Filter This View

  • 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

  • September 23, 2009 |

    Bevan Brittan, Shoosmiths miss out as Zurich cuts back adviser roster

    Bevan Brittan and Shoosmiths have lost their places on Zurich's non-claims related legal panel after the financial services company completed a review of its legal advisers. Beachcroft and Pinsent Masons retain their spots as the two main firms on the panel, while Tanners has been retained to carry out some real estate work.

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2009 |

    Former Ashurst partner joins Field Fisher's London office

    Field Fisher Waterhouse has continued its City expansion with the hire of former Ashurst structured finance partner Gonzalo Fernandez. Fernandez, who left Ashurst in August after 11 years as a partner, joined Field Fisher last Monday (14 September) as a partner in the derivatives and structured finance group.

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2009 |

    MoD review set to cut two firms from coveted UK projects panel

    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched a review of its projects panel, with the overhaul set to see two UK law firms trimmed from the eight-strong roster. Law firms have been invited to tender for the coveted panel, which covers the body's public private partnership and private finance initiative (PFI) work, by the end of October. The four-year contracts are to be awarded in January.

    1 minute read

  • September 23, 2009 |

    Renewable energy: Critical mass

    "The nuclear industry was for many years not very glamorous in this country, to say the least," recalls Amec Nuclear legal director Kevin Smith. "Now, though, it has suddenly become fashionable," he continues, "with law firms suddenly claiming they have got a nuclear law department". The shift in attitude began in 2003, counter-intuitively with the establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which subsequently opened up the decommissioning of various ageing nuclear plants, including Sellafield, to private companies. Around this time the Government's commitment to reduce its carbon emission levels, agreed under the Kyoto Protocol, came into force.

    1 minute read

  • September 18, 2009 |

    Ashurst boosts energy and projects team with Linklaters hire

    Ashurst has expanded its London energy and projects practice with the hire of Antony Skinner from Linklaters as a partner. Skinner, a counsel at the magic circle firm, joins the energy and project finance group after four years at Linklaters. He was promoted to counsel earlier this year.

    1 minute read

  • September 16, 2009 |

    Jon Fortnam: Buffett's ebbing tide makes professionals claim targets

    Warren Buffett remarked that 'only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked'. Professionals may - rightly or wrongly - be targets for the deflection of some of the ensuing embarrassment. Professional negligence claims are already on the increase.

    1 minute read