Rachel is deputy editor (City) of The Lawyer and primarily covers corporate and the City
Clifford Chance and King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) have picked up top roles advising National Australia Bank (NAB) on its $5.5bn capital raising for a possible demerger from Clydesdale Bank. The Clifford Chance team in London is led by corporate partner David Pudge, with support from fellow partners Lee Coney and Chris Bates. Adrian Cartwright […]
Blake Morgan is merging with London-based firm Piper Smith Watton, nearly a year after the merger of Blake Lapthorn with Morgan Cole. The merger takes effect on 1 August and will increase Blake Morgan’s number of partners by 12 to 130. It is also set to boost the firm’s annual turnover from £72m to £78m. […]
Osborne Clarke has reappointed its international CEO Simon Beswick for a second term and its international chairman for a further two years. Beswick was appointed international CEO three years ago (9 July 2012) and is set to remain in his role until 2018. Meanwhile, Stefan Rizor has been reappointed as international chairman for a further […]
Fewer finance directors (FDs) at the UK’s top 100 law firms are looking to expand abroad, with interest in Russia, Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa particularly falling. The data collected by Thomson Reuters found 24 per cent of FDs thought overseas expansion was likely, down from 33 per cent last year. Increased sanctions against Russia […]
Osborne Clarke has promoted five associate directors to partnership taking the firm’s total number of partners to over 200 for the first time. Of the five, three (60 per cent) are women. Kate Johnson and Mathias Loertscher are based in Osborne Clarke’s London office and both qualified with the firm in 2006. Johnson specialises in […]
Fieldfisher has launched a Munich corporate practice with the hire of its first M&A partner in the city. Daniel Marhewka, who specialises in corporate energy, joined Fieldfisher on 1 May from Watson Farley Williams. He will advise on energy and infrastructure transactions with a focus on M&A, private equity and venture capital. His appointment is […]
Mothercare’s general counsel Tim Ashby is leaving the company in September for FTSE 100 real estate investment trust Land Securities. Ashby will replace Adrian De Souza, who announced his resignation last year (21 October 2014). Ashby said the role was a great opportunity. He noted it is an exciting time in the real estate industry, […]
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has promoted seven lawyers to partnership roles in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and New York. The promotions round is significantly down on 2014, when the firm made up 13 new partners in London, Hamburg, New York, Italy, Athens, Bangkok and Paris. This year in London, Andrew Ward and Andrew […]
Pinsent Masons has strengthened its lead at the top of the Aim rankings, with Carey Olsen and Memery Crystal coming in joint second. According to figures published by Adviser Rankings, Pinsent Masons gained three new AIM clients since January 2015, bringing its total number to 64. Meanwhile Carey Olsen and Memery Crystal lost four and […]
Charles Russell Speechlys has announced its first round of partnership promotions since the two firms merged last November. Five lawyers have been promoted to partnership roles in Charles Russell Speechlys including Sally Ashford, head of Guildford’s non-contentious private client team and corporate lawyer Jonathan Morley in Cheltenham. London’s Hanh Nguyen, who specialises in insolvency, as well […]
Charles Russell Speechlys has hired a new head of construction for the Middle East from Trowers & Hamlins. Paula Boast became a partner at Trowers & Hamlins’ Bahrain office after leaving legacy Charles Russell in 2006. She started working in Charles Russell Speechlys’ Doha division last weekend, with her appointment intended to build the firm’s […]
Osborne Clarke has hired Taylor Wessing’s Brussels managing partner to join its real estate team in the Belgian capital. Christine Flion joins Osborne Clarke as a partner, with a focus on Belgian and foreign real estate investment transactions and finance. She also deals with real estate disputes, development projects, and town and environment planning. Flion […]