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  • February 25, 2014 |

    Allen & Gledhill opens in Myanmar as firm looks to grow regional presence

    Allen & Gledhill (A&G), one of Singapore's big four law firms, has set up a base in Myanmar. A&G has formed an associate firm, Allen & Gledhill (Myanmar), and opened an office in commercial centre Yangon led by arbitration partner Minn Naing Oo, who is fluent in English, Burmese and Malay.

    1 minute read

  • February 20, 2014 |

    Turning up the heat – South Africa's role as a hub for the wider continent

    According to many lawyers in South Africa the vibe at the African Mining Indaba – a practically mandatory event in every major local law firm's calendar – was somewhat reserved this year. It is not hard to see why, when taking into account reduced output volumes from the economy's cornerstone mining sector. Onlookers observe that South Africa is facing an onslaught of negative sentiment given the volume of industrial disputes and unrest in the mining sector as well as the imminent presidential election, causing many investors to hold off until a clearer picture emerges. Added to this, the rand has tumbled against the world's major currencies, resulting in a hike in benchmark interest rates. Some lawyers in the jurisdiction have been surprised, then, at the influx of international newcomers in the past year. Linklaters became the first of the magic circle to establish a significant presence on the ground when it sealed an alliance with Webber Wentzel at the end of 2012, while Hogan Lovells forged a tie-up with former Eversheds alliance firm Routledge Modise in December last year, with the latter now trading under the Hogan Lovells brand. Eversheds itself re-entered the South African market at the same time, after signing an agreement with Mahons Attorneys a year after its split with Routledge.

    1 minute read

  • February 17, 2014 |

    RHTLaw Taylor Wessing and Rajah & Tann enter Vietnam via tie-ups

    Two Singapore outfits, including Taylor Wessing's Singapore member firm RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, have entered Vietnam through partnerships with local firms. RHT has formed an exclusive alliance with Vietnamese outfit PBC Partners as part of a wider South East Asian expansion plan, whilst Rajah & Tann has announced a tie-up with LCT Lawyers in the country.

    1 minute read

  • February 17, 2014 |

    Baker & McKenzie opens office in Myanmar

    Baker & McKenzie has become the latest international law firm to open in Myanmar. The US outfit, which has been mulling a launch in the country for some time, has opened its new base in the former capital and commercial centre Yangon, with a team being led by former Sydney-based infrastructure and corporate partner Chris Hughes.

    1 minute read

  • February 17, 2014 |

    Transfer Window Asia: recent moves including Latham, Weil and Two Birds

    Shearman & Sterling has expanded is project development and finance practice with addition of Allens partner Anthony Patten in Singapore. Patten previously led Allens' oil and gas team in Asia and Australia, before which he was a partner in Ashurst's London energy, transport and infrastructure group. He also spent six years working in London and the UAE as a senior in-house counsel at Royal Dutch Shell.

    1 minute read

  • February 13, 2014 |

    Bakers hires 13-strong Toronto team from Heenan Blaikie

    Baker & McKenzie has hired a team of 13 lawyers from collapsed Canadian firm Heenan Blaikie to join its Toronto office. The group, which is made up of at least six partners, is led by corporate & securities partners Kevin Rooney and Sonia Yung, and will be spread across Bakers' corporate & securities, tax, and banking & finance practices. The other partners include Peter Clark (tax), Ilia Danef (finance), Charles MacCready (public M&A), and Corey MacKinnon (corporate).

    1 minute read

  • February 12, 2014 |

    Bakers hires City intellectual property partner from McDermott

    Baker & McKenzie has hired McDermott Will & Emery intellectual property and life sciences partner Hiroshi Sheraton in London. Sheraton, who trained as a medical chemist before he became a lawyer, practices on all aspects of intellectual property and patent law, with a particular focus on the life sciences sector.

    1 minute read

  • February 12, 2014 |

    TTIP of the iceberg – what the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership means for lawyers on both sides of the Pond

    It has been billed as the largest free trade agreement in history, yet many trade lawyers are still in the dark when it comes to the details of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal. TTIP, which was announced last summer and is now being negotiated, will for the first time create a trade treaty between the US and the EU in its entirety. Designed to drive growth by removing trade barriers and tariffs, independent research cited by the European Commission suggests the annual benefits could be as much as €120bn (£99.9bn) to the EU economy, €90bn (£74.9bn) to the US and €100bn (£83.2bn) to the rest of the world. "Everybody is going to be affected by this, and it really will change the balance of political power," says Ross Denton, a UK-qualified partner in Baker & McKenzie's European competition and trade department. "In recent years the balance [of US trade] has been gradually shifting towards Asia, because they don't have the same heavy tariffs. But if you eliminate most tariffs between the EU and US, then this will have huge ramifications for business."

    1 minute read

  • February 9, 2014 |

    Singapore's Drew & Napier hires Reed Smith's former Dubai office head

    Singapore outfit Drew & Napier has hired Reed Smith's former Dubai office managing partner Lee Chau Ee to lead its construction and engineering practice. He replaces the firm's previous construction head Liam Beng Tan, who left at the end of 2013. Lee, who worked for Drew & Napier between 1995 until 2000 as an associate, departed from US firm Reed Smith in November 2013 to return to his home base.

    1 minute read

  • February 6, 2014 |

    Calling the tune – PPL legal director David Harmsworth on music licensing, litigation and his pop picks of the year

    Next time you are placed on hold by a phone operator or patiently queuing at the hairdresser, listen out for the background music. If it is a piece by an artist you recognise, there's a fairly good chance PPL legal director David Harmsworth and his team have had a role in that recording reaching your ears. If they haven't, they still may need to get involved. PPL – or Phonographic Performance Limited – is a non-profit organisation that grants companies licences to play music recorded by its members, which range from performers and session musicians to studio producers and composers. Given music played for personal consumption at home or at a private party are the only real exceptions, this adds up to a lot of licenses. At the last count, it was more than 300,000. When I meet Harmsworth at PPL's offices – the Bob Marley room to be exact – I cannot hear any background music, despite him assuring me he is a firm believer in workplace music. Which means PPL itself also has to have a PPL licence.

    1 minute read