Former KWM employees win compensation

Former KWM employees win compensation
Almost 300 former staff of the failed European arm of King & Wood Mallesons have won a seven-figure settlement at an employment tribunal.

The tribunal in London ruled that the firm failed to carry out a formal redundancy consultation with affected employees and awarded them £1 million (AU$1.68 million). The settlement is the equivalent of 8 weeks’ pay.

The tribunal was brought to tribunal by UK law firm Herrington Carmichael.

Dentons represents Israeli debut on HKSE
A team from Dentons in Hong Kong has acted for China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Ltd and Jefferies Hong Kong Ltd. in connection with a groundbreaking IPO.

The new listing of Sisram Medical Ltd. is the first by an Israeli company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; dealings commenced this week.

The Dentons corporate finance team acted as joint sponsors and underwriters’ legal counsel and was led by Gordon Ng, Guangqin Wei and Enoch Wong.

Slow progress being made in promoting women lawyers
There has only been a small increase in the number of women equity partners over the past decade.

That’s the finding of a new report by the National Association of Women Lawyers which shows that women make up just 19% of equity partners, up just 1% in two years and just three percentage points in 10 years.

“While this year’s survey revealed small steps in the right direction, the overall lack of progress continues to be discouraging. Nevertheless, we remain committed to highlighting these issues, sharing best practices for inclusion and being the voice for women lawyers,” said NAWL President Angela Beranek Brandt.

The report shows that while women and make up roughly equal shares of entry-level associates, they make up just 30% of non-equity partners as well as the 19% of equity partners.

Women also make up just 25% of firm governance roles and in 97% of firms, men are the top earners with almost 70% reporting that no women are in their top 10 earners.