• November 29, 2012 |

    Carillion to drive panel firm work through new low-cost legal arm

    Carillion is to make all of its recently appointed panel firms use its new low-cost arm in Newcastle for commoditised work as the FTSE 250 construction group considers offering the service to other companies or law firms. The Newcastle base, known as Carillion Advisory Services (CAS), currently houses 60 paralegals providing support to Carillion on the commoditised elements of deals and other work, as well as providing legal aid advice to clients.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2012 |

    Sector switch – the GCs stepping out of their comfort zone into new industries

    When Network Rail announced in October 2011 that FTSE 100 Premier Foods general counsel Suzanne Wise was to trade in Hovis and Bisto for the UK's railway network, at first glance, it may have seemed like she was entering uncharted territory. The motivation behind the move is not, in fact, hard to work out – Network Rail is a larger company, the appointment is board level and Wise has returned to managing a larger legal team, more on a par with the one she managed at multinational tobacco company Gallaher Group before joining Premier.

    1 minute read

  • November 29, 2012 |

    Magic circle duo bag roles on £1.7bn rail systems acquisition by Siemens

    Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have advised on Siemens' £1.74bn acquisition of technology company Invensys' rail operations in the UK.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2012 |

    Simmons and Stephenson Harwood announce half-year financials

    Simmons & Simmons has reported a 3% decrease in revenue for the first half of the financial year, while Stephenson Harwood has seen H1 revenues hold steady. Simmons has posted a revenue figure of £124.8m for the first six months of 2011-12, with the 3% drop equating to a total of around £121m for the first half of 2012-13.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2012 |

    Pinsents leads on £5.6m settlement in Bribery Act self-reporting first

    Pinsent Masons has advised on a £5.6m Bribery Act settlement by a Scottish drilling company, in the first case involving self-reporting by a company under the new legislation. The settlement comes after oil and gas services company Abbot Group this July admitted to Scotland's Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) that it had benefited from corrupt payments made in connection with a contract between 2006 and 2007, entered into by one of its overseas subsidiaries and an overseas oil and gas company.

    1 minute read

  • November 27, 2012 |

    Pinsents wins High Court role as Berezovsky litigation saga continues

    Pinsent Masons has been appointed by the Government of Russia's Samara Region to represent it at the UK High Court in its efforts to recover almost RUB1bn (£20m) from oligarch Boris Berezovsky. The UK firm won the role after a tender process that was sparked by the Samara Region filing action to recover RUB989m (£19.4m) it claims it is owed by Berezovsky.

    1 minute read

  • November 26, 2012 |

    Gateley to cut up to 20 fee earners across England as layoffs continue

    Gateley is set to lay off around 20 fee earners across its offices in England. The firm's construction, real estate, dispute resolution and employment practices are among those which will be affected across its offices in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Nottingham.

    1 minute read

  • November 26, 2012 |

    Ashurst defers quarterly profit distributions after tough half year

    Ashurst is deferring payment of profits to partners this quarter as the firm responds to a drop in revenues in the first half of 2012/13.

    1 minute read

  • November 26, 2012 |

    Bird & Bird cites strong Asia growth as firm reports double-digit H1 hike

    Bird & Bird has reported a double-digit rise in half-year revenues for the 2012-13 financial year, with fee income up 12% on the same period last year. The firm, which manages its accounts in euros, declined to reveal an exact half-year turnover figure, but estimates that it has seen 2% growth on a pound sterling basis when currency fluctuations are taken into account.

    1 minute read

  • November 25, 2012 |

    Pinsents hires CC corporate veteran as firm posts 4% H1 revenue hike

    Pinsent Masons has announced a 4% rise in half-year revenues alongside a notable addition to its corporate team with the hire of long-serving Clifford Chance (CC) partner Jonathan Beastall. Pinsents, which merged with Scots firm McGrigors at the start of the 2012-13 financial year, has taken in revenues of £146m for the first six months of the year.

    1 minute read