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  • July 24, 2013 |

    A&O partner takes up two-year secondment to Takeover Panel

    Allen & Overy corporate partner Seth Jones has been appointed as secretary of the Takeover Panel, becoming the latest City partner to take up a secondment at the regulator. Jones will take up a two year placement in September, replacing Ashurst corporate partner Tom Mercer in the role, who is now returning to the firm. Jones will be the fifth A&O partner to be appointed, the two most recent being Richard Hough in 2000 and Mark Gearing in 1992. He has advised on a wide range of corporate transactions including public and private M&A and joint ventures. He also has a broad international experience, having spent three years in Allen & Overy's Dubai office.

    1 minute read

  • July 18, 2013 |

    ITV and Slaughters team up for PRIME social mobility scheme

    ITV has teamed up with Slaughter and May to become the latest corporate legal team to back the PRIME social mobility initiative, as the broadcaster opens talks with Yahoo! and Lloyds Banking Group about a potential in-house collaboration. ITV legal director Barry Matthews (pictured) has taken the lead designing a full work experience programme, which will see sixth form students given opportunities at both ITV and Slaughters, adapting the magic circle firm's existing initiatives, which include weekly one-to-one tutorials, after-school workshops and events offering career insight. Slaughters is one of the 23 founding members of PRIME, a cross-firm initiative aimed at boosting access to the legal profession for students from underprivileged backgrounds.

    1 minute read

  • July 18, 2013 |

    Construction group Costain to review five-firm legal panel

    Construction and engineering company Costain Group is to review its external panel of legal advisers later this year. The listed company is set to launch a review of its current five-firm line-up, in a move that will mark the first formal review of the roster since it was first introduced in 2008. The current line-up sees Slaughter and May act as a primary adviser on major corporate work, alongside Pinsent Masons, Bevan Brittan, Addleshaw Goddard and Clyde & Co. The review will be led by legal director and company secretary Tracey Wood, who first developed the panel system five years ago after joining from legacy Hammonds. She commented: "Working with fewer suppliers has increased benefits and understanding on both sides."

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2013 |

    Links, Travers and Shoosmiths come out top in associate satisfaction poll

    Linklaters and Norton Rose Fulbright have been rated as the law firms that associates at rivals would most like to work for, according to new research by Legal Week. Legal Week Intelligence's flagship Employee Satisfaction Report (ESR) this year found the pair ranked ahead of Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Pinsent Masons as the five most popular firms to work for, as rated by peers at rival law firms. Norton Rose, A&O and Slaughters have been in the top five for the last three years of the survey, while Pinsents and Linklaters are new entrants this year, replacing Berwin Leighton Paisner and Clyde & Co.

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2013 |

    DLA leads for Liverpool FC on £260m Anfield regeneration plan

    DLA Piper has scored a lead role advising Liverpool Football Club on plans for a £260m regeneration of the area surrounding the Premier League club's famous Anfield stadium. The proposals, which are subject to an ongoing public consultation, could see the iconic stadium expanded, as well as the potential development of more than 550 new homes. The club has formed a partnership with Liverpool City Council and social housing provider Your Housing Group to draw up the development plans, which also include a 10,000 sq ft food hub, new offices, a public square and a hotel.

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2013 |

    Pinsents sets sights on key countries for Africa growth in strategy review

    Pinsent Masons has identified six key African countries that present the greatest potential for growth for the firm, following an 18-month strategy review of opportunities in the continent. The review, which has been led by construction advisory and disputes head Richard Foley, has seen the firm earmark South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya and Sudan as key priorities. The move to draw up a new Africa strategy was prompted by an increase in Africa-related instructions with the firm carrying out around 70 mandates during the last financial year amounting to £7m-£10m in revenues – a 60% year-on-year increase.

    1 minute read

  • July 9, 2013 |

    CC hosts lawyers from 60 African law firms in push to build links

    Clifford Chance (CC) is ramping up its focus on Africa amid much law firm interest in the region with a two-day event attended by 60 law firms from across the continent. The event, which took place in London last week, was attended by 80 lawyers from 30 different African countries, bringing together CC lawyers and African counsel with whom the firm works with on a regular basis in a bid to build closer working relationships.

    1 minute read

  • July 8, 2013 |

    Latham, Slaughters and Taylor Wessing lead Carlyle's Chesapeake buyout

    Latham & Watkins, Slaughter and May and Taylor Wessing have advised on private equity house Carlyle Group's acquisition of pharmaceuticals and packaging giant Chesapeake from Irving Place Capital and Oaktree Capital. The deal, which is reportedly worth £500m, is backed by Carlyle's Europe Partners III, a €5.3bn (£4.6bn) fund that makes mid- and large-cap investments.

    1 minute read

  • July 4, 2013 |

    Branching out - how top law firms are going beyond the City to cut costs

    Deutsche Bank's global head of compliance, Simon Dodds, is one of many senior in-house lawyers to have called on City-based law firms to farm out straightforward legal work to low-cost centres. "Magic circle law firms in particular have a problem with their model. [They have] commoditised to some extent but lawyers are sitting in London – the most expensive place in the world," he told a Legal Week conference.

    1 minute read

  • June 27, 2013 |

    China giant breaks mould with tender for Western-style panel

    China Resources is set to appoint its first-ever roster of international law firms in a rare example of a major Chinese business adopting a formal panel approach. The state-owned conglomerate, which posted total turnover of HK$404.6bn (£33.8bn) in 2012, invited law firms to tender for places on its list of preferred international advisers at the end of last year, and is expected to announce the results in the next two months. The move follows the Hong Kong-headquarted company's establishment of a domestic panel for PRC advice last year, which saw Beijing's Anjie Law Firm – a 12-partner spinoff from domestic outfits Zhong Lun, Grandall and Mingtai – among those appointed.

    1 minute read