SJ movers and shakers

Happy New Merger

Mayfair firm LSG Solicitors has announced its merger with Gardner Austin. The new firm, LSGA Solicitors, will continue to operate from its premises at 35 Piccadilly.

LSG partner Hal Branch said the merger will 'focus the energies of the two firms who shared a common culture of providing excellent service to clients, while enhancing the specialist legal advice available'.

Gardner Austin partner Tania Austin added: 'This is an exciting opportunity for both firms to join forces and further develop their client offering. The merger enhances the existing specialisms of both firms, including real estate, dispute resolution, and corporate.

'In addition, Gardner Austin brings private client expertise to LSG Solicitors allowing them to provide a fuller service to their existing high net-worth and entrepreneurial client base.'

Burges Salmon advises on £82m financing of onshore wind farm

Banking and renewables sector experts from Burges Salmon have advised Temporis Capital, UK Green Investment Bank, and KKR on the £82m project financing of a 52 megawatt onshore wind farm in Scotland.

The Burges Salmon team, led by banking partner Graham Soar with assistance from the firm's construction, real estate, and energy teams, acted for Temporis as agent and security agent on the project financing for the consented Blackcraig wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.

The construction of Blackcraig will commence this month and is scheduled for completion by March 2017. The 23-turbine project is expected to produce more than 150 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity annually, enough to meet the electricity requirements of over 37,500 homes.

Potential claimants offered funding to investigate cases

Augusta Ventures is to offer funding to help potential claimants investigate the merits of their case before committing to litigation.

The litigation funder, which targets the sub-£1m funding market, will now offer funds towards the costs for an opinion from a solicitor and, if the case has merits, from counsel as well.

This new finance option aims to remove the costs burden claimants face prior to completing a full finance agreement while increasing lawyers' caseloads and enhancing client relationships.

In the event Augusta provides finance for the resulting case, the funding will be included in the overall case budget. If the decision is not to proceed, the client will not be asked to reimburse Augusta, unless it wants sight of counsel's opinion.

Both solicitor and counsel would be expected to work on a partial conditional fee agreement ensuring an alignment of interest among all parties.

The solicitor is required to initially assess the case on the basis of Augusta's economics, selection and prospect of recovery criteria.

Since launching at the end of 2014, Augusta has funded 64 cases, totalling almost £15m.

Hilary Meredith Solicitors expands into family law

Hilary Meredith Solicitors Ltd has expanded its service offering with the launch of a family law department.

The military law and personal injury firm has appointed solicitor Paul Reay, who joins from Lewis Rodgers Solicitors, to head up the new team.

Commenting on the expansion, CEO Hilary Meredith said the time was right to extend the range of legal services her firm could offer its clients.

'Having dealt with the often unspoken personal issues that arise from a catastrophic injury and having witnessed first-hand how we can help individuals and families through difficult periods in their lives I felt passionately that we could use our skills and expertise to extend our advice and support to a wider community.

'Securing Paul as Head of Family Legal Services enables us to accelerate our plans to extend the full range of legal services to all our clients - new and old.'

Top silk joins QEB Hollis Whiteman

Nicholas Griffin QC has joined QEB Hollis Whiteman effective from 1 January 2016.

Griffin has been instructed by the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse chaired by Dame Lowell Goddard. He has also been instructed by the independent Jersey care inquiry as an expert witness and is representing the Home Office in the undercover policing inquiry.

The silk was instructed in the Bloody Sunday investigation and the inquiry into the murder of Northern Irish solicitor Rosemary Nelson by terrorists.

Griffin's notable cases include the phone hacking trial R v Brooks, Coulson & Others in which he successfully defended Stuart Kuttner, former News of the World managing editor.

He also represented defendants in the Guantánamo Bay litigation in the High Court in 2011 in Al Rawi and Others v Security Service, Secret Intelligence Service, Attorney General, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office.

All change at the top for Marks & Clerk

Maureen Kinsler has been appointed chairman of Marks & Clerk International while David Ward has become managing partner of the firm's UK patent and trade mark attorney business, Marks & Clerk LLP. Both have been elected for three year terms.

Based in Edinburgh, Kinsler joined Marks & Clerk in 2002 and was made partner in 2004. Ward, based in Birmingham, joined the firm in 1996, becoming a partner in 2002.

Kinsler and Ward were elected after Keith Hodkinson and Bob Naismith stepped down from their positions at the end of 2015. Both will be retiring in 2016.

Whistleblower law firm opens London office

A leading US law firm that specialises in the representation of whistleblowers has expanded to the UK with a new office in the heart of central London.

Phillips & Cohen, which also has offices in Washington DC and San Francisco, has brought cases that have resulted in more than $12bn in recoveries and more than $1bn in rewards for clients.

Phillips & Cohen's attorneys recently represented the international whistleblower who received more than $32m - the largest award from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Dodd-Frank reward program, created by Congress in 2010.

Explaining the firm's expansion across the pond, Erika Kelton, a partner at Phillips & Cohen, said: 'Both the SEC's and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement reach is global. With the development of the Dodd-Frank whistleblower reward programmes, our UK and international practice has grown dramatically.

'An office in London, one of the world's leading financial centres, will dramatically enhance our capabilities and be advantageous for whistleblowers in Britain and the rest of Europe.'

The firm's London office, located on Chancery Lane, will represent clients in matters under all US whistleblower reward programmes. Whistleblowers with allegations of fraud in the financial sector will be a particular focus of the firm's London practice.

Bircham Dyson Bell bolsters contentious trusts offering with new partner

Bircham Dyson Bell has announced that Geoffrey Kertesz has joined the firm as a partner and head of the trusts and succession disputes team. Kertesz joins from Withers where he was a senior associate.

Dual qualified in England and Wales and California, Kertesz has particular expertise advising international clients, both fiduciaries and beneficiaries, as well as creditors and adverse claimants on multi-jurisdictional trust issues.

Hogan Lovells promotes 24 to partnership

Hogan Lovells has announced the promotion of 24 new partners and 45 to the role of counsel. Each of the firm's practice groups are represented in the new promotions: nine in corporate; seven in litigation, arbitration, and employment; five in government regulatory; two in finance; and one in intellectual property. The jurisdictional spread reflects the international nature of Hogan Lovells's practice: 12 in Europe; ten in the US; and two in Asia.

HJA appoint two partners to board

Hodge Jones & Allen has announced two new appointments to its management board. Vidisha Joshi, head of personal injury, and Laila Bhunnoo, head of family join the board, which is comprised of both partners and senior management professionals.

Led by senior partner Patrick Allen, other partners on the board include Nigel Richardson, head of criminal defence, Julie Say, director of clinical negligence, and Susie Labinjoh, joint head of civil liberties. The firm's senior management team comprises Barry Coombes, finance director, Denise Kitchener, director of sales and marketing, and Alan Geaney, operations director.