheds and Clydes announce retention rates for autumn intakes

    Eversheds and Clyde & Co have become the latest UK top 50 firms to confirm their autumn trainee retention rates for 2013, following a clutch of announcements in recent weeks. Eversheds is keeping on 84% of its newly qualified (NQ) lawyers this autumn after offering 40 of its 45 qualifiers a role at the firm, with 38 accepting. The percentage is flat on last autumn's round, when the firm retained the same proportion of NQs.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 |

    AIG to launch Asia-Pacific adviser review as regulatory demands grow

    AIG is set to kick off a review of its external legal advisers across the Asia-Pacific region, as the insurance giant sizes up a potential merger of its corporate and claims panels. The US-based company currently has a corporate panel including five to 10 law firms across several Asian countries, alongside a separate claims panel subdivided by jurisdiction and area of expertise. The corporate panel covers 13 countries where AIG has operations in Asia – Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. AIG expects to finalise the process before the end of the year.

    1 minute read

  • September 5, 2013 |

    Desert dreams – why law firms are reassessing their Middle East strategies

    In Abu Dhabi Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has been looking in recent months to sub-let half its office space on the 23rd floor of the prestigious Al Sila Tower. The firm stresses it remains committed to the city, but its move nonetheless reflects a broader readjustment of international law firm ambitions in the UAE capital. "It's no secret that we are looking to sub-let half of the floor we originally let," says Zubair Mir, head of HSF's Middle East operations, before adding that "we are not looking to return the lease in any way". He explains: "What happened was we bought an entire floor in Dubai which became more full than we expected, so when we negotiated in Abu Dhabi we took out more space than we needed to try to avoid the situation of not having enough room." HSF is not alone in rethinking its needs in Abu Dhabi. Hogan Lovells closed its outpost there last year and transferred its work to the firm's Dubai office, having decided that it made for a stronger regional hub.

    1 minute read

  • September 2, 2013 |

    Clyde & Co expands further in Asia with Indonesian tie-up

    Clyde & Co has further increased its footprint in Asia through an association with Indonesian law firm Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo (LGS). The UK outfit, which currently has eight offices in the region, has appointed Singapore-based projects and resources partner Michael Horn to lead the venture, and plans to focus on Indonesian clients growing domestically and abroad.

    1 minute read