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  • 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

  • September 12, 2013 |

    BLP launches Africa review as firm eyes new markets across closely watched continent

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has kicked off a review of its Africa three-year strategy with a focus on markets driven by energy, mining and infrastructure work. The firm's core Africa group, which comprises five partners in London headed up by banking disputes partner Segun Osuntokun (pictured), has already identified several key jurisdictions it wants to target, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

    1 minute read

  • August 30, 2013 |

    Aviva appoints eight firms to core panel as CC misses out in review

    Aviva has appointed eight principal firms to its UK and group legal panel, with Clifford Chance (CC) missing out on a place after a review of the insurance giant's core legal panel. Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O), Latham & Watkins, Ashurst, DLA Piper, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons and Addleshaw Goddard have won spots on the new line-up, following a competitive tender process which began in April.

    1 minute read

  • August 30, 2013 |

    Pillsbury boosts London office with five-lawyer Gowlings IP team

    Pillsbury has hired a five-strong London intellectual property (IP) team from Canadian firm Gowlings, including two partners. James Tumbridge and Paul Harris join the US firm's London office alongside associates Katerina Mikheev and Robert Peake and Dr Ashley Roughton, formerly an intellectual property and data protection barrister at Hogarth Chambers, who joins Pillsbury as special counsel.

    1 minute read

  • August 29, 2013 |

    Pinsents, Hill Dicks lead as Crabbie's strikes deal to back Grand National

    Pinsent Masons and Hill Dickinson have advised on a deal which has seen alcoholic ginger beer maker Crabbie's become the new sponsor of the Grand National. The deal, which spans three years, will see the race will offer £1m in prize money for the first time.

    1 minute read

  • August 27, 2013 |

    Transfer Window Asia: recent moves including Ashurst and Simmons

    Ropes & Gray has added to its corporate practice in Seoul with the hire of counsel Jaewoo Lee from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Lee, who joins the US firm as a partner, will initially be based out of New York and Hong Kong but will relocate to Ropes and Gray's Seoul office when his license to practice in the North Asian state is approved.

    1 minute read

  • August 21, 2013 |

    Slater & Gordon takes over personal injury law firm Fentons in £32.5m deal

    Slater & Gordon has announced a 37% increase in global revenues alongside the £32.5m acquisition of UK personal injury law firm Fentons Solicitors. The fast-growing Australian firm, which in 2007 became the world's first publicly listed law firm, saw revenue grow 36.7% to A$297.6m (£171.2m) in 2012-13, while net profit after tax was up 67.6% to A$41.9m (£24.1m).

    1 minute read