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  • May 2, 2013 |

    Aviva kicks off tender for new panels; magic circle duo take top-level roles

    Aviva has launched a major review of its external legal advisers that will see the insurance giant create its first group global and UK legal panels. Aviva's overall head of legal and company secretary Kirsty Cooper (pictured) and Aviva group general counsel Monica Risam are leading the review, with around 25 firms invited to pitch for places when tender documents were sent out three weeks ago.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Getting your house in order – the burden of self-reporting

    Internal investigations are nothing new, but in the wake of banking scandals, growing regulatory pressure and a raft of legislation tightening and criminalising corporate law, investigations have become as burdensome for general counsel as they are burgeoning for their external legal advisers. Many corporates have gone to great and costly lengths to improve their internal processes, not least in light of the Bribery Act 2010, which forces UK and foreign companies with a UK operation to ensure they have adequate procedures in place to minimise the risk of bribery and corruption.

    1 minute read

  • May 2, 2013 |

    Insured success - Aviva's legal team on reshaping the insurance giant's in-house function

    To say Aviva's overall head of legal Kirsty Cooper had a busy 2012 would be putting it mildly. As GC and company secretary for the insurance giant, the past year involved Cooper overseeing a restructuring of the in-house legal function, which saw headcount reduced by roughly 10% to 280.

    1 minute read

  • April 30, 2013 |

    US-style plea bargains draw nearer as bill receives royal assent

    Laws which will pave the way for deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) in England and Wales have been given Royal Assent. Schedule 16 of the Crime and Courts Bill, which was passed into law last week (25 April), contains provisions for a prosecutor and defendant to reach plea-bargaining type settlements widely used in the US.

    1 minute read

  • April 29, 2013 |

    Hill Dicks to cut jobs and restructure teams as revenues remain flat

    Hill Dickinson is launching a review of its UK business which is expected to lead to job cuts, as the firm prepares to post broadly flat revenues for the 2012-13 financial year. The review, which will begin next month, will focus on the firm's range of services and its geographical reach, with the move coming in response to "prevailing market conditions", according to the firm.

    1 minute read

  • April 25, 2013 |

    The path to oblivion - the events that brought Cobbetts' 175-year history to an abrupt end

    On 6 December 2012, Cobbetts' managing partner Nick Carr released a confident statement about the firm's financial position, saying: "Our half-year results ensure we remain on target, and new client wins mean that trading predictions for the next six months are strong. We expect to meet our financial targets by year end." Taken in isolation, this statement is no different to the numerous anodyne comments issued on behalf of law firm managers whenever full and half-year financial results are announced.

    1 minute read

  • April 25, 2013 |

    Tyco re-signs Eversheds for two-year fixed fee contract

    US industrial conglomerate Tyco has renewed its multi-million pound contract with Eversheds for the fourth time since the ground-breaking deal's inception in 2006. The latest two-year deal, which has previously been reported as being worth around £13m, has been agreed following the separation of Tyco and its Tyco Flow arm, after the latter was acquired by water flow control business Pentair last September.

    1 minute read

  • April 25, 2013 |

    Mills & Reeve adds six to partnership after George Davies merger greenlight

    Mills & Reeve has made up six lawyers to the firm's partnership in its 2013 promotions round, following the confirmation of its merger with Manchester firm George Davies. The promotions will come into effect on 1 June, the date the tie-up between the two firms is due to go live after partners gave the deal the green light.

    1 minute read

  • April 25, 2013 |

    Ex-Cobbetts partner joins creditors group amid questions over money owed

    Former Cobbetts partner Andrew Wright has been appointed to the failed firm's creditors' committee, as questions over money allegedly owed to partners begin to emerge in the wake of the firm's demise. Wright, who left Cobbetts for Canadian law firm Gowlings in March last year, is understood to be owed in the region of £350,000.

    1 minute read

  • April 22, 2013 |

    Pinsents promotes 14 to partnership

    Pinsent Masons has made up 14 lawyers to its partnership in its latest promotions round, one more than the firm made up last year. The 2013 promotions, which are effective from 1 May, include three London partners, four Scotland-based lawyers and three from the firm's Asia offices.

    1 minute read