Mining giant Vale accused of knowing ‘something wrong’ in Guinea iron ore deal February 18, 2022 BRAZILIAN mining giant Vale withdrew a $1.85bn High Court claim against billionaire Beny Steinmetz over an iron ore venture in Guinea just days before Steinmetz’s lawyers were due to present evidence which alleges that the Vale board knew there was “something dodgy” in a deal to procure mining licences in the country, Morning Wire understands. [...]
Hogan Lovells poaches two of Linklaters M&A lawyers as M&A boom continues February 17, 2022 Canada law firm Hogan Lovells has poached two of Linklaters’ M&A lawyers, as the surge in M&A activity continues. Anglo-American law firm Hogan Lovells, which has headquarters in London and Washington, D.C., said it has hired Peter Cohen-Millstein and Megan Ridley-Kaye to join its New York M&A practice, as it pushes forwards with [...]
Allianz sets aside €3.7bn to pay for collapsed fund lawsuits, following talks with US authorities February 17, 2022 German insurer and asset manager Allianz has set aside €3.7bn (£3.1bn) to settle lawsuits arising from the collapse of its Structured Alpha funds, following talks with US authorities. Allianz, the world’s largest insurance company, said it had set aside €3.7bn in “anticipation of settlements with major investors.” The comments come after the US Department of [...]
Barrister fined £500 for calling female lawyer ‘hysterical woman’ February 17, 2022 A 66-year-old barrister has been fined £500 after calling a female lawyer an “hysterical woman” at Worthing County Court. London lawyer Feliks Kwiatkowski was fined after he said a witness statement – that had been drafted and signed by a female lawyer – was the work of an “hysterical woman”. After being challenged over his [...]
Ex-Goldman banker says he became a ‘hero’ for 1MDB deals, after embezzling billions from Malaysian government February 17, 2022 A Goldman Sachs banker, who made almost $700m (£515m) through his involvement in the 1MDB scandal, has said “greed and ambition” motivated him to embezzle billions from the Malaysian government, while testifying against Roger Ng, his former Goldman Sachs colleague. Speaking at a Brooklyn Court, Tim Leissner, the former head of Goldman’s Southeast Asia division, [...]
New York firm offers new lawyers unprecedented $235,000 salaries – $20,000 more than closest rivals February 17, 2022 Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors is set to pay its newly qualified lawyers an unprecedented $235,000 (~£172,500) a year, in offering $20,000 more than rival US firms. The firm’s decision to up pay for its first-year associates to $235,000 a year comes after New York firm Milbank sparked a fresh bidding war in January, after raising [...]
Barrister Jolyon Maugham QC apologises for falsely claiming court victory against Matt Hancock February 17, 2022 The well-known London-based barrister Jolyon Maugham QC made a rare apology yesterday for falsely claiming he had won a High Court case against former Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Maugham said his office was “under-staffed” when a Twitter user wrote that his campaign group – The Good Law Project – had falsely claimed victory. On Tuesday, [...]
DLA Piper considering full merger between US and UK partnerships February 16, 2022 DLA Piper is considering plans for a full merger between the US and international arms of its business, Financial News has reported. Since being formed out of a merger between three law firms in 2005 – one from San Diego, one from Baltimore, and one from Britain – DLA Piper has worked as two separate [...]
Law firms now more willing to hire less skilled candidates in face of nationwide skills shortage February 16, 2022 Law firms are now increasingly willing to hire candidates that do not have the skills they were looking for, as the battle for talent continues. Three quarters (75 per cent) of law firms said they are now willing to be flexible when it comes to a candidate’s skillset, compared to 57 per cent of financial [...]
Barristers’ wigs are an ‘outdated’ symbol of ‘poshness’ top QC says February 16, 2022 One of Britain’s top QCs has said the UK should stop forcing barristers to wear wigs after claiming they are a symbol of “poshness” that have “no place” in the UK’s modern legal system. In an article in Mail+ Leslie Thomas QC, one of the UK’s most high-profile barristers, said wigs have hindered the Bar’s [...]