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  • July 2, 2008 |

    In-house lawyer: The Italian jobs

    It is a warm spring afternoon in Rome. A group of corporate counsel have gathered for lunch at Gusto, a high-concept Asian fusion restaurant just blocks from the fashionable Via Condotti. At first, it looks like a typical gathering of Italian lawyers. The men wear dark suits; the women, tasteful dresses. They greet each other formally with handshakes and they are all carrying BlackBerrys, pulling them out occasionally to discreetly scan for new email. As the meal proceeds, the lawyers address each other with the familiar tu, even though they are not close friends - something that would have been unthinkable not so long ago. And they flip easily between English and Italian, the choice of language dependent on what they want to say.They talk about their peers in other European countries, their business trips to remote former Soviet republics, and their difficulties with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US. Meet the new breed of Italian in-house lawyer. Once, lawyers working in companies were either non-existent or lonely functionaries who stuck around the office to sign the occasional contract. Today, however, the in-house Bar in Italy is populated by a cadre of young, well-educated, highly-skilled, globally-oriented professionals.

    1 minute read

  • July 2, 2008 |

    Hairdos and don'ts at A&O

    Such is the dedication of one lawyer-turned-impromptu Diary spy that they interrupted an appointment at the hairdressers this week to dob in an acquaintance. While the female informant was having her hair blow-dried and coiffed to perfection at her exclusive boutique, she happened to spot a rather senior partner from always-immaculate City goliath Allen & Overy having his own luxurious thatch re-tousled.

    1 minute read

  • June 26, 2008 |

    Firms face danger of overseas recruitment block as immigration law comes into effect

    Leading City firms could find themselves unable to hire overseas lawyers unless they apply for a Government licence by November this year. Changes brought in by the Home Office and UK Border Agency affecting immigrant workers mean all employers - including law firms - must apply for a sponsorship licence and face a visit by the Border Agency if they want to continue hiring overseas employees.

    1 minute read

  • June 26, 2008 |

    DLA builds Russian banking team with A&O hire

    DLA Piper has strengthened its Russian finance group with the hire of Vyacheslav Khorovskiy to head its banking practice in the country. The Russian-qualified partner joined the firm last month from Allen & Overy (A&O), where he was a counsel within the banking team. His practice focuses on syndications, trade and property finance as well as debt capital markets.

    1 minute read

  • June 25, 2008 |

    Getting from A to B with Generation Y

    Since the Legal Week Intelligence Employee Satisfaction Survey was first published in 2005, each subsequent report has consistently found that law firms are failing to provide a working environment that motivates and retains many of their assistant and associate solicitors. The result has been that many firms have suffered from crippling turnover rates among their qualified staff, costing them thousands of pounds in recruitment costs and lost management time and indeterminable financial damage from disrupted client relationships.Each year, Legal Week Intelligence surveys assistant and associate solicitors at the leading commercial law firms, asking them to identify the aspects of their working lives that are most important to them and asking them to rate their experiences across a wide range of factors, from quality of work and their billable hours targets through to more subjective areas such as firm culture and the extent to which they feel valued. This year, more than 3,000 assistants responded, providing a comprehensive snapshot of what makes younger lawyers happy, the major causes of dissatisfaction and the performance of individual firms against that backdrop.

    1 minute read

  • June 25, 2008 |

    Overy and out

    Clients of Allen & Overy logging on to the firm's website on 19 June will have been in for a shock to discover the omniscient data portal temporarily jammed shut.

    1 minute read

  • June 25, 2008 |

    International firms line up for roles on $13bn BG Group bid

    Allen & Overy, Australia's Mallesons Stephen Jaques and New Zealand's Simpson Grierson are advising UK energy giant BG Group on its $13bn (£6.6bn) hostile takeover bid for Origin Energy, Australia's second-largest energy company, The American Lawyer has reported.Clayton Utz is representing Origin, which has advised its shareholders to take no action on the bid.

    1 minute read

  • June 25, 2008 |

    A&O and CC take top roles on Barclays fundraising

    Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC) are among a raft of firms that have won roles on Barclays' high-profile capital raising. A&O is advising Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) on its £500m investment into Barclays, while CC has taken the lead role for Barclays.

    1 minute read

  • June 20, 2008 |

    Unilever GC takes up Whitbread non-exec role

    Unilever general counsel and chief legal officer Stephen Williams has taken up a non-executive director role with Whitbread. Williams has already taken up the position with the restaurant and hotel company and will remain in his role as legal chief with Unilever on a full-time basis.

    1 minute read

  • June 19, 2008 | International Edition

    Herbies reverses trainee pay freeze to match peers

    Herbert Smith has backtracked on its decision to freeze trainee salaries at last year's levels, with the top 10 City firm moving to increase its rates from September this year. The firm announced today (19 June) that from 1 September first-year trainees will receive a 4% pay rise, taking their salaries from £36,000 to £37,500.

    1 minute read