Pinsent Masons elects new managing partner
John Cleland has been elected as the new managing partner of Pinsent Masons following a partner election. Cleland joined the firm as a partner in 1997 and is currently head of financial institutions. He has been instrumental in driving forward innovations in service provision and is a big proponent of technology. The election was a three-way race with Adrian Barlow and Richard Masters. Cleland succeeds David Ryan after almost 16 years and will take up his new role from May 1, 2015.
New city boutique for former Clifford Chance antitrust head
The former global head of antitrust at Clifford Chance is leaving the firm after 15 years to launch a boutique firm in London’s financial district. Oliver Bretz headed up the antitrust team from 2010 until earlier this year when he resigned; previously he was with
Linklaters and Simmons & Simmons. Bretz will advise clients on UK and European competition and trade law through offices in London and Brussels. The boutique firm will be called Euclid Law.
Commodity benchmarks open to manipulation says law firm
The methods used by pricing agencies to determine benchmark prices of commodities are open to manipulation according to Clyde & Co. The law firm has published a study and says that it shows there is a lack of confidence in the current methods. The survey included traders, brokers and financiers and out of 170 respondents 20 per cent were “entirely satisfied” with methods; 15 per cent said they were “fundamentally flawed”; the rest were “somewhat satisfied”. The investigation is not suggesting any illegal activity. European regulators are looking into stricter controls on commodity pricing.
Canadian lawyers say courtroom security plan is flawed
A change to security measures for the main court in Canada’s federal capital have been criticised by lawyers who say it restricts the traditional openness of legal proceedings. The Defense Counsel Association of Ottawa agrees that courts need to be secure but says the new measures are “fundamentally flawed” and denounced them as “draconian”. Police have begun questioning everyone who walks into the court entrance and new screening will include searches and the use of metal detectors. The measures were fast-tracked following the killing of soldier Nathan Cirillo at the nearby National War Memorial.
