Stuart Cairns

Sullivan & Cromwell sent shockwaves across London's legal scene when the news broke on Monday that it is hiring two of the City's best known corporate lawyers—Kon Amisacopoulos from Kirkland & Ellis and Mike Francies, formerly of Weil Gotshal & Manges. Amisacopoulos has acted on some of the biggest restructurings in the U.K. of the past 10 years, while Francies, though recently retired, has for nearly three decades enjoyed a reputation as one of London's most prominent private equity M&A leaders. Given the calibre and profile of the double-hire, it has given way to plenty of speculation, chiefly, whether or not Sullivan & Cromwell is going to replicate Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison's hyper-aggressive London growth strategy. Could the hires be the first step in the elite-but-conservative Sullivan & Cromwell's transformation into a major London competitor? According to sources close to the matter, the firm is going to make more big name hires. It is planning to bring on around five more high profile partners in London, one of the people said, as well as make several internal promotions, with at least three partner promotions expected in the near term. These numbers suggest that the firm isn't quite expecting to replicate Paul Weiss' much-lauded hiring spree, which began in 2023 after it enlisted Neel Sachdev and other debt finance rising stars from rivals including Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters and others. But Sullivan & Cromwell has started from a higher base. It already has more than 50 fee-earners in London, around 17 of whom are partners. Full story from Molly Smith: https://lnkd.in/e5YkiHAe

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🚀 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐰𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 We are thrilled to announce that Flint Bishop has successfully exchanged contracts to acquire the entire business of Lupton Fawcett LLP, a highly respected firm with offices in 𝐋𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬, 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤. Upon completion, Flint Bishop will retain all three Lupton Fawcett offices, substantially expanding our presence across the north of England, employing more than 420 people and projecting annual turnover well in excess of £40 million. The deal follows our record-breaking financial year for 2024/25, which saw revenue growth of 53% year-on-year to £31.9 million — highlighting the firm’s strong market momentum. Qamer Ghafoor, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝: 🗨️ “Our latest acquisition is a transformative step in our growth journey, enhancing our capabilities, broadening our geographic reach, and allowing us to deliver even greater value to our clients. Lupton Fawcett has a proud heritage and an outstanding reputation, and we look forward to welcoming our talented new colleagues in Leeds, Sheffield, and York, supporting them with exciting career and development opportunities. The acquisition also creates significant opportunities for growth across Leeds, Sheffield, and York, where we will be actively recruiting to strengthen our presence in the north of England. With further strategic acquisitions in the pipeline and active discussions already underway, we remain firmly committed to strengthening our position as a leading, innovative, and client-focused national law firm.” 📖 Read the full news story here: https://loom.ly/3SyanyQ #FlintBishop #LuptonFawcett #LawFirmGrowth #LegalInnovation #NationalLawFirm #CareerOpportunities #Leeds #Sheffield #York

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On 1 August 2025, the Arbitration Act 2025 (the “2025 Act”) formally enters into force. The 2025 Act brings about a number of important changes to the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “1996 Act”), the principal statute governing international commercial arbitrations in England and Wales. Jonathan Schaffer-Goddard and Aphiwan Natasha King summarise some of the most important practical considerations in relation to the 2025 Act here: https://lnkd.in/ezVKES8m

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Case update: Court provides guidance on when the “COVID-19 safe harbour” under s588GAAA may not apply Contributors: Adam Preiner CA RITP, Managing Director, Integra Restructuring & Insolvency Isabella Marriott, Associate, Mills Oakley Alwyn Narayan, Partner, Mills Oakley The District Court of New South Wales has delivered the first judicial consideration of the “COVID-19 safe harbour” for insolvent trading under s588GAAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (“the Act”). The Court examined whether the “COVID-19 safe harbour” applied to the Director for the period 25 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 in circumstances where the company was already insolvent and had already ceased trading prior to COVID-19. Read the takeaways, background and decision (members only) ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gUHn2mK2

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Simmons & Simmons has bolstered its global employment practice with the acquisition Colleen Cleary's Irish labour boutique, CC Solicitors, and the return of a London partner, Vicky Wickremeratne, reports Josh Stephens. https://lnkd.in/etf7YCH3

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A team led by partners Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, Catherine Amirfar and Samantha Rowe has represented Hess in its landmark victory against ExxonMobil and CNOOC, in one of the most significant arbitrations in recent years.    This is not only a major legal victory for Hess, but it also cleared the final hurdle to one of the largest and most geopolitically significant M&A transactions in the energy sector in decades, namely Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess – a transformative deal that reshapes the global energy landscape.   The merger and related proceedings have been the subject of intense public scrutiny, extensively covered in the financial press, closely followed by investors and analysts, and giving rise to billions of dollars in hedge fund positions.   See more detail here: https://lnkd.in/eVwExC_A

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#TrilegalQuarterlyMilestones We present a roundup of legal developments in labour and employment law from April to June 2025. The key developments covered in this update are: · Supreme Court upholds validity of minimum service conditions and liquidated damages in employment contracts · Supreme Court affirms validity of exclusive jurisdiction clauses in private employment contracts · Punjab Government renews labour laws exemption for commercial establishments · Mandatory compliance directives issued under POSH Act, including SHE Box onboarding · Formalising disclosure requirements for employers under Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 · Karnataka Governor promulgates ordinance for protection and welfare of gig workers · Haryana government revises the conditions for employing women during night shifts · Tamil Nadu government renews the exemption allowing establishments to operate 24x7 in a year To read more, please click here: https://lnkd.in/gCE-PMaN Atul Gupta | Tania Gupta | Gokul Suresh Nair   #Trilegal #LabourLaw #Employment #EmploymentContract #IndianContractAct #GigWorkers #SupremeCourt #SHeBox #WorkplaceCompliance

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