Europe

1st Birthday of 1st Publicly Owned Law Firm, Slater & Gordon

Exactly one year after Australia’s Slater & Gordon became the world’s first publicly owned law practice, on May 21, 2007, the personal injury law firm is doing well, with significant growth and a share price 35 percent above its initial value. But, perhaps most noteworthy, it is looking much like…

May 21, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

More Tyco Work for BigLaw UK Firm Under Unusual Billing Scheme

A major U.K.-based international law firm stands to get a six-figure bonus this year from a corporate client if it meets certain goals, including having women comprise at least 25 percent of its 2009 class of new partners. Eversheds will also see a fatter paycheck if it reduces Tyco’s litigation…

May 20, 2008 6:44 PM CDT

All Calls and E-Mails to be Stored in UK?

Updated: Officials in Great Britain are considering a possible plan to store all electronic communications—telephone calls, e-mails, text messages and Internet information—for up to a year in a massive government database, as a potential evidence trove in terrorism cases and other crimes. Phone calls and text messages are already kept:…

May 20, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

Joint Phishing Operation Nets 38 Arrests

A joint investigation by U.S. and Romanian authorities has resulted the indictment of 38 people accused of taking part in a complicated Internet phishing scheme to steal thousands of credit and debit card numbers. In the two indictments unsealed Monday and filed in the Central District of California and the…

May 19, 2008 7:27 PM CDT

Accountant Tells What He’s Learned About Managing a Law Firm

A United Kingdom accountant wound up working for a law firm by accident. Since then, however, Paul Stothard, who is now the elected chief executive officer at Shoosmiths, has learned quite a bit. Among the words of wisdom he offers to others: Lawyers can be a challenge to work with,…

May 19, 2008 4:44 PM CDT

White & Case Latest to Give Jr. UK Lawyers a Salary Boost

While some firms are freezing raises or scaling back, associates at White & Case in the U.K. are set to get a salary bump of 2.1 percent. Young lawyers will now get $152,000, up nearly $4,000 from the previous year’s pay, Legal Week reports. The New York-based firm’s U.K. salaries…

May 16, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

Fan May Face IP Claim Over Dr. Who Knitting Patterns

A 26-year-old British fan of the BBC’s classic Doctor Who television show is facing a potential intellectual property claim over the knitting patterns she invented and distributed over the Internet for free, so fellow fans could create their own homemade versions of the show’s characters. Technically, it seems that the…

May 14, 2008 5:14 PM CDT

Denver Lawyer’s Retirement Job: Renovating Paris Apartments

A Denver lawyer has found an innovative way to keep busy during his “retirement” and, when his project is complete, vacation in a lovely Paris apartment with his wife at a cost of roughly $55 a night. His unusual avocation: renovating Paris apartments for eventual sale, via American corporate ownership,…

May 14, 2008 12:10 AM CDT

Thumbs Up to Web Code of Conduct, Thumbs Down to Facebook Ban

Almost half of all Web users would support an Internet code of conduct for bloggers and other Internet commentators, according to a survey by an international megafirm. But a growing number of observers question whether employer attempts to ban workers from using social networking sites like Facebook make sense. “A…

May 13, 2008 10:02 PM CDT

Shearman Left Out of ‘Sweet Sixteen’

Sixteen law firms are part of an elite international group that has been highly successful both in New York and in London. But not among the “Sweet Sixteen” honored by the Lawyer is Shearman & Sterling, because of a series of missteps that have canceled out the benefit of the…

May 13, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Clifford Chance Cuts Food Costs But Raises Associate Pay

In an ongoing effort to streamline internal costs, one of the world’s biggest law firms is now focusing on what it pays to help feed lawyers and staff while they are at work. Clifford Chance has announced that it plans to reduce the hours that its headquarters London restaurant is…

May 9, 2008 6:00 PM CDT

Police Snipers Shot London Barrister in Unusual Armed Response

Neighbors of London barrister Mark Saunders reportedly ran for cover Tuesday night as they realized he was firing a shotgun from his $4.5 million home and some 30 responding law enforcement officers began taking positions from which they could return fire. Saunders, who was killed after a five-hour standoff, was…

May 8, 2008 6:26 PM CDT

Prominent London Lawyer Killed in Police Shootout

Updated: An alcohol-fueled argument between two married London divorce lawyers may have led to a police shootout last night in which one was killed in their home in the expensive Chelsea neighborhood, stunning fellow practitioners. Complete details aren’t available, but barrister Mark Saunders is dead, and “it is believed Saunders…

May 7, 2008 4:26 PM CDT

Associates in the UK Foresee a Less Lucrative Future

A likely slowdown in associate pay increases in the U.K. may offer some signposts to help their U.S. law firm counterparts steer a course in challenging economic times. Although a few firms in the United Kingdom recently decided to increase salaries substantially for associate lawyers, most expect pay raises to…

May 2, 2008 11:30 PM CDT

Consumer Bankruptcies Rise Almost 50%

Attributing the problem to the subprime mortgage crisis, the American Bankruptcy Institute has reported a 47.7 percent increase in consumer bankruptcy filings during the past month, compared to April 2007. Filings are also up 7 percent since March, reports Reuters. The group’s executive director, Samuel Gerdano, expects total consumer bankruptcy…

May 2, 2008 3:26 PM CDT