Legal News This Sunny Week
None quite as attention-grabbing as our headline of the week but there’s been lots happening in the world of law with a raft of new results and something less serious for Friday…
Update: Halliwells has filed for administration at Manchester High Court’s district registry with BDO Stoy Hayward partner Dermot Power expected to be appointed administrator.
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A raft of results have come through towards the end of this week reflecting the growing trend of declining volumes of work paired with increased efficiency.
Pinsent Masons has seen turnover drop 4% from £215m in 2008-09 to £206m this year but profits per equity partner (PEP) were up by £100,000.
Ashurst has reported a turnover drop of just under 3% from £301m in 2008-09 to £293m for 2009-10. The firm’s PEP figure rose by just over 2 per cent, from £673,000 to £689,000.
Taylor Wessing reported a dip in turnover of 9% falling from £91m last year to £85m for the 2009-10 financial year. PEP increased by 4.4% from £435,000 in 2008-09 to £455,000.
Bond Pearce has seen a slight drop in turnover of 2% from £47.5m to £47m. Meanwhile, the firm expects PEP to increase by approximately 10%.
And Bevan Brittan has also seen turnover drop, with an 8.2% fall from £41.1m to £37.7m at the end of this financial year. On the plus side PEP has increased by 43% to its highest-ever point at £286,000 this year, up from £200,000 in 2008-09.
In other news, it has been reported that Hill Dickinson may be lining up a deal to buy the assets of Manchester-based law firm Halliwells. Crains Manchester Business states:
People familiar with the situation have told Crain’s that partners at the practice have set up a team known as Project Bolton to buy Halliwells’ assets following a series of meetings between the firms.
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The deal under consideration could involve dissolving Halliwells LLP, which has more than 900 partners and staff.
On to less serious matters:
Nominative determinism at its best:
Jamaican ‘drug lord’ Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke arrested (BBC)
More than enough can be far too much:
Irene Ferrari, the owner of Russia’s largest breast implants, is suing a Swiss airline because she said that the “skimpy” business class seating didn’t provide enough room for her ginormous tatas. (The Legal Satyricon)
Or as more serious news sources reported it:
The owner of Russia’s biggest silicon pair is suing an airline after she injured her prized assets when she hit the seat in front of her during some midair turbulence.
Model Irene Ferrari blames the bruising on Swiss International’s skimpy business class seats, which forced her to use her breasts as airbags. (NY Daily News)
And on the subject of airbags, here’s an actual quote from court proceedings involving an idiot and a car crash:
ATTORNEY: You were involved in an accident, correct?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: Can you tell the Jury what happened?
WITNESS: I collided with a stationary truck that was coming the opposite way.
Enjoy your super-sunny weekend.
