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  • December 7, 2010 |

    Assistant Solicitor/Associate of the Year

    When Paul Groves qualified at Harbottle & Lewis in March 2006 he was offered a place in every department he trained in. With great prescience he made the case that he should straddle two groups that were regarded as very different at the time: the interactive entertainment group and the sports and sponsorship group. Paul foresaw that the two sectors would become increasingly linked through digital media. Since then, he has become instrumental in developing one of the firm's niche expertise areas - granting and exploiting sponsorship rights across new media platforms. Only three years after qualifying, Groves had developed his own practice and started instructing trainees and junior assistants.

    1 minute read

  • November 3, 2010 |

    Hammonds set for US merger vote as combined firm's name emerges

    Hammonds partners face seeing the firm's name pushed into second place if the merger with Squire Sanders & Dempsey goes ahead, with the brand being dropped entirely in countries where Hammonds does not have an office. Legal Week has learned that the merged transatlantic firm would be known as Squire Sanders Hammonds in those jurisdictions where Hammonds has a presence, including the UK, Europe and Asia. However, in the US and Eastern Europe, where Hammonds has no offering, the combined firm would be branded as Squire Sanders & Dempsey.

    1 minute read

  • October 22, 2010 |

    Nationwide cuts commercial lending legal panel from 60 to 17 firms

    Nationwide Building Society has cut back the number of advisers on its commercial lending panel from 60 to 17, following a rigorous selection process which kicked off in August. The building society has added seven new firms to the roster, including Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, LG, Reed Smith, Shoosmiths, Taylor Wessing and TLT. Aside from the new appointments, Nationwide has retained four of the firms that were already on the panel - Burges Salmon, Nabarro, Olswang and Eversheds.

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2010 |

    Top names ready to battle for honours at 2010 British Legal Awards

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) are among the firms shortlisted for a number of categories in the 2010 British Legal Awards. The group has been nominated for the much sought after Law Firm of the Year award alongside Clyde & Co, Sullivan & Cromwell and Travers Smith.

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2010 |

    Courtroom drama - the City's top film lawyers pick their favourite movies

    The City's top film lawyers might be experts when it comes to questions of finance, distribution and intellectual property law - but do they know what makes a good movie? Sofia Lind asks a line-up of film law partners for their recommendations

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Chancery and commercial Bar: Stars at the Bar

    The future of the Bar always sparks a fiery debate, and never more so than now, with the Legal Services Act (LSA) opening up new opportunities set to reshape the future of the legal profession. The upcoming changes have split lawyers into two camps: there are those who see it as a dying profession, with barristers unable and unwilling to change, and others who see the Bar as a vital part of our legal system going forward, which is opening up to modern practices.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Pinsents hires Shoosmiths practice chief to co-lead planning team

    Pinsent Masons has bolstered its planning practice, with the hire of Shoosmiths' national practice head Ian Gilbey. Gilbey is set to join Pinsents' six-partner planning team early next year and will jointly lead the group alongside existing head Richard Ford. At Shoosmiths, Gilbey has been replaced as head of the group by planning partner Kirsten Hewson, who takes over with immediate effect.

    1 minute read

  • October 4, 2010 |

    Reed Smith confirms merger talks with US firm Thompson & Knight

    Reed Smith is in talks with US firm Thompson & Knight over a tie-up which could boost its lawyer headcount to around 2,000, reports The Am Law Daily. Thompson managing partner Jeffrey Zlotky confirmed that the two firms are in "preliminary" discussions over a potential combination, but added that they have not yet reached the stage at which he would take the proposed deal to the full Thompson partnership.

    1 minute read

  • September 29, 2010 |

    Addleshaws' Burch takes non-exec role at Channel 4

    Addleshaw Goddard chairman Monica Burch has been added to the line up of Channel 4's new non-executive directors. The appointment, announced today (29 September) was made by Ofcom following an advertising campaign in the national papers. The role will start on 1 October for an initial three year term.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2010 |

    Reed Smith boosts Paris arm with Dentons hire

    Reed Smith has grown its corporate arm in Paris with the hire of corporate head Emmanuel Vergnaud from Denton Wilde Sapte. Vergnaud is set to join the firm's Europe and Middle East corporate group from Dentons this month alongside corporate associate Mickaeal Levi.

    1 minute read