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A raft of nine law firms have been called in to guide Nippon Life Insurance’s acquisition of Resolution Life Group Holdings for about $8.2bn, the largest takeover by a Japanese insurer. Debevoise & Plimpton, Herbert Smith Freehills and Kirkland & Ellis are acting for Bermuda-based Resolution on the deal, which comes as Nippon Life moves to grow its overseas operations as its domestic growth ...

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged five men including former CEO Pragnesh Modhwadia in relation to the collapse of Axiom Ince and the alleged improper use of more than £60m of client money. In a statement issued today, the SFO said the offences included allegations of fraud, forgery and the destruction of documents. The charges follow a 15-month investigation by the SFO, which stepped ...

The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has appointed Kevin Nash as its new director general. Nash, a Canadian-qualified barrister and solicitor, will succeed Dutch arbitrator Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof at the start of January 2025. For her part van Haersolte-van Hof has led the LCIA for the past decade, as the institution navigated …

London IP firm Marks & Clerk has agreed a settlement over claims it received secret commissions from CPA Global in return for client referrals. The action, launched by Commission Recovery (CRL) as a class representative, sought redress over the alleged secret commissions, which were paid over nine years to 2018. Marks & Clerk denied …

BakerHostetler has hired a 10-lawyer transactional team from Locke Lord to open an office in Austin, its third in Texas and 18th overall. The incoming team is led by partner Cynthia Bast and will bolster 1,000-lawyer BakerHostetler’s affordable housing and real estate capabilities, the firm said. Bast will serve as partner-in-charge of the new office, which will open 1 …

Corporate services provider Amicorp Group has said it will “defend itself vigorously” against a legal claim exceeding $1bn by former sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). In a statement issued on 23 December, the Hong Kong-based company said any claims for damages were unfounded and that it has always conducted its business operations reputably. The claim was initiated ...

A former Freshfields partner has been suspended for two years and ordered to pay costs of £66,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) in relation to allegations of “inappropriate” behaviour. Nicholas Williams left the Magic Circle firm in December 2019 following an internal investigation into his behaviour, having been made a partner in …

A decision by the Paris local division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has invalidated a patent of medtech company Dexcom across the 17 participating states of the new pan-European patent system. The rulin g is the latest round in an ongoing battle between rivals Dexcom and Abbott over technology to remotely monitor glucose levels used by diabetic patients. The fact the revocation applies to ...

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has removed a lawyer from its partnership over a "deeply offensive" X post that criticised how a Jewish lawyer at another firm responded to an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue. HSF chair and senior partner, Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, said the firm's council had decided today (12 December) that Sydney-based Damien Hazard "should be removed as a partner from our ...