Sep 03 2010 The promise held out by the arbitration industry is that it will be quicker, cheaper, and more private than litigation. Many litigators, however, have found that the system has not lived up to this promise. Arbitration processes more sophisticated than ever before, with discovery and pretrial... more

Sep 03 2010 Some Halliwells partners still owe on loans of more than £500,000, after borrowing money to finance contributions to the firm over the past few years. The troubled firm called on partners to double their usual contributions to the firm in 2008, and earlier this year 28 partners raised a... more

Sep 03 2010 Ballard Spahr has hired intellectual property litigator Katrina M Quicker, formerly a partner at King & Spalding. Quicker joined the partnership at Ballard Spahr two weeks ago. Quicker explained that the move was motivated by a desire to work with Lawrence K Nodine, the partner-in-charge of... more

Sep 02 2010 Top securities and corporate governance law firm Grant & Eisenhofer, has bolstered its New York antitrust practice with the appointment of Linda P. Nussbaum as a director and John D. Radice as a Senior Counsel. Stuart Grant – the firm’s managing director and co-founder – said: "Together,... more

Sep 02 2010 A new survey indicates that small and midsized firms saw declining revenues during 2009 as a result of tough economic circumstances, but cuts in expenses resulted in small increases in profits. The Survey of Law Firm Economics, a joint project of ALM Legal Intelligence and The National Law... more

Sep 02 2010 The American Lawyer has conducted a survey focusing upon mid-level associates, finding that overall satisfaction level is down to the lowest level in six years. The findings might be surprising, since these lawyers could be considered lucky to have been spared the axe in tough economic... more

Sep 02 2010 UK firm Addleshaw Goddard took out a £14.5 million loan and asked partners to contribute £15.6 million to the business in the last financial year, according to the firm's limited liability partnership filings. The bank loan increased the firm's overall borrowings to £20 million. Addleshaws... more

Sep 01 2010 Two leading Australian law firms - Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Clayton Utz - have banned a website that publishes law firm gossip. ‘Firm Spy’ seeks to publish news of industry redundancies, pay freezes, and ‘dodgy corporate behaviour like forcing staff to take annual leave during the... more

Sep 01 2010 Dechert has announced the hire of partner Achim Pütz, the former head of German financial markets at SJ Berwin. Pütz will join the firm’s Munich office, and is followed by associates Frank Wilbert and Martin Hüwel. Dechert’s financial services co-head Peter Astleford said: “Achim’s arrival... more

Sep 01 2010 The view that family law is not lucrative enough to attract the interest of large law firms may be changing, in light of a recent series of divorce cases that earned high fees for lawyers and involved complex legal issues. This article takes a look at a number of recent cases that might... more

Sep 01 2010 Top Chinese firm King & Wood has recruited Mary "Meg" Utterback to the firm’s Shanghai office. Before being hired by King & Wood, Utterback was the managing partner for Beijing at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, working international arbitration. more

Aug 31 2010 Allens Arthur Robinson has taken a leading role in the proposed A$3.4 billion deal for the acquisition of Intoll Group by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has put forward a proposal offering Intoll security holders the option of receiving A$1.52 cash... more

Aug 31 2010 Many have said that access to justice in the UK is under threat with new cuts to legal aid funding, The arrival of ‘Tesco Law’ and difficulties securing indemnity insurance. This article from the Guardian suggests that some of the changes may in fact increase access to justice. The article... more

Aug 31 2010 Kirkland & Ellis intellectual property partner Gerald Flattmann Jr has resigned from the firm's New York office to take up a role with Paul Hastings. He will be followed fellow intellectual property lawyers Melanie Rupert and Christine Willgoos, who both join Paul Hastings as counsel.... more

Aug 31 2010 US firm Kirkland & Ellis has announced the promotion of nine lawyers to the partnership in the London office. Lawyers were elevated in a number of different practice areas including corporate, tax, funds, restructuring and arbitration. Kirkland London office head Jim Learner said: "This... more

Aug 31 2010 AZB & Partners and Khaitan & Co have assisted Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries in its Rs 1020 crore ($217m) buy today of a 14.12 per cent stake in the Oberoi hotel and resort chain operator. AZB & Partners co-founding partner Zia Mody is understood to have led for Reliance Industries on its... more

Aug 31 2010 Currently, there is no law against sexual harassment in India. Victims can bring suit using provisions in tort law, the Indian Penal Code and labour law. But as Firstsource India president-HR and country manager Aashu Calapa points out: "Considering the social taboos still associated with sexual... more

Aug 30 2010 Chadbourne & Parke LLP has announced the hire of banking and finance lawyer Simon HP Morgan, who joins the firm’s Moscow office as partner. Morgan was previously a partner at White & Case, where he held roles as head of the Central and Eastern European capital markets practice, head of the Moscow... more

Aug 30 2010 Kingsley Napley boosted its family law practice with the hire of Michael Rowlands from Cripps Harries Hall Rowlands joins the firm as a partner, bringing the total number of partners in the group to six. Family practice head Jane Keir said: "Michael will use his contacts to cross-sell his... more

Aug 30 2010 A number of Weil, Gotshal & Manges associates have made the rather embarrassing realisation that by failing to complete the Professional Skills Course they have never been properly qualified for legal work. Seven trainees had the mistaken understanding that studying courses at the College of... more