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  • January 5, 2009 |

    Heller files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

    Defunct US firm Heller Ehrman has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, writes Legal Week sister title The Recorder. The move, filed on 28 December, puts a stay on at least five suits filed against the firm since it announced on 26 September that it would dissolve.According to a memo sent from the firm's dissolution committee to former Heller employees, the decision to file for bankruptcy protection was driven by its San Francisco landlord, 333 Bush Associates, which sought and received a writ of attachment on 19 December, making it a secured creditor to the tune of $48m (£33m). A lack of co-operation from the firm's banks, Bank of America and Citibank, was also blamed.

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  • December 10, 2008 |

    Behind the veil

    On Monday, January 21, 2008, back when extreme stock volatility was still a novelty, world equity markets plunged 6% with no full explanation apparent. Then, on Thursday, the mystery abated when at least a partial explanation for the sell-off appeared. The French bank Societe Generale (Soc Gen) announced that a young trader named Jerome Kerviel had somehow, without the bank noticing, bet A50bn that stock markets would rise. Soc Gen had spent the past few days desperately selling his positions - and set a new standard for rogue trading losses at A6.4bn. Hit by scandal and a potential legal mess, Soc Gen did what plenty of other rich and powerful French institutions would do in such a situation: It hired Jean Veil.

    1 minute read

  • December 3, 2008 |

    Shearman, Debevoise and Gibson Dunn brave market to advise on $800m LBO

    Shearman & Sterling, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Debevoise & Plimpton have taken roles on a leveraged buyout worth $800m (£664m). The deal, which included $600m (£498m) finance, saw Gibson Dunn corporate partner Paul Harter advise Investcorp and Barclays Private Equity, with NCTM handling Italian M&A aspects of the deal, which saw the acquisition of N&W Global Vending.Shearman's London office advised Investcorp and Barclays Private Equity on raising the debt to fund the acquisition, one of the largest leveraged buyouts of 2008.

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  • November 9, 2008 |

    Obama looks to Am Law 100 firms for best and brightest

    While most of the speculation surrounding possible appointments by President-elect Obama focuses on the treasury secretary and attorney and solicitor general,…

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  • October 31, 2008 |

    Dechert secures trophy hire of Heller chairman

    Dechert has sealed the high-profile hire of Matthew Larrabee, the chairman of dissolved US firm Heller Ehrman. Larrabee, who joins Dechert as a partner in the firm's San Francisco office, had chaired Heller for three years since taking over from insurance partner Barry Levin in March 2005.Larrabee said he was drawn to Dechert's litigation practice, commenting: "Dechert's litigation practice is recognised as one of the best in the country. I have had the privilege of knowing and working with many of Dechert's trial lawyers and I feel fortunate to be joining such an outstanding team."

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  • October 30, 2008 |

    Gibson Dunn defends Seinfeld in defamation claim

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher is taking a headline role on a defamation claim involving US comedian Jerry Seinfield, reports The American Lawyer. The case started earlier this year when Missy Chase Lapine, author of cookbook The Sneaky Chef, sued Seinfeld's wife, Jessica Seinfeld. Lapine claimed that Seinfeld had plagiarised The Sneaky Chef when she wrote her own book, Deceptively Delicious, on how to get kids to eat their vegetables. Lapine sued Jessica Seinfeld for copyright and trademark infringement. But she also sued Jerry Seinfeld for defamation, citing some of his comments about her on the Late Show with David Letterman.

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  • October 29, 2008 |

    Loss leaders

    The lawyers that shepherd their clients down the road to the White House do everything from renting office space to vetting television ads to navigating the complex financial regulations that govern campaigns. These attorneys get front-row seats at the conventions, but are they making any money?"I can assure you that I do this for a profit and for a living," says Jan Baran of Wiley Rein, who most recently represented Stephen Colbert in his short-lived presidential run and acted as general counsel for George Bush senior's 1988 campaign. "But it is a lot easier dealing with business clients that recognise the need for counsel, pay for it promptly, and in amounts that would make most politicians blanch."This time around, the lead lawyers for the remaining candidates seem to be doing just fine, thank you. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Robert Bauer of Perkins Coie, general counsel to the Obama campaign, brought the firm close to $800,000 (£494,000) between January 2007 and July 2008. Trevor Potter of Caplin & Drysdale, general counsel for McCain, has raked in more than $400,000 (£247,000) during the same period. (The McCain campaign has made smaller payments to Bryan Cave, Dickstein Shapiro, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher and Akerman Senterfitt)."We're talking about a huge amount of money spent on a lot of innovative programming and outreach efforts," Bauer says. "At that level, there is a lot for lawyers to do."Both Bauer and Potter are loyalists. Bauer has worked for Obama since 2004, and his resume is packed with work for Democratic candidates and organisations reaching back through his 30 years of practice. Potter left his old firm, Wiley Rein, in 2001 over conflicts in his defence of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act so he could continue representing the Arizona senator. Both say they have kept up with other clients to a certain degree although, as the election looms, they have devoted themselves fully to the campaign.

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  • October 22, 2008 |

    Gibson Dunn lands high-profile Heller hire

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has hired the firmwide managing partner of Heller Ehrman Robert Hubbell as a partner for the firm's Los Angeles office. Hubbell is the most high-profile departure from Heller since it announced its dissolution at the end of September.Hubbell had been at Heller for 17 years, becoming managing partner at 2003. Prior to that, he had worked at Los Angeles law firm Tuttle & Taylor.He practices securities litigation and accounting liability matters. He has advised the big four accounting firms and Fortune 500 companies.

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  • October 17, 2008 |

    UBS picks Sullivan as US counsel on $60bn bailout

    Sullivan & Cromwell has landed a lead role for UBS after the Swiss National Bank and the Government of Switzerland created a fund for the bank to dump $60bn in illiquid assets, reports the Am Law Daily. The elite US firm is advising UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, on US aspects of the bailout.Sullivan has worked with UBS in the past, advising the bank on its $10.8bn (£6.3bn) acquisition of private banker PaineWebber in 2000. The team handling the work was led by firm chairman Rodgin Cohen.

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  • September 17, 2008 |

    Falconer: Lehman will spark litigation boom

    The former Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, has predicted an explosion of 'mega-litigation' in the aftermath of this week's collapse of Lehman Brothers. Delivering the keynote speech at the Legal Week Litigation Forum in London this morning, Falconer said the demise of the US's fourth-largest investment bank would be a turning point for credit crunch-related litigation, unlocking a flood of cases."There is going to be litigation on a scale that we have not seen before," he told the conference, predicting the emergence of "a new era" for litigation and dispute resolution.

    1 minute read