As government debt and bailout plans dominate headlines mergers and international association could be as a way forward for firms to consolidate existing strengths and look for new markets. Several firms in this week's review appear to be exploring the possibility of new pastures. If the traditional path to mergers is not enough it would appear that interest in the new .law domain name is will surely have a major impact on the business of law in the near future. There is an anticipation that US based firms might be the first to take the plunge and the SundayLawReview team can reveal that even a few of the major UK based firms had been considering the possibility. In the coming weeks we shall surely hear more of this.
Saturday 16th June
- Anderson Strathern appointed by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) as sole provider of legal services | Scottish Legal http://t.co/zNTFd9mo
- Biggart Baillie has been re-appointed as legal advisers in a framework agreement with the SCRA | Scottish Legal http://t.co/4sK4MFPP
- UK Supreme Court dismissed application made by Dinah Rose QC from Blackstone Chambers, counsel for Julian Assange | Scottish Legal http://t.co/fCAq0uJh
- Lawyers vote for next leaders at Dundas & Wilson | The Scotsman http://t.co/AHIztiUS
Friday 15th June
- Quindell snaps up claims networker to sidestep referral fee ban | Law Gazette: http://t.co/C11LPoyF
- Lawrence Graham LLP (LG) secures non-exclusive association in Brazil | The Lawyer: http://t.co/a0fSOEr7
- SNR Denton exodus continues with Stephenson Harwood and KBH Kaanuun benefiting | The Lawyer: http://t.co/VbYExt19
- O'Melveny to build UK film practice with hire of Olswang star | The Lawyer: http://t.co/3Sjpjgwl
- Herbert Smith, Olswang, Taylor Wessing among line-up on sale of Hoxton Hotel | Legalweek http://t.co/k7uOdfbJ
- Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Baker & McKenzie have taken lead roles on the $1.1bn (£713m) financing of Kazakhstan state oil and gas company, KazMunaiGas, by the Export-Import Bank of China | Legalweek http://t.co/tZtskJ80
- Norton Rose brings in Vinson capital markets partner as firm pushes forward on integration- Legalweek http://t.co/2gTgeKUF
- Allen & Overy breaks ranks amid slowing Hong Kong market with partner cutbacks | Legalweek http://t.co/glNcpjaP
- Stephenson Harwood hires from SNR Denton continue with partner duo | Legalweek http://t.co/nle7U4pl
- A happy weekend thought for the roughly 300 ex-partners of the defunct law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP: just how much money will I be asked to cough up as the firm slogs through bankruptcy? | Wall Street Journal Law Blog http://tinyurl.com/boh8x3f
- Home improvement retailer Kingfisher has slashed its roster of international law firm advisers from 10 to two, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells securing key roles to handle the group’s major transactional work | Legalweek http://t.co/RxWZPUJD
Thursday 14th June
- Fladgate has hired a corporate partner from Canadian firm McCarthy Tétrault, the London firm’s third partner hire in a week and the latest in a growing string of new arrivals | The Lawyer: http://t.co/GbzCi6bW
- Dewey & LeBoeuf’s Riyadh practice has joined Patton Boggs to set up a affiliate office for the US firm consisting of one partner and four associates | The Lawyer: http://t.co/P2GdBzJE
- Blackstone's Rose QC fails in bid to have Assange appeal reopened | The Lawyer: http://t.co/mMahiPiH
- Dundas partners prepare to elect new management team | The Lawyer: http://t.co/iIJarvvz
- Former Dewey & LeBoeuf chairman Steve Davis has hired disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s PR adviser as media attention on the US firm’s former boss persists | The Lawyer: http://t.co/tinfqBnY
- DLA Piper signs up Biggart Baillie partner for Edinburgh office | Legalweek http://t.co/SEZukEpQ
- Ashurst adds two partners to Frankfurt base with Dewey double | Legalweek http://t.co/RsQ7lqk7
- Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has announced an 8% rise in revenues for 2011-12, taking total turnover at the firm to almost £250m | Legalweek http://t.co/f4wRw3OX
- State of Dewey's Middle East finances revealed as local partners battle over unpaid dues | The Lawyer: http://t.co/MKPOkXcH
- Dewey management accused of 'running Ponzi scheme' in lawsuit brought by ex-partner | The Lawyer: http://t.co/AaVggiQr
Wednesday 13th June
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance (CC) are among a number of firms advising on Swedish private equity group EQT's €1.8bn (£1.5m) purchase of Germany's BSN medical | Legalweek http://t.co/OhPhnU6O
- Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has revealed that its revenue rose by around 8 per cent in the 2011-12 financial year, climbing to £246m | The Lawyer: http://t.co/eNsp3Cr8
- Vizards Wyeth’s former family law team is pursuing its old firm’s equity partners for sexual and racial discrimination in a pay-related claim following Vizards’ takeover by Weightmans | The Lawyer: http://t.co/nLNA6jiT
- Hill Dickinson has reported a 10 per cent rise in turnover for 2011-12, in the first full year of trading following its acquisition of Halliwell’s Liverpool and Sheffield offices | The Lawyer: http://t.co/fI4JFgEJ
- Ashurst has picked up two Frankfurt partners from now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf, with corporate lawyer Benedikt von Schorlemer and employment specialist Andreas Mauroschat both joining the UK firm | The Lawyer: http://t.co/IdVlrbLG
- Full-service North Yorkshire practice Crombie Wilkinson Solicitors is implementing Eclipse Legal System‘s Proclaim practice management software system in a six-figure deal | Legal Futures http://t.co/GgLuNADy
- A group of former Dewey & LeBoeuf Dubai partners have filed for creditor protection in the emirate's courts in an attempt to recoup unpaid money they claim they are owed, amid the defunct firm's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in the US and the UK | Legalweek http://t.co/df8pdqw6
- Staffordshire law firm Knights has struck a deal to accept investment from the private equity company Hamilton Bradshaw, owned by former Dragon’s Den star James Caan in a bid to attract work away from the City | Legal Futures http://t.co/5KIFXLry
Tuesday 12th June
- Fosters has created an executive committee to take over running of the firm from its managing partner team | The Lawyer: http://t.co/eirW0kYS
- Midlands firm Knights Solicitors has taken a cash injection from high-profile entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den investor James Caan’s private equity house in a bid to grow the business into a top-100 UK practice in three years | The Lawyer: http://t.co/HWsvKvIQ
- Channel Islands firm Carey Olsen is broadening its reach with a Cayman Islands launch through the hire of a team from Maples and Calder | The Lawyer: http://t.co/MHO9bWFt
- Herbert Smith has completed its redundancy consultation in London, with all lawyers and staff affected taking voluntary redundancy | The Lawyer: http://t.co/SSOXBry7
- A trio of US firms are advising on a $1bn (£644m) private equity deal that has seen UK-based private equity house Apax Partners team up with US tech investor JMI Equity to acquire software group Paradigm | Legalweek http://t.co/GHtALxOk
- Carey Olsen is launching in the Cayman Islands with a double partner hire from the local base of Maples and Calder, marking a move into both Cayman and British Virgin Islands (BVI) advice for the firm | Legalweek http://t.co/nKqCk17a
- Charles Russell confirms redundancy round with nine jobs under threat | Legalweek http://t.co/3M3ClaUA
- Midlands firm Knights secures investment from Dragons' Den star's PE house | Legalweek http://t.co/WGAAan79
- Herbert Smith concludes redundancy consultation with 43.5 City roles cut | Legalweek http://t.co/Huh3l0n1
- Bird & Bird has appointed Al Jazeera Network’s chief legal officer Osama Abu-Dehays as a partner to strengthen its media and sports practice in the Middle East | The Lawyer: http://t.co/soXwtgmm
- London firm Bains Cohen and 5RB’s David Hirst have convinced the High Court that Facebook should be forced to reveal the identities of cyber-bullies | The Lawyer: http://t.co/aiyrZUvE
- The Transfer Window: recent moves including CMS, Shoosmiths, Norton Rose, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Ashurst | Legalweek http://t.co/fCk0zxD4
Monday 11th June
- Ex-Dewey partners gather their strength… in a wine bar: 'It started two and a half years ago as a group of former Dewey & LeBoeuf City partners who met occasionally to drink and share memories, but as dissolution sinks in, the group has expanded to discuss the situation, in what has morphed from a group of friends to an informal meeting forum for those who feel they could have a claim against their former firm' | The Lawyer: http://t.co/tnC0Sxkl
- Birketts and Birkett Long rivalry intensifies with tit-for-tat mergers: 'It dates back to 1995, when Birketts and Birkett Long demerged. Fifteen years later Ipswich-based Birketts combined with Chelmsford firm Wollastons, meaning Birketts and Birkett Long were back in competition in Chelmsford for the first time since the break-up' | The Lawyer: http://t.co/ZaaGJ2zh
- Bird & Bird signs up Al Jazeera legal chief in boost for Middle East team | Legalweek http://t.co/UDDFmBtK
- Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, Olswang, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Sullivan & Cromwell, Wragge & Co on Telefonica deal double | Legalweek http://t.co/1HrbsykK
- Morgan Lewis hands co-leadership role to ex-Dewey London head Sharp | Legalweek http://t.co/zvre3Ypw
- Allen & Overy (A&O) has asked a number of Hong Kong partners to leave as the firm cuts back its local partnership by around 20% | Legalweek http://t.co/yPJnFUuZ
- Italy's Pavia beefs up in Russia with Salt deal | The Lawyer: http://t.co/UwPZWLHn
- Stephenson Harwood returns to SNR Denton for latest partner hire | The Lawyer: http://t.co/1blOfLg3
- Former Dewey City chief to co-manage Morgan Lewis's London base | The Lawyer: http://t.co/702KTVqR
- Linklaters and White & Case land roles on Sberbanks $3.9bn Denizbank deal | The Lawyer: http://t.co/0SM13cd4
- A&O cuts four Hong Kong partners as regional focus shifts to Singapore | The Lawyer: http://t.co/Q2c1Q7Tk
- Manchester firm Cobbetts is suing the makers of Sugar Puffs and Fox’s Glacier Mints, claiming the company owes it over £255,000 in unpaid fees | The Lawyer: http://t.co/AOputmMp
- Herbert Smith avoids RBS's aspersions thanks to judge in Highland case | The Lawyer: http://t.co/g9UBOnb2
- SJ Berwin champions 'One Firm' approach in bid to foster cross-referrals | The Lawyer: http://t.co/Ruk0J2sg
- Olswang seals hire of Clifford Chance Paris partner as Euro IP push continues | Legalweek http://t.co/8Z5OSz9Z
A synopsis of the the movers and shakers in law firms as featured in Law Society Gazette:
- Agricultural and landed estate expert Susan Morrissy has joined Telford-based MFG Solicitors from Worcestershire practice Thursfields. Over a 22-year career, Ms Morrissy has built a nationally-admired reputation specialising in all aspects of agricultural law, farm tenancy advice and country estate and property transactions
- David Lister is now Assistant Solicitor at Taylor Bracewell. Lister was previously a Trainee Solicitor having worked there for 3 years in family law. As a member of Resolution, sitting on the South Yorkshire Resolution Committee, he was the first ever trainee in the region to be appointed to the committee. He has also been nominated for the Family Law award of ‘Young Solicitor of the Year
- Peter Wright is now Consultant Solicitor at Taylor Bracewell. Wright specialises in digital law issues, including data protection, privacy & security and law relating to social media and freedom of information.
- Julie Hodkinson is now real estate partner at EOS Law LLP. Hodkinson, formerly of Weightmans and Cobbetts joins the firm. She qualified at international firm Trowers & Hamlins and has over 15 years’ experience acting for a comprehensive range of developer, occupier, retail and institutional clients.
- Alfred Merckx is now Head of Aviation Department at Bargate Murray. Merckx was previously General Counsel at Dubai based JetEx Flight Support. He will be responsible for the development of a new Aviation Department which will mainly focus on business aviation.
- Susan Morrissy is now a Partner at Telford based MFG Solicitors. Agricultural and landed estate expert Morrissy formerly worked in the Worcestershire practice Thursfields. Over a 22-year career, she has built a nationally-admired reputation specialising in all aspects of agricultural law, farm tenancy advice and country estate and property transactions.
- Sarah Baugh and Tom Devey are now Partners at FBC Manby Bowdler. Both Baugh and Devey were previously Partners at MFG Solicitors. Their arrival has strengthened the firm's Agricultural and Rural Services Team.
- Andriy Selyutin is now Head of South Ukrainian branch at Arzinger. Selyutin was previously at ANK.
He specializes in civil, economic, corporate and tax law, and legal support of deals and investment projects. - Laura Kearsley is now Director in Nelsons' Employment team at Leicester. Kearsley was previously Associate and Business Centre Manager at Weightmans. Kearsley achieved recognition in 2011 when she won The Lawyer’s Assistant Solicitor of the Year award. A former Chair of the West Midlands Association of Women Solicitors (2008-2010), she was also named Birmingham Law Society’s Assistant/Associate Solicitor of the Year in 2010 and in 2009, she won the legal category for the Midlands in the inaugural Women on their Way awards. She completed her training at Allen & Overy in London.
We would like to thank all the publications cited in this week's 'Law firm news'. Direct links to the law firms have been included where firms had been mentioned. Please notify via @SundayLawReview Twitter handle of any errors or omissions.
