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  • March 9, 2009 |

    Pannone rated top employer as Links drops out

    Manchester-based law firm Pannone has once again been rated as the best legal employer in The Sunday Times' 100 Best Companies To Work For survey, while City giant Linklaters has dropped out of this year's list. Pannone moved up to third in this year's overall rankings, marking the sixth consecutive year the firm has been rated among the UK's top 10 employers. The survey praised Pannone for its realistic attitude to work/life balance, with 78% of employees saying they were happy with the provisions the firm offered.Eleven law firms in total have made it onto this year's list - the same amount as last year, but with a number of changes. City firm Lewis Silkin was the highest new entry, coming in at 19, while CMS Cameron McKenna re-entered at 74 and Charles Russell (92) was included in the list for the first time.

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  • March 4, 2009 |

    Four London firms take legal panel roles for pan-European data business

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Ashurst, Addleshaw Goddard and Lovells have won spots on data centre operator TelecityGroup's first legal panel. The firms were all appointed to the FTSE 250 company's main legal roster earlier this year after a competitive tender process. The appointments will see Freshfields advising the company on high value corporate finance matters, Lovells providing general corporate, commercial and M&A advice, and Ashurst and Addleshaws advising on employment issues and debt advisory matters respectively.

    1 minute read

  • March 4, 2009 |

    National trio step into advisory roles on shoe retailer buyout

    Walker Morris, Addleshaw Goddard and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) have won major roles on shoe retailer Stylo's administration and subsequent buyout.Walker Morris chairman Peter Smart advised the founders of the Stylo group, the Ziff family, on the buyout of 160 stores including brands Barratts and PriceLess.The sale of the business came after the group went into administration last month (18 February) following a failed attempt to restructure Stylo's debt. Stylo's main subsidiaries, Barratts and PriceLess, went into administration at the beginning of the year.

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  • March 4, 2009 |

    Hammonds finalises settlement in profits dispute

    Hammonds' has reached a settlement with seven out of eight former partners involved in its long-running profits dispute, it was announced today (4 March). Marija Danilunas, John Deacon, Mark Hilton, Jonathan Hosie, Simon Palmer, Martin Thomas and Stephen Tupper, have all settled their dispute, leaving only David Jones to reach an agreement. All seven of the partners settling were represented by Addleshaw Goddard litigation partner Pietro Marino.

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  • March 4, 2009 |

    Addleshaws selects new MP in management re-jig

    Addleshaw Goddard has overhauled its management, selecting a new managing partner and creating a new firm-wide chairman position. Corporate head Paul Devitt is set to replace Mark Jones as managing partner on 1 May after an uncontested election. Jones, who has been at the firm's helm for 17 years, will take up a new role as chairman, which will see him help develop the contentious practice and lead selected projects for the firm.

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  • February 25, 2009 |

    Cobbetts pursues £4.5m after negligence payout

    Cobbetts is seeking to recoup more than £4.5m from property surveyor Dunlop Haywards after the national firm settled a negligence claim brought against it by Cheshire Building Society. In a ruling last week (18 February), Mr Justice Clarke found Cobbetts paid out too much earlier this year in its £5.6m settlement with Cheshire Building Society, regarding a negligence claim against the firm for advice on allegedly fraudulent property deals. Following the ruling, the firm will now seek to recoup £4.6m - 80% of its original settlement - from Dunlop Haywards' indemnity insurers, after the property surveyor went into liquidation last year.

    1 minute read

  • February 19, 2009 |

    Eversheds, Cobbetts settle negligence claims

    Eversheds and Cobbetts have settled negligence claims brought against the firms by building societies for advice on allegedly fraudulent property deals. Eversheds and Cobbetts both settled the claims, brought by Nationwide and Cheshire Building Society respectively, last month, with details of both settlements confidential.The claims related to allegedly fraudulent property deals and the overvaluation of properties, committed by an employee of Dunlop Haywards - the surveying unit of property company Erinaceous.

    1 minute read

  • February 19, 2009 |

    Addleshaws faces fees hit in Hammonds dispute ruling

    Addleshaw Goddard could face a hit on fees, with the firm using a conditional fee arrangement (CFA) for its representation of former partners in the ongoing profits dispute with Hammonds. Addleshaws, which uses CFAs on a majority of its litigation work, has been working under the arrangement for part of the Hammonds dispute. Mr Justice Warren's decision last week (13 February) that the former partners are bound by the partnership deed, means it is now unclear whether Addleshaws will be paid for all of its work on the issue if the ruling is upheld.

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  • February 13, 2009 |

    Hammonds scores victory in partnership dispute

    The long-awaited decision in Hammonds' profits dispute has ruled that a group of ex-partners are bound by the partnership deed, a decision which could see them forced to return over-drawings that were paid out to them.The judgment, by Mr Justice Warren, which was released today (13 February), revealed that the ex-partners, who have so far refused to pay back anticipated profits over a two-year period to April 2005, are bound by the partnership deed.

    1 minute read

  • February 11, 2009 |

    The art of flexibility

    After years of law firms bragging about career breaks and flexible working opportunities, you would be forgiven for thinking that juggling a career in law with having children must be the easiest thing in the world.But even in this age of the BlackBerry and the trusty laptop, many women in the profession maintain that having children presents a choice: focus on being a mother or on being a career woman because you cannot do both.For those who go down the route of motherhood, two things can make all the difference: flexible childcare and a flexible partner. Slaughter and May's head of corporate, Frances Murphy, is no exception - she has a live-in nanny and a flexible husband. And she is far from alone in asserting that without these, working life would be extraordinarily difficult to manage. Even with nursery care, the idea of being able to leave the office at 5.30pm - even if the firm allows it - is simply not a realistic option for most senior lawyers.

    1 minute read