Feature German offices defy downturn with solid financials 18
In-house
Profile Dewey & LeBoeuf is ready for lift-off a year after merger 20
Interview
Private equity house
Special Reports The Rule of Law/Ireland 26/28
Aureos Advisors legal
counsel Sarah Clinch 22
THE LAWYER
VOL 22 ISSUE 39 WWW.THELAWYER.COM 6 OCTOBER 2008 £2.65
Judge slams Wembley dispute’s £22m costs total Bates Wells
By Kit Chellel
A JUDGE has hit out at the
participants involved in a
four-year dispute over the
construction of Wembley
Stadium after they racked
up £22m in costs, including
£1m on photocopying.
Australian construction
company Multiplex was
awarded £6.2m in damages
By Nina Goswami
FORMER Hammonds
partners embroiled in a £3m
profit litigation with the firm
have spoken publicly for the
first time to accuse their
former partnership of
allowing the case to drag on
three years longer than they
believe was necessary.
As the war of words
between the two sides escalates
ahead of a hearing next
month, seven former partners
said if Hammonds had
disclosed documents at an
earlier stage then litigation
may not have been necessary.
Watson Farley & Williams
partner Stephen Tupper, the
spokesman for seven of the
eight former partners named
in the litigation, said: “If
[Hammonds’] tone and style
from steel firm Cleveland
Bridge following a contractual
dispute over delays in
the stadium’s construction.
Mr Justice Jackson said:
“That level of expenditure
far exceeds the sums which
are seriously in dispute.
Each party has thrown away
golden opportunities to
settle this litigation upon
favourable terms.”
had been different I’m sure
we wouldn’t be having this
conversation. After three
years of discussion we’ve got
to the point where what
we’ve being saying from the
beginning has been fully
endorsed by the court.”
Hammonds Leeds chief
Simon Miller told The
Lawyer that 23 former
partners were originally
asked to repay overdrawings
from the 2003-04 and
2004-05 financial years.
After nine had repaid the
sums the firm sued the
remaining 14. There are now
eight remaining who are yet
to reach an agreement.
Tupper said his group did
not repay the money because
the firm refused to disclose
documents supporting its
claims until February 2008’s
# #
THIS WEEK #
Reid Minty accuses trio
of taking clients
ProLegal founders sued by
former employer 3
The lawyers on the case
shared a total legal bill of
£20m. Clifford Chance and
Four New Square silk Roger
Stewart QC are understood
to have shared more than
£12m in legal costs during
the four years they
represented Multiplex.
Reid Minty, which
has now merged with
McGrigors, was brought in
Hammonds ex-partners:
we will not surrender
Former partners locked in drawings battle accuse firm of holding back vital documents
Tupper: three years have been wasted in litigation PETER SEARLE
case management conference
hearing.
But Miller said his firm
provided all the partners
with more information than
Nomura panel review:
three up, one to go
Burges Salmon only firm to
lose its grip 5
by Cleveland for the final two
years of litigation and, along
with Adrian Williamson
QC of Keating Chambers,
notched up £6.5m in fees.
Walker Morris and Hugh
Tomlinson QC of Matrix
Chambers, sidelined by
Cleveland after losing a preliminary
round in 2006, are
thought to have billed £2m.
That said, Jackson J
required once directed to do
so by the court.
Miller explained that
the delay was to allow
appropriate undertakings to
praised legal counsel for
working “prodigiously hard”
to end the dispute.
Multiplex was awarded
20 per cent of its costs for
the final stage of the case,
an outcome that is likely to
leave both sides unsatisfied.
A source close to the
matter said: “It could all kick
off again. I suspect Cleveland
is going to appeal.”
be negotiated to prevent
the release of confidential
information to the press.
Although the former
partners now have the
documents, they are still
refusing to pay because they
want the court to assess any
debts independently.
Miller defended the need
for litigation, saying: “This
claim, from the Hammonds
perspective, is about the
obligation of partners to
stand together, not just in
the good times, but also in
difficult times.”
Tupper said: “[Hammonds
says] you can stand
shoulder to shoulder with
us from the point of view of
paying back money, not
shoulder to shoulder with
us to see the documents as
to why you should pay.”
Cobbetts slashes feeearner
headcount by 40
National firm joins Wragges,
Eversheds with layoffs 6
partner in
rapper v
police gun
showdown
By Ben Moshinsky
BATES Wells & Braithwaite
immigration partner Philip
Trott is launching a complaint
against the police after
he was forcibly separated
from rapper client Busta
Rhymes at gunpoint.
The incident occurred
when Rhymes, whose real
name is Trevor Smith, was
detained by 15 police officers
at London City Airport
when he tried to enter the
UK at the end of September.
Trott had travelled with
Smith on his flight from
Amsterdam to London,
where the rapper was scheduled
to headline the Orange
RockCorps concert, to assist
with immigration issues.
They were met by five
police officers on the runway
and 10 more in the airport,
all carrying machine guns.
Trott, who also acts for
rappers 50 Cent, P Diddy
and Snoop Dogg, said:
“There was a time when I
had to make a decision to
either stand back or stay
with Busta and possibly be
arrested at gunpoint for
obstructing a police officer.”
The chief immigration
officer initially denied Smith
entry due to unresolved criminal
convictions in the US.
Trott won two High Court
injunctions from Mr Justice
Flaux on that day and Smith
was released and arrived at
the concert on time.
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