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  • October 15, 2009 |

    Asda shrinks legal panel from 16 to three and signs partnership charter

    McGrigors, Pinsent Masons and Ward Hadaway have won roles on Asda's new legal panel, with all three firms agreeing to sign up to a 'partnership charter'. The overhaul has seen Asda whittle down its advisers from 16 firms to just three, following an extensive review earlier this year overseen by Asda heads of legal Ellen McLaughlin and Sarah Dickson.

    1 minute read

  • October 14, 2009 |

    Departures and cutbacks take Ashurst partner exits to 22

    Ashurst has seen 22 partners leave its limited liability partnership (LLP) since January - equating to around 10% of its partnership as it stood at the beginning of the current financial year. The top 10 City law firm, which had 235 partners at the beginning of May, has seen 22 partners leave the LLP since the start of the year, either voluntarily or at the request of management, with one further partner stepping down to become a counsel. In comparison, only four partners left the Ashurst LLP over the whole of 2008.

    1 minute read

  • October 14, 2009 |

    Trio of firms win spots on Bupa employment panel

    Beachcroft, DLA Piper and Pinsent Masons have won places on Bupa's first-ever employment panel. The trio were among 15 firms tendering for the panel in a process that ran from April to September, with the two-year appointments taking effect from January 2010.

    1 minute read

  • October 14, 2009 | International Edition

    Commentary: (Here's hoping) things can only get better on the M&A front

    M&A activity has picked in recent weeks but, as the latest statistics show, it couldn't have come off a much lower base, in Europe at least. The plain fact is that the third quarter M&A figures from Legal Week's exclusive data provider Mergermarket make for depressing reading...

    1 minute read

  • October 14, 2009 |

    Commentary: (Here's hoping) things can only get better on the M&A front

    M&A activity has picked in recent weeks but, as the latest statistics show, it couldn't have come off a much lower base, in Europe at least. The plain fact is that the third quarter M&A figures from Legal Week's exclusive data provider Mergermarket make for depressing reading...

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2009 |

    Dundas partner duo quit for new roles at Greenberg and Kennedys

    Dundas & Wilson has seen the departure of two partners from its London office. Corporate partner Ewan Robertson has been recruited by US firm Greenberg Traurig Maher (GTM) after spending seven years as a partner with the Scottish firm. His practice focuses on M&A, joint ventures and project-related matters in the energy, real estate and utilities sector.

    1 minute read

  • October 12, 2009 |

    Sixteen firms win roles on unified London borough councils panel

    Sixteen firms including Eversheds, Pinsent Masons and Kennedys have won spots on the first panel of advisers assembled by the London Boroughs Legal Alliance (LBLA). The firms will be appointed for three years to provide legal services to six London boroughs - Camden, Harrow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hillingdon and Hounslow London Borough Councils and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea - which have clubbed together to pool their legal services in a bid to reduce legal costs.

    1 minute read

  • October 7, 2009 |

    Pinsents asks partners to plough in £6m-plus in fresh capital

    Pinsent Masons is asking partners to contribute an extra £2,500 per equity point to strengthen its finances. The firm has taken proposals for the cash call to the partnership and, if voted through, partners will be expected to pay in the extra money by April 2010.

    1 minute read

  • October 5, 2009 |

    Slaughters looks at outsourcing options after client request

    Slaughter and May is considering outsourcing some legal work for a client in a bid to reduce costs. The magic circle firm is in the early stages of discussions with a legal process outsourcer about outsourcing due diligence and document review work relating to a specific transaction. The move comes in response to a request from the client to look at options to reduce legal spend.

    1 minute read

  • September 30, 2009 |

    Raft of top City firms call for partners to tighten up billing

    A raft of top 15 firms have been tightening up billing procedures and piling pressure on partners to improve collections in response to the recession. City firms including Herbert Smith, Lovells, CMS Cameron McKenna and Bird & Bird are among those trying to bill more efficiently, both to improve cash flow and to limit risk from clients who may be unable to pay.

    1 minute read