Jeremy Hodges legalweek

Ashurst has asked a number of partners to leave by the end of the current financial year, despite already seeing nearly 30 partner exits since May 2009.

The top 10 City firm asked fewer than 10 partners to leave shortly before Christmas, with most set to depart by the end of April. Ashurst management confirmed to Legal Week that "fewer than 10 partners" had been asked to go, denying the figure was as high as 15.

The total does not include retirees, such as London corporate partners David Kershaw and Alan Kitchin, and most come on top of 27 partners to have left Ashurst's limited liability partnership (LLP) since 1 May.

Details of the 27 members already standing down from the LLP are contained within records filed at Companies House, with these departures a mix of retirees and voluntary exits or those at the request of management. Two of the 27 have remained with the firm as consultants.

Ashurst had 235 partners at 1 May 2009 and the firm stressed it expects its partner count to be broadly static by the end of April despite the latest exits. Ashurst has recruited eight new partners in the current financial year as well as hiring 13 partners in the US from McKee Nelson in April 2009. The firm is also understood to be in advanced talks to sign a three-partner Italian team.

Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen said: "There have certainly been changes to the partnership over the last year, including a number of lateral hires. We are expecting overall partner numbers to remain at broadly the same level."

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Full Article: http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1592243/ashurst-partners-leave-departures-near

Alex Aldridge legalweek

Tech heavyweight sends legal work to outsourcing company

Microsoft has entered into an agreement with legal outsourcing provider CPA Global to offshore legal work to lawyers in India.

The technology giant began a pilot scheme with CPA in October and formally rolled it out at the end of 2009. A team of between three and five qualified lawyers at CPA are handling multi-jurisdictional legal support work, including legal research, for Microsoft. The lawyers are based in CPA's offices in Gurgaon, near Delhi.

Microsoft has been outsourcing basic intellectual property (IP) and patent renewal work to CPA for five years, using a team of around 70 CPA staff. However, the new arrangement for general legal work operates separately.

Microsoft's associate general counsel and director of worldwide IP operations Marty Shively, who is based in Delhi, has played a key role in putting the outsourcing project together.

CPA chief financial officer for India, Anand Sharma, told Legal Week : "The arrangement principally involves legal research work with a flexible shared service team varying according to transactions handling matters for the company."

News of the outsourcing comes after Microsoft cut its legal budget by 15% over the last two years, leading to a 5% reduction in headcount. Before the cuts, Microsoft's legal department had an annual budget of $900m (£570m) and 1,050 staff, including 450 lawyers.

Microsoft's tie-up with CPA is similar to a deal struck between mining company Rio Tinto and CPA in June last year, which involves a team of 18 lawyers - also in Gurgaon - handling tasks such as contract review, drafting and legal research. Other companies offshoring legal work to CPA in India include Bupa and Carillion.

In a separate move, CPA is set to launch an outsourcing centre in the UK. The centre, which will take on low-level legal tasks, will add to the company's onshore outsourcing operations in the US.

It is expected to initially operate with 10-20 lawyers and paralegals but this number is projected to increase to several hundred. A location has yet to be decided, but sites in the north of England are being considered.

Lovells financial services litigation partner Neil Mirchandani, who has been involved in the firm's outsourcing programme, said: "Onshoring has proved popular in the US and will doubtless appeal to clients who do not want certain information leaving the jurisdiction."

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Full Article: http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1592244/microsoft-outsources-legal-india-cpa-global-deal