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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.

    1 minute read

  • October 16, 2008 |

    Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank unveils first-ever external panel of legal advisers

    Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has completed a review of its external advisers and created its first-ever legal panel. The changes follow January's appointment of Simon Copleston as the bank's first general counsel. Copleston has selected a 10-firm panel including long-standing adviser Reed Smith as well as Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Norton Rose, Clyde & Co and Middle East practice Al Tamimi & Company.

    1 minute read

  • October 9, 2008 |

    McGrigors revamps leadership and recruits brace of partners

    Big four Scots firm McGrigors has bolstered its ranks with two lateral partner hires and a new chief operating officer (COO).The firm is strengthening its restructuring expertise with the hire of Reed Smith's European head of corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, Mark Parkhouse. Parkhouse, who focuses on Serious Fraud Office and offshore fraud cases as well as cross-border and domestic turnaround and recoveries work, is set to join the London office this week as a partner in the corporate team. The firm is also adding to its Scottish non-contentious corporate recovery capability with the hire of Pamela Muir from HBJ Gately Wareing as a director in the Glasgow office. Separately, DLA Piper's UK real estate finance head, John Maciver, is set to join McGrigors as a partner in the Edinburgh office later this year. Maciver, who is also DLA Piper's finance and projects head for Scotland, advises on all aspects of banking and finance and will focus on Scottish real estate and leveraged finance work as well as project finance and securitisation matters. Meanwhile, McGrigors has appointed a new COO to oversee its finance, facilities, human resources and IT departments. Tim Salmon joins from Barlow Lyde & Gilbert where he was head of performance management. He has previously served as finance director at Richards Butler and chief financial officer at Arthur Andersen, during which time he oversaw Andersen Legal firms Dundas & Wilson and Garretts. Salmon replaces interim COO Chris West who stepped into the role following the departure of Tim Wilcock last year to US company AAI Pharma.McGrigors managing partner Richard Master said: "The timings of the hires have been particularly good for the firm - especially on the corporate recovery side where we will now have a national presence. We will look to make further hires, especially in the markets where we expect to see high levels of activity."

    1 minute read

  • October 8, 2008 |

    Reed Smith hires trio for investment funds set-up

    Reed Smith has launched an investment funds practice with the hire of three lawyers, including one partner from Nabarro. Investment funds partner Dale Gabbert joins Reed Smith on 14 October with associates Winston Penhall and Matthew Pitman and will advise clients on alternative investment funds structuring, investment management, joint ventures, regulatory and corporate matters. The investment funds practice will be part of the firm's financial industry group, which was launched in 2006.

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  • October 7, 2008 |

    Reed Smith Birmingham set for spin-off

    Reed Smith's Birmingham office is set to spin-off into a new, independent firm...

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  • October 2, 2008 | International Edition

    Field Fisher scores second Reed Smith hire in a month

    Field Fisher Waterhouse has hired its second partner from Reed Smith in a month to secure a new partner for its London pensions practice. Michael Calvert, who is the latest in a string of hires for the City law firm, will join Field Fisher's employment and pensions practice as a partner. Calvert joined Reed Smith in 2003 and, prior to that, worked at Ashurst. His practice includes acting for both employers and trustees on transactional and non-transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, outsourcings, scheme mergers and wind-ups and pensions regulator issues.He becomes the third lateral partner to join Field Fisher in recent weeks, following the hires of property litigator Lesley Webber, who also joined from Reed Smith, and technology and telecoms litigator Andrew Dodd from DLA Piper. The firm has already made nine lateral hires during the current financial year, taking its total partnership to 126.Calvert becomes the second partner in Field Fisher's London pensions group alongside practice head David Gallagher. The group's clients include Electricity Pensions, Arriva and the Government Actuary's Department. Gallagher said: "Calvert has an excellent reputation in the industry and his expertise in private sector pensions will be a good complement to our practice's leading public sector pension capability."

    1 minute read

  • October 2, 2008 |

    Field Fisher scores second Reed Smith hire in a month

    Field Fisher Waterhouse has hired its second partner from Reed Smith in a month to secure a new partner for its London pensions practice. Michael Calvert, who is the latest in a string of hires for the City law firm, will join Field Fisher's employment and pensions practice as a partner. Calvert joined Reed Smith in 2003 and, prior to that, worked at Ashurst. His practice includes acting for both employers and trustees on transactional and non-transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, outsourcings, scheme mergers and wind-ups and pensions regulator issues.He becomes the third lateral partner to join Field Fisher in recent weeks, following the hires of property litigator Lesley Webber, who also joined from Reed Smith, and technology and telecoms litigator Andrew Dodd from DLA Piper. The firm has already made nine lateral hires during the current financial year, taking its total partnership to 126.Calvert becomes the second partner in Field Fisher's London pensions group alongside practice head David Gallagher. The group's clients include Electricity Pensions, Arriva and the Government Actuary's Department. Gallagher said: "Calvert has an excellent reputation in the industry and his expertise in private sector pensions will be a good complement to our practice's leading public sector pension capability."

    1 minute read

  • September 24, 2008 |

    It's bonus time

    Since bonuses were introduced by law firms in the late 1990s as a way to limit the long-term effects of salary inflation, amounts paid out - and the hoops that assistants have to jump through in order to get their hands on the cash - have varied wildly between firms. Some firms give tens of thousands of pounds to assistants regardless of individual performance, while others require Olympian levels of all-round commitment in return for sums that could probably be more easily obtained through a few after hours' shifts at the local pub.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2008 | International Edition

    RPC signs up four-lawyer Field Fisher team

    Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has recruited a four-lawyer team from Field Fisher Waterhouse, including a new head for its real estate practice. RPC has taken on Field Fisher partner Martin Barrett to head its real estate team, along with assistant Sarah Cassidy, who will join as a partner.Barrett previously headed up Field Fisher's projects, infrastructure, commercial and industrial group, spending five years at Rosling King and five years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer before joining Field Fisher as a partner in 1992. His practice centres on energy and transport and he also advises on property-related matters for chemical, pharmaceutical, oil, gas and railway operating companies.

    1 minute read

  • September 22, 2008 |

    RPC signs up four-lawyer Field Fisher team

    Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) has recruited a four-lawyer team from Field Fisher Waterhouse, including a new head for its real estate practice. RPC has taken on Field Fisher partner Martin Barrett to head its real estate team, along with assistant Sarah Cassidy, who will join as a partner.Barrett previously headed up Field Fisher's projects, infrastructure, commercial and industrial group, spending five years at Rosling King and five years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer before joining Field Fisher as a partner in 1992. His practice centres on energy and transport and he also advises on property-related matters for chemical, pharmaceutical, oil, gas and railway operating companies.

    1 minute read