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  • October 16, 2013 |

    Litigation funder in talks with 30 UK firms over hybrid DBA model

    Litigation funder Burford Capital has launched a new form of hybrid damages based agreement (DBA), offering to share risk with law firms. In what the company claims is a first for the UK legal services market, the 'Burford Hybrid DBA' allows firms to strike a private risk-sharing agreement with the funder, thereby circumventing lawyers' concerns over the regulation of direct DBAs with clients.

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2013 |

    Top firms set to do battle at 2013 British Legal Awards

    Linklaters is leading the way in nominations for the top practice awards as the shortlist for the 2013 British Legal Awards has been unveiled. The magic circle has nominations M&A, banking, financing or restructuring, and commercial team of the year categories. However, it missed out on the law firm of the year shortlist.

    1 minute read

  • October 9, 2013 |

    Norton Rose Fulbright and Pinsents advise on Falklands oil and gas merger

    Norton Rose Fulbright and Pinsent Masons have landed the leading roles on a deal that will see Falkland Oil & Gas (FOGL) acquire fellow exploration company Desire Petroleum. The combination of the two Falklands companies, which will create an entity worth around $250m (£156m), will see FOGL's shareholders own 60% of the combined group's issued share capital after the offer closes, with Desire stakeholders owning the remainder.

    1 minute read

  • October 3, 2013 | International Edition

    Moving the goalposts – Legal Week Law Quarterly Peer Review

    From sports disputes to increased regulatory activity, Ben Wheway looks back at the briefings and statistics making headlines in Legal Week Law over the past quarter...

    1 minute read

  • October 3, 2013 |

    Moving the goalposts – Legal Week Law Quarterly Peer Review

    From sports disputes to increased regulatory activity, Ben Wheway looks back at the briefings and statistics making headlines in Legal Week Law over the past quarter...

    1 minute read

  • October 3, 2013 |

    Pinsents wins second exclusive client contract with E.ON deal

    Pinsent Masons has signed a new partnership with E.ON which will see the firm become sole legal adviser to the energy giant's UK business. The arrangement, which will last for five years, sees Pinsents cover the full range of legal services, thereby reducing E.ON's external legal advisers in the UK to just one.

    1 minute read

  • October 2, 2013 |

    Slaughters and Pinsents lead on £550m facility for property developer

    Slaughter and May and Pinsent Masons have taken the lead roles on the arrangement of a £550m revolving credit facility for FTSE 250 property development and investment company Derwent London.

    1 minute read

  • September 19, 2013 |

    A slice of the pie – keeping lawyers motivated as equity ranks shrink

    For disgruntled lawyers increasingly worried about whether they will ever join the hallowed ranks of their firm's equity partnership, DWF and Wragge & Co are helpful case studies on the sometimes polarised attitudes of legal sector employers. DWF has gatecrashed the UK top 20 following a spurt of mergers, including the pre-pack purchase of Cobbetts, but it has the lowest equity partner proportion of any firm in the top 50. Out of an average partner number last year of 285, only 59 held equity, just 21% of the partnership.

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2013 |

    Cobbetts administration bill reaches £1.7m for six months' work

    The administration of Cobbetts, a regional law firm that collapsed this year, incurred expenses of £1.7m between 6 February and 5 August, according to a six-month progress report by administrators KPMG. These include £352,289 in legal costs, of which £169,367 was paid to Pinsent Masons for its work for the LLP prior to KPMG's appointment.

    1 minute read

  • September 16, 2013 |

    Capita to enter UK legal services market with Optima takeover

    Outsourcing company Capita is poised to move into the UK legal services market with the acquisition of Optima Legal, following a conditional agreement between the two parties. The business process outsourcing (BPO) giant today (16 September) announced plans to acquire Optima, a provider of high-volume services for property, debt recovery and litigation works, as well as its subsidiary Cost Advocates, which provides legal costs drafting and negotiation services.

    1 minute read