Europe

Around the Blawgosphere: Pinterest Business Card Fishbowl; Legal Foundation of ‘Downton Abbey’

Pin and Win Carolyn Elefant—Washington, D.C., solo and Pinterest member—has invited My Shingle readers to ” ‘drop’ your business card into the MyShingle Online Fishbowl at Pinterest.” Those who participate by Thursday, March 15, will be entered into a raffle for one of two Amazon gift cards. Several of those…

Mar 2, 2012 2:30 PM CST

After a Month in Prison, Ex-BigLaw Partner Who Lied to Police Wins Release, Due to Wife’s Illness

A former partner of Allen & Overy and Macfarlanes had to serve a month in prison after being convicted of perverting the course of justice for lying to police to avoid a possible drunken-driving case for running his Range Rover off the road. However, Francis Bridgeman has now had his…

Feb 23, 2012 10:44 PM CST

UK’s High Court for the First Time OKs Service Via Facebook

In a United Kingdom first, the High Court there has agreed to allow a hard-to-locate individual to be served via Facebook in a civil case. Fabio de Biase has been granted 14 days to respond—much more than the norm—to be sure he has enough time to check his Facebook account,…

Feb 21, 2012 7:29 PM CST

Thousands of People Rally for Famous Spanish Judge After He Is Banned from the Bench

Updated: A Spanish judge famous for his indictments of notorious international wrongdoers has lost his judgeship, but he still has the support of thousands of people who marched in his support on Sunday. Spain’s Supreme Court disbarred Judge Baltasar Garzon last Thursday for ordering jailhouse wiretaps of inmates speaking with…

Feb 13, 2012 3:08 PM CST

Herbert Smith Is Mulling Possible Megamerger With Australia’s Freehills; Plans NY Launch in 2012

Herbert Smith, a venerable London-based firm with over 1,000 lawyers, is in preliminary talks with Australia’s Freehills concerning a possible megamerger. If the two firms decide to combine, they would not only have an attorney roster of 2,000 lawyers or more but would have a presence on every continent except…

Feb 6, 2012 11:03 AM CST

10 Lawyers Leap to Hughes Hubbard, Leaving 1 Partner in SNR Denton’s Paris Office

Ten lawyers are poised to leap from the Paris office of SNR Denton to Hughes Hubbard & Reed, leaving exactly one partner at the helm in their soon-to-be-former legal shop. Among those exiting this week are Paris banking practice leader Sena Agbayissah, a former managing partner of SNR Denton’s office…

Jan 31, 2012 8:52 PM CST

Australia’s Slater & Gordon Snaps Up UK Personal Injury Firm, Russell Jones & Walker, for $84M

Slater & Gordon, the world’s first publicly traded law firm is poised to grow again after agreeing to pay 53.8 million pounds (about $84 million in U.S. dollars) for a United Kingdom law firm that also specializes in personal injury work. The acquisition of Russell Jones & Walker is authorized…

Jan 30, 2012 11:55 PM CST

Ousted BigLaw Partner Gets 5 Years for Helping Client Trick Swiss Bank Into Making $28M Loan

A British lawyer ousted in 2008 from his equity partnership at Mishcon de Reya was sentenced today to 5½ years in prison for helping a client trick a private Swiss bank into making a loan of some $28 million. Solicitor Kevin Steele, 51, helped his client, Michael Shephard, present fake…

Jan 28, 2012 12:02 AM CST

Ex-BigLaw Partner Accused of Faking Kidnap to Avoid DUI Case Gets 12 Months, Loses Driver’s License

A former partner of Allen & Overy and Macfarlanes has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for claiming to police he had been kidnapped in an apparent effort to avoid a possible driving-under-the-influence case after driving his Range Rover off the road. “I doubt a drink-drive conviction would have…

Jan 24, 2012 10:14 PM CST

Public Company to Buy UK Law Firm for $30M to Enhance Insurance Claims-Management Business

In what may be the first purchase of a law firm by a publicly traded United Kingdom company, Quindell Portfolio plans to acquire Silverbeck Rymer to expand the array of claims-management services it offers to insurers. It will pay 19.3 million pounds (about $30 million in U.S dollars) for the…

Jan 24, 2012 8:20 PM CST

British Juror Gets 3 Months for Researching Defendant Online, Resulting in Mistrial

A British university lecturer found guilty of contempt for ignoring a Luton Crown Court order and doing Internet research on the defendant while participating in jury deliberations in a criminal trial last summer has been sentenced to a six-month jail term by a three-judge High Court panel. Theodora Dallas, 34,…

Jan 23, 2012 8:23 PM CST

Captain Held in Fatal Cruise Liner Stunt Argued with Coast Guard About Leaving Ship, Reports Say

In a maritime tragedy that is increasingly sounding like a scenario out of a law school exam problem, the captain of a Carnival Cruise ship that ran aground and sank off the coast of Tuscany late on Friday is being questioned by Italian authorities in a possible manslaughter case. Capt.…

Jan 17, 2012 8:59 PM CST

Surprising Observers, Aga Khan Fights Record $75M French Divorce Court Award

To many, a divorce award of $75 million or so might seem astronomical. But it’s practically small change to a man worth between $5 and $10 billion. And so observers expected the Aga Khan to ante up when a French court ruled in September he should pay that amount to…

Jan 11, 2012 8:34 PM CST

Davis Polk to Expand London Office Practice with Freshfields Partner, Perhaps Others

Following the lead of several other well-known Wall Street law firms, Davis Polk & Wardwell announced that it is expanding its English law practice at the firm’s office in London. Capital markets specialist Simon Witty of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer will join the London office in April, but it isn’t known…

Jan 9, 2012 10:24 PM CST

Ex-BigLaw Partner Collapses in Court as Judge Warns of Likely Jail Time for Drunk-Driving Case Lies

Things went from bad to worse for a solicitor in a major London law firm after he apparently had a few too many alcoholic drinks and crashed his Range Rover last year. Found later at home by police, where he tested over the limit, Francis Bridgeman said he had been…

Dec 19, 2011 2:36 PM CST