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  • March 31, 2009 |

    BT set for online auction in legal adviser review

    BT has kicked off a sweeping review of its panel of external legal advisers, piloting an eBay-style online auction for its real estate panel as part of the process. Panel firms were contacted last month, with the review being led by group general counsel Anne Fletcher. It is expected to be completed within the next three to six months. The review comes after the telecoms giant launched an e-auction pilot for its real estate advisers earlier this year. The pilot saw seven firms bidding against each other on various criteria, including hourly rates and fixed prices, with the process also including formal interviews with each firm.

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  • March 31, 2009 |

    Lovells and Eversheds land roles on new LV= panel

    Lovells and Eversheds have won panel roles as financial services group LV= finalises its first official roster of external legal advisors. The insurance, investments and pensions group, formerly known as Liverpool Victoria, launched a review earlier this year aimed at selecting a smaller group of firms to offer specialist and general advice.Lovells and Eversheds have been chosen to advise on corporate and finance matters and will sit alongside employment boutique Dermot Scully on the specialist panel.

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  • March 23, 2009 |

    - 2009 Partnership Round: a Legal Week Wiki special -

    Welcome to Legal Week's 2009 partner promotions round-up. Here you'll find all the latest news stories about partner promotions gathered in one place, as well as links to relevant blog entries and any other bits and pieces we think might be of interest.

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  • March 20, 2009 |

    Herbert Smith seals Buncefield win for Chevron

    Herbert Smith has scored a victory advising Chevron in one of the largest pieces of commercial litigation ever seen in the UK, as its joint venture partner Total is found liable for the 2005 Buncefield disaster. In a judgment handed down in the High Court this morning (20 March), Mr Justice David Steel ruled that Total - which has a 60% stake in Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL), the joint venture that runs the Buncefield depot - was responsible for the explosion and liable for the financial consequences.The aftermath of the explosion - which has been described as the largest incident of its kind in peacetime Europe - has seen approximately £750m of claims from around 4,000 local businesses, residents and other oil companies with facilities at Buncefield, such as Shell.

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  • March 19, 2009 |

    Ex-Freshfields partner joins Stephenson Harwood as aviation head

    Strephenson Harwood has recruited a new global head of aviation with the hire of Paul Ng from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Ng, who joins Stephenson Harwood today (19 March), spent ten years at the magic circle firm before his departure in January. He is an English, US and Singapore qualified lawyer and has experience advising in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.In his new role, he will be primarily based in Stephenson Harwood's Singapore office but will divide his time between Singapore and the firm's Chinese network.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2009 |

    Policing the business

    "Everything goes back to reputation," says Michael Blacker, general counsel of FTSE 100 project management and services company AMEC, while discussing the increased importance of compliance issues - to all companies, not just banks - in the post-Lehman world. "The old cliche is true: a good reputation is difficult to acquire and easy to lose. And one of the easiest ways to lose it is by breaking the law."He cites the nuclear sector - in which AMEC has invested heavily during recent years - as an example of where senior management must be made fully aware of the implications of falling foul of regulation. "Not only is nuclear highly regulated, but it is extremely vulnerable to negative publicity. Naturally, this impacts on strategy. As general counsel, it is about knitting all those aspects together," he says.

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  • March 12, 2009 |

    BLG replaces Dickinson Dees on Carillion panel

    Addleshaw Goddard, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Kennedys have all won spots on support services and construction company Carillion's new legal panel. Addleshaws has been appointed to advise on private finance matters, with Barlows brought in for construction advice and Kennedys for insurance matters. Kennedys' appointment comes after the firm's insurance team moved over from DLA Piper last year.

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  • March 4, 2009 |

    Genworth Financial European in-house legal team grows to 22 lawyers

    Genworth Financial is set to boost its in-house legal team with plans to expand capacity in Europe and review its outside counsel. The US insurance company is looking to add a commercial lawyer in Italy and a compliance specialist in Scandinavia, with one further lawyer set to join from GE Capital. The hires, which will take the team from 19 lawyers to 22 - including 10 in the UK - follow the January appointments of Miguel Munoz Gaztanaga from Lovells in Spain and Guillaume Lachaud in France.

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  • February 25, 2009 |

    Media darling

    With his thick-rimmed designer glasses and close-cropped hair, AOL international general counsel Tony Wales does not look like a lawyer. And, as he talks animatedly with a slight Brummie accent about 'brand value' and 'social networking verticals', neither does he sound like one.

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  • February 24, 2009 |

    DLA, Pinsents win Glasgow Council panel places

    Glasgow City Council has completed a review of its legal advisers, with DLA Piper and Pinsent Masons winning major instructions from the organisation. The new roster has been split into nine sub-panels covering the council's key work areas and is set to deliver cost savings of 5%-10% in comparison with the previous roster.DLA Piper has landed instructions on six of the firm's nine sub-panels, including general corporate, construction and planning, while Pinsent Masons and McGrigors have also been handed multiple roles on the new roster.

    1 minute read