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  • March 26, 2009 |

    Ashurst takes lead role as Candover gets set for shake-up

    Ashurst has landed a key mandate advising on a potential sale or delisting of embattled buyout house Candover. The firm has been drafted in to advise Candover Investments - the UK-listed parent company of private equity company Candover Partners - in relation to the proposed restructuring. It is understood that private equity partner Bruce Hanton is leading Ashurst's team for Candover Investments. The top 10 City firm counts Candover as a longstanding client, with Hanton previously acting on transactions for the investment trust.

    1 minute read

  • March 23, 2009 |

    - 2009 Partnership Round: a Legal Week Wiki special -

    Welcome to Legal Week's 2009 partner promotions round-up. Here you'll find all the latest news stories about partner promotions gathered in one place, as well as links to relevant blog entries and any other bits and pieces we think might be of interest.

    1 minute read

  • March 20, 2009 |

    Herbert Smith seals Buncefield win for Chevron

    Herbert Smith has scored a victory advising Chevron in one of the largest pieces of commercial litigation ever seen in the UK, as its joint venture partner Total is found liable for the 2005 Buncefield disaster. In a judgment handed down in the High Court this morning (20 March), Mr Justice David Steel ruled that Total - which has a 60% stake in Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL), the joint venture that runs the Buncefield depot - was responsible for the explosion and liable for the financial consequences.The aftermath of the explosion - which has been described as the largest incident of its kind in peacetime Europe - has seen approximately £750m of claims from around 4,000 local businesses, residents and other oil companies with facilities at Buncefield, such as Shell.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2009 | International Edition

    Commentary: The leveraged finance team with a shortage of leverage

    When Legal Week revealed in February that Allen & Overy (A&O) had asked five partners in its London leveraged finance team to depart as part of its sweeping restructuring, it is fair to say the move generated some surprise.Yes, the sector has been devastated by the financial turmoil over the last year, leaving A&O and its 69-partner City banking practice heavily exposed. But even so, the level of departures from the firm's 12-partner leveraged finance team - historically one of A&O's most influential and highly-rated practices - was still unexpected.

    1 minute read

  • March 18, 2009 |

    Commentary: The leveraged finance team with a shortage of leverage

    When Legal Week revealed in February that Allen & Overy (A&O) had asked five partners in its London leveraged finance team to depart as part of its sweeping restructuring, it is fair to say the move generated some surprise.Yes, the sector has been devastated by the financial turmoil over the last year, leaving A&O and its 69-partner City banking practice heavily exposed. But even so, the level of departures from the firm's 12-partner leveraged finance team - historically one of A&O's most influential and highly-rated practices - was still unexpected.

    1 minute read

  • March 12, 2009 |

    Ashurst, Simmons follow firms freezing pay

    Ashurst and Simmons & Simmons have joined Allen & Overy (A&O) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in freezing pay in a bid to stave off further job cuts. Ashurst told staff earlier this week (9 March) that all non-partner lawyers and support staff will see pay held at 2008 levels. The firm abandoned associate lockstep about two years ago to focus on rewarding individual merit, but there will also be no increases this year. Ashurst is also dropping its newly-qualified (NQ) rate from March onwards by just over 8% to £60,000 from £65,000.

    1 minute read

  • March 12, 2009 |

    BLG replaces Dickinson Dees on Carillion panel

    Addleshaw Goddard, Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Kennedys have all won spots on support services and construction company Carillion's new legal panel. Addleshaws has been appointed to advise on private finance matters, with Barlows brought in for construction advice and Kennedys for insurance matters. Kennedys' appointment comes after the firm's insurance team moved over from DLA Piper last year.

    1 minute read

  • March 11, 2009 |

    SRA aims to boost diversity with survey of profession

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is gathering information about UK lawyers' gender and ethnicity as part of a diversity drive. The organisation is launching a diversity census and has already gathered data from more than 14,000 lawyers through a secure form that went online in September. It is now urging more solicitors to take part in the survey.

    1 minute read

  • March 4, 2009 |

    Four London firms take legal panel roles for pan-European data business

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Ashurst, Addleshaw Goddard and Lovells have won spots on data centre operator TelecityGroup's first legal panel. The firms were all appointed to the FTSE 250 company's main legal roster earlier this year after a competitive tender process. The appointments will see Freshfields advising the company on high value corporate finance matters, Lovells providing general corporate, commercial and M&A advice, and Ashurst and Addleshaws advising on employment issues and debt advisory matters respectively.

    1 minute read

  • March 4, 2009 |

    Lloyd named as Ashurst's new MP for corporate

    Ashurst has appointed private equity partner Stephen Lloyd as the new managing partner of its corporate practice, replacing Roger Finbow, who is retiring at the end of the financial year. The role will see Lloyd manage the UK practice and work on various client and diversity initiatives within the group alongside corporate head Adrian Clark. The role has no fixed term, and Finbow held the post for around five years.

    1 minute read