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  • October 17, 2013 |

    A&O and Ashurst among firms to win spots on Morrisons' debut panel

    Supermarket chain Morrisons has unveiled its first-ever formal legal panel, with a host of firms winning places, including Allen & Overy (A&O), Ashurst, Eversheds and DAC Beachcroft. The panel review – which has been overseen by recently appointed general counsel Mark Amsden – has been divided into six categories: property, employment, personal injury (PI), licensing and regulatory, Scotland and an 'everything else' panel, which covers corporate, commercial, litigation, pensions and IP. Amsden said Morrisons' debut panel would give the retail giant "better leveraging ability" than it had in the past, when it used an informal roster of firms. He admitted that the retail giant, Britain's fourth-largest supermarket chain, had previously overspent on legal fees.

    1 minute read

  • October 15, 2013 |

    Geffen ousted as Tidswell wins Ashurst chair election

    Ashurst's dispute resolution partner Ben Tidswell (pictured) has been elected as the new chair of Ashurst, replacing current senior partner Charlie Geffen in the firm's top management position. Tidswell - who will take up the role from 1 November - ran against Geffen and legacy Blakes competition and consumer protection partner Peter Armitage. Voting closed at 12pm yesterday (Tuesday) and it is understood that Tidswell won the support of the majority of partners in the first round of voting.

    1 minute read

  • October 14, 2013 |

    Macfarlanes builds real estate practice with Ashurst hire

    Macfarlanes has added to its commercial real estate practice with the hire of Ashurst partner Anthony Burnett-Scott. The announcement follows the recent additions to the practice of partners Clare Breeze, who joined from Shearman and Sterling in July and Ann Minogue, also from Ashurst, in August.

    1 minute read

  • October 10, 2013 |

    Top firms set to do battle at 2013 British Legal Awards

    Linklaters is leading the way in nominations for the top practice awards as the shortlist for the 2013 British Legal Awards has been unveiled. The magic circle has nominations M&A, banking, financing or restructuring, and commercial team of the year categories. However, it missed out on the law firm of the year shortlist.

    1 minute read

  • October 8, 2013 |

    Saudi Arabia allows first women to practise in Kingdom's courts

    Saudi Arabia has permitted its first group of women to practise law in the Kingdom's courts. Four female lawyers were granted licences by the Ministry of Justice on Sunday, allowing them to change their status from legal consultants to attorneys, according to local media.

    1 minute read

  • October 4, 2013 |

    Ashurst cuts 120 London jobs as redundancy round closes

    Ashurst is set to cut 120 roles from London following the conclusion of a redundancy consultation that had placed 350 roles at risk. Following the announcement in June it was set to open a low cost centre in Glasgow, Ashurst put 350 London support roles at risk of redundancy. Of these, 120 London roles will be lost with staff given the option to transfer up to Glasgow.

    1 minute read

  • October 3, 2013 |

    Ashurst three-year round-up

    A look back at the largest deals Ashurst has worked on over the past three years

    1 minute read

  • October 1, 2013 |

    Mayer Brown raids SJB real estate team for second London lateral in a week

    Mayer Brown has recruited SJ Berwin real estate partner Pat Jones, marking the firm's second lateral hire in London in less than a week. Jones joins the firm today, after 10 years at SJ Berwin. She advises clients in the real estate and retail sectors on complex structured development, investment and joint ventures.

    1 minute read

  • September 26, 2013 |

    UK duo take top roles on creation of world's biggest solar power plant

    Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright have landed key roles on the creation of the world's largest solar power plant, which is under construction in Ouarzazate, Morocco. Ashurst advised the project company ACWA Power on the development and financing of the first phase of the programme, with a team led by energy partner David Wadham and finance partner James Coiley. ACWA Power will sell the plant's output to the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (Masen) under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Masen currently owns 25% of ACWA Power. Norton Rose Fulbright advised Masen, with global head of energy Simon Currie taking the lead role.

    1 minute read

  • September 26, 2013 |

    Vote on Ashurst's full Australian integration passes with 'overwhelming' support

    The full financial integration of Ashurst and its Australian arm has been approved by both partnerships and will take effect on 1 November 2013. The vote – which opened on 10 September for Ashurst partners – closed this morning and required a 75% majority for the combination to go ahead.

    1 minute read