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  • November 11, 2009 |

    More than just price

    "A typical energy project is complex, unpredictable and chaotic," says Peter Roberts, general counsel of Centrica Energy, the upstream business of Centrica. "So attempting to tie a law firm to a fixed fee is an unintelligent way of proceeding." Still, Roberts expects any law firm advising on one of the oil and gas, wind or early phase nuclear power projects Centrica is currently developing to be able to at least provide a cost estimate - even if they end up straying from it: "It's like asking a cabbie how much he reckons it will cost to get to King's Cross," he says. "If he can't at least give you a rough estimate then there is a strong suggestion that he doesn't know what he is doing."

    1 minute read

  • November 6, 2009 |

    Law professor withdraws legal blog lawsuit

    A law school professor has withdrawn a lawsuit accusing the legal blog Above the Law of publishing a "viciously racist series of rants" after reporting the professor's arrest for suspicion of soliciting prostitution, writes The National Law Journal. University of Miami School of Law professor Donald Marvin Jones dropped his lawsuit against the popular US blog on Wednesday (4 November), nine days after he filed it pro se in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

    1 minute read

  • November 3, 2009 |

    Law professor sues legal blog for $22m in damages

    A prominent law professor has launched a claim against Above the Law, alleging the popular US legal blog of racially taunting him in a series of posts, writes the National Law Journal. The case involves coverage of a prominent University of Miami School of Law professor and civil rights advocate Donald Marvin Jones, who was arrested on suspicion of soliciting an undercover officer for sex.

    1 minute read

  • October 28, 2009 |

    Bourgeois revolution

    Earlier this year, Forbes magazine named General Electric (GE) as the largest company in the world in its annual Global 2000 list. GE employs 323,000 people globally (among them over 1,000 lawyers) across a range of businesses including electronics, healthcare and financial services. So when it comes to reviews of external legal advisers at the company, the processes involved are complex and lengthy: 18 months, in this case.

    1 minute read

  • October 19, 2009 |

    Weil Gotshal tops list of earners as Lehman bankruptcy fees near $200m

    The sum total of legal fees for work relating to the collapse of Lehman Brothers is rapidly approaching $200m, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. The ten law firms (plus an individual lawyer in the UK) involved in Lehman's Chapter 11 case have billed the Lehman estate a total of $178.8m (£110m) since the company filed for bankruptcy on 15 September last year.

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2009 |

    Dundas partner duo quit for new roles at Greenberg and Kennedys

    Dundas & Wilson has seen the departure of two partners from its London office. Corporate partner Ewan Robertson has been recruited by US firm Greenberg Traurig Maher (GTM) after spending seven years as a partner with the Scottish firm. His practice focuses on M&A, joint ventures and project-related matters in the energy, real estate and utilities sector.

    1 minute read

  • October 9, 2009 |

    Leading firms nominated for 2009 British Legal Awards

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Bird & Bird and Norton Rose are among the nominees for a series of accolades at the 2009 British Legal Awards. The trio have been shortlisted for the prestigious Law Firm of the Year award alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Clyde & Co, Kennedys and Stephenson Harwood. Norton Rose has also been nominated for a further two awards, including M&A Team of the Year, while Bird & Bird has secured nominations in three other categories, including Commercial Team of the Year.

    1 minute read

  • October 7, 2009 |

    Herbert Smith takes Virgin Atlantic role on BA investigation

    Herbert Smith has advised Virgin Atlantic on the European Commission's investigation into British Airways' (BA's) planned transatlantic alliance with American Airlines and Iberia. Last week (2 October) the Commission published a statement of objections in relation to plans to co-ordinate BA and American Airlines pricing, routes and marketing activities on certain transatlantic routes.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Bingham McCutchen set to adopt 'merit lockstep' system

    Bingham McCutchen is set to move to a 'merit lockstep' system that will keep base pay on lockstep but introduce a merit component into bonuses, reports The Recorder. Bonuses at Bingham were previously based solely on meeting a billable hours target. Although billable hours will continue to play a significant role in determining bonuses at the US firm, they will also be based on less tangible factors such as teamwork and the overall market rates for bonuses.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2009 |

    Global 100: Emerging markets

    From Russia's grey gloom to Brazil's red-hot ambitions, a look at the state of five emerging legal markets

    1 minute read