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  • May 20, 2009 |

    Boost your cable power

    The current recession has become infamous for its speed and bruising impact and the legal sector is feeling the pain. Even major City law firms, renowned for stability, are reporting significant loss of business and many have already made cuts or begun redundancy consultations.This follows a period of real change in the sector in the past decade with the rise of more regional and global firms. As they go international, law firms need to change the way they operate, moving from individual outfits to cohesive international brands.

    1 minute read

  • April 29, 2009 |

    Life through a lens

    If you bought your first camera in 1956 it is likely to have been a Kodak. Mine was a Kodak Brownie Cresta, a chunky plastic box which took square pictures in, of course, black and white. It had two controls - the shutter button and a knob for winding on the film. If you did not wind the film immediately after each shot, you were in trouble: when you next used the camera you couldn't remember whether you had wound on or not, so you risked the meaningless jumble of a double exposure if you didn't wind on, or a blank if you did.

    1 minute read

  • April 15, 2009 |

    Bird & Bird makes up four with none in London

    Bird & Bird has made up four new partners in this year's promotions round. The number marks a decrease of ten from 2008, when the firm made up 14, but that in turn was double the number of promotions in 2007.The promotions, which will be effective as of 1 May, see one new partner in each of the firm's Madrid, Rome, Stockholm and Frankfurt offices - including the firm's Madrid communications head Blanca Escribano.

    1 minute read

  • April 1, 2009 |

    Professional negligence: Dodging complaints

    With six months to go before the October deadline for solicitors to renew their professional indemnity cover, and against a backdrop of harsh economic times and a hardening insurance market giving rise to higher premiums, time is now of the essence for firms as they focus on managing business risks. What practical steps can solicitors take now to reduce the risk of claims and keep insurance premiums down?

    1 minute read

  • March 31, 2009 |

    BT set for online auction in legal adviser review

    BT has kicked off a sweeping review of its panel of external legal advisers, piloting an eBay-style online auction for its real estate panel as part of the process. Panel firms were contacted last month, with the review being led by group general counsel Anne Fletcher. It is expected to be completed within the next three to six months. The review comes after the telecoms giant launched an e-auction pilot for its real estate advisers earlier this year. The pilot saw seven firms bidding against each other on various criteria, including hourly rates and fixed prices, with the process also including formal interviews with each firm.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2009 |

    - 2009 Partnership Round: a Legal Week Wiki special -

    Welcome to Legal Week's 2009 partner promotions round-up. Here you'll find all the latest news stories about partner promotions gathered in one place, as well as links to relevant blog entries and any other bits and pieces we think might be of interest.

    1 minute read

  • March 11, 2009 |

    Trust & Estates Litigation Forum: Cases in point

    Nick Pearson, former head of global dispute resolution at Baker & McKenzie, discussed with Michael Birt QC, the deputy bailiff from Jersey, Francis Barlow QC from 10 Old Square in London and Simon Davies, head of litigation at Ogier, the main cases that were heard in Jersey, England and Guernsey over the past year

    1 minute read

  • March 3, 2009 |

    Debevoise reports 7.2% revenue increase for 2008

    Debevoise & Plimpton has reported a 7.2% increase in revenues for 2008, however, profits per equity partner lagged behind, falling by nearly 3% over the year. The New York firm saw turnover increase to $760.8 (£537.25m), on the back of significant litigation and white-collar investigation work for clients including Siemens AG. However, PEP dropped to $2.23m (£1.57m), showing that the firm is not immune to the effects of the financial crisis.

    1 minute read

  • February 24, 2009 |

    Ashurst launches US finance team with bold McKee deal

    Ashurst is set to seal its first major move into the US market with the City firm in advanced talks to recruit a US structured finance practice, Legal Week can reveal. The City law firm is in talks to recruit at least 10 finance partners from US practice McKee Nelson which, if finalised, would give Ashurst a practice in both New York and Washington DC

    1 minute read

  • February 19, 2009 |

    Nabarro strikes up LPC deal with Kaplan

    Nabarro has signed an exclusive agreement to send all of its trainees taking the Legal Practice Course (LPC) to Kaplan Law School from autumn 2009. The City firm is the third firm to sign up to Kaplan exclusively, after similar deals were struck up by Bird & Bird in October 2008 and Mayer Brown in November 2006.The education provider teaches Nottingham Law School's LPC, which was last year awarded top marks by the Law Society in all assessment categories.

    1 minute read