header-logo header-logo

22 April 2020
Issue: 7884 / Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-detail

Berkeley Rowe—Akbar Ali

Firm expands team with new corporate partner

Specialist commercial and corporate law firm Berkeley Rowe has announced the appointment of Akbar Ali as a partner and head of corporate.

Akbar will be based in the firm’s London office in Mayfair. He has many years of experience as a mergers & acquisitions lawyer and joins from a highly reputable law firm where he was also head of corporate. Akbar has a wealth of international experience, having worked for a leading global US-based law firm, as well as in-house at a Swiss corporate.

His principal focus at Berkeley Rowe will be expanding and developing the established corporate practice while evolving the team by targeting niche areas including capital markets and international cross-border transactions. Akbar is sector agnostic and has worked on deals from £1m to hundreds of millions.

Akbar will also undertake general commercial work including franchise arrangements, terms and conditions, banking and finance, legal opinions and more.

Tom Keya, chief executive officer, Berkeley Rowe, said: ‘Corporate is an area that is rapidly expanding in our practice and I am excited to have Akbar Ali on board to lead it. We have acted on a number of complex and interesting reported corporate and commercial matters in the past few years. His talent and results-led approach enabled him to have a swift rise to become head of department and leading a team specialising in M&A at his previous firm. He brings with him this wealth of experience, a high level of energy and dynamic approach that has made Berkeley Rowe stand out among our peers.’

Akbar Ali, commented: ‘I am excited to be joining the team at Berkeley Rowe and feel that my experience complements the firm’s innovative approach to corporate transactions and ambitious plans for the future. I am looking forward to working with and growing the department into new exciting areas.’

Issue: 7884 / Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Laytons ETL—Maximilian Kraitt

Commercial firm strengthens real estate disputes team with associate hire

Switalskis—three appointments

Switalskis—three appointments

Firm appoints three directors to board

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Browne Jacobson—seven promotions

Six promoted to partner and one to legal director across UK and Ireland offices

NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
back-to-top-scroll