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  • February 5, 2014 |

    LLP round-up: Pinsents spent £20m on merger, while other firms show net debt hikes

    Pinsent Masons' latest limited liability partnership (LLP) filing shows the firm spent £20.6m on its merger with Scottish firm McGrigors in 2012. The transaction incurred costs of £2.5m related "reorganising, restructuring and integrating the acquisition", according to the accounts filed with Companies House.

    1 minute read

  • January 30, 2014 |

    The compass points south – how do in-house legal teams in Africa rate their external advisers?

    Ian Isdale, group company secretary and general counsel of leading African food and consumer goods company Tiger Brands and immediate past president of the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa, is putting it mildly when he says: "There has been a heightened interest in Africa and in the next five years I don't see that interest waning." Recent years have seen a host of UK and US law firms – ranging from Norton Rose Fulbright and Linklaters to Hogan Lovells and even Slaughter and May – attempting to come up with ways to penetrate a market where activity levels have remained buoyant, despite economic challenges elsewhere in the world. So with law firms and corporates increasingly turning their attention south, Legal Week Intelligence has, for the first time, extended its flagship Client Satisfaction Report to Africa, to uncover the key trends affecting in-house legal teams in the continent and their satisfaction with external legal advisers

    1 minute read

  • January 30, 2014 |

    Diane Abbott: US firms "more sensitive to issues of diversity" than UK counterparts

    Diane Abbott MP has said US law firms are ahead of their UK peers when it comes to workplace diversity and promoting opportunities for black and ethnic minority groups. Speaking today (30 January) at an event hosted by Pinsent Masons' London office, Abbott also put forward a "practical and business case" for diversity in the UK legal services industry.

    1 minute read

  • January 30, 2014 |

    National Grid to review firms ahead of panel overhaul

    National Grid is to conduct back-to-back reviews of its external legal advisers, after the term for its current line-up ends on 31 March. The first 'closed' review - which will begin in the next few weeks - will evaluate cost structures and the performance of the existing 16-firm line-up, and extend the terms of the current panel for a year.

    1 minute read

  • January 23, 2014 |

    Steadying the ship – what has driven the rise in demand for interim GCs?

    One of the less appreciated effects of the growth of in-house legal teams in recent years has been the evolution of the interim general counsel. While fans of Premier League football will be all-too familiar with the concept of an interim boss, the phenomenon is one that is relatively new to the legal world. But a slew of temporary appointments to high-profile in-house teams at banks, retailers and other major corporates suggests it is no longer possible to leave the top legal job vacant for extended periods of time. So what has driven the push for interims, and what status do those who take these impermanent roles really have?

    1 minute read

  • January 15, 2014 |

    Magic circle breaks into Stonewall list as Freshfields makes top 100

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has become the first magic circle firm to break into the top 100 UK employers for LGB staff, according to the charity Stonewall's annual index.

    1 minute read

  • January 6, 2014 |

    Irwin Mitchell continues expansion of commercial team with Pinsents and DWF hires

    Irwin Mitchell has continued the expansion of its commercial division with the recruitment of partners Phil Berwick and Nick Dawson, who join from Pinsent Masons and DWF respectively.

    1 minute read

  • January 5, 2014 |

    Pinsent Masons boosts Asia corporate practice with four new hires

    Pinsent Masons has boosted its Asia corporate practice with the hire of three partners in Singapore and another senior lawyer in Shanghai. The UK firm, which earlier this year launched a TMT practice in Singapore, said it wants to tap more corporate deals coming from its existing clients in the energy, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

    1 minute read

  • December 24, 2013 |

    Senior Dundas figures set to leave ahead of CMS tie-up as firms agree partner lock-in

    A group of partners at Dundas & Wilson are leaving the firm ahead of its merger with CMS Cameron McKenna, which goes live next year. It is understood that a group of senior partners, including former chairman David Hardie, will not be joining the new firm. Meanwhile, another group of partners have not received offers to move across once the merger goes live.

    1 minute read

  • December 16, 2013 |

    Brown Rudnick opens Paris base with hire of former Gide disputes partner

    US firm Brown Rudnick has launced a litigation-focused Paris office fronted by a former Gide Loyrette Nouel partner. The office will be co-led by Sebastien Bonnard, the former Gide partner who joins from Lacourte Raquin Tatar, alongside international arbitration group head Nicholas Tse, who is currently based in London.

    1 minute read