• January 21, 2008 |

    SJs, Eversheds miss out on slimline Sainsbury's panel

    Sainsbury's has finalised its first-ever formal roster of legal advisers, with the supermarket giant gifting mandates to a panel of 11 firms. Head of legal Nick Grant led the review, which saw historic advisers Eversheds, Dickinson Dees, SJ Berwin, Biggart Baillie and McDermott Will & Emery struck off the FTSE 100 retailer's list of preferred firms.

    1 minute read

  • January 16, 2008 | International Edition

    Big four cast long shadow in deal league but nationals gain ground

    It was a good year for London's big four in the key M&A markets, no doubt, but 2007's wildly uneven corporate market also drew a strong performance from firms such as Eversheds and Pinsent Masons. Echoing its market-leading performance in Legal Week's primary adviser tables, which track lead corporate roles on Europe's largest deals, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer topped the full tables for European M&A, according to recently-released research from Mergermarket.

    1 minute read

  • January 16, 2008 |

    Big four cast long shadow in deal league but nationals gain ground

    It was a good year for London's big four in the key M&A markets, no doubt, but 2007's wildly uneven corporate market also drew a strong performance from firms such as Eversheds and Pinsent Masons. Echoing its market-leading performance in Legal Week's primary adviser tables, which track lead corporate roles on Europe's largest deals, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer topped the full tables for European M&A, according to recently-released research from Mergermarket.

    1 minute read

  • January 16, 2008 |

    Online special: Global economic woes create sharp downturn in business confidence

    Business confidence among the UK's top lawyers has dropped from sky-high levels to its lowest rate in almost five years in the clearest indication yet that City partners expect shifts in the global economy to hit the legal sector. The quarterly Legal Week/EJ Legal business confidence poll shows 30% of partners are expecting double-digit revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from last year's high of 70% and significantly down from 66% last quarter.

    1 minute read

  • January 15, 2008 |

    Bar's Vos takes access charity chairman role

    Former Bar Council chairman Geoffrey Vos QC has taken up a role as chairman of the trustees of the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF). The charity, which aims to help youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds enter major professions, named Vos to replace Conservative MP Oliver Letwin at the helm of its board of trustees.

    1 minute read

  • January 14, 2008 |

    City elite battle OFT in overdraft fees test case

    A landmark case brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regarding the fees charged by banks for unauthorised overdrafts is set to hit the High Court later this week (16 January), with a host of top City firms lining up to oppose the competition authority. The case will see the OFT take on seven banks and one building society in a bid to prove that the charges, which have affected thousands of customers, are illegal.

    1 minute read

  • January 9, 2008 |

    Pinsent Masons the latest firm to offer associates an alternative career route

    National giant Pinsent Masons is set to introduce an alternative to partnership, making it the latest in a line of major law firms to look at modernising its traditional career path.

    1 minute read

  • January 8, 2008 |

    New GC to lead utilities giant's legal overhaul

    United Utilities is set to overhaul its legal function following the appointment of new general counsel Tom Keevil. Keevil joined the FTSE 100 utilities giant from tobacco group Gallaher at the beginning of December following the departure of former United Utilities general counsel Tim Rayner, who joined Rolls Royce in April.

    1 minute read

  • January 7, 2008 | International Edition

    Brown Rudnick in Addleshaws insolvency hire

    Brown Rudnick has bolstered its London restructuring team with the hire of a partner from Addleshaw Goddard. Louise Verrill, who joined Addleshaws in 2001 and was a partner in the banking group, headed up the firm's national insolvency practice between 2005 and 2006.

    1 minute read

  • January 7, 2008 |

    Brown Rudnick in Addleshaws insolvency hire

    Brown Rudnick has bolstered its London restructuring team with the hire of a partner from Addleshaw Goddard. Louise Verrill, who joined Addleshaws in 2001 and was a partner in the banking group, headed up the firm's national insolvency practice between 2005 and 2006.

    1 minute read