• November 21, 2013 |

    A continent on the rise – why top law firms are eager to tap into the African market

    Andrew Jones of Linklaters is doing it. Kem Ihenacho of Clifford Chance (CC) is doing it. Philip Stopford and Stuart Matty of White & Case, Dentons' Paul Bugingo, Covington & Burling's Witney Schneidman – turns out they're all at it too. Regularly. What is it they're up to? The answer is short: travelling to Africa. They are among an expanding cadre of senior lawyers and advisers from leading global law firms who have been told to seek out opportunities and develop their practices on the vast continent.

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2013 |

    Norton Rose Fulbright axes 30 jobs in Australia

    Norton Rose Fulbright has made 30 staff redundant across its Australian offices. Those affected include 12 fee earners and 18 support staff. It is not clear whether any partners are among those being laid off.

    1 minute read

  • November 21, 2013 |

    Norton Rose Fulbright advises on major £1.5bn London port project

    Norton Rose Fulbright has acted on the £1.5bn development of London Gateway, the UK's first port to open in more than two decades. The site - which officially opened this month - is based in a 1,500 acre port and logistics park on the north bank of the Thames in Thurrock, Essex.

    1 minute read

  • November 20, 2013 |

    CC and Links lead $1.3bn Tanzanian oil and gas sale

    Linklaters and Clifford Chance (CC) have acted on Ophir Energy's sale of its stake in a Tanzanian oil and gas development to Singapore investment company Temasek. Temasek has acquired the 20% stake in the offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) development from Ophir for $1.3bn (£810m), although the Lakshmi Mittal-controlled company will remain an investor in the joint venture.

    1 minute read

  • November 19, 2013 |

    Slaughters, A&O among firms on Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi's debut panel

    Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy and Linklaters are among a raft of firms to have won a spot on The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) first ever legal panel. The panel covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa and is split into a preferred firms' panel and a transactional panel.

    1 minute read

  • November 19, 2013 |

    Hogan Lovells takes competition partner Jones from Norton Rose Fulbright

    Hogan Lovells has sealed the hire of antitrust partner Mark Jones from Norton Rose Fulbright, continuing its expansion drive of recent months. Jones, who will join Hogan Lovells antitrust, competition and economic regulation practice in London in the New Year, has been a partner at Norton Rose for ten years. He works in particular in the in the energy, infrastructure, insurance and retail sectors.

    1 minute read

  • November 14, 2013 |

    Trainee retention rates at UK top 10's HK bases remain high as firms continue to invest in Asia

    Trainee retention rates at the Hong Kong offices of the UK's top 10 law firms have remained broadly static on last year as firms continue to invest in Asian markets, despite a comparatively uncertain year for the local economy. Ninety percent (55 out of 62) of newly qualified lawyers (NQs) at the UK's top firms in Hong Kong were offered jobs this September, all of whom accepted, according to research by Legal Week.

    1 minute read

  • November 14, 2013 |

    Norton Rose Fulbright's Michael Grenfell takes up competition watchdog role

    Norton Rose Fulbright antitrust and competition partner Michael Grenfell is leaving the firm to become senior director of sectoral regulation at the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA is a new organisation which is part of the department for Business, Innovation & Skills. It will come into power in April 2014 and will take over many of the functions and responsibilities of the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading.

    1 minute read

  • November 8, 2013 |

    Norton Rose former Beijing head departs for role at Chinese firm

    Norton Rose Fulbright's former Beijing office head Peter Burrows has left the firm to join Chinese start up DaHui Lawyers. Burrows, who came to China in 2008 to manage and build the profile of the Beijing and Shanghai offices, joined the PRC outfit as a consultant last week with a view to boosting international standards at the firm.

    1 minute read

  • November 7, 2013 |

    Lawyers call for clarity of rules if UK is to become Western hub of Islamic finance

    With the Islamic finance industry estimated to be worth £1.3trn next year, it is no surprise that David Cameron wants the UK to cash in on the boom. Aiming to make London the capital of Islamic finance in the Western world, the Prime Minister last week unveiled plans for the UK to become the first non-Muslim country to issue an Islamic bond. With a history of providing financial services to the Middle Eastern markets that goes back at least 30 years, proof of the UK's growing Islamic finance sector can be found in the developments of the Qatari-backed Shard Tower and Chelsea Barracks, as well as Malaysian-backed Battersea Power Station – all of which have been funded using Shariah-compliant structures.

    1 minute read