• May 27, 2013 |

    Addleshaws to open new base in Qatar with double partner hire

    Addleshaw Goddard has continued its recent flurry of international expansion with the hire of two partners to launch a Qatar offering for the firm. Patton Boggs corporate partner Hussein Damirji will lead the new Doha office and will be joined by Dentons banking and finance partner Martin Brown. The firm is currently in the process of recruiting a small team of associates to support the duo.

    1 minute read

  • May 23, 2013 |

    Withers and Speechly Bircham call off merger after top-level talks

    Withers and Speechly Bircham have opted against a merger of the two firms, following votes at both firms earlier this week. A spokesperson for both firms said: "Following detailed discussions between the management and partnerships of Withers and Speechly Bircham, both sides have now concluded that a merger would not be in the best interests of both firms and have agreed not to pursue this further.

    1 minute read

  • May 16, 2013 |

    Links and Addleshaws advise on £335m Liverpool hospital PPP

    Linklaters and Addleshaw Goddard have landed roles on a £335m public private partnership (PPP) initiative to build a new hospital in Liverpool. The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust has selected Carillion as the preferred bidder, with construction to start next year on what is set to be the largest hospital in the country. Linklaters is advising Carillion and equity investors Lloyds Banking Group with a team led by head of global project finance Bruce White. The magic circle firm is one of several firms on the construction giant's legal panel, which also includes Slaughter and May and DLA Piper.

    1 minute read

  • May 7, 2013 |

    How GCs can create and sustain value

    Getting the right building blocks in place to create and sustain value is a key challenge for the modern day General Counsel. This is one of the biggest and most complex areas the ValueDynamics study encountered.

    1 minute read

  • May 7, 2013 |

    Understanding the key value drivers in your business

    One of ValueDynamics' aims is to raise the quality of the debate on 'adding value' and to bring a fresh perspective on what value really means in the context of a modern legal function. Addleshaw Goddard have condensed the most frequently talked about key drivers of value to create a top 10.

    1 minute read

  • May 7, 2013 |

    The importance of understanding differing priorities

    The ValueDynamics study identified a trend in which GCs are increasingly functioning more like business partners. A starting point for this shift in thinking is that everyone in an organisation needs to prove value in order to secure budgets in a difficult economic environment.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Addleshaws to launch in Hong Kong as firm continues international push

    Addleshaw Goddard is continuing its global expansion with the launch of an office in Hong Kong and the creation of a new international division. The firm recently gained its Hong Kong licence from the local law society, gifting it its fourth international launch in the past 12 months. The Hong Kong base, which has been set up to target opportunities in China and the Far East, is expected to be fully operational by the end of May. This follows moves into Oman last month, and Singapore and Dubai last year.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Aviva kicks off tender for new panels; magic circle duo take top-level roles

    Aviva has launched a major review of its external legal advisers that will see the insurance giant create its first group global and UK legal panels. Aviva's overall head of legal and company secretary Kirsty Cooper (pictured) and Aviva group general counsel Monica Risam are leading the review, with around 25 firms invited to pitch for places when tender documents were sent out three weeks ago.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Insured success - Aviva's legal team on reshaping the insurance giant's in-house function

    To say Aviva's overall head of legal Kirsty Cooper had a busy 2012 would be putting it mildly. As GC and company secretary for the insurance giant, the past year involved Cooper overseeing a restructuring of the in-house legal function, which saw headcount reduced by roughly 10% to 280.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 | International Edition

    Caught in two minds – firms split on whether to stick or twist in tough market

    Recent weeks have presented a somewhat divided picture of the upper echelons of the legal market. On the one hand, against the backdrop of a relentlessly tough market, many of the UK's largest law firms have announced predictably reduced partner promotion rounds – with the magic circle, for example, making up nearly 20% fewer new partners this year than last. On the other, Slaughter and May this week played a strong hand in terms of salaries, with the firm's across-the-board rises for junior lawyers likely to set the bar for its City peers.

    1 minute read