Filter This View

  • December 11, 2008 |

    Managing/senior partner of the year

    Running a modern law firm is a complex challenge, and many a talented lawyer has been burnt by the experience. The judges agreed that all six finalists showed they have what it takes to deliver outstanding performance. David Gray is stepping down as Eversheds' chief executive after five years, having notched up a litany of achievements. These include a £10m investment in the project management skills of its lawyers as well as the Global Account Management System. Gray has led from the front - partners can rate his performance on an intranet page. But he can be tough too, introducing a yellow and red card scheme to improve partners' approach to cash management.

    1 minute read

  • December 11, 2008 |

    Law firm of the year

    This award is always one of the most hotly contested, and 2008 proved to be no exception.Ashurst has continued to invest heavily in its international network, doubling its headcount in Dubai, opening an office in Abu Dhabi and recruiting shrewdly in Tokyo and Singapore. A Hong Kong office is planned for 2009. With a focus as well on identifying new areas of demand for legal expertise, Ashurst is showing the initiative required to succeed in turbulent conditions, the judges said.

    1 minute read

  • December 10, 2008 |

    Asia and Latin America: The future is...

    With the US and Europe set to plunge deeper into recession next year, the so-called emerging markets of Asia offer some hope of a more buoyant environment in which law firms and their clients can do business.Lawyers in the closely linked Hong Kong and China markets are not exactly brimming with optimism about the year ahead - but neither are they as despondent as their western counterparts, summing up the general mood across much of the East Asia region.

    1 minute read

  • December 10, 2008 |

    Dealmaker: Florentin Tuca

    Tuca, Zbarcea & Associatii managing partner Florentin Tuca on fulfilling his lifelong dreams, fishing and pretending to know about cheese

    1 minute read

  • December 7, 2008 |

    The Middle East, post-Lehman: A tale of two Emirates

    For the aspiring global firm, a shingle in Dubai has been one of the must-haves of the last five years. Last week Weil Gotshal & Manges joined the…

    1 minute read

  • December 5, 2008 |

    Top 10 City quartet land Singapore licences

    Four top 10 City firms have been awarded licences to practise local law in Singapore. Clifford Chance (CC), Allen & Overy (A&O), Herbert Smith and Norton Rose were among six firms awarded the licences earlier today (5 December), along with US firms Latham & Watkins and White & Case, after a process thought to have seen around 20 firms applying.The firms will have up to six months from 1 January to hire local lawyers and set up their Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP), with the licenses valid for an initial period of five years.The license means firms will be able to practice all areas of local law except domestic litigation, criminal, family and administrative law.

    1 minute read

  • December 3, 2008 |

    Ashurst, Norton Rose win spots on new FSA panel

    The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed its first-ever panel with two top 10 City firms awarded positions on the roster. Norton Rose and Ashurst have won roles on the regulator's panel after the organisation launched a formal review in April. FSA general counsel Andrew Whittaker led the review, which saw firms pitching for the work over several months. Norton Rose and Ashurst join counsel Michael Brindle QC, Charles Flint QC and Ian Glick QC, respectively of Fountain Court, Blackstone Chambers and One Essex Court on the panel, which is set to be reviewed every three years.

    1 minute read

  • December 3, 2008 |

    Ashurst Stockholm makes partner hire

    Ashurst has bolstered its Stockholm office with the hire of capital markets specialist Jon Ericson. Ericson, who joined the firm this week (1 December) as a partner, comes from the investment banking division of Nordic bank Nordea. Ericson will be the first specialist capital markets lawyer in Ashurst's Stockholm's three-partner corporate team and the sixth partner in the office. The City law firm's Swedish office only launched at the beginning of last year through a merger with M&A boutique AJB Bergh.

    1 minute read

  • December 3, 2008 |

    Commentary: Banking regulation work emerges as the new private equity

    Has there ever been a better time be a specialist in financial services regulation? For years, such lawyers toiled away little-noticed within a dozen or so major commercial firms, prospering in sizeable numbers in Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance (CC) and CMS Cameron McKenna. But despite the creation of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) a decade ago, this group was hardly the most visible or loved of its breed, despite in recent years enjoying some of the highest charge-out rates in the City.

    1 minute read

  • November 28, 2008 | International Edition

    Eversheds, Links honoured at British Legal Awards

    Eversheds was among the winners at the 2008 British Legal Awards, beating a strong field of competition to scoop the coveted Law Firm of the Year award.Former Allen & Overy senior partner Guy Beringer - who now holds non-executive positions at investment managers Fleming Family & Partners and on the board of Her Majesty's Courts Service - was honoured with the City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement award after 30 years at the magic circle law firm.

    1 minute read