The Legal 500

Bird & Bird

15 FETTER LANE, LONDON, EC4A 1JP, ENGLAND
Tel:
Work 020 7415 6000
Fax:
Fax 020 7415 6111
Web:
www.twobirds.com
Email:

Working with some of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced companies, Bird & Bird has a long-established reputation for providing cutting-edge legal advice to clients operating at the forefront of their sectors. Bird & Bird is passionate about understanding its clients’ businesses and is dedicated to making its clients’ lives easier by explaining complex issues in a refreshingly clear and concise manner.

The firm: Bird & Bird is a global law firm with over 900 lawyers and legal practitioners, delivering high-quality advisory, transactional and dispute resolution services. The firm has 23 offices in 16 countries across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and offers a seamless, cross-border service based on clients’ needs.

Types of work undertaken: Underpinned by deep client and industry knowledge, the firm’s key sectors include:

Automotive: advising on all stages of a life cycle of a motor vehicle, from initial design, to sales and distribution, through to disposals.

Aviation, aerospace defence and security: advising on asset management and financing, civil aviation matters, including airlines, regulatory and competition issues, and aerospace and defence, including PPP/PFI and product liability.

Communications: advising clients ranging from national and international operators, to regulators and major financial institutions, on areas such as strategic joint ventures, new licensing and regulatory frameworks, PFI and submarine cable systems.

Electronics: advising clients operating in or serving the electronics industry, from R&D and component manufacturing, to technology licensing agreements.

Energy and utilities: advising on electricity generation, energy trading, renewable energy, cleantech and climate change, and upstream oil and gas.

Financial services: advising clients in the financial services sector on transactions, regulatory issues, commercial contracts and dispute resolution.

Food and beverage: advising on a full range of areas, including branding, labelling, health claims, fair trade and patents on novel foods.

Information technology: advising on all aspects of law relating to IT, from advice on software licensing through to major systems implementation projects.

Life sciences: advising clients in biotechnology, bioinformatics and pharmaceutical companies on licensing and drug development agreements, R&D collaboration, IP acquisitions and joint ventures.

Media: advising clients, from broadcasters to film and television producers, on a wide range of issues, including exploitation across all forms of digital media and emerging areas, such as user-generated content exploitation.

Sports: advising clients such as national and international sports governing bodies, event organisers and sponsors on issues including exploitation of commercial rights, brand management, regulatory and disciplinary issues.

Other offices: Bird & Bird has offices in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, The Hague, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm and Warsaw, and close ties with firms in other key centres in Europe, Asia and the United States.

Number of UK partners 74
Number of other UK fee-earners 172

Above material supplied by Bird & Bird.

Legal Developments by:
Bird & Bird

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
    - 11KBW
  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
    - 11KBW
  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
    - 11KBW
  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
    - 11KBW
  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
    - 11KBW
  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW
  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
    - 11KBW
  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
    - 11KBW
  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.