Month: June 2019

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Government ushers in emergency pay boost for judges amid mounting staff shortages

Royal Courts of Justice ruined

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has ushered in an emergency boost to senior judges’ remuneration as an unprecedented recruitment crisis continues to grip the Bench. The move, announced on Wednesday (5 June), is in response to a review by the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) and will see High Court judges handed a 25% annual bonus and circuit and upper tribunal judges a 15% raise.

As part of a two-year temporary ‘bonus’, High Court judges will receive £47,225 on top of their £188,901 yearly pay in addition to a 2% pay rise. Circuit and upper tribunal judges will be paid £21,043 in addition to a £140,289 salary. Continue reading “Government ushers in emergency pay boost for judges amid mounting staff shortages”

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Cash in hand: Slaughter and May to pocket £6m in fees for advice on failed hostile bid

handshake

Slaughter and May is set to receive over £6m in fees after advising sub-prime lender Non-Standard Finance (NSF) on its failed £1.3bn takeover of doorstep lender Provident Financial, which collapsed on Tuesday night (4 June) due to insufficient regulatory capital and a lack of shareholder support.

The mandate for Slaughters was led by corporate head Andy Ryde alongside fellow partner Paul Mudie, with the hostile bid being launched in February of this year. However the Prudential Regulation Authority decided the combined entity would not carry sufficient capital at the point of completion, and therefore blocked the deal. Slaughters did not advise the client on capital or shareholder-related issues. Continue reading “Cash in hand: Slaughter and May to pocket £6m in fees for advice on failed hostile bid”

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Herbert Smith Freehills to scale back German operation with Berlin office closure

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) will be closing its Berlin office by the end of the year, reducing the firm’s German footprint to Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.

The 10-lawyer office was first opened in 2013 and is currently led by corporate partners Dirk Hamann and Ralf Thaeter. All associates, trainees and business services staff in Berlin have been given the option to transfer to the firm’s other German offices. Continue reading “Herbert Smith Freehills to scale back German operation with Berlin office closure”

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Dentons UK and Middle East revenue nears £230m in first post-Scotland results

Dentons

Dentons’ UK and Middle East revenue rose 13% to £229.8m in 2018/19 but growth in profit per equity partner (PEP) slowed, rising 4% to £676,000 compared to a 36% spike the previous year.

The firm announced today (5 June) the first financial results for its UKME LLP covering a full financial year of operations since the merger with Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens, which went live in November 2017  and added three offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow to the firm’s network. Continue reading “Dentons UK and Middle East revenue nears £230m in first post-Scotland results”

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Slater and Gordon’s £637m Quindell claim to be heard in October

Slater and Gordon

The saga of Slater and Gordon’s (S&G) ill-fated Quindell acquisition is set to intensify with the national firm’s £637m claim headed to court in October.

The case against Watchstone, formerly Quindell, sees S&G seeking to recoup the cost of acquiring the professional services division in 2015. S&G issued its claim in June 2017 for breach of warranty and/or fraudulent misrepresentation for the whole amount paid. Continue reading “Slater and Gordon’s £637m Quindell claim to be heard in October”

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NRF loses ten-lawyer London insurance litigation team to Kennedys as BCLP hires energy partners from Watson Farley

UK top 30 insurance and shipping specialist Kennedys has raided Norton Rose Fulbright’s (NRF) London insurance bench, recruiting two partners and another eight-lawyers.

Meanwhile, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) hired two energy partners from Watson Farley & Williams and RPC hired a chief operating officer (COO) from Clifford Chance (CC). Continue reading “NRF loses ten-lawyer London insurance litigation team to Kennedys as BCLP hires energy partners from Watson Farley”