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  • March 5, 2008 |

    Commercial and Chancery Bar: Centre point

    In an article entitled 'Starting from Scratch' on 29 March, 2007, Legal Week reported on the ambitious plans for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and its Court. In the subsequent year the world's leading financial institutions have continued to pour into the centre and the list of law firms with a presence in the DIFC now include Akin Gump, Allen & Overy, Al Tamimi & Co, Ashurst, Clifford Chance, Conyers Dill & Pearman, Denton Wilde Sapte, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Lovells, Maples and Calder, Norton Rose, Reed Smith Richards Butler, Simmons & Simmons and Walkers. In addition, the UK law firms Kennedys and Clyde & Co, which are based in greater Dubai, have also been active in the DIFC Court. It is notable that in January the International Bar Association (IBA) established its Middle East office in the DIFC. The opening of the office was timed to correspond with the IBA's Arab regional forum's conference on Islamic finance in the Middle East. The DIFC has set its sights on becoming the world centre for Islamic finance and is itself an active investor. In June 2007, DIFC Investments listed a $1.25bn (£630m) sukuk on the Dubai International Financial Exchange, taking the total value of sukuk listed on the exchange to $10.43bn (£5.26bn) - the highest of any exchange worldwide. The DIFC has also been an active investor in international markets and acquired a 2.2% stake in Deutsche Bank, which, according to publicly-available market data, makes it the largest external strategic shareholder in the international investment bank.

    1 minute read

  • March 5, 2008 |

    The art of retention

    The day Walfrido Martinez joined Hunton & Williams to open the firm's Miami office in 1999, all he had to do was show up and start working. The firm had in place a receptionist, a head of office services and secretaries ready for him and the four colleagues who moved with him from Holland & Knight. A group of associates had already been flown in from other Hunton offices to work on their matters. The prep work paid off. In his first month Martinez billed 200 hours. "You can't do that if you don't have the resources in line," says Martinez. He hasn't forgotten that early lesson. Now Hunton's firm-wide managing partner, Martinez has tried to continue-and extend Hunton's lateral integration programme. So far, it seems to be working. Of the 28 lateral partners the firm hired in 2005, 25 are still there.

    1 minute read

  • February 27, 2008 |

    Reed Smith recruits two-partner Beijing team

    Reed Smith has hired a two-partner team from the Beijing office of legacy US firm Dewey Ballantine. Corporate partners Sharon Mann and Hugh Scogin, along with one counsel and five associates and consultants, will join Reed Smith after formerly having worked with Dewey Ballantine in Beijing.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2008 |

    Pro bono competition venture wins more firms and attracts EC interest

    A pro bono scheme set up to provide free competition law advice to individuals and small businesses has caught the attention of the European Commission (EC).More than 35 City and national firms, including CMS Cameron McKenna, Pinsent Masons, Ashurst, Baker & McKenzie, Taylor Wessing, Simmons & Simmons, Reed Smith Richards Butler and Macfarlanes, as well as two sets of chambers, now participate in the project, which originally saw 21 firms club together to form the group in October 2006.

    1 minute read

  • February 20, 2008 |

    Reed Smith disputes practice boosted by double partner hire

    Reed Smith Richards Butler has strengthened its London disputes practice with the hire of two international arbitration partners. Stephen York and Shai Wade joined the firm this week (18 February) from the London office of Kilpatrick Stockton. Both York and Wade have experience of large-scale arbitrations and have represented clients in front of bodies including the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Commission of International Trade Law.

    1 minute read

  • February 11, 2008 |

    The best 10 albums of 2007

    Reed Smith music lawyer Gregor Pryor on his favourite 10 best albums of 2007. It's not every day you see Britney and the Wu Tang mentioned in the same breath...

    1 minute read

  • February 1, 2008 |

    Six-hundred PI firms settle monster TAG claim

    Manchester law firm Rowe Cohen is one of almost 600 personal injury firms to have agreed a settlement in their high-profile litigation following the collapse of The Accident Group (TAG). Insurers Winterthur and National Insurance Group (NIG) had brought the negligence claim against TAG, Rowe Cohen and another 597 firms in 2005 following TAG's administration in 2003 but a settlement was reached in the last few days.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2008 | International Edition

    Elite US firms struggle to attract senior partner hires in the City

    Lateral partner hires among elite US firms in London have slowed during the last year, according to research from Legal Week, which illustrates the uphill struggle faced by US firms attempting to recruit leading names in the City.The survey of hiring trends at 23 US firms in London found they made a total of 65 lateral hires in 2007, up from 58 the previous year but down on 2005, when hiring activity peaked and 70 lawyers were recruited.Significantly, some of the US' top firms saw a fall in partner-hiring activity with 10 firms, including Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Baker & McKenzie, all reporting a drop in lateral appointments.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2008 |

    Elite US firms struggle to attract senior partner hires in the City

    Lateral partner hires among elite US firms in London have slowed during the last year, according to research from Legal Week, which illustrates the uphill struggle faced by US firms attempting to recruit leading names in the City.The survey of hiring trends at 23 US firms in London found they made a total of 65 lateral hires in 2007, up from 58 the previous year but down on 2005, when hiring activity peaked and 70 lawyers were recruited.Significantly, some of the US' top firms saw a fall in partner-hiring activity with 10 firms, including Latham & Watkins, Kirkland & Ellis, Weil Gotshal & Manges and Baker & McKenzie, all reporting a drop in lateral appointments.

    1 minute read

  • January 31, 2008 |

    CLLS signs up LG and Trowers & Hamlins

    Two new London law firms have signed up to the City of London Law Society (CLLS), which now has 51 top practices on its books.City outfits LG and Trowers & Hamlins are the latest firms to join the representative body after signing up during the last 12 months.The newly-expanded body currently represents 35 of the UK's top 50 law firms and five out of the top 20 US firms in the City, including Reed Smith, Dechert and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, as well as a number of boutiques. It means the body now represents more than 13,000 solicitors overall.

    1 minute read