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  • November 7, 2013 |

    Hong Kong to give green light to LLP structures next year

    Law firms practising in Hong Kong could be permitted to establish limited liability partnerships (LLPs) from next year under new rules being drawn up by the Law Society of Hong Kong. A law bringing local liability regulations in line with international frameworks is expected to come into force in the next 12 months after additional legislation is approved by Hong Kong's Legislative Council (Legco), the city's solicitor-general Frank Poon has indicated.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2013 |

    The Transfer Window: recent moves including Taylor Wessing, Slaughters and Osborne Clarke

    The Transfer Window is a regular round-up of recent legal moves in the UK and abroad. Please send all announcements to [email protected].

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2013 |

    CMS latest to target Turkey with Istanbul launch

    CMS has become the latest firm to move into the fast-growing Turkish market after launching an office in Istanbul. CMS Cameron McKenna corporate partner and international head John Fitzpatrick will lead the office, alongisde CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz commercial local partner Doene Yalcin.

    1 minute read

  • November 6, 2013 |

    Eversheds and Baker Botts lead as Siemens spins off turbine unit

    Eversheds and Baker Botts have landed key roles on Siemens' joint venture with energy services company Wood Group, which will create a $1bn (£624m) oil and gas rotating equipment business. Aberdeen-based Wood Group is spinning off the majority of its maintenance and power solutions operation into a joint venture with the German company.

    1 minute read

  • October 31, 2013 |

    Into Africa – firms must be alert to continent's rich diversity

    Given Africa's resources and status as one of the few parts of the world with strong economic growth, it is hardly surprising that international law firms have been busily reviewing their Africa strategies. The list of countries identified as targets is long. For example, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is eyeing countries such as Mauritania, Congo-Brazzaville, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Morocco, while Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and Sudan are on Pinsent Masons' target list. Berwin Leighton Paisner has earmarked, among other countries, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Cameroon and Gabon. So between them, three London-based firms have identified 15 African countries as having the potential to generate decent levels of legal work.

    1 minute read

  • October 31, 2013 |

    IT teams under siege as personal tablet use booms at law firms

    Law firm IT directors are battling to support an influx of personal tablets and other mobile devices in the workplace, with almost a third of lawyers now using tablets in the office. The number of lawyers using devices such as iPads and Android tablets has grown by almost half in the last year, with around 34% uptake at law firms, compared to 23% in 2012, according to Legal Week Intelligence's annual IT Report. The survey, which canvassed the views of more than 2,000 lawyers at leading firms, found that although tablet use has increased significantly, the vast majority of these devices (94%) are personally owned, with law firms still restricting company devices to the senior echelons.

    1 minute read

  • October 31, 2013 | International Edition

    IT teams under siege as personal tablet use booms at law firms

    Law firm IT directors are battling to support an influx of personal tablets and other mobile devices in the workplace, with almost a third of lawyers now using tablets in the office. The number of lawyers using devices such as iPads and Android tablets has grown by almost half in the last year, with around 34% uptake at law firms, compared to 23% in 2012, according to Legal Week Intelligence's annual IT Report. The survey, which canvassed the views of more than 2,000 lawyers at leading firms, found that although tablet use has increased significantly, the vast majority of these devices (94%) are personally owned, with law firms still restricting company devices to the senior echelons.

    1 minute read

  • October 30, 2013 |

    Freshfields, A&O lead £750m Heathrow Airport bond issue

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Allen & Overy (A&O) have landed roles on Heathrow Airport Holdings' (HAH) £750m bond issue. Funds raised will be used to refinance the group's existing debt and strengthen its financing platform for its ongoing transformation programme, which includes next year's planned opening of the new terminal two, to be named 'The Queen's Terminal' (pictured).

    1 minute read

  • October 17, 2013 |

    CMS rolls out litigation funding menu after conditional fee win

    CMS Cameron McKenna has begun offering conditional fee arrangements (CFAs) to litigation clients more widely after the firm won its first case on a 'no win, no fee' basis early this year. CFAs are one of a range of alternative fee arrangement (AFA) options CMS has been increasingly making available to clients in the wake of Lord Justice Jackson's civil procedure reforms, which came into effect earlier this year. The options are likely to widen to include damages-based agreements (DBAs) or fixed fees for backed cases. Head of arbitration Guy Pendell said that the firm had also begun working with third-party litigation funders, including Calunius Capital, Burford Capital and Harbour Litigation Funding, on its package of AFAs.

    1 minute read

  • October 17, 2013 |

    Former Pinsents disputes head leads trio of hires for Irwin Mitchell

    Irwin Mitchell has expanded its business legal services (BLS) division with a group of three lateral hires, including Pinsent Masons litigation head Nigel Kissack. Kissack, who moves to Irwin Mitchell as national head of commercial litigation, is joined by Squire Sanders intellectual property partner Alex Newman and former Brown Rudnick lawyer Kirsten Doherty, who moves as a consultant.

    1 minute read