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  • March 13, 2014 |

    BLP joins rivals in fast-growing Myanmar through local partnership

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has expanded into Myanmar through a tie-up with local outfit Legal Network Consultants (LNC). The Yangon-based firm is now a member of BLP's Asia network, which has been created so that the firm can tap a steady flow of deals coming out of the country. To date BLP has been servicing the market out of Singapore, with a practice led by the firm's Singapore head and project finance partner Alistair Duffield, corporate partner Ken Cheung and energy and projects partner Nomita Nair.

    1 minute read

  • March 10, 2014 |

    BLP builds Asia finance team with Norton Rose hire in Hong Kong

    Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has boosted its asset finance capability in Hong Kong with the hire of Beijing-based partner Nigel Ward from Norton Rose Fulbright. Ward, who joins this month, will be the fifth partner to join BLP in Hong Kong since it opened in the city in 2011, but the first shipping and aviation finance specialist.

    1 minute read

  • March 6, 2014 |

    Top global and UK M&A deals – January-February 2014

    A round-up of the top M&A transactions of the year so far, featuring mandates for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Latham & Watkins and Norton Rose Fulbright.

    1 minute read

  • March 6, 2014 |

    The future of law firms' lucrative litigation mandates

    Litigators are seeing even once resilient big-ticket fees come under pressure from the boardroom as companies look for ways to slash their legal bills...

    1 minute read

  • March 3, 2014 |

    Firms face tough times in Singapore as gov't sets strict QFLP growth targets

    Singapore has long been an important market for international law firms, both as a hub for South East Asian and Indian work and in its own commercial right. But last week's news that only four of the six international firms granted qualifying foreign law practice (QFLP) licences in 2008 have secured full five-year renewals demonstrates the challenges firms still face in the region.

    1 minute read

  • February 27, 2014 |

    HSF misses out on Singapore local licence, W&C gets conditional permit

    Herbert Smith Freehills will not practice local law in Singapore from October this year after not renewing its Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) licence. The UK firm was one of six outfits originally permitted to practice local law in 2008 and understood to have been in discussions with the authorities about renewing its licence along with the other firms.

    1 minute read

  • February 27, 2014 |

    Links, CC and Norton Rose named on nine-strong Green Investment Bank panel

    Clifford Chance (CC), Linklaters and Norton Rose Fulbright are among nine firms to have won spots on the UK Government-backed Green Investment Bank's (GIB) first formal panel. Legal Week understands that Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O), Pinsent Masons, Burges Salmon and KWM SJ Berwin were all also successful in their pitches for the roster.

    1 minute read

  • February 27, 2014 |

    In with the old – the importance of keeping grey hairs in the partnership

    If law firms' current focus seems to be on reshaping the junior end of their fee earner base to include a more socially and ethnically diverse group of lawyers, let's not forget that the senior end of the profession also has problems. For some time law firms have been slammed for being ill-prepared to meet demand from older partners keen to continue working but perhaps with fewer hours and less responsibility than their younger, progression-hungry colleagues. But with a couple of new initiatives announced in recent months, is the tide gradually turning in favour of older lawyers keen to remain at their firms in some capacity? All of the UK top 10 firms offer the role of consultant as an alternative to partnership for lawyers beyond retirement age in certain circumstances. Take up at firms to date has been limited, however, with only small numbers at each. And, on the whole, the top 10 do not offer formalised mechanisms as partners wind down from the partnership. Part of the problem for firms is that lawyers have typically been very bad about planning roles beyond partnership. Of those who are interested in remaining in private practice, some might mull over the prospect of helping out with discreet projects, or get involved with education and training. Others may turn to thought leadership, or might want to retain a degree of chargeable client work. But it is not obvious whether this lack of planning reflects a lack of fore-thought on the part of the individual or whether it is because firms themselves are unclear on what roles are available beyond the lockstep.

    1 minute read

  • February 26, 2014 |

    The Transfer Window: recent moves including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Norton Rose Fulbright

    The Transfer Window is a regular round-up of recent legal moves in the UK and abroad.

    1 minute read

  • February 20, 2014 |

    Dealmaker: Farmida Bi

    Norton Rose Fulbright's European head of Islamic finance on politics, procrastination and forced fun

    1 minute read