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  • July 22, 2013 |

    Bakers rejigs London management board adding two new partners

    Baker & McKenzie has revamped its management board in London, electing partners Monica Kurnatowska and Helen Bradley to two years terms. The appointments, which are effective 1 September, bring the number of women on Bakers' eight-member UK board to three. Kurnatowska (pictured) and Bradley replace former London managing partner Gary Senior and Peter Strivens, who step down after ten and five years on the committee, respectively. Dispute resolution

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  • July 18, 2013 |

    A&O, Sullivan and Bakers lead on $5.75bn Bank of Tokyo bid for Thai bank shares

    Allen & Overy (A&O), Sullivan & Cromwell, and Baker & McKenzie have landed lead roles on the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ's (BTMU's) $5.75bn (£3.8bn) bid for a majority stake in Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri). The deal, if approved, will see BTMU become the majority shareholder in the Thai bank, acquiring a stake held by GE Capital. The Japanese bank will partner with the Ratanarak Group, an existing group of major shareholders.

    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 |

    Accounts reveal fees for Reed Smith and Bakers on Jimmy Savile inquiry

    Reed Smith was paid £893,500 by the BBC for advice on an independent review of the corporation's handling of the Jimmy Savile scandal, accounts have revealed. A breakdown of the costs of the Pollard Review - the inquiry led by former Sky News head Nick Pollard into why a Newsnight report on Savile was dropped - were released earlier this week.

    1 minute read

  • July 16, 2013 |

    Bakers to take seven-partner team from former Mayer Brown Spain ally

    Baker & McKenzie is set to hire a 20-lawyer corporate and finance team, including seven partners, from Mayer Brown's Spanish alliance firm Ramon & Cajal. The team includes Ramon founding partners Alberto Ureba and Francisco Bauza, both of whom are based in Madrid and who co-lead the firm's trade and capital markets practices respectively.

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2013 |

    Bakers and HSF among advisers as Asia energy giants invest in Australian wind farms

    Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Baker & McKenzie are among a number of firms to have advised on the acquisitions of two Australian wind farms by Southeast Asian energy giants. The first deal saw Malakoff, Malaysia's largest power producer, take a 50% stake in the A$650m (£387m) Macarthur Wind Farm from New Zealand's Meridian Energy. The 450MW wind farm in Victoria is the largest in the southern hemisphere and is operated by Australian gas and electricity company AGL Energy, which owns the remaining share.

    1 minute read

  • July 11, 2013 |

    Employee Satisfaction Report 2013 – costs not careers take priority

    Assistants at top law firms are still receiving a high level of professional satisfaction from the quality of their work and their access to the best clients, according to the 2013 Legal Week Employee Satisfaction Survey. On the flip side, lawyers are generally feeling less engaged on a personal level. This may well be the year when law firms accept that the way they manage their human resources is driven much more by the need to reduce client fees than providing a coherent career structure for junior lawyers. The scores for the professional elements of the survey – from quality of work and prestige of the firm to client quality and international opportunities – are all higher this year as more junior lawyers are given a greater opportunity to shine. But the picture is less rosy in the personal section, where lawyers consider their engagement in terms of being valued or their treatment by partners. Assistants are happy with the work but find they are being treated less well in softer HR areas such as work/life balance, recognition and praise.

    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 |

    Hong Kong firms poised to advise on PRC law in China as liberalisation gathers pace

    Hong Kong law firms are set to discover whether they will be permitted to advise on PRC law in China in a new special economic zone under development in the south of the country. The Law Society of Hong Kong has submitted proposals to the mainland authorities asking for Hong Kong firms to be allowed to advise on the ground in China by setting up joint ventures with mainland outfits in the new Qianhai Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which is due for completion in 2020. It is expecting a decision within the next two months. The proposals state that Hong Kong firms should be allowed to tie up with mainland Chinese firms based in the Guangdong province to form new joint entities, which in turn could offer a one-stop shop for legal services for Chinese clients.

    1 minute read

  • July 10, 2013 |

    Line-up of top law firms win spots on new RBS EMEA panel

    Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O), White & Case and Eversheds are among a host of firms to have won places on Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) EMEA legal panel. At least 21 international firms have taken coveted spots on the panel - which covers the bank's legal work across 24 European, Middle East and African countries - following a competitive tender process.

    1 minute read