• May 8, 2008 |

    Pinsents scraps Dubai JV to go it alone

    Pinsent Masons is overhauling its Middle East operation with the top 15 law firm pulling out of its joint venture in Dubai - Masons Galadari - to go solo in the region. The national heavyweight is planning to end its joint venture with the construction practice of Galadari & Associates from next month to launch alone in Dubai.

    1 minute read

  • May 8, 2008 |

    UK trio become LLPs with only two top 10 firms yet to convert

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Macfarlanes and Hammonds have become the latest law firms to convert to limited liability partnership (LLP) status. All three firms converted with effect from 1 May, leaving just a handful of top City players to convert - with Slaughter and May and Simmons & Simmons now the only top 10 City firms not operating as LLPs.

    1 minute read

  • May 8, 2008 |

    Hemscott: Norton Rose remains AIM leader despite drop in market activity

    Norton Rose and DLA Piper have maintained their positions as the law firms with the broadest base of Alternative Investment Market (AIM) clients despite the drop in activity on the market, according to quarterly client rankings released this week.The latest figures from Hemscott reveal Norton Rose has held on to its ranking as the firm with the highest number of AIM-listed clients even after losing three clients over the three-month period from January to April this year.

    1 minute read

  • May 8, 2008 |

    Field Fisher builds up franchising practice with Eversheds triple-lawyer appointment

    Field Fisher Waterhouse has bagged a three-lawyer team from Eversheds, taking respected franchising head Chris Wormald to co-head its practice.Wormald joins Field Fisher along with consultant and former franchising head Martin Mendelsohn and senior associate Shelley Nadler.

    1 minute read

  • May 1, 2008 |

    Hammonds latest to seal LLP switch

    Hammonds has become the latest firm to convert to a limited liability partnership (LLP), the national giant announced today (1 May). The conversion to LLP status, which was backed via a partner vote last month, protects both full equity partners and fixed-share partners, though voting rights and internal management will remain the same under the new structure.

    1 minute read

  • April 28, 2008 |

    National trio picked for first Man United panel

    National trio Halliwells, Beachcroft and Pinsent Masons are among the firms to have scored spots on the new panel of legal advisers drawn up by Manchester United. The panel is the first of its kind at the football club, with the appointments taking effect from 1 May.

    1 minute read

  • April 28, 2008 |

    Pinsents trainees in line for £5,000 bonus

    Pinsent Masons has launched a new bonus scheme that will see trainees eligible for a £5,000 pay-out on qualification. Under the terms of the new scheme, which will be rolled out from September, trainees will be eligible for a £2,500 hand-out if they record 2,000 hours in each of their two years prior to qualification.

    1 minute read

  • April 23, 2008 | International Edition

    Commentary: Bird & Bird keeps drifting out of love with public sector

    There was a time when, before BlackBerrys were endemic and Google had reached world domination, if you wanted a 'computer lawyer' there was just one place you could go: Bird & Bird. Looking back to a meeting in the 1990s, one rival recalls: "I remember the guy from the Government introducing himself and saying: 'So, do you work closely with Hamish?' It never even crossed his mind that I didn't come from Bird & Bird." But with the once-unthinkable departure of former chairman and public sector head Hamish Sandison to technology, media and telecoms rival Field Fisher Waterhouse, the firm is facing a new chapter.

    1 minute read

  • April 23, 2008 |

    Commentary: Bird & Bird keeps drifting out of love with public sector

    There was a time when, before BlackBerrys were endemic and Google had reached world domination, if you wanted a 'computer lawyer' there was just one place you could go: Bird & Bird. Looking back to a meeting in the 1990s, one rival recalls: "I remember the guy from the Government introducing himself and saying: 'So, do you work closely with Hamish?' It never even crossed his mind that I didn't come from Bird & Bird." But with the once-unthinkable departure of former chairman and public sector head Hamish Sandison to technology, media and telecoms rival Field Fisher Waterhouse, the firm is facing a new chapter.

    1 minute read

  • April 16, 2008 |

    Online special: Partners hail gay initiatives

    More than 90% of leading lawyers believe the profession has improved its record on supporting gay staff, as highlighted by a number of law firms recently launching their own lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups. Emma Sadowski reports

    1 minute read