• December 9, 2010 |

    Bank rescue work sends Govt legal spend surging 400% to £45m

    Government legal spend under the legal services framework has quadrupled over the last three years, according to figures obtained by Legal Week through a freedom of information request. Figures released by Office of Government Commerce agency Buying Solutions show legal spend stood at £44.8m for the 2009-10 financial year, compared with £11.3m in pre-recession 2007-08. The figures show expenditure in the last financial year was only marginally lower than the previous two years combined, which stood at £47.9m including 2008-09 legal fees of £36.6m.

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  • December 7, 2010 |

    Camerons sees fee income rise 5% at half-year stage of financial year

    CMS Cameron McKenna has posted improved revenues at the half-year stage, with the firm reporting a 5% increase on the same period last year. The UK top 15 law firm has recorded fee income of £100m for the 2010-11 financial year so far, after last year posting a 13% fall in revenues at the H1 stage.

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  • December 7, 2010 |

    Law Firm Innovation Award

    The judges were impressed both by the simplicity of thinking behind Pinsent Mason's HR Network TV and the hard evidence of its usefulness to its intended audience - busy human resources (HR) executives. The project was conceived and developed by Pinsents' national employment group, which had received feedback from HR clients that they wanted legal briefings and updates delivered in a more immediate and less time-consuming way than via seminars and written briefings. This was especially important because budget cuts meant it was more difficult for these executives to attend seminars precisely at a time when they needed to be at the top of their games thanks to the impact of the credit crunch.

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  • December 3, 2010 | International Edition

    BLP, A&O and BAE scoop prizes at British Legal Awards

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Allen & Overy (A&O), and BAE Systems were among the prize winners at last night's (2 December) British Legal Awards 2010, which took place in a snowy London at Old Billingsgate Market.

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  • December 3, 2010 |

    BLP, A&O and BAE scoop prizes at British Legal Awards

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), Allen & Overy (A&O), and BAE Systems were among the prize winners at last night's (2 December) British Legal Awards 2010, which took place in a snowy London at Old Billingsgate Market.

    1 minute read

  • December 1, 2010 |

    SNR Denton and Eversheds get client vote on cost and billing practices

    SNR Denton has emerged as the highest ranked top 20 UK law firm by clients for cost and billing practices, according to Legal Week research. The merged firm was closely followed by Eversheds, Simmons & Simmons and CMS Cameron McKenna, according to Legal Week Intelligence's seventh annual Client Satisfaction Report, which is based on responses from 1,265 senior in-house lawyers.

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  • November 26, 2010 |

    Camerons among trio appointed as Royal Mail cuts back legal panel

    Royal Mail has cut back its UK legal panel from eight firms to three, with CMS Cameron McKenna, Beachcroft and Bond Pearce winning coveted places on the roster. The trio will formally start their three-year terms on 1 December, with the option of extending it for one year. The panel covers company & commercial, IT, intellectual property, pensions, dispute resolution and the higher value end of property and employment work for both Royal Mail and the Post Office.

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  • November 18, 2010 |

    Freshfields wins lead role on $3bn Indonesia mining deal

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been instructed by UK financier Nathaniel Rothschild's mining investment firm Vallar on its acquisition of stakes in two of Indonesia's top coal mining businesses, reports The Am Law Daily. Vallar is set to pay $3bn (£1.9bn) for a 25% stake in Bumi Resources and a 75% stake in Berau Coal Energy, Indonesia's first and fifth-largest coal producers respectively.

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  • November 10, 2010 |

    Half-year financial results show UK leaders edging back to growth mode

    Many of the UK's leading law firms are on course to report increases in revenue over the first half of 2010-11, as the economic recovery continues to gather pace. Allen & Overy (A&O) kicked off the reporting season on Monday (8 November), posting a 3% growth in revenues for the six months ending 31 October.

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  • November 10, 2010 |

    DLA Piper revenues up by 8.5% at halfway mark in UK and international

    DLA Piper has announced an 8.5% rise in turnover at the half-year mark with revenues for its UK and international practice hitting £280m, up from £258m at the same point last year. The figure outpaces DLA's budget target of £277m for the period ending 31 October. The firm expects its profits will be up substantially in the current financial year.

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