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  • December 5, 2008 |

    Proskauer lays off 35 associates and 25 staff

    Proskauer Rose is laying off 35 associates and 25 administrative staff, reports The Am Law Daily.The news was announced in a memo, sent out by the firm yesterday (4 December), although which offices or practice areas will suffer the most is not specified. The New York firm said the layoffs are due to both the economic crisis and the "unprecedented reduction in our historical lawyer attrition rate."Proskauer launched an office in London last year with hire of Matthew Hudson, the former head of O'Melveny & Myers' City arm.

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  • December 4, 2008 |

    Dechert confirms UK cuts could affect 15 staff

    Dechert has announced that 15 jobs are under threat in the US firm's City office, as the firm enters the advanced stages of a redundancy consultation. Last month Legal Week revealed the firm was to begin a consultation with support staff, but the exact numbers of those affected were unclear.A spokesperson at the firm said: "We have now reached the management review stage of the process. While we cannot give a definite figure at this stage, we anticipate that no more than 15 individuals from our support teams will be affected, whether through voluntary or involuntary redundancies."News of the cuts comes after Dechert last month refuted claims that it had made a significant number of associate layoffs in the US.

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  • December 4, 2008 |

    Reed Smith to lay off UK staff after 115 US cuts

    Reed Smith has kicked off a redundancy consultation that could see 11 associates and seven staff members cut from the firm's UK offices, after the firm laid off 115 members of staff in the US. The firm is performing the statutorily required redundancy consultations in London, a move it said was prompted because of "overcapacity." The US layoffs will affect staff in all support areas, including IT, marketing, finance, practice administration, knowledge management, human resources and office services. Reed Smith global managing partner Gregory Jordan said: "The decision to take these actions was difficult, but we believe it is the prudent thing to do for our business over the longer term. Our recent experience and our projections dictate that we must plan for reduced demand for our services in 2009 and align our capacity accordingly."

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  • December 3, 2008 |

    IP, IT and life sciences: Sending out an OSS

    Conditions on the use of open source software will be easier to enforce following a recent US court ruling. In the first decision by a US federal appeals court in the burgeoning area of open source licensing, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has confirmed in Jacobsen v Katzer that violations of open source software licences constitute copyright infringement. This means that powerful remedies are available under US copyright law for these breaches, including injunctions and statutory damages. Authors of open source code are consequently not limited to pursuing less effective breach of contract claims when licences are violated.

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  • December 3, 2008 |

    Reed Smith managing partner on layoffs: capacity didn't meet demand

    In a firmwide memo to employees on Wednesday (3 December), Reed Smith announced that it will lay off 115 staff from its US offices and cut up…

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  • December 3, 2008 |

    ...Legal Week Lunchbox: 4/12/08...

    The five most popular articles on legalweek.com today; the pick of the day's posts; and more

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  • November 19, 2008 |

    Spirit of pun(k)

    As you may have heard, a little-reported phenomenon known as a credit crunch has led to a rash of belt-tightening measures being implemented across the City. And news reached the Diary this week of the blitz spirit on display at plucky legal stalwart Reed Smith. The firm is currently preparing for a bash at notoriously grotty Cavendish Square indie club The Phoenix. In an effort to keep the party budget down, the firm has decided to bring in its own 'in-house' entertainment.

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  • November 6, 2008 |

    Perks of legal life

    The rewards offered to lawyers extend beyond the financial into all sorts of gratis goodies. Legal Week Student takes a look at some of the more bizarre perks on offer

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  • November 5, 2008 |

    Reed Smith hires partner from Herbert Smith

    Reed Smith has made a second hire into its newly-created investment funds practice with the addition of Jacqui Hatfield. She joins the firm as a partner from Herbert Smith, where she was a senior associate. Hatfield advises on regulatory matters, including setting up institutions in the financial services sector and energy trade and commodities.

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  • October 30, 2008 |

    Top firms line up for 2008 British Legal Awards

    Ashurst, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters have been named among the nominees for a number of top accolades at the 2008 British Legal Awards. The trio have been shortlisted for the coveted law firm of the year award alongside Baker & McKenzie, Eversheds and Latham & Watkins.Linklaters has been shortlisted for three further awards, including cross-border M&A team of the year, while Freshfields is among the nominees for M&A team of the year. Allen & Overy also secured nominations in both of these categories.

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